Highlighted Games for Sunday, Dec 21st

-SOUTH POINT HOLIDAY HOOPS CLASSIC.  To read all about these games, CLICK HERE to check out Chad’s UTR game of the day...

-HARVARD AT VIRGINIA.  Harvard doesn’t always play up to their ceiling, but they are the equivalent of a #8 or #9 seeded team.  Virginia is about the equivalent of a #1 or #2 seeded team, so this is the kind of match up you’d see ion the round of 32.  If Harvard wins, it will catapult their resume, but a loss really won’t hurt them.

-OREGON STATE QT QUINNIPIAC.  Oregon State is off to an 8-2 start.  They have not been close to an NIT caliber team in recent years, but it’s still kind of strange to see them play this kind of road game.

-MARYLAND AT OKLAHOMA STATE.  Both teams have been impressive with just one loss, but Oklahoma State still hasn’t been strongly tested yet.  For Maryland, it is their first true road game.  Both teams have a chance to add something to their profile.

-CREIGHTON AT NORTH TEXAS.  If you’re a solid tournament team, you need to beat non-NIT teams on the road.  Creighton needs to win this.

-ALABAMA STATE AT EVANSVILLE.  Buy game.  The Aces have just two losses.

-SETON HALL AT GEORGIA.  A win for Seton Hall gets them to 10-1, as well as their second true road win of the season.  Georgia has struggled this year, but they are unbeaten at home.

OTHER NOTES AND RAMBLINGS

-Be sure and catch our latest Bracket Racket tonight.  The new Bracket Projections should also be updated either tonight or tomorrow.

-Just about every university is now on Christmas Break.  This means that the four hour a day, and twenty hour a week practice rules are no longer in effect.  Teams can go for eight hours a day, and sixty hours a week if they want to.  Over the next few weeks, you’ll probably notice a lot of teams working out the rust and becoming better.

-Speaking of rust, UCLA…..oh, forget it.  They’ve been beaten up on enough.

-Louisville plays Cal State Northridge this Tuesday.  That normally wouldn’t be important, but in this case it is because Montrezi Harrell was thrown out of Louisville’s game against Western Kentucky after a scramble for a loose ball escalated into a punch being thrown.  What’s worse is that one of the referees was inadvertently struck.  So, Harrell will miss the game against Northridge per the flagrant foul 2 rule, but will be back against Kentucky.

-Indiana got a big win over Butler.  Butler isn’t great, and was probably overrated, but I still believe them to be a tournament caliber team.  When you beat tournament caliber teams away from home, chances are you’re a tournament caliber team yourself.  I never thought I’d say this about the Hoosiers a month ago, but I was wrong.  They do appear to be a tournament caliber team.

-Also making the list of things I didn’t think I’d be saying a month ago, Washington is unbeaten, and is not only a tournament caliber team, but a legit top 25 team.  They almost blew it after leading for most of the game, but they beat a very good Oklahoma team on a neutral floor yesterday.  It’s their second win against a ranked team this year.

-Cincinnati head coach Mick Cronin missed yesterday’s game against VCU due to him having an unruptured aneurysm.  This is a very unsettling thought because once an aneurysm does rupture, it is oftentimes fatal.  His team lost rather handily, but that pales in comparison to what is legitimately a serious health issue.  We oftentimes poke fun at coaches, and we’ve certainly had our fun with him, but the key word there is “FUN.”  We sincerely wish him the best and hope that he is able to recover and return to the bench soon.  Fortunately it was discovered before it became far more serious.

-Speaking of VCU, November is now over.  This is a team that typically loses more games in November than in the rest of the season combined, with the exception of last year.  So, don’t be surprised if they really get on a roll.