NEWS AND NOTES
-For John Stalica’s UTR Game of the Day between Ohio U and Iona – CLICK HERE
-So for the second night in a row, a UTR (Under the Radar) team went on the road against a ranked team and beat them. Although it was just a little over 24 hours ago that Winthrop knocked off Saint Mary’s, most people probably aren’t even thinking about that anymore. Evansville went into Rupp Arena and knocked off #1 ranked Kentucky last night.
Now, I want to make sure this is put into the proper perspective in two different areas. First, the upset itself. It’s the first time a UTR (or mid-major if you insist on using a term that I hate) has beaten the #1 ranked team in a true road game since the 1992-1993 season when Long Beach State knocked off Kansas. So whenever something happens that hasn’t happened in over a quarter of a century, it’s a pretty big deal. Our good friend Kyle Lamb (@kylamb8) was on the phone with me last night, and he was trying to find the last time a team that was a 24pt underdog had won a game. He couldn’t. Now that’s not to say that it’s never happened, but Kyle Lamb is to sports trivia and data what Santa Claus is to Christmas. He just knows crazy stuff like that, and he could not find the last time that big of an underdog actually won a game. As an FYI, UMBC was a 20pt underdog to Virginia when they pulled off that upset. What you saw last night was historic in terms of how big the upset was.
Now, having said that…
From Kentucky’s side of the fence, it’s a kick to the gut. It’s a bruise to the ego. It’s kind of embarrassing. But, that’s really all it is. I made the comment last night that OOC upsets are like fireworks. They are these big exciting explosions that everyone sees, but after a few seconds they’re over and there is nothing else to see. Kentucky is still very good. They are still (I think) one of the four or five best teams in the country. I think there is a far better chance that they end up as the overall #1 seed than there is of them not ending up as a protected seed. The next time they take down a ranked team (which is something they’ve already done) this will fade away. So as big and as historic as the upset was, it isn’t a damaging or season ending upset for Kentucky. Not by a long shot.
-Hmmm….did anything else happen last night??
-Oregon got a big win over Memphis, which should shoot them up in the rankings and make us look at them like a potential protected seed caliber team. James Wiseman continues to play for Memphis, so that saga continues.
-Xavier needed overtime to get past Missouri. Overtime games are generally exciting, but this was a horrendously played game by both teams. Still, on paper, it’s a solid win for Xavier.
-Auburn needed a shot in the final seconds to get by South Alabama. Auburn (well, more specifically Bruce Pearl) sees value in games like this. And..he’s right! Say Auburn had lost. The fireworks theory that I mentioned earlier kicks in. It’s frustrating, and it’s this big thing that everyone sees, but it’s over so quickly that no one really thinks about it for very long. They scheduled a four year deal with UAB prior to this, and all those games were battles as well. While at Tennessee Bruce Pearl scheduled similar types of games against in-state teams. So this whole idea that Auburn has everything to lose and nothing to gain is kind of false. They really don’t have THAT much to lose, even if they lose. And…it was a much better game than a buy game!
-In the Gavitt Games Michigan got a decent win at home against Creighton to remain unbeaten. Butler also got a nice home win against Minnesota. I wasn’t expecting much out of Butler this year, especially with all their injuries, but I’ve been impressed so far.
-It was about 1:30am by the time Oklahoma finished picking up what I think is a really big win against Oregon State in the second half of the Phil Knight Invitational. I know no one is all that excited about Oregon State, but I think they’re going to be better than what most people realize and could end up sneaking into the NCAA Tournament.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES
-LSU AT VCU. Will Wade returns to VCU!! This should be a fun one between two likely tournament teams who are looking to add a good win to their resume early in the season.
-VILLANOVA AT OHIO STATE (Gavitt Tipoff Games). Both teams are ranked. Both could end up as protected seeds. This is a good opportunity for both teams to pick up a pretty big OOC win. It should be a fun one. Ohio State was somewhat tested against Cincinnati, but this is the first real test of the season for Nova.
-LA SALLE AT PENN (Big Five). Penn followed up their big win at Alabama with a 19 point loss to Rice. I guess they celebrated a little too much?? They are the defending Big Five champs, and they begin that defense tonight against La Salle, who’s looking to pick up what would be a nice road win in a rivalry game.
-BOSTON U AT VERMONT. The Catamounts are one of the best UTR teams out there and they’re looking to remain unbeaten.
-SAINT JOSEPH’S AT UCONN. We weren’t expecting much out of Saint Joe’s this year, and we still thought UConn was about a year away, but both have looked at least decent early on and have the chance to pick up a nice win tonight. I think it would help the winning team’s mental health and momentum more than it would help them on paper, but either way it’s a good early season game.
-TEXAS TECH VS HOUSTON BAPTIST (Midland TX). Kind of an odd neutral site game, but I guess it could best be summed up by saying that it’s a very winnable game away from home for Texas Tech.
-EASTERN WASHINGTON AT SAINT LOUIS. Both teams are unbeaten, and Eastern Washington is a favorite in the Big Sky.
-OKLAHOMA STATE AT CHARLESTON. Both teams come into this game at 2-0, and it’s a fairly decent road test for Oklahoma State. Charleston has been one of the better teams in the Colonial for the past several years, and appears to be a contender again this year. This is a showcase home game for them against a P5 school, so it should be fun.
-SOUTHERN UTAH AT BYU. It’s a buy game, but we’ll highlight it. It’s an in-state match up between a very much improved Southern Utah team and a BYU team that’s looking to bounce back from their recent loss to San Diego State.
-PURDUE AT MARQUETTE (Gavitt Tipoff Games). Purdue suffered a loss to Texas over the weekend and is looking to bounce back. A win on the road would certainly qualify as a bounce back. Marquette is facing their first real test tonight, so we should learn something about them as well.
-PROVIDENCE AT NORTHWESTERN (Gavitt Tipoff Games). I thought about not even highlighting this one. It’s a likely road win for a Providence team that’s a lot better than Merrimack, who beat Northwestern last Friday.
-GRAND CANYON AT SAN DIEGO STATE. GCU has been somewhat disappointing this year. San Diego State has been the complete opposite of disappointing. They’re coming off a very nice win against BYU and should be able to stay unbeaten tonight.
BUY GAMES
-McNeese @ Wisconsin
-High Point @ Boston College
-Colgate @ Syracuse
-SC Upstate @ Virginia Tech
-Indiana State @ Louisville
-Monmouth @ Kansas State – Monmouth is a contender in the MAAC, but likely overmatched tonight
-Drexel @ Rutgers – Rutgers can get to 3-0
-Cal State Bakersfield @ Northern Iowa
-FIU @ NC State
-Green Bay @ New Mexico – New Mexico can get to 3-0