NEWS AND NOTES
We had some really exciting games yesterday.
-For Chad Sherwood’s Under the Radar Game of the Day – CLICK HERE
-For the latest edition of John Stalica’s outstanding Throwback Thursday series – CLICK HERE
-First, Monmouth picked up their second big win of the year, and their first win against a top 25 team in school history, when they overcame a double digit deficit in the second half to come back and beat Notre Dame. If they can pick up another win down in Orlando, we have to start looking at them as an at-large caliber team. It will mean they have three wins against likely tournament teams, and all of them came away from home. There are teams that make the NCAAs as an at-large who do it with less big wins on their resume than that.
-Arizona had all kinds of trouble against a winless Santa Clara team, who missed two freethrows at the end of regulation that would have won the game for the Broncos. But, Zona survived and will play an unbeaten Providence team today.
-Gonzaga fell to Texas A&M in the Bahamas, which was somewhat surprising. The game came down to the final seconds, and TAMU held on. With wins against Texas and Gonzaga, both away from home, the Aggies already have more big wins this year than they did in all of last year.
-We’ve seen several rivalry games renewed in these early season tournaments, particularly in the Battle 4 Atlantis, which gave us Washington vs Gonzaga, Texas vs Texas A&M, and Syracuse vs UConn, which was a very exciting game yesterday. While it wasn’t a tournament, the Dave Gavitt Tip-Off gave us Maryland vs Georgetown again, which has been one of the more exciting games and atmospheres of the season. We may see another one tomorrow. Xavier vs Dayton wasn’t exactly on the same level of importance and intensity as some of the other games, but it was still a long standing conference rivalry that has gone dormant. If both can win (or lose, I guess) their semifinal games in the Advocare Invitational, they’ll meet on Sunday. And, I think it goes without saying…ALL OF THESE GAMES NEED TO BE REGULAR GAMES THAT ARE PLAYED ON CAMPUS DURING THE REGULAR SEASON!!! It generates interest and excitement at a time of the season when we need more of it, and it’s a good win for whoever wins, and other than being a bruise to the ego, it really isn’t a bad loss for whoever loses.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES
-DAYTON VS MONMOUTH (Advocare Invitational) (***Spotlight Game***). Monmouth knocked off a top 25 team for the first time in school history with their win against Notre Dame. They now have wins at UCLA, and on a neutral floor against Notre Dame. If they can pick up one or two more in this tournament, we’ll have to start to SERIOUSLY look at them. Dayton is a good team that opened up a big lead against Iowa, then sort of blew it, but still held on to win. This tournament is a good chance for them to pick up notable wins away from home.
-CHATTANOOGA VS ALABAMA STATE (Emerald Coast Classic). Chattanooga can pick up their third win away from home .
ALABAMA VS WICHITA STATE (Advocare Invitational). Wichita fell to USC, and is being riddled by injuries. This game has in interesting story line as Alabama wanted to hire Wichita Coach Greg Marshall this past offseason, but he opted to stay with the Shockers.
-CONNECTICUT VS GONZAGA (Battle 4 Atlantis). UConn fell to their old conference rivals in Syracuse, and Gonzaga fell somewhat surprisingly to Texas A&M. The fact that it is a third place game will not mean the committee values it any less. It’s a neutral floor game between two ranked teams, so it is still a very good resume builder.
-XAVIER VS USC (Advocare Invitational). USC is here somewhat surprisingly after knocking off Wichita State. But, as of now, the Trojans are unbeaten and they have wins against Wichita and New Mexico on their profile, so they’re not pushovers. If they can win this game today, you have to start thinking of them as a top forty team, or better. Xavier blew past Alabama in their first game and is also unbeaten.
-GEORGIA TECH VS VILLANOVA (Preseason NIT). Georgia Tech is a very respectable 4-1 right now with wins over Tennessee and Arkansas, but I’m still not expecting them to have a big year. If they win this game, then they’ll have our attention.
-UC IRVINE VS BOSTON COLLEGE (Wooden Legacy). UC Irvine lost to Boise State, which denied them the chance to pick up a notable win, and have other opportunities to face quality competition. BC currently has just one loss, but I don’t think they’ll turn out to be the kind of team that the committee values.
-UTEP VS SOUTHERN ILLINOIS (Corpus Christi Coastal Classic). Neither team has been tested yet, but neither team has lost.
-NORTHEASTERN AT MIAMI FL. Northeastern was a team I was very big on coming into the year, but even though they have just one loss, they have had to sweat out some sub par competition. A win today could drastically turn that around, but it’s much easier said than done. Miami has not lost, and they’ve looked as strong as anyone in the country up to this point.
