Below is a quick look back at all of yesterday’s college hoops action, and a look ahead to the highlighted games today.
-For Chad Sherwood’s UTR Game of the Day – CLICK HERE
NEWS AND NOTES
-Xavier didn’t blow out Cincinnati yesterday, but they didn’t really sweat them out either. In fact, Xavier has played a pretty good schedule and hasn’t had to sweat out any games. I think they’re a legit top ten team. They’ll be playing at Georgetown, at Nova, and at Butler this year. They’ll have the chance at some very impressive road wins against ranked teams that could land them on the #2 or #3 line. Even their upcoming road game at Wake Forest (the Skip Prosser Classic) could tell more about Xavier’s ability to win a true road game than the Michigan game earlier this season.
-Gonzaga began the season ranked really high, but hasn’t lived up to it yet. UCLA is not a bad team, but last year on the road they were bad. They were VERY bad. Any team that’s any good at all, much less top ten good like we thought Gonzaga was, should absolutely trash a team like UCLA at home. Gonzaga didn’t. I’m not saying a top ten team will NEVER stub their toes and lose a game. But, Gonzaga hasn’t really won a big game other than beating UConn. They’ve lost to Texas A&M, almost blew it against UConn, lost at home to UCLA, lost at home to Arizona, and almost lost at home to Montana. That’s not playing like a top ten team. Considering that some of those losses were at home, it’s not even playing like a top 25 team. It’s a nice win for UCLA. In recent years it’s rare that they beat anyone away from home, but at the same time it’s a rather defining loss for Gonzaga. Or, an “undefining” loss for Gonzaga. We can no longer define them as a top team.
-Speaking of not top teams, Wisconsin lost at home to an unranked team. Again. That’s three times in one year. I’m not so sure that’s happened three times in the previous ten years combined. A really nice win for Marquette who looked sluggish in November, but now looks to be much improved.
-Little Rock remains unbeaten. They blew out DePaul on DePaul’s campus in front of a crowd of dozens. I don’t think DePaul will come anywhere close to winning the Big East. And, if DePaul were in the Sun Belt, I don’t think they’d come anywhere close to winning that either.
-Chattanooga picked up a huge win yesterday by knocking off a very good Dayton team at Dayton! Unfortunately they also picked up a huge loss the day before when Casey Jones injured his ankle in practice. They’re saying he is out indefinitely. Chattanooga has the kind of profile that should get them inside the bubble if they slip up in the SoCon Tournament, but in order to maintain that profile they’ll have to blow through the rest of their schedule. Having Casey Jones would certainly help.
-North Carolina lost a true road game to an unranked team. Again! I know it’s not easy to win on the road. But, it’s not easy to be ranked in the top ten. They’re 0-for-2. Until they start winning true road games, especially against unranked teams, I can’t think of them as a top ten team.
-Boise State finally looked like the solid team we were expecting them to be yesterday with their win against Oregon. The Broncos got off to a sluggish start and they’ve got a lot of work to do, but it’s not too late to build a really solid profile if they can keep it up.
-Wichita State has pulled off a full blown 180 and turned their season around. They won handily at home against Utah, and should be safely inside the bubble if they keep it up.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES
-SYRACUSE AT SAINT JOHN’S. This is an old Big East Rivalry that appears to be a mismatch this year. The Johnnies are a respectable 6-3, which isn’t bad considering all the changes their program is going through, but they haven’t taken down a really solid team like Syracuse yet. Having said that, Syracuse is looking for their first true road win.
-RHODE ISLAND AT NEBRASKA. Rhody has had to adjust to losing their best player for the season and they have a long ways to go if they want to be in the discussion come March. This is the kind of road win that would look impressive on their profile if they’re able to pull it off.
-LOYOLA CHICAGO AT NOTRE DAME. This is technically a buy game, but it’s worth highlighting as Loyola’s program does appear to be on the rise. They’re a modest 5-3 on the year, but they are improving. The Irish can improve to 7-2 overall with a win.
-TULSA AT MISSOURI STATE. Tulsa has some good things on their resume, but they also have some losses to offset those good things. Losing today to a weak Missouri State team would fall into the ‘damaging’ category.
-UC SANTA BARABARA AT SOUTH DAKOTA STATE. A win for SD State gets them to 9-1 overall. UCSB is a pretty solid program, but they’re struggling this season.
-YALE AT USC. Yale should be one of the major players in the Ivy League, and at 7-2 USC is still on our radar. They’ll stay there as long as they keep winning.
-SAINT JOSEPH’S AT TEMPLE (Big Five). Saint Joe’s appeared to be weak coming into this season, but they are a very respectable 6-2. Picking up a road win against a rival will continue to build their profile.
-LA SALLE AT VILLANOVA (Big Five). This isn’t a buy game, but there is a very good chance it will end up looking like one. Big Five rivalry or no Big Five rivalry, it’s a mismatch. Nova is a likely protected seed and La Salle probably won’t end up anywhere close to the NIT.
-LSU AT HOUSTON. Houston has just one loss, but their schedule has been atrociously weak. LSU has looked the complete opposite of good all season long despite their talent. They have the capability of turning it around, but even if they do they’ll have a lot of work to do.
-UTEP AT WASHINGTON STATE. Both teams have solid records, but have played schedules that are kind of weak. In a nutshell, it’s two teams who have racked up wins against weaker teams that are now playing each other.
-ALABAMA AT CLEMSON. Both teams come in 5-2, but both also have a ton of work to do if they want to be in the NCAA Tournament picture come March.
-MISSOURI AT ARIZONA. Missouri has five wins, which is more than I thought they’d have at this point. I still think they’re way overmatched today going against an Arizona team that can contend for a protected seed.
-OMAHA AT GRAND CANYON. The Team of the People looks to improve to 8-1!! This is an interesting game as Omaha just completed the transition process, and Grand Canyon is in year 3 of it.
BUY GAMES
-Coppin State @ Fordham
-Judson College (nondiv1) @ Milwaukee
-Saint Peter’s @ Seton Hall
-SELA @ Florida State
-Morehead State @ Pittsburgh
-Louisiana Monroe @ West Virginia
-Arkansas Pine Bluff @ Iowa State
-Chicago State @ Northwestern