NEWS AND NOTES
-For our latest Under the Radar Video Podcast – CLICK HERE
-For Chad Sherwood’s UTR Game of the Day – CLICK HERE
-For Jon Teitel’s interview with Ed Ratleff – CLICK HERE
-Kansas has a big game today against Vanderbilt that you’ll read about below. Cheick Diallo has still not been cleared to play by the NCAA. The only good news is that he hasn’t been denied eligibility yet either, but the NCAA has been reviewing this case for months and has still not made a decision. Whether he is or is not going to be cleared, the amount of time this is taking is completely outrageous. He was given a waiver that permitted him to travel to Maui with the team, which is a good sign because the NCAA likely would not have granted it had they thought the prognosis was negative regarding his eligibility. But, here it is the last day of the tournament, and they STILL haven’t ruled. WHAT THE HELL IS TAKING SO LONG??!!? Initial eligibility, on the surface, is rather simple. A player needs 16 core classes from high school in specific subjects such as English, Natural Science, Math, and Social Science, they need a GPA that’s calculated from only those core classes and not from other “fluff” courses that they may have taken, and they need to meet a minimum score on the ACT or SAT. They also need to show that they have never played as a professional in any way, shape, or form before. Where students get into trouble is if there is a question over what is or isn’t a core class, or over what does or does not constitute playing as a professional and it can take some time to sort out. But, the key word there is “SOME” time. IT HAS BEEN MONTHS!!!! MONTHS!!!!!!!!! This is grossly unfair to Diallo, the Kansas team, and the Kansas fans in that order. Whatever it is that’s causing the uncertainty of his eligibility should not take months to figure out.
-We have two other great games today, that you’ll also read about below. Now, with the excitement and electricity that we saw out of the Maryland v Georgetown game last week, which is a series that had been dormant for over two decades, can we all agree that out of conference games between brand name regional opponents is a good thing?? So, it’s good that we get to see Gonzaga v Washington and Texas v Texas A&M again today. What’s unfortunate is that these are not regular events that are played in front of packed houses of insanely excited fans. Both are actually one time events that are part of an exempt tournament that’s being played in another country. We love these events, but for games like this, they need to be played in front of thousands of screaming fans, not hundreds of rich drunk tourists in a resort’s ball room in another country.
-UT Arlington picked up another huge win last night against Memphis. It was Arlington’s second surprising road win. Ohio State, who they beat earlier in the week, picked up their second surprising home loss when they fell to still unbeaten Louisiana Tech.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES
**EDIT** When I initially posted the rundown of today’s games, I did not realize that Gonzaga and Washington HAVE, in fact, agreed to resume the series!! There is now a four year home-and-home in place.
-WASHINGTON VS GONZAGA (Battle 4 Atlantis) (***Spotlight Game***). The rivalry is back!! It’s a damn shame that it’s only sort of back, and that it’s being played in another country at 9am Pacific Coast time instead of on campus. This was a great series that Washington ended about eight years ago. Their reasoning was that they wanted to play a more national schedule, and the implication was that they gained little from playing Gonzaga. Even though Gonzaga won eight out of nine (or something like that), Washington was far more relevant in that stretch then they have been since the series stopped. That’s not to imply that playing Gonzaga was the only reason they were good, but it is to point out that they don’t “gain nothing and lose everything” by playing it. If the Maryland v Georgetown game taught us anything, it should be that OOC games between regional opponents are good things. So, that’s the off paper story. On paper, both teams come into this unbeaten, and Washington already has a notable win away from home against Texas. Gonzaga hasn’t really been tested yet other than the first half of the Pitt Game, which was ultimately cancelled.
-TEXAS VS TEXAS A&M (Battle 4 Atlantis). (***Spotlight Game***) These two rivals have not played since TAMU left the Big Twelve for the SEC. Both are good programs. Both play in front of half empty houses quite frequently prior to conference play starting. Hmmmm….Let’s think about this. Who could these two teams play that would generate interest amongst the fans?? It has been mentioned earlier, but I mention it again because it can’t be mentioned enough. These are the kinds of games we need in November and December. And, it’s great that they’re playing, but we need them ON CAMPUS!! Not as a one time event that’s part of an exempt tournament in another country. If this were a regular game, the arena would NOT be half empty. Anyway, TAMU appears to be good, but hasn’t had a strong test yet. Texas is still adjusting to Shocka Smart’s system and has not yet picked up a big win, so it’s an important early season game both on and off paper.
