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– Only one exempt tournament of note ended yesterday – Cincinnati won the Emerald Coast Classic after gradually pulling away from Ole Miss with a 71-57 victory. Jarron Cumberland led the Bearcats with 25 points and actually avenged a loss against the Rebels in the 2014 Emerald Coast Classic.
– There was a time when DePaul-Notre Dame was one of the better rivalries in college hoops, and the first half of the game was certainly competitive. The 2nd half, not so much. The Irish won convincingly and knocked the Blue Demons from the ranks of the unbeaten.
– Western Kentucky is another UTR team that came into the season with at-large tournament hopes, but those prospects took a hit with a 63-54 loss at Indiana State. The Trees may be a team worth watching in the Missouri Valley – they’ll have another good UTR test when Wright State comes to town next Saturday.
– Stony Brook is now 3-for-3 in true road games; they beat Rhode Island 68-58 to improve to 5-1 on the season. They are looking more and more like a favorite to win the America East this season.
– The Citadel got roadkill with a win at South Florida yesterday. The Bulldogs look respectable at 4-2 (2-2 in D1 play) – the Bulls, not so much.
– UNC-Greensboro is off to their best start in program history. They followed up a win at Delaware with a win against Louisiana Tech in the Delaware Classic. The SoCon is going to be a fun league to follow this year with UNC-G, Furman and even Citadel having great starts to their respective seasons.
– Yesterday was not one of BYU’s better days. Not only did they lose by 14 at home to a bubbilicious Houston team, their football team blew a 20-point halftime lead in football’s version of the Holy War against Utah.
– Central Florida had a nice win at home against Northern Kentucky; the Norse fell from the rank of the unbeatens.
– Saint Mary’s is now on a 3-game losing streak after a 3-0 start that included a win at New Mexico State. They lost a pair of games in Las Vegas against Utah State and Mississippi State, but losing to Harvard with Harvard’s leading scorer out of action has to sting.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES
CANISIUS vs. UAB (Advocare Invitational, 7th Place) – This is a chance to salvage one win in Orlando for either team, but little more beyond that.
VILLANOVA vs. FLORIDA STATE (Advocare Invitational, Championship) – Villanova has looked more dominant with wins against Canisius and Oklahoma State in Orlando, whereas Florida State had a stiffer test against LSU to make their way to today’s championship game.
NORTHWESTERN vs. UTAH (Wooden Legacy, 5th Place) – Both teams have rebounded after embarrassing opening games to get a win on Friday night – this is an opportunity for a 2-1 weekend for the winner of this game.
FLORIDA GULF COAST at FLORIDA ATLANTIC – In most years, Gulf Coast would be favored to win this intrastate rivalry. This would not be one of those years.
RICE at WICHITA STATE – Highlighted because you just never know which Wichita team shows up from game to game. They are looking for their first win in the Roundhouse today.
OKLAHOMA STATE vs. LSU (Advocare Invitational, 3rd Place) – LSU is coming off of a tough overtime loss to Florida State; the Cowboys want to get at least one win against a potential NCAA Tournament team before going into the Big 12 gauntlet.
FURMAN at UNC-ASHEVILLE – The Paladins will be looking to increase their overall record to 7-0 with wins at Loyola-Chicago and Villanova already under their belts.
FRESNO STATE vs. HAWAII (Wooden Legacy, 3rd Place) – Hawaii has had a solid tournament so far with a win against Utah (even with a missed opportunity to beat a reloading Seton Hall team). Fresno State smashed Northwestern earlier and will also be looking to cash in at least one more victory this weekend.
OREGON STATE at LONG BEACH STATE – The Beavers will be making a rare roadie by a Power 5 team to the Pyramid at Long Beach in this one.
LONGWOOD at SEATTLE – Normally this would be the UTR Game of the Day, but we do need to highlight our Team of the People as often as we see fit.
MEMPHIS vs. CHARLESTON (Advocare Invitational, 5th Place) – Memphis did start off slowly in Orlando with a loss to Oklahoma State, but still have a window to come out of the weekend with 2 victories.
SOUTH CAROLINA STATE at SAMFORD – Nothing says Buckeye Classic quite like 2 teams south of Tennessee and North Carolina. This is part of a 5-team round-robin event that also includes Cleveland State, Purdue-Fort Wayne and Ohio State.
LA SALLE vs. GRAND CANYON (Wooden Legacy, 7th Place) – The former Team of the People is looking for at least one victory in their first-ever 8-team exempt event in this one; it shouldn’t be too difficult against a La Salle team that hasn’t been very competitive this weekend.
MIAMI vs. SETON HALL (Wooden Legacy, Championship) – The Pirates have looked a lot better this weekend after suffering back-to-back losses against Nebraska and Saint Louis, but beating Miami is going to be a tall order. But not an impossible one – Creighton also beat Clemson in their own exempt event earlier during Feast Week.
OTHER BUY GAMES OF NOTE
– UMass-Lowell at Duquesne
– St. Edwards (D-2) at Stephen F. Austin
– Hampton at Richmond
– Cal State-Bakersfield at USC