Below is a rundown of the notable upcoming college basketball games, as well as a quick look back at yesterday…
NEWS AND NOTES
-We are going into Holiday Mode here at Hoops HD, as is most of the rest of the college basketball world. Today is a somewhat busy day, but it lightens up significantly after that. Below is a rundown of all the games through Sunday.
-We will be recording our Under the Radar Podcast sometime soon, perhaps today. Be on the lookout for it.
-Northern Iowa is a young team that can get way up for big games. The problem is they can’t get their feet back on the ground once their heads are in the clouds. They went on the road to face Hawaii in the Diamond Head Classic. Hawaii is a good team that hadn’t lost at home, and it was a big game because winning it puts a true road win on their profile, and enables them to advance to play stronger competition. But, a young team doesn’t quite grasp that the way they grasp getting up for an in-state rival that’s ranked #2. So, they went to Hawaii and were trounced by Hawaii.
As for Hawaii, the win is likely of very little consolation. The NCAA handed down three years of probation yesterday, along with a postseason ban that begins next year.
-Iowa State rebounded from their loss to Northern Iowa and picked up what has been their most impressive win of the year at Cincinnati in a game that came down to the buzzer. This is the second time Cincinnati has lost at home to a highly ranked team at the buzzer. Their paper would have obviously been much better had they won one or both of those games, but it also may end up meaning that they are a far more dangerous team than what their paper indicates. Well, at least when they’re at home.
-Xavier remains unbeaten, and they sure did make it exciting. They didn’t show up for the first half against Wake Forest and were down by as many as 18, but came roaring back on the road in the second half to get the win.
-Oakland was quite impressive against Michigan State, and almost pulled off what would have been a season defining victory in overtime. The Horizon League is shaping up to be an exciting race between Oakland, Valparaiso, and Milwaukee. We all really like Valpo and think they can land inside the bubble. It’s a damn shame that the conference changed its format and the tournament is now at a predetermined site. That makes what should be an exciting conference race a lot less exciting since there really aren’t any stakes.
-Little Rock suffered their first loss of the season to Texas Tech. Texas Tech has just one loss, and although most of their schedule has been weak, they really did look good yesterday. I don’t want to admit that Chad may have been right about Texas Tech, so I’ll just say that their early success is a surprise that none of us saw coming.
-George Washington went into DePaul and got absolutely run over. It was perhaps the most surprising result of the day given how good GW has looked and how bad DePaul is.
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 23RD
-NEW MEXICO VS BYU (Diamond Head Classic). This game now looks like it has much bigger NIT implications than NCAA Tournament implications. Neither have that many remaining chances at notable wins, so they’ll have to really thunder to the finish if they want the committee to notice them. BYU could have really done without the loss to Harvard yesterday.
-AKRON VS IONA (Las Vegas, NV). CLICK HERE for Chad Sherwood’s Write UP as the UTR Game of the Day
-AUBURN VS HARVARD (Diamond Head Classic). Auburn has so much work to do that they may not be able to do it all, but winning this tournament would certainly help.
-MONMOUTH AT CORNELL. Monmouth is looking for what would be a very impressive sixth true road win on the season. Cornell isn’t a great team, but they have yet to lose at home. Six true road wins in OOC play really is amazing. The committee needs to take notice and reward them for it.
-ILLINOIS VS MISSOURI (Saint Louis, MO). This game is almost always fun. Unfortunately, this year’s edition is only being highlighted so we can say that there is no reason to highlight it.
-NEW MEXICO STATE AT BAYLOR. New Mexico State is the second best team in the WAC, and unless the Lopes get their waiver, they’ll probably be back in the NCAA Tournament with a poor seed. Baylor has looked impressive at home this year and shouldn’t have too much trouble tonight.
-LMU AT GONZAGA (West Coast). Gonzaga blew through their conference opener and should blow through this game tonight.
-GREEN BAY AT WISCONSIN. Wiscy has a lot of work to do if they want to get their season turned around. If Gard wants to impress the administration at Wiscy and become the permanent head coach he’ll certainly have that opportunity.
