Under the Radar Game of the Day – Monday, December 14: Dartmouth at Cal State Bakersfield

Under the Radar Game of the Day: Dartmouth at Cal State Bakersfield, 10:00 PM Eastern, wacsports.com

For Jon Teitel’s HoopsHD in the House, featuring UNC-Wilmington at Georgetown, CLICK HERE.

If you plan on watching tonight’s UTR Game of the Day, I would recommend a pair of blue-tinted sunglasses.  That way, the court on Bakersfield may actually be something that can be looked at for a couple of hours (see the picture to the left from last year’s Grand Canyon game if you don’t believe me!).  Despite what one may or may not think of the Roadrunners’ court, their home game tonight against the Ivy League’s Dartmouth Big Green is our choice for the Game of the Day.

Bakersfield enters tonight’s game with a record of 5-3, including wins over Idaho, Northern Arizona and South Dakota.  Their losses were at Idaho (whom they have played twice), at St. Mary’s (a tough place to win) and at Wyoming by only 4 points (an even tougher place to win!).  In other words, despite being only a couple of games over .500, this Bakersfield team has been solidly competitive so far this season.  With the best team in the WAC ineligible for its automatic bid (unless the #LopesWaiver campaign is successful), and with New Mexico State not looking quite as strong as they have looked the last few years, the conference is certainly open for a team like the Roadrunners to sneak in and steal the bid this year.

Tonight, Bakersfield hosts the Dartmouth Big Green.  Dartmouth had not been to the NCAA Tournament since 1959 (the longest drought in the nation of any team that has made at least one appearance), and unfortunately does not appear to be headed there this year either.  Perhaps if the Ivy League adds a postseason tournament next year, the Big Green will have a shot at winning a few games and stealing a bid.  But for this season, Dartmouth sits at 3-4 with a loss already to Marist and their best win having come at Maine.  The Big Green are led by Evan Boudreaux, who posted an impressive 18 points and 13 rebounds in the Maine victory.  He will need to have just as big of a game tonight in order for Dartmouth to pull off the road upset.