NEWS AND NOTES
CLICK HERE for our latest Under the Radar Video Podcast
-For John Stalica’s UTR Game of the Day, which features the Battle of the Bluegrass between Eastern Kentucky and Western Kentucky – CLICK HERE. Don’t get confused, and don’t correct me!!! EKU v WKU is the Battle OF the Bluegrass!! Louisville v Kentucky is the Battle FOR the Bluegrass!!! If you thought that I got the name of the rivalry wrong, THEN YOU ARE WRONG!!!!
-Michigan State played their second game away from home against a top 15 team last night, and pulled out what was an exciting win that should be big on their resume. In the final couple of minutes Seton Hall seemed to be in control, but back to back three pointers by Michigan State gave them the lead, and two defensive stops helped them keep the lead. Seton Hall will probably argue that they got homered at home with no foul being called on their final two possessions.
-Florida really had to sweat out Towson. The game was tied with less than two minutes to go, and it wasn’t until the last couple of possessions that the Gators were able to put it away. So far they have not looked like a top 25 team.
-Penn State pretty much had a double digit lead from tip to buzzer at Georgetown last night. An impressive win for the Nittany Lions. Suddenly they are 3-0 with a rather impressive road win.
-Richmond stayed unbeaten with an overtime win at home against Vanderbilt in what was a very exciting finish. Vandy had the ball on what looked to be the final possession of the first overtime when Richmond got a breakaway steal and was fouled with less than a second to go. They hit one of the two freethrows, and that was all they needed.
HIGHLIGHTED MATCHUPS
-WEST VIRGINIA AT PITTSBURGH. BACKYARD BRAWL!!!!!!! This rivalry has cooled off a ton. It’s not a conference game, and neither team was any good last year when it was finally renewed. But, it’s still the Backyard Brawl and it could still be reignighted. Pitt is trying to bounce back from their loss to Nicholls, and a win over their rivals at home would be a good way to do that. West Virginia is trying to get to 2-0, pass their first real test, and win their first road game.
-MISSOURI STATE AT XAVIER. It’s a buy game, but with Missouri State being one of the favorites in the Missouri Valley, and Xavier being in the top 25, it’s still a game that’s worth watching.
-LIPSCOMB AT DUQUESNE. Lipscomb is rebuilding, but Duquesne may be built. They haven’t lost a game yet (and to be fair they haven’t really been tested yet and probably won’t be tonight), and can improve to 3-0 with a win tonight
-HAMPTON AT WILLIAM & MARY. Both teams are unbeaten. W&M has been a bit of a surprise this season.
-ALABAMA AT RHODE ISLAND. We think that both of these teams have potential, but neither has really shown it yet. They could both use some meat on their early season resumes, and tonight is an opportunity for them to get it.
-GONZAGA AT TEXAS A&M. After a few buy games, this is the first real test of the season for the Zags, but then again how much of a test is it?? TAMU is unbeaten, but they’re also untested and not expected to do much this season. Having said that, that entire narrative changes if they’re able to pull off this upset.
-BYU AT HOUSTON. BYU was a team we liked coming into the season, but they really haven’t shown it yet. They have a home loss to San Diego State, and needed to come from behind to beat Southern Utah the other night. They’ve got a monster challenge tonight on the road against a very good Houston team.
-MINNESOTA AT UTAH. It’s early in the year, but at 1-2 and with no real meaningful wins yet Minney should have a sense of urgency coming into this game. Utah already has a nice win at Nevada and is looking to stay unbeaten.
-UNLV AT UCLA. UCLA is unbeaten, but this is their first (sort of) test.
-Georgia State @ Duke
-CSU Northridge @ Auburn
-Tennessee Tech @ UNC Greensboro
-Western Carolina @ Florida State
-Marshall @ Notre Dame
-Delaware State @ Georgia
-Western Michigan @ Ole Miss – both teams unbeaten
-Cleveland State @ South Carolina
-Elon @ Michigan
-South Wesleyan (nondiv1) @ Furman
-Monmouth @ Kansas
-Oral Roberts @ Iowa
-Prairie View A&M @ Texas
-Gardner Webb @ North Carolina
-NC A&T @ Utah State
-Texas State @ Baylor
-Cal Baptist @ California