NEWS AND NOTES
-For John Stalica’s UTR Game of the Day between Delaware and UNC Greensboro – CLICK HERE
-Texas picked up the biggest win of the day in what was perhaps the most exciting game of the day. They fell behind by double digits early to North Carolina, but fought their way back into it and actually controlled most of the second half. It was a huge early season statement win for the Longhorns. They came into the week unranked. They will almost assuredly be ranked next week.
-Michigan’s blowout win over UCLA was surprising not so much because of the win, but because they seemed to have a 20pt lead throughout the entire game.
And….that was how most of the games played out yesterday. I hope you found some good football to watch, because basically all but two of the basketball games yesterday were boring.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES
-DAYTON VS OKLAHOMA (Battle 4 Atlantis). Dayton really hung in with Virginia yesterday, whereas Oklahoma pretty much got blasted by Wisconsin. Dayton seems to need this a lot more than Wisky because the way the A10 is shaping up their opportunities for notable wins are gonna be few and far between the rest of the year.
-VILLANOVA VS OKLAHOMA STATE (Advocare Invitational). Nova looked good yesterday, but still doesn’t have a notable win on their resume. This would be their first, and even then it’s kinda hard to say how much it will help them because we really aren’t sure how good the Pokes are gonna end up being this year. But for now, Oklahoma State comes in at a respectable 3-1.
-VIRGINIA VS WISCONSIN (Battle 4 Atlantis). Two ranked teams that have looked really solid going at it today. Neither team has a loss, but this is also the biggest test for each of them so far.
-MIAMI FL VS FRESNO STATE (Wooden Legacy). Fresno State looked impressive in their win yesterday, and can continue to build up their resume if they can continue to play well in this event. They face an unbeaten Miami FL team today, who’s also looking to make a case for themselves.
-NORTH CAROLINA VS UCLA (Las Vegas Invitational). North Carolina lost a thriller to Texas yesterday, and UCLA was just blown out of the arena by Michigan State. Still, it’s a neutral floor match-up between two current top 20 teams. The fact that it’s a third place game doesn’t lessen or change how the committee will look at it.
-LSU VS FLORIDA STATE (Adcovare Invitational). We’ve got another neutral floor top 20 match up. Neither team has lost yet, and both have played some fairly decent competition, but this will be the toughest test for either one so far. It would be a really nice resume win for whoever pulls it off.
-KENT STATE AT VANDERBILT. Kent State comes into this game with just one loss, and can make a pretty nice statement if they’re able to pull this one out on the road. Vandy comes in at 4-0 with a pretty nice win out at USC on their resume already.
-MARSHALL AT MARYLAND. Both teams are unbeaten, and we’re expecting Marshall to be really tough in C-USA this year. They haven’t really been tested this season, so it will be interesting to see what they can do on the road against the Terps.
-TEXAS VS MICHIGAN STATE (Las Vegas Invitational). Texas picked up a huge win against North Carolina yesterday, and although they’re not in the rankings I think they’ve shown they are a top 25 caliber team. Michigan State blasted UCLA in their game and is coming in with a ton of momentum.
-CHARLESTON VS UAB (Advocare Invitational). Neither team looked all that impressive yesterday, and both will need to build up some momentum and go on a run if they want any chance at all at impressing the committee. A win today would be a nice start.
-GEORGE MASON VS CINCINNATI (Emerald Coast Classic). Mason has had a very disappointing start to the season when you consider what their expectations were, but they have won two in a row coming into this one. Cincinnati is trying to generate some momentum for themselves as well.
-LOUISVILLE VS MARQUETTE (NIT Season Tip-Off). Both teams care coming off impressive efforts against top 5 opponents, but neither managed the win. It’s very possible that these are two NCAA Tournament teams, and whenever you can win away from home against a tournament caliber team, it’s good for the resume.
-TENNESSEE VS KANSAS (NIT Season Tip-Off). This is our third game of the year where two top five teams are going at it on a neutral floor! Both teams have looked great coming into this game. Winning a game like this would be a #1 seed caliber win. I like that we’ve gotten to see this game, and two other games like this, this early in the season.
-BAYLOR VS OLE MISS (Emerald Coast Classic). Neither team has really done anything impressive, both have a chance to make a little bit of noise in this tournament.
-BUTLER VS FLORIDA (Battle 4 Atlantis). Both teams have been tested, but neither team has really passed any of those tests. This is a bit of a desperation game, or at least November’s version of a desperation game.
-UMASS VS NEVADA (Las Vegas Holiday Invitational). UMass CLOBBERED Southern Illinois in one of the more surprising results of the day. They come in at 4-2 with a chance to knock off a top ten team on a neutral floor. I don’t know how realistic their chance is, but they at least get a chance.
-SETON HALL VS HAWAII (Wooden Legacy). Both teams picked up nice wins yesterday, and have a chance to keep that momentum going with another win today.
-TULSA VS SOUTHERN ILLINOIS (Las Vegas Holiday Invitational). Southern Illinois is good, but they have quite frankly run out of strikes, and it ain’t even December yet. They cannot afford to drop anymore games to what appear to be sub-NIT caliber teams.
BUY GAMES (and other games worth mentioning, but not higlighting)
-Robert Morris @ Purdue
-Alcorn State @ Liberty
-Boston U @ Rutgers
-Hoston Baptist @ Wake Forest
-James Madison @ Oakland – JMU can improve to 5-1 and pick up their 3rd true road win
-Chattanooga @ Michigan
-Prairie View A&M @ Georgia Tech
-La Salle vs Northwestern – Wooden Legacy
-Tennessee State @ Kentucky
-UC Davis @ Indiana
-UNC Greensboro @ Delaware – both teams come in with 4-1 records
-Cleveland State @ Ohio State
-UT Arlington @ Arkansas
-Grand Canyon vs Utah – Wooden Legacy
-Southern Utah @ UNLV