NEWS AND NOTES
-The game of the day was probably the double overtime thriller between Xavier and UConn. It was a defensive struggle that went back and fourth. Xavier hit a game tying shot toward the end of regulation that was way beyond the arc, then UConn converted an and-1 at the end of the first overtime (following a forced TO by the Huskies) to force a second overtime. Despite three of Xavier’s 3 stars being fouled out by the start of the 2nd overtime, the Musketeers held on for the win, which was another nail-biter. I think the game would have meant a little bit more for UConn since their