NEWS AND NOTES
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-In case you’re living under a rock, the big news from yesterday was Gonzaga’s exciting win over Duke to win the Maui Invitational, and perhaps take over the #1 ranking next week depending on what happens out at the NIT. The Zags led by as much as 16 in the second half, but Duke came charging back and had multiple chances to either tie or win in the final minute, but couldn’t get it done. After such a well played game, Gonzaga missed four straight freethrows and Duke missed two (albeit contested) layups in the last thirty seconds or so.
-Marquette hung with Kansas for a while, and Louisville was right in there with Tennessee for about 30 mins, but neither pulled off the upset, which gives us another top five match-match up (our third of the year!!) in the Preseason NIT (or whatever the hell they’re calling it) on Friday.
-Creighton pulled off a HUGE win by knocking off Clemson in the Caymand Islands Classic. They won the event, but much more importantly they got a big OOC neutral floor win on their resume.
-Pittsburgh pulled off a bit of a surprise in their win over Saint Louis. All of a sudden last year’s Stallings Award winners are 6-0 with a nice neutral floor win on their resume. Pitt’s decision to get rid of the guy that was so bad that we at Hoops HD named an award for being bad after him is starting to pay off!!
-Oklahoma picked up a nice win against Florida. We had been a little tough on the Sooners, but suddenly they are unbeaten with a couple of road wins, and now a nice neutral floor win.
-Georgia State crushed Georgia, I mean CRUSHED them. If they play like that the rest of the year they will blow through the Sun Belt, which we were kind of expecting them to do anyway, and who knows where they’ll stand with the committee.
-Minnesota remains unbeaten, and now has a notable win over Washington on their resume after defeating the Huskies in a close and exciting game to win the Vancouver Showcase.
-Arizona State has been fantastic in November these past two years!! They knocked off a Utah State team that had been playing really well to stay unbeaten and win the MGM Resorts Main Event last night. They are now 5-0 with some pretty good wins on that resume.
HIGHLIGHTED
-WISCONSIN VS OKLAHOMA (Battle 4 Atlantis). Oklahoma comes in unbeaten, and although they hadn’t looked all that impressive coming into this event, they did pick up a real nice win against Florida yesterday. Wisconsin also comes in without a loss and has nice win against Xavier on their resume, so it’s a chance for both teams to try and build up their early season resumes with a nice win.
-VILLANOVA VS CANISIUS (Advocare Invitational). Nova hasn’t won anything other than buy games yet, and this tournament is a chance for them to add some good (and at this point needed) wins to their resume.
-UMASS VS SOUTHERN ILLINOIS (Continental Tire Las Vegas Holiday Invitational). We still really like this Salukis team. This is a chance to pick up some nice OOC wins for their resume.
-LA SALLE VS MIAMI FL (Wooden Legacy). This game is a bit of a mismatch, but Miami can make a statement if they’re able to do well in this tournament.
-VIRGINIA VS DAYTON (Battle 4 Atlantas). Dayton had a nice win against Butler yesterday and still doesn’t have a loss on the season. They’re probably swinging way over their heads today, but if they somehow were to win this it would instantly make them a national story.
-OKLAHOMA STATE VS MEMPHIS (Advocare Invitational). We don’t know much about either team, and both come in with respectable 2-1 records. Both have an opportunity to make a statement by playing well in this tournament.
-NEVADA VS TULSA (Continental Tire Las Vegas Holiday Classic). This appears to be a big mismatch, and it probably is, but Tulsa does come in with a 4-0 record and has a chance at a huge win today.
-NORTHWESTERN VS FRESNO STATE (Wooden Legacy). At 3-0, Northwestern hasn’t done anything Earth shattering yet, but should get some chances in this tournament if they’re able to win and advance.
-CHARLESTON VS LSU (Advocare Invitational). This should be a good game between a CofC team that has looked good so far and an LSU team that is in the rankings and has some decent wins of their own already. Charleston needs to pick up notable wins in events like this if they want any chance at all at impressing the selection committee. They simply aren’t going to have these opportunities later in the season.
-STANFORD VS FLORIDA (Battle 4 Atlantis). Both teams come in at 2-2, and both have missed a couple of opportunities at decent wins. You get the sense that they really need to get it done in this one simply to avoid falling further behind the pack.
-TEXAS VS NORTH CAROLINA (Continental tire Las Vegas Invitational). Texas comes in unbeaten and appears to be pretty good, but they haven’t had a test like this in their first few games. We should learn something about them today.
-SETON HALL VS GRAND CANYON (Wooden Legacy). Seton Hall is just 1-2, and this game has a bit of a pivotal feel for them because you get the sense that they need to pick up a couple of notable wins in this event. It won’t be easy. This is a good Grand Canyon team, and they’re really excited about trying to pick up some notable wins of their own.
-UAB VS FLORIDA STATE (Advocare Invitational). Both teams are unbeaten. The difference is UAB has played nothing but home buy games, and Florida State has actually knocked off some decent opponents.
-MIDDLE TENNESSEE VS BUTLER (Battle 4 Atlantis). This is the loser’s side of the bracket, and one gets the sense that winning this game is as much about avoiding potential losses to sub-NIT teams as it is getting a notable win.
-MICHIGAN STATE VS UCLA (Continental Tire Las Vegas Invitational). Two ranked teams going at it and trying to pick up a big neutral floor win. Advancing to the winner’s side of the bracket helps ensure better opportunities and notable wins in the later rounds.
-HAWAI’I VS UTAH (Wooden Legacy). Both teams are 2-1, and both are lacking any notable wins at the moment, so this tournament provides them with that opportunity.