NEWS AND NOTES
-For our latest Under the Radar Podcast where we feature the OVC and run through all 22 UTR Conferences – CLICK HERE
-For Chad Sherwood’s UTR Game of the Day – CLICK HERE
-Another top ten team goes down at home to an unranked UTR team!! Wofford managed to pick up a win at North Carolina in what has to be the surprise upset of the season (slightly better than the Loyola Ramblers winning at Florida, for example). Wofford had been having a decent year, but hadn’t looked at all like the kind of team that you would expect to pull off a huge upset like that. A great moment for the Terriers! As for UNC, it’s bruising but it’s not crippling. They’re still on pace to end up as a solid protected seed as long as they don’t trip up like that too many times.
-Tennessee escaped after a close call against a pretty good Furman team, and Louisville blew a double digit lead late in the second half against Albany, but came back to win in the final minute of play after Albany missed what would have been a game winning shot at the buzzer.
-It was also a mixed bag for the Big East last night – St. John’s improved to 10-2 with a win against Saint Joe’s at the Mohegan Sun Arena. The Johnnies trailed for a good portion of the game, but 28 points from Shammorie Ponds helped to bail out the Johnnies in this one. Providence fell to Houston in the 2nd half of the Mohegan Sun doubleheader – it also gives the American one of their better wins in the noncon season to date.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES
-OREGON STATE AT KENT STATE. This is Oregon State’s first true road game. They have a decent profile that needs to get better if they want any hopes of making the NCAAs.
-WESTERN ILLINOIS AT BUTLER. WIU is off to a pretty good 7-3 start, but this is a buy game and they’re probably way overmatched today.
-TENNESSEE TECH AT INDIANA. Indiana looks solid at times and bad at other times. Tennessee Tech isn’t the best team in the world, but they’re probably as good as Indiana State and Fort Wayne, both of whom have managed to beat Indiana badly at home.
-IONA AT RHODE ISLAND. While this is a buy game, it is one of the better ones scheduled for tonight. Rhody has been the most consistent program that the A-10 has had to offer so far this season, and they had better not overlook an Iona team that is more than capable of winning the Metro Atlantic this season.
-BUFFALO AT TEXAS A&M. Buffalo is coming off an impressive showing at Syracuse where they had a lead deep into the game, but couldn’t hold on. They’ve got a much taller order tonight against a really good TAMU. Having said that, TAMU did struggle in their last game against Northern Kentucky, so Buffalo may have a chance to be competitive in this one.
-UCONN AT ARIZONA. UConn is 7-3 but it’s a rather unimpressive 7-3 and they’re probably way overmatched in this one against an Arizona team that’s much improved. Having said that, if the Huskies were to get this one it would complexion of their resume and their season.
-GONZAGA AT SAN DIEGO STATE. This would be a nice road win for Gonzaga who is looking like a protected seeded caliber team, but a much nicer win for San Diego State who’s trying to solidify their case of belonging in the tournament.
-KANSAS AT STANFORD. Kansas has struggled at times this season, but they still have a solid profile and will likely continue to improve as the year goes on. This would be their second true road win of the year if they’re able to pull it off.
BUY GAMES
-South Alabama @ Tulane
-Southern Miss @ Florida State
-Tennessee State @ Purdue
-Long Beach State @ Michigan State
-Cleveland State @ Cincinnati
-Fairleigh Dickinson @ Maryland
-SELA @ Notre Dame
-South Carolina State @ UCF
-American @ Marquette
-Arlington Baptist (nondiv1) @ Stephen F Austin
-Oral Roberts @ Minnesota
-Alabama A&M @ Michigan
-Idaho State @ BYU