It’s a very busy Saturday in college hoops. Below is a rundown of all of today’s action.
For Chad Sherwood’s Under the Radar Game of the Day – CLICK HERE
NEWS AND NOTES
-Kentucky fell at UCLA earlier this week, which means we’ll likely see Michigan State at #1 on Monday, assuming the Spartans can get by Binghamton. It must be good to be a Spartan. Their football team is also eyeing a playoff spot, and their basketball team is poised to go #1 as well.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES
-GRAND CANYON AT LOUISVILLE (***Spotlight Game***). The Team of the People is visiting Louisville for what is their biggest game of the season so far!! Louisville isn’t just good. They’re very good, despite only being ranked in the 20s. They are coming off a loss at Michigan State, but they stayed with one of the toughest teams in the country on their floor, and led for most of the game. If Grand Canyon wins this, which isn’t likely, it would be a program defining moment for them. And, it would jack up the #LopesWaiver movement!!
-SYRACUSE AT GEORGETOWN (***Spotlight Game***). One of the signature rivalries of the classic Big East days is back!! It’s still heated. It’s still great. It’s not quite the same now that it’s an OOC game, but it’s still good to see these teams get together. Georgetown has looked good, but they’ve come up short in most of their games against tough competition. A win in a rivalry game like this could give them a ton of momentum, as well as boos their paper. Syracuse has already won a lot of big games, and this could be another one. In fact, it’s been since forever ago that Syracuse had this impressive of a resume this early in the season. We’re used to seeing them beat up on cupcakes.
-INDIANA STATE AT BUTLER. Indiana State is decent, but Butler is really good. They can improve to 6-1 with a win.
-SETON HALL AT RUTGERS. This is highlighted only to say that I’m glad they kept this rivalry going. Seton Hall can improve to 6-2 with a win, which isn’t too terribly awful.
-TEMPLE AT WISCONSIN. Wisconsin got a big win this past week at Syracuse, which is the kind of win that can turn a team’s season around, but they still have a lot of work to do.
-CREIGHTON AT LOYOLA CHICAGO. I’m still not that big on the Blue Jays, but this would be a good road win for them and get them to a pretty respectable 6-2 on the year.
-WILLIAM & MARY AT VIRGINIA. We like this W&M team a lot, and feel they are good enough to land on the bubble, or even inside the bubble. Having said that, I don’t think they’re good enough to take down a team that’s good enough to earn a #1 seed on their floor. But, they’ve got nothing to lose and it’s a great test for them.
-NEW MEXICO AT PURDUE. Purdue is really strong this year and just picked up an impressive win at Pitt. New Mexico is 5-1 and hasn’t looked bad, but they’re probably in over their heads in this one.
-CALIFORNIA AT WYOMING. Cal’s lack of depth was obvious in their two losses. Depth will be an issue again today playing at such a high altitude against a Wyoming team that’s not great, but that is rather tough to beat at home.
-NORTHEASTERN AT DETROIT. A win for Northeastern will be their third true road win of the season, and get them to 7-1 overall.
-WEBER STATE AT BYU. This is an in-state match up that BYU should be able to win. We haven’t written them off completely yet, but they were just crushed by Utah and clearly have a lot of work to do if they want the committee to consider them.
-ARIZONA AT GONZAGA. These two played in a classic early season game last year that ended up being a huge win for Arizona. It seems as though these two always put on a show when they play. I hope the series comes back soon. Both are probable protected seeds, so it’s a quality win for whoever pulls it off.
-OLE MISS AT UMASS. I’m still not big on UMass, but there is no ignoring that they just have one loss, and a win against a fairly decent Ole Miss team will make us sit up and take notice….at least for now.
-AIR FORCE AT DENVER (Front Range). We love the Front Range!!! Neither team is expected to be anywhere close to the bubble come March, but as of now both come in at a very respectable 5-2.
-CENTRAL CONNECTICUT AT FORDHAM. Yes, we ARE highlighting this game!! Two reasons: 1) A win for Fordham gets them to an unbelievable 6-1, which by Fordham standards is amazing. 2) Central Connecticut is a Centenary Award candidate.
-ORAL ROBERTS AT TULSA. A crosstown rivalry between two teams who have looked pretty good this year. Both come in at 5-2, and Tulsa has wins against Wichita State and at Oklahoma State.
-SOUTH FLORIDA AT SOUTH CAROLINA. A win for South Carolina keeps them perfect on the year. This is also a historical game in that this will be the first time that both coaches are Hispanic-American; click here for a preview of the game with Frank Martin.
-NEVADA AT OREGON STATE. Oregon State has just one loss, and can keep their early season momentum going with a win over a Nevada team that’s been pretty respectable so far this year.
-GEORGIA TECH AT TULANE. A win for GA Tech gets them to a respectable 6-2.
-NORTHERN IOWA AT RICHMOND. Richmond is not an easy place to play, and if Northern Iowa can win there, we need to start looking at them as an NCAA Tournament caliber team, and not just a team that won a single big game at home. They’ve won five straight since losing their opener to Colorado State.
-PROVIDENCE AT RHODE ISLAND. The temperature of this rivalry is much hotter than those outside the area probably realize. It’s a shame that Rhody is without their best player for the year. Providence is off to an incredible start with some big wins already, and is playing like they may end up as a protected seed.
-MOREHEAD STATE AT INDIANA. This is a buy game, but Morehead State has just one loss and Indiana has been so disappointing on defense that you have to at least ask yourself if Morehead is capable of winning this game.
-LITTLE ROCK AT IDAHO. A win for Little Rock keeps them unbeaten and on our radar. How can they not be?? They have wins over San Diego State and Tulsa so far.
-UT ARLINGTON AT UTEP. Arlington has won some pretty impressive games so far, and nearly beat Texas in their last outing. UTEP has a bloated record, but hasn’t been tested that much either. This is an important game between two teams that are off to great starts, but need big wins to build their profile.
-EVANSVILLE AT MURRAY STATE. Evansville has just one loss and will be tested against a Murray State team that’s typically tough at home, and who’s 3-0 at home this season. For Chad Sherwood’s UTR Game of the Day article – CLICK HERE
-WICHITA STATE AT SAINT LOUIS. Wichita State has so much catching up to do that if they don’t start doing it soon, they’ll be so far behind that they’re unable to catch up.
-TEXAS A&M AT ARIZONA STATE. I’ve been quite impressed with TAMU this year, and although they’ll be challenged by Arizona State and the Curtain of Distraction, it’s a challenge that I do think they’re up to.
BUY GAMES
-Binghamton @ Michigan State
-Bucknell @ NC State
-Kennesaw State @ West Virginia
-IPFW @ Utah
-North Florida @ Dayton
-Houston Baptist @ Michigan
-Maine @ Marquette
-SIUE @ Northwestern
-UMKC @ Iowa
-Western Carolina @ Illinois
-South Dakota @ Minnesota
-Harvard @ Kansas
-Missouri State @ Oklahoma State
-Charlotte @ Miami FL – not technically a buy game, but it practically is.
-VMI @ Ohio State. Ohio State ought not lose a THIRD buy game.
-Buffalo @ Duke
-SEMO @ Memphis
-Western Kentucky @ Xavier