News, Notes, and Highlighted Games: Wednesday, Dec 19th

-Buffalo picked up a win at Syracuse that is perhaps their most impressive of the year.  West Virginia had tapered off some, but Syracuse still looks like a solid NCAA team that is tough to beat at home.  Not only that, but Buffalo trailed for a good portion of the game, but kept it close and made the plays they needed to late in the game to cement the win.  As for Syracuse, it’s their second straight home loss and they’re going to need to bounce back.

-The Citadel won again.  They have no won eight in a row.  You are reading that correctly.

 

-SAMFORD AT TENNESSEE.  This is a obviously a buy game, and Samford is so overmatched that the final score may end up looking like a buy game, but at 10-2 Samford has been one of the bigger surprises in college hoops this year.  They haven’t been such a surprise that it’s likely they’ll be able to knock off a #1 seed caliber team, but they are good enough to at least make the game worth paying attention to.

-VIRGINIA AT SOUTH CAROLINA.  UVA is unbeaten and trying to pick up their second true road win of the season.  South Carolina has a very young team and they’re still struggling to get it figured out.

-AUBURN AT NC STATE.  This one should be REALLY fun.  Auburn is high in the rankings and everyone knows how good they are.  NC State is really strong as well, but hasn’t won a game like this to catapult themselves into the national rankings and national consciousness.  They will get that chance tonight.  This would be a VERY impressive road win for Auburn if they’re able to pick it up.  It would arguably be their most impressive win to date.

-HOFSTRA AT STONY BROOK.  Stony Brook is off to a very good 10-2 start with some really notable road wins on their resume.  They should get a test from a Hofstra team that’s also pretty good at 8-3.  Stony Brook would pretty much have to run the table or come close to it to land near the bubble, but they’ve looked a lot better than most of their remaining schedule, so it’s not impossible.

-PENN STATE AT DUQUESNE.  This is a game that Penn State REALLY needs to win.  They’ve been disappointing so far given what their expectations for the year were, and while Duquesne isn’t an solid NCAA Tournament team by any means, they are 8-2 and unbeaten at home, so it’s not the kind of game that Penn State can just show up to and automatically think they’re going to win.

-OLD DOMINION AT RICHMOND.  ODU has wins over VCU and Syracuse on their resume, and they have a chance to improve to 9-3 today while picking up another true road win against their old Colonial rivals.

-WESTERN KENTUCKY AT BELMONT.  WKU has been all over the place this year.  Soem games they’ve looked like a top 25 team, and in others they’ve struggled to beat teams that aren’t even 100 miles within the NIT.  Belmont is good enough to perhaps land inside the bubble come Selection Sunday, and is coming off a really nice win at UCLA.  They should be able to get this one at home, but then again, will the really good WKU team show up and make it tough for them?

-WOFFORD AT MISSISSIPPI STATE.  This one should be a fun one even though it’s a buy game.  Mississippi State is looking to pick up their 10th win of the year, and Wofford is looking to add a huge statement win to their resume.  Chances are the Terriers are overmatched, but Mississippi State better not overlook them.

-SOUTHERN MISS AT KANSAS STATE.  K State hasn’t done anything away from home yet, so it is important that they continue to hold serve at home.  Southern Miss’s program appears to be going in the right direction, but they still have a long ways to go.

-MONTANA AT ARIZONA.  Arizona is in a bit of a tailspin, and they need to pull themselves out of it because Montana is a team that’s good enough to beat just about anyone that overlooks them.

-UCLA AT CINCINNATI.  UCLA has yet to play a true road game, and they’ve yet to win any sort of a game away from home.  They’re also coming off a home loss to Belmont, and really need a big win in a game like this to give some stability to a resume that definitely needs it.  Cincinnati is also looking to bounce back from a road loss at Mississippi State.

-GEORGIA TECH AT ARKANSAS.  GA Tech just lost at home to Gardner Webb.  Maybe this should be down with the buy games.  Arkansas is looking to improve to 8-2 on the season.

-CALIFORNIA AT FRESNO STATE.  Fresno State is off to a quiet 7-2 start and has a very winnable game tonight against a Cal team that is, by all accounts, awful.

-BOISE STATE AT LMU.  LMU continues to win and shouldn’t have too much trouble getting to 11-1 on the year.

-Florida College (nondiv1) @ Florida Atlantic
-Sacred Heart @ Seton Hall
-Saint Francis Brooklyn @ Saint John’s
-North Florida @ Florida State
-NC A&T @ Virginia Tech – UNCLE BUZZ!!!!  Trying to get to 10-1
-Central Arkansas @ Indiana
-NC Central @ Saint Louis
-Incarnate Word @ DePaul
-Cal State Northridge @ New Mexico State
-Northern Arizona @ Saint Mary’s

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