-KENTUCKY VS SOUTH FLORIDA (ARS Hoops Invitational). I’m expecting this to be a mismatch, but it is a win away from home for Kentucky’s profile.
-BOISE STATE VS MICHIGAN STATE (Wooden Legacy). Boise knocked off a pretty good UC Irvine team, and I still think they’re good enough to land inside the bubble come Selection Sunday. A win today would be a huge boost to their season’s profile, but it’s much easier said than done against a Michigan State team that’s been playing outstanding basketball in their last couple of games.
-CINCINNATI VS NEBRASKA (Barclay’s Center Classic). This is Cincinnati’s toughest test of the year, but with that being said it still isn’t likely that they’ll sweat a whole lot. Nebraska has just one loss, but it was a blowout loss against Villanova, which is the only good team they’ve played.
-NJIT AT ALBANY – UTR Game of the Day. Read Chad Sherwood’s Write up HERE
-VIRGINIA TECH VS IOWA STATE (Emerald Coast Classic). The Cyclones haven’t really been tested yet, but they’re ranked #4th, and I can’t say that I think they’re overrated. Virginia Tech has just one loss, but they haven’t had a test like this yet.
-WINTHROP AT NC STATE. Winthrop hasn’t played a very tough schedule up to this point, but they haven’t lost yet either. A win today will get people’s attention.
-NOTRE DAME VS IOWA (Advocare Invitational). This is certainly the game that many were expecting to see, but they weren’t expecting to see it on the loser’s side of the bracket. Iowa fell to Dayton in a game where they overcame a double digit deficit late and even took the lead, but couldn’t quite get it done. Notre Dame blew a double digit lead to Monmouth. But, as has been harped on many times, it doesn’t matter that this game is in the loser’s bracket. It is a neutral floor game between Notre Dame and Iowa. The committee won’t value it any less than they would had it been on the winner’s side of the bracket.
-MICHIGAN VS TEXAS (Battle 4 Atlantis). Both of these teams could really use some momentum, and a win on a neutral floor in a game like this will give some to whoever pulls it off.
-MEMPHIS VS OHIO STATE (ARS Hoops Invitational). Speaking of teams that could really use some momentum, this game has a VERY pivotal feel to it because both teams seem to be going in the wrong direction right now.
-RICHMOND VS CALIFORNIA (Las Vegas Invitational). Richmond played well in a losing effort to West Virginia, but eventually they need to start picking up notable wins if they want to impress the selection committee. They have another chance to do that today against a Cal team who is talented, but doesn’t have a whole lot of depth, and it showed late in the game against San Diego State.
-LONG BEACH STATE AT OKLAHOMA STATE. I’m not too big on Oklahoma State, but they do have just one loss so far and they’re taking on a decent LBSU team today.
-GEORGE WASHINGTON VS TENNESSEE (Barclay’s Center Classic). GW is unbeaten and already has a big win on their profile. Tennessee, at this point, just has one loss and it was in the final seconds to Georgia Tech. This is an early season resume building opportunity for both teams.
-EVANSVILLE VS SANTA CLARA (Wooden Legacy). Santa Clara is winless on the year, but they were very close to picking up a massive win against Arizona yesterday. Evansville fell to Providence, and doesn’t have a whole lot of opportunities at impressive wins, so winning their final two games in this tournament is important.
-ILLINOIS VS UAB (Emerald Coast Classic). UAB has just one loss, but it was against the only decent team they’ve played so far. If they want to make a case that they belong inside the bubble they must do well in this tournament. Illinois doesn’t have any big wins either, and has actually had some surprising losses, so this event is a chance for them to turn things around as well.
-TOLEDO VS LOYOLA CHICAGO (Great Alaska Shootout). Both teams have just one loss and this is a chance to pick up a nice early win away from home.
-WEST VIRGINIA VS SAN DIEGO STATE (Las Vegas Invitational). San Diego State had been struggling, but they got a HUGE win against Cal last night. That’s the kind of win that can turn a team’s season around. If they win today, they’re resume will be rather healthy. West Virginia hasn’t lost, and they’ve already knocked off some pretty decent teams up to this point. This will be a likely resume builder for the team that wins.
-PROVIDENCE VS ARIZONA (Wooden Legacy). Both teams are unbeaten, and both are likely tournament teams, so again, it will be an early season resume builder for whoever wins it.
BUY GAMES
-Arkansas State @ Baylor
-Lipscomb @ South Carolina
-FGCU @ Florida
-NC Central @ Louisiana Tech
-Northwestern State @ Auburn
-Portland @ Colorado State
-Idaho State @ Utah
-Delaware State @ Fresno State