News, Notes, and Highlighted Games: Sunday, Nov. 22

NEWS AND NOTES

-North Carolina went on the road to Northern Iowa…and lost.  Northern Iowa has a very strong program, but this season’s edition appeared to be in complete rebuilding mode and we didn’t expect much out of them.  The Panthers lost their season opener at home to Colorado State, which is a team that is also rebuilding.  I fully expect the Tarheels to rebound and end up in the top five by the end of the year.  It’s not the first time they’ve lost an early road game to a team you’d expect them to clobber.  I’m not sure what to expect out of Northern Iowa moving forward, though.  To say this is a good win on their profile right now would be a huge understatement.

-Congratulations to Oregon State, who is 4-0 for the first time in fifteen years.  They beat UC Santa Barbara 71-59 yesterday.  And, they’re not the only Pac Twelve team that’s been really bad in recent years that’s off to a start that’s much better than what we’re used to seeing.  USC is now 3-0 after knocking off New Mexico.

-Chattanooga now has road wins at Georgia and at Illinois.  You can’t ignore that.  Most people are probably down on Illinois for losing to North Florida and Chattanooga.  I’m not going to say that I think the Illini are a strong team, but I do think this is more of a case of North Florida and Chattanooga being good than it is Illinois being bad.  Having said that, North Florida had their doors blown off at Louisville today, so it’s hard to argue that they’re a really strong team after that.

-One of the better games of the day was Dayton vs William & Mary, and it’s a shame that the broadcast on the A-10 website was so poor, and as we’re finding out, so unavailable.  People in the Dayton market weren’t able to access it because the game was blacked out, and only available on to a limited number of viewers who had some obscure Ohio Sports Channel.  Fortunately we don’t live in Ohio, and we got to see it.  William & Mary got out to a double digit lead in the first half.  Dayton fought back and their fans were into it, and it looked like they were going to run away with it.  But, W&M regrouped and actually had a chance to win in the final minute.  It’s a win that REALLY could have helped W&M’s profile, especially considering their opportunities to get notable wins are somewhat limited, but it’s not the kind of loss that hurts them at all, and if anything I think it shows some toughness considering they were able to come back on the road after blowing a lead and give themselves a chance to win.

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES

-MIAMI FL VS BUTLER (Puerto Rico Tip Off) (***Spotlight Game***).  In a nutshell, this is a match-up between two potential protected seeds and a chance to get a high quality win on their profile.  Win or lose, I think Miami FL should be in the rankings.  They weren’t a team we were overly excited about in the preseason, but they’ve looked so good every time they’ve played that I could see them being a major player in the ACC and earning a protected seed.  Butler has looked strong as well, but this is by far their toughest test of the year so far.

-VALPARAISO AT OREGON (***Spotlight Game***).  Valpo has looked very impressive this year, and this is their biggest test of the season so far.  Their chances at high quality wins are limited, so this game is a bit pivotal.  If they win it, it will go a long way toward them not needing to win the conference tournament to make the NCAA Tournament.

-GEORGETOWN VS DUKE (2k Classic).  Both Duke and Georgetown got their first big wins of the year in the semifinals.  Georgetown beat Wisconsin and Duke sweat out VCU.  Georgetown is a solid NCAA Tournament team and Duke will likely contend for a #1 seed, so it’s a resume builder for the winner.

-VCU VS WISCONSIN (2k Classic).  Both these teams are still looking for their first big win on the year.  Even though it’s a third place game, the committee won’t view it any differently than any other neutral floor OOC game.

-FLORIDA VS PURDUE (Hall of Fame Tip Off).  Both teams are unbeaten and both beat what appear to be fairly good teams in the semifinals.  This will likely be a resume builder for whoever pulls it off, as well as a momentum builder as the season continues.

-OLD DOMINION VS SAINT JOSEPH’S (Hall of Fame Tip-Off).  Old Dominion could not hit the ocean in their game against Purdue, which led to them losing rather decisively.  Saint Joe’s came into this tournament unbeaten and they actually put up a hell of a fight against Florida despite the loss.  We thought they’d be one of the worst teams in the Atlantic Ten, but they’re proving us wrong.  Even though this game is in the loser’s bracket, the selection committee does not make that differentiation, so it’s still a chance for teams to pick up notable wins away from home.

-TEMPLE VS UTAH (Puerto Rico Tip-Off).  Utah was run out of the building by Miami FL in their last game.  Temple really hung tough against a pretty good Butler team.  Both will look to rebound with a win today.

-AKRON AT VILLANOVA.  This may turn out to be a mismatch, but both teams are coming in unbeaten and Akron is coming off a win at Arkansas.

-TULSA VS INDIANA STATE (Paradise Jam).  Tulsa had a very exciting come from behind win in their first game, and can really put together an impressive body of work for this early in the season if they can win this tournament.  They’d have three wins away from home in addition to a win over Wichita State.

-HOFSTRA VS SOUTH CAROLINA (Paradise Jam).  Hofstra had the somewhat surprising win against Florida State in their first game and can pick up another notable win away from home in this one.  South Carolina comes in unbeaten as well.

-GEORGE MASON VS VIRGINIA (Charleston Classic).  George Mason has two surprising wins (at least to me) in the tournament so far, but I think their luck runs out today as they face a Virginia team that’s been blowing through the field so far.

-OKLAHOMA STATE VS LONG BEACH STATE (Charleston Classic).  It wouldn’t surprise me if both teams faded from relevance as the season continues, but as of now both have just one loss and have the opportunity to build some early momentum with a win in this game.

MINNESOTA VS TEXAS TECH (Puerto Rico Tip-Off).  Both teams have just one loss and can build up some momentum if they can pick up some wins away from home.

-YALE AT SMU.  Yale doesn’t need to worry about landing inside the bubble because there isn’t a conference tournament for them to lose in.  And, I guess for that matter, SMU doesn’t have to worry about it either.  Having said that, Yale is unbeaten and this would be a big win on their profile, which would boost their seed if they end up finishing first in the Ivy.

-HARVARD AT BOSTON COLLEGE.  Harvard hasn’t won yet and BC hasn’t lost yet.  I’m fully expecting both of those things to change today.  It would be Harvard’s eighth straight win over BC if they pull it off.

-ARMY AT GEORGE WASHINGTON.  Both teams are unbeaten, and GW has a big win against Virginia on their profile.

-STANFORD AT SAINT MARY’S.  I’m not expecting either team to be strong in the end, but SMC hasn’t lost yet, and Stanford has just one loss.  This would be a good early season win for the Cardinal to have on their profile

BUY GAMES

-Arkansas Pine Bluff @ Cincinnati
-East Tennessee State @ Georgia Tech
-Omaha @ Colorado
-Tennessee Martin @ James Madison
-Southeast Louisiana @ Nebraska
-Northwestern State @ Arizona
-Gardner Webb @ Tennessee