-OKLAHOMA AT HAWAII (Diamond Head Classic). The good news for Hawaii is that they looked really solid in their win against a good UNI team last night. The bad news is that they’re on probation for the next three years. It is an interesting story line with Hawaii being unbeaten at home and Oklahoma being so highly ranked. Hawaii’s postseason ban kicks in next year, so if they want to make the NCAA Tournament without the automatic bid they need high quality wins like this.
-COLORADO VS SMU (Las Vegas, NV). I like this Colorado team, but it’s hard to argue for them when they almost lose to Penn State. Having said that, if they can knock off an unbeaten SMU team it would be a huge statement win and really put them solidly in the NCAA Tournament picture.
-SAINT MARY’S AT SANTA CLARA (West Coast). SMC is still seeking their first true road win of the season. A win today would also get them to 2-0 in conference play.
-WASHINGTON STATE VS NORTHERN IOWA (Diamond Head Classic). UNI was blitzed by Hawaii in their game last night, but faces a much improved (but still not great) Wazzu team tonight. They have to rebound and avoid a loss that could potentially look ugly come March.
-Central Connecticut @ Connecticut – (buy game)
-Morehead State @ Davidson – (buy game)
-Colgate @ Georgia Tech – (buy game)
-Western Carolina @ Pittsburgh – (buy game)
-Bryant @ Michigan – (buy game)
-Utah Valley @ Louisville – (buy game)
-Lafayette @ USC – (buy game)
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 24TH
-No games scheduled today. It’s a sad day when there is no college basketball, but it gives us all time to remember what’s really important. And, what’s really important is….THE #LopesWaiver Movement!!! SPEND YOUR CHRISTMAS EVE DOING SOMETHING THAT’S TRULY MEANINGFUL!! Tweet at the NCAA! Email the NCAA! Call the NCAA! If they don’t answer, then leave a message! TELL THE NCAA TO GIVE THE LOPES A WAIVER, AND LET THE LOPES PLAY!!! #LopesWaiver
FRIDAY DECEMBER 25TH
-Today is all about the Diamond Head Classic. The match-ups won’t be decided until very late on Wednesday night. If Auburn ends up facing off against Oklahoma in the championship game, it would likely be a mismatch, but it’s also a huge opportunity for Auburn to drastically turn their season around.
As mentioned earlier, Hawaii’s postseason ban begins next season, so picking up some hardware in this tournament would go a long way toward boosting their NCAA Tournament credentials. They’ve got a very intriguing game in the semifinals against Oklahoma.
The other story to watch is to see how Northern Iowa reacts in the loser’s bracket. They don’t get many shots at quality wins, but it’s important that they avoid bad losses so they don’t undo the two huge wins they have this year.
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 26TH
-LOUISVILLE AT KENTUCKY. It’s the first Saturday after Christmas, and that means Louisville vs Kentucky. This is an important game because it’s between two likely protected seeds who are looking at adding a big quality win onto their profile, but on paper that’s really all it is. It’s not a conference game so the stakes aren’t super high. Off paper, the stakes couldn’t be higher. This is a bitter rivalry that feels like a high stakes conference game even though it really isn’t. Louisville has no wins of note yet, so winning this game would completely change the complexion of their profile and season. They have also been dominated by Kentucky in this series in recent years, so it would help them get some pride back as well. Kentucky is looking to rebound from a somewhat surprising loss to Ohio State this past weekend. If they pull off the win in this one, the fans will forgive them. If they don’t, they’ll start to get extremely restless.
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 27th
-MIDDLE TENNESSEE AT SOUTH DAKOTA STATE. I’m guessing this will be Chad’s UTR GOTD, so I won’t say too much about it. But, it’s very possible that one or both of these teams could end up on the bubble, or even inside the bubble, especially if they blow through their conferences which both are good enough to do. This game is huge because it’s one of the last chances either one of them has at a quality win.
-Presbyterian @ Marquette – (buy game)
-Texas Southern @ Syracuse – (buy game)
-Marshall @ Maryland – (buy game)
-South Carolina State @ Ohio State – (buy game)
-Loyola MD @ Northwestern – (buy game)
-Caroll College (nondiv1) @ Stanford – (buy game)
I hope everyone has a safe and happy Christmas, or whatever holiday they like to celebrate. I also hope that everyone uses this time valuably and remembers to contact the NCAA on behalf of the Team of the People, the Grand Canyon Antelopes. I just wanted to reiterate that one more time. #LopesWaiver
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