NEWS AND NOTES
For Chad Sherwood’s UTR Game of the Day between Oakland, and Towson, which is a REALLY good game – CLICK HERE
-Texas A&M, Xavier, Wichita State, Syracuse, and Notre Dame all won buy games, but they were all struggles. Syracuse didn’t put Buffalo away until the final minutes, Xavier blew a big lead against Marshall and held on to win by only 4, Wichita trailed in the second half against Arkansas State before finally pulling away, and Texas A&M didn’t put Northern Kentucky away until the final minute of the game.
-Missouri defeated SFA by a single point, but that game was far less surprising because of how strong SFA is. It’s actually a decent win for Mizzou, and it wouldn’t surprise me at all if SFA was able to win out. They really needed a win like the win at Mizzou if they wanted to impress the committee because their remaining schedule is atrociously weak, but still. Don’t be surprised if they win out and enter the NCAA Tournament with 30 wins.
-Auburn picked up another nice win that is much nicer than it appears. They went into Murray State and beat a good team on the road. Murray could end up finishing in the RPI top 75, which means the committee will give Auburn a ton of credit for that win.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES
-SAINT JOSEPH’S VS SAINT JOHN’S (Hall of Fame Holiday Showcase, Uncasville CT). Saint John’s has been really impressive this year and they can add another respectable win away from home to their resume today.
-HOUSTON VS PROVIDENCE (Hall of Fame Holiday Showcase, Uncasville CT). Both these teams have potential, and both have shown signs of having a pulse. Having said that, you get the sense that this is a big game for both teams because both need to improve.
-EVANSVILLE AT DUKE. Evansville comes into this game at 10-2 and is likely way overmatched. But if they could somehow pull off this upset (which I know isn’t likely) then it’s the kind of win that could catapult them onto the national scene and solidly into the NCAA Tournament talk.
-WAGNER AT SETON HALL. This is a buy game, and could very well end up looking like a buy game, but it’s an interesting regional match up between a Wagner team that so far has looked the best out of all the NEC teams, and comes into this game with a 7-2 record.
-NORTHEASTERN AT SAINT BONAVENTURE. I like the way the Bonnies have been playing, and they’ve got another tough UTR team at home today. They don’t want to overlook Northeastern, who comes in at 7-4 with five straight wins, including Bucknell and Vermont in that stretch.
-FURMAN AT TENNESSEE. Tennessee is coming off a hard fought game against North Carolina that they lost, but still ended up earning a lot of respect for. They need to focus on today’s game against a Furman team that comes in at 9-3 and who could possibly put themselves in the discussion if they’re able to pick up a high caliber win like this.
-ALBANY AT LOUISVILLE. This is a buy game that Louisville should be able to blow open, but we’ll go ahead and highlight it because of Albany’s strong 11-2 start and because they should be at or near the top of the America East.
-KANSAS STATE AT WASHINGTON STATE. Both teams have shown signs of life, both have respectable records, and Wazzu even has some notable wins. Having said that, both teams really need more quality wins so this is big for both of them.
BUY GAMES
-Coppin State @ West Virginia
-James Madison @ Florida
-North Texas @ Georgetown
-UMES @ Iowa State
-Southern @ Baylor
-UTSA @ Nebraska
-Little Rock @ Mississippi State
-Siena @ Memphis
-Wofford @ North Carolina — Keep an eye on Wofford’s Fletcher Magee!
-SC Upstate @ Creighton
-Northwestern State @ Utah
-Central Arkansas @ Oregon
-Mississippi Valley State @ UNLV