-VANDERBILT VS KANSAS (Maui Invitational). Both teams have looked good this season, and this is a chance to pick up a very impressive win away from home for whoever pulls this off. Kansas is still without Cheick Diallo and is uncertain when he’ll be available. The reason they are uncertain is because the NCAA sucks when it comes to doing things the effect other people, namely student athletes, in a timely manner.
-SYRACUSE VS CHARLOTTE (Battle 4 Atlantis). Syracuse is unbeaten, but untested. This tournament can serve as an OOC resume builder if they’re able to take care of business and pick up some wins.
-WESTERN KENTUCKY VS DUQUESNE (Gulf Coast Showcase). I’m not entirely sold on Duquesne yet, but they do have just one loss on the year and they can slowly start to build a profile if they can continue to pick up wins in games like this.
-SAMFORD VS IDAHO (Mean Green Showcase). Both teams have been horrible in recent years, but both appear to be much improved early on this year. Both come in 4-1 and Samford just knocked off North Texas, who is hosting this event.
-SOUTH DAKOTA STATE VS CLEVELAND STATE (Cancun Challenge). South Dakota State hasn’t faced a big test yet, but a win today does get them to 6-0.
-HIGH POINT AT GEORGIA. This is a buy game, but it gets highlighted because Georgia, while good, is off to a very slow start and needs to rebound, and High Point is off to a better than expected 3-1 start.
-INDIANA VS UNLV (Maui Invitational). Both teams have been somewhat disappointing in this event, and this game has a rather pivotal feel to it as both try and end things on a high note, especially for UNLV who doesn’t have as many opportunities at notable wins as Indiana will have.
-ILLINOIS STATE VS TCU (Cancun Challenge). Illinois State’s record is an unimpressive 2-3, but they played really well against Maryland the other night and between that and their other games have shown that they have the potential to have a big year. If they beat TCU tonight and even their record at 3-3, they’ll be in fairly good shape.
-YALE AT DUKE. Yale is one of the better teams in the Ivy League, and Duke is one of the better teams in the nation. It’s a mismatch, but it’s still a game of interest due to Yale being a potential tournament team.
-LA SALLE AT PENN (Big Five). I don’t know if either team will play their way into relevance, but La Salle is currently unbeaten and Penn has just one loss. And, it’s a Big Five game, so it gets highlighted.
-WAKE FOREST VS UCLA (Maui Invitational). It’s a resume game between two teams that need to do some resume building.
-MONTANA AT NORTH DAKOTA STATE. I’m a little shocked this wasn’t Chad’s UTR game of the day. I think that both teams have an outside shot at best of landing on or in the bubble, but it’s still a good early season match up.
-MARYLAND VS RHODE ISLAND (Cancun Challenge). It’s at times like this that I hate Rhode Island is injury ridden for the season. It’s still a great test and opportunity for them, but it will be much harder for them to take advantage of it. Maryland, while unbeaten, hasn’t exactly been running over their opponents the way you would expect a top seeded team to, so don’t be surprised if they have to sweat this one out.
-AIR FORCE AT COLORADO (Front Range). Both teams come in with just one loss.
-CONNECTICUT VS MICHIGAN (Battle 4 Atlantis). Michigan struggled big time against Xavier in their last game. If they want to show that they are for real then they need to pick up some wins in this tournament. UConn, who plays in a decent but not great conference, could use this tournament as a huge resume builder as well.
-CREIGHTON VS UMASS (Men Who Speak Up Main Event). I’m not expecting big things out of either team this season, but as of now UMass is unbeaten and Creighton has just one loss.
