NEWS AND NOTES
-For Chad Sherwood’s UTR Game of the Day between Louisiana Tech and Evansville – CLICK HERE
-Penn State ended up falling to Texas A&M, but lets put this game into the proper context. TAMU looks like a protected seed caliber team, and Penn State was right in there with them for pretty much the entire game. The loss won’t damage their profile at all, and if anything it shows that Penn State can play at a tournament caliber level and may be in for a really big year.
-I must say that I’m impressed with UCLA, at least when it comes to how they’ve managed to pick up some notable wins despite the distractions. They knocked off Wisconsin yesterday in a game that the Badgers really could have used.
-UT Arlington went into Alabama with a perfect record and a chance to pick up a huge road win that would have certainly impressed the committee. They led for most of the game, but it slipped away late. They had a shot that would have won the game at the buzzer, but couldn’t quite get it done. We liked this UTA team coming into the year, but I don’t think we liked them this much. They won at BYU earlier in the week, and had they won last night then everyone would have had to start thinking of them as a solid tournament caliber team. They get another shot against Creighton in a few weeks. Speaking of Creighton…
-Creighton fell to 4-1 on the season yesterday with their loss to Baylor, but the most impressed with them that I’ve been this year was in the game that they lost. Northwestern and UCLA aren’t quite as good as their rankings. Ironically I think Baylor is better than their ranking and Creighton was right in there with them. They are definitely a team to watch this year. Well, at least until February.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES
WICHITA STATE VS NOTRE DAME (***Spotlight Game***) (Maui Invitational). A pair of top 15 teams squaring off on a neutral floor in November!! When this tournament began I think this is the match-up that most of us wanted to see in the final. Wichita State was dinged by the committee last year for a lack of big wins (largely due to a lack of opportunities). This would likely be a protected seed caliber win for whoever comes out on top.
-TENNESSEE VS PURDUE (Battle 4 Atlantis). Both teams come in unbeaten and while we really weren’t expecting much out of Tennessee this year they can make a huge early splash by doing well in this tournament.
-IOWA VS UAB (Cayman Islands Classic). Both teams have been very disappointing in this tournament and the two face off today trying to at least get one win out of the trip.
-WESTERN KENTUCKY VS VILLANOVA (Battle 4 Atlantis). Western Kentucky looked to have the makings of a top 40 team this year with their recruiting class and this tournament was a potential coming out party for them, but things didn’t quite pan out well in the offseason and they are likely to struggle big time. Nova has chomped down a few cupcakes so far and this tournament will be their first real test, but they are certainly up for it.
-SOUTH DAKOTA STATE VS BUFFALO (Cayman Islands Classic). Two pretty solid UTR teams that probably won’t end up near the bubble, but could still end up at or near the top of their conferences.
-CHARLESTON VS CAL POLY (Great Alaska Shootout). Charleston needs to basically win this tournament if they want to find themselves inside the bubble come March. It isn’t so much that they’re getting the chances at high quality wins as it is that they need to avoid losses on neutral sites to non-tournament teams.
-VCU VS MICHIGAN (Maui Invitational). Neither team has gotten a notable win out of this tournament yet, and today is their last chance to do it.
-LA SALLE VS MIAMI FL. Miami hasn’t really been tested yet and should have little trouble today improving to 4-0.
-FRESNO STATE VS GEORGE MASON (Cancun Challenge). Both teams have potential, but neither teams have the wins on their profiles yet and they’ll have limited chances to get them the rest of the way. George Mason is coming off a somewhat surprising loss to Louisiana Tech and needs to rebound. Prior to that they’d looked as good as anyone in the A10 so far.
-ARIZONA VS NC STATE (Battle 4 Atlantis). Both teams come in unbeaten, and for the most part untested. We’ll learn something about both of them tonight.
-TOLEDO AT SYRACUSE. We weren’t all that big on Toledo coming into the year, but they’re unbeaten with wins over Saint Joseph’s and Oakland. If they somehow win this game then they’ll really have our attention.
-BELMONT AT PROVIDENCE. We’ve been very impressed with Belmont so far. They’ve managed wins at Middle Tennessee and at home against Vandy. Their only loss was a close game in their opener against Washington. We like this Providence team as well, and if Belmont can some how pull this off then you’d have to start thinking of them as a potential at-large caliber team. This is certainly the kind of win that the selection committee would notice.
-ALBANY AT DARTMOUTH. Albany can improve to 5-0 on the year and pick up their second straight road win.
-BALL STATE AT BUCKNELL. After starting off 0-4 against a rough schedule I’m fully expecting Bucknell to turn things around and end up having a big year.
-WYOMING VS CINCINNATI (Cayman Islands Classic). I’m really looking forward to this one. I think both teams are good and that this is the biggest test for both of them so far. Cincinnati will have other numerous chances at statement wins so there is more to be gained here by Wyoming, who has far fewer, than Cincinnati. If the Cowboys can get this then you have to start thinking them as being among the best of the Mountain West teams and a potential solid top 40 team.
-TOWSON VS GEORGIA SOUTHERN (Gulf Coast Showcase). Towson has just one loss and appears to be one of the better teams in the Colonial. Georgia Southern is unbeaten and has some nice wins on their resume. Both teams come in with a lot of momentum and the winner will come out of this with even more.
-STEPHEN F AUSTIN AT MISSISSIPPI STATE. This is a buy game, but since both teams come in without a loss we will go ahead and highlight it.
-MIAMI OH AT TULANE. We didn’t expect much out of either team this year, but both are off to good starts as Miami comes in with just one loss and Tulane comes in unbeaten.
-MARQUETTE VS LSU (Maui Invitational). Both teams already have a decent win in this tournament and have a chance to pick up another this evening.
-EVANSVILLE VS LOUISIANA TECH (Cancun Challenge). Both teams come in undefeated, and LA Tech picked up a nice win yesterday against what appears to be a rather solid George Mason team.
-COLORADO STATE AT NEW MEXICO STATE. New Mexico State has just one loss (at Saint Mary’s) and looks to have the opportunities and ability to put together a solid OOC profile.
-SMU VS NORTHERN IOWA (Battle 4 Atlantis). SMU is unbeaten and untested so far. This tournament is a chance for them to add some quality wins to their resume. They don’t want to overlook a UNI team that comes in 3-1.
-OLE MISS VS RICE (MGM Resorts Main Event). Ole Miss can improve to 4-1 on the year with a win
-UTAH VS UNLV (MGM Resorts Main Event). Both teams come in unbeaten and Utah in particular has looked really good so far. They have a chance to add yet another solid early season win to their resume.
BUY GAMES
-Kennesaw State @ Florida State
-Colgate @ Boston College
-Wofford @ Texas Tech
-Augustana (nondiv1) @ Illinois
-Arkansas State @ Indiana
-Maine Fort Kent (nondiv1) @ Vermont
-Fort Wayne @ Kentucky
-Detroit @ Saint Louis
-Lehigh vs USC