Below is a rundown of all of today’s action on a busy Tuesday in college basketball
NEWS AND NOTES
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For Chad Sherwood’s UTR Game of the Day – CLICK HERE
-UT Arlington did it again!! A team that we did not expect to even be a player in the Sun Belt Conference has now racked up wins at Ohio State and at Memphis. Now, they still may fall from reality, but at this moment in time they’re riding pretty high. What a week for the Mavericks!
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES
-VALPARAISO AT OREGON STATE (***Spotlight Game***). This is a great test for both these teams. Valpo is an at-large caliber team, at least we think, but not exactly so good that they’re a going be a first ballot team (seeded 9th or better). They’re coming off a close loss against a very good Oregon team. Oregon State is unbeaten and has a lot of electricity around their program for the first time in decades. Are they a tournament caliber team?? If so, then they should be able to win games like this at home. This is a big test for both teams and a chance for us to learn a lot about both of them.
-SAINT JOHN’S VS INDIANA (Maui Classic). Indiana lost their opener to Wake Forest in what was somewhat of a surprising result. Losing today would be beyond surprising.
-SOUTH DAKOTA STATE VS HOUSTON BAPTIST (Cancun Challenge). We like this South Dakota State team, and a win today gets them to 5-0.
-UNLV VS CHAMINADE (nondiv1) (Maui Invitational). UNLV missed a chance to get a notable win yesterday. Winning on the loser’s side of the bracket probably won’t help as much as losing the games will hurt. The best they can hope for is a game against Indiana tomorrow.
-BELMONT AT KENNESAW STATE (FanDuel Legends Classic). It’s the same story for Belmont. They have a small margin for error and can’t afford to lose games to sub-NIT teams if they want to be an NCAA Tournament team in March.
-LSU VS NC STATE (FanDuel Legends Classic). LSU suffered a surprising loss to Marquette yesterday and faces an NC State team that has also struggled early on. Neither team really has a big win yet.
-TCU VS RHODE ISLAND (Cancun Challenge). Rhody is dealing with injuries. Both teams have a lot of work to do.
-ARMY AT TENNESSEE. This game is part of the Barclay’s Center Classic, and it probably won’t end up being that meaningful, but as of now both teams come in 3-1, and it’s a great start for an Army team that rarely qualifies for a postseason tournament.
-WOFFORD AT COLUMBIA. See Chad Sherwood’s UTR Game of the Day Write Up HERE
-VANDERBILT VS WAKE FOREST (Maui Invitational). The jury is still out on Wake Forest, but they got a big win yesterday and have the shot at another one today. This is Vandy’s biggest challenge of the young season so far as well. They blew out Saint John’s in a game that was anything but challenging.
-NORTHWESTERN VS MISSOURI (CBE Hall of Fame Classic). Missouri is bad. Really bad. Northwestern put up a fight against North Carolina and is showing signs of life. I’d go so far to say that if Northwestern doesn’t win today, it’ll end up being a damaging loss on their profile.
-LOUISIANA TECH AT OHIO STATE. Louisiana Tech is unbeaten, and Ohio State is looking to rebound from their loss to UT Arlington in their last game.
-NORTH FLORIDA AT SAINT LOUIS. Saint Louis is 3-0, but I like North Florida’s team a lot more despite them getting crushed at Louisville in their last game.
-MARQUETTE VS ARIZONA STATE (FanDuel Legends Classic). Marquette had a rough start to the year, but with such a big win yesterday against LSU they may have just given their season a complete 180 and turned things completely around. If they can win this game they’ll have two notable wins away from home on their profile. Arizona State has a lot of work to do as well and could also use a win like this.
-ILLINOIS STATE VS MARYLAND (Cancun Challenge). Maryland is a team that many think could earn a #1 seed. Some of us think Illinois State is a dark horse. Well, they’ve got a very tall order tonight.
-KANSAS STATE VS NORTH CAROLINA (CBE Hall of Fame Classic). K State is still unbeaten and just trounced Mizzou in the semifinals last night. If they can beat a North Carolina team that we think could end up as a #1 seed, then they’ll have our attention.
-KANSAS VS UCLA (Maui Invitational). I have not been impressed with UCLA despite them only having one loss. If they can win this game, then I’ll be impressed. Kansas is still waiting for the NCAA to make a decision on Cheick Diallo, which has to be very frustrating to him and his team. Not only is it frustrating, it is blatantly unfair. MAKE A DECISION!!! Fortunately for Kansas, they appear to be the superior team with or without him.
BUY GAMES
-Gardner Webb @ George Washington
-SELA @ Cincinnati
-Saint Francis Brooklyn @ Louisville
-Incarnate Word @ Oklahoma
-Arkansas Pine Bluff @ Nebraska
-Boston U @ Kentucky
-Utah Valley @ Utah State
-Abilene Christian @ Colorado State