BUY GAMES
-Vermont @ Florida
-Arkansas @ Oregon
-American @ VCU
-Cornell @ Pittsburgh
-Lehigh @ Virginia
-Hampton @ William & Mary
-Dubuque (nondiv1) @ Northern Iowa
-Prarie View A&M @ Wisconsin
-Mississippi Valley State @ BYU
-Nicholls State @ New Mexico
News, Notes, and Highlighted Games: Wednesday, November 25th
NEWS AND NOTES
-For our latest Under the Radar Video Podcast – CLICK HERE
-For Chad Sherwood’s UTR Game of the Day – CLICK HERE
-For Jon Teitel’s interview with Ed Ratleff – CLICK HERE
-Kansas has a big game today against Vanderbilt that you’ll read about below. Cheick Diallo has still not been cleared to play by the NCAA. The only good news is that he hasn’t been denied eligibility yet either, but the NCAA has been reviewing this case for months and has still not made a decision. Whether he is or is not going to be cleared, the amount of time this is taking is completely outrageous. He was given a waiver that permitted him to travel to Maui with the team, which is a good sign because the NCAA likely would not have granted it had they thought the prognosis was negative regarding his eligibility. But, here it is the last day of the tournament, and they STILL haven’t ruled. WHAT THE HELL IS TAKING SO LONG??!!? Initial eligibility, on the surface, is rather simple. A player needs 16 core classes from high school in specific subjects such as English, Natural Science, Math, and Social Science, they need a GPA that’s calculated from only those core classes and not from other “fluff” courses that they may have taken, and they need to meet a minimum score on the ACT or SAT. They also need to show that they have never played as a professional in any way, shape, or form before. Where students get into trouble is if there is a question over what is or isn’t a core class, or over what does or does not constitute playing as a professional and it can take some time to sort out. But, the key word there is “SOME” time. IT HAS BEEN MONTHS!!!! MONTHS!!!!!!!!! This is grossly unfair to Diallo, the Kansas team, and the Kansas fans in that order. Whatever it is that’s causing the uncertainty of his eligibility should not take months to figure out.
-We have two other great games today, that you’ll also read about below. Now, with the excitement and electricity that we saw out of the Maryland v Georgetown game last week, which is a series that had been dormant for over two decades, can we all agree that out of conference games between brand name regional opponents is a good thing?? So, it’s good that we get to see Gonzaga v Washington and Texas v Texas A&M again today. What’s unfortunate is that these are not regular events that are played in front of packed houses of insanely excited fans. Both are actually one time events that are part of an exempt tournament that’s being played in another country. We love these events, but for games like this, they need to be played in front of thousands of screaming fans, not hundreds of rich drunk tourists in a resort’s ball room in another country.
-UT Arlington picked up another huge win last night against Memphis. It was Arlington’s second surprising road win. Ohio State, who they beat earlier in the week, picked up their second surprising home loss when they fell to still unbeaten Louisiana Tech.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES
**EDIT** When I initially posted the rundown of today’s games, I did not realize that Gonzaga and Washington HAVE, in fact, agreed to resume the series!! There is now a four year home-and-home in place.
-WASHINGTON VS GONZAGA (Battle 4 Atlantis) (***Spotlight Game***). The rivalry is back!! It’s a damn shame that it’s only sort of back, and that it’s being played in another country at 9am Pacific Coast time instead of on campus. This was a great series that Washington ended about eight years ago. Their reasoning was that they wanted to play a more national schedule, and the implication was that they gained little from playing Gonzaga. Even though Gonzaga won eight out of nine (or something like that), Washington was far more relevant in that stretch then they have been since the series stopped. That’s not to imply that playing Gonzaga was the only reason they were good, but it is to point out that they don’t “gain nothing and lose everything” by playing it. If the Maryland v Georgetown game taught us anything, it should be that OOC games between regional opponents are good things. So, that’s the off paper story. On paper, both teams come into this unbeaten, and Washington already has a notable win away from home against Texas. Gonzaga hasn’t really been tested yet other than the first half of the Pitt Game, which was ultimately cancelled.
-TEXAS VS TEXAS A&M (Battle 4 Atlantis). (***Spotlight Game***) These two rivals have not played since TAMU left the Big Twelve for the SEC. Both are good programs. Both play in front of half empty houses quite frequently prior to conference play starting. Hmmmm….Let’s think about this. Who could these two teams play that would generate interest amongst the fans?? It has been mentioned earlier, but I mention it again because it can’t be mentioned enough. These are the kinds of games we need in November and December. And, it’s great that they’re playing, but we need them ON CAMPUS!! Not as a one time event that’s part of an exempt tournament in another country. If this were a regular game, the arena would NOT be half empty. Anyway, TAMU appears to be good, but hasn’t had a strong test yet. Texas is still adjusting to Shocka Smart’s system and has not yet picked up a big win, so it’s an important early season game both on and off paper.
-VANDERBILT VS KANSAS (Maui Invitational). Both teams have looked good this season, and this is a chance to pick up a very impressive win away from home for whoever pulls this off. Kansas is still without Cheick Diallo and is uncertain when he’ll be available. The reason they are uncertain is because the NCAA sucks when it comes to doing things the effect other people, namely student athletes, in a timely manner.
-SYRACUSE VS CHARLOTTE (Battle 4 Atlantis). Syracuse is unbeaten, but untested. This tournament can serve as an OOC resume builder if they’re able to take care of business and pick up some wins.
-WESTERN KENTUCKY VS DUQUESNE (Gulf Coast Showcase). I’m not entirely sold on Duquesne yet, but they do have just one loss on the year and they can slowly start to build a profile if they can continue to pick up wins in games like this.
-SAMFORD VS IDAHO (Mean Green Showcase). Both teams have been horrible in recent years, but both appear to be much improved early on this year. Both come in 4-1 and Samford just knocked off North Texas, who is hosting this event.
-SOUTH DAKOTA STATE VS CLEVELAND STATE (Cancun Challenge). South Dakota State hasn’t faced a big test yet, but a win today does get them to 6-0.
-HIGH POINT AT GEORGIA. This is a buy game, but it gets highlighted because Georgia, while good, is off to a very slow start and needs to rebound, and High Point is off to a better than expected 3-1 start.
-INDIANA VS UNLV (Maui Invitational). Both teams have been somewhat disappointing in this event, and this game has a rather pivotal feel to it as both try and end things on a high note, especially for UNLV who doesn’t have as many opportunities at notable wins as Indiana will have.
-ILLINOIS STATE VS TCU (Cancun Challenge). Illinois State’s record is an unimpressive 2-3, but they played really well against Maryland the other night and between that and their other games have shown that they have the potential to have a big year. If they beat TCU tonight and even their record at 3-3, they’ll be in fairly good shape.
-YALE AT DUKE. Yale is one of the better teams in the Ivy League, and Duke is one of the better teams in the nation. It’s a mismatch, but it’s still a game of interest due to Yale being a potential tournament team.
-LA SALLE AT PENN (Big Five). I don’t know if either team will play their way into relevance, but La Salle is currently unbeaten and Penn has just one loss. And, it’s a Big Five game, so it gets highlighted.
-WAKE FOREST VS UCLA (Maui Invitational). It’s a resume game between two teams that need to do some resume building.
-MONTANA AT NORTH DAKOTA STATE. I’m a little shocked this wasn’t Chad’s UTR game of the day. I think that both teams have an outside shot at best of landing on or in the bubble, but it’s still a good early season match up.
-MARYLAND VS RHODE ISLAND (Cancun Challenge). It’s at times like this that I hate Rhode Island is injury ridden for the season. It’s still a great test and opportunity for them, but it will be much harder for them to take advantage of it. Maryland, while unbeaten, hasn’t exactly been running over their opponents the way you would expect a top seeded team to, so don’t be surprised if they have to sweat this one out.
-AIR FORCE AT COLORADO (Front Range). Both teams come in with just one loss.
-CONNECTICUT VS MICHIGAN (Battle 4 Atlantis). Michigan struggled big time against Xavier in their last game. If they want to show that they are for real then they need to pick up some wins in this tournament. UConn, who plays in a decent but not great conference, could use this tournament as a huge resume builder as well.
-CREIGHTON VS UMASS (Men Who Speak Up Main Event). I’m not expecting big things out of either team this season, but as of now UMass is unbeaten and Creighton has just one loss.
BUY GAMES
-Vermont @ Florida
-Arkansas @ Oregon
-American @ VCU
-Cornell @ Pittsburgh
-Lehigh @ Virginia
-Hampton @ William & Mary
-Dubuque (nondiv1) @ Northern Iowa
-Prarie View A&M @ Wisconsin
-Mississippi Valley State @ BYU
-Nicholls State @ New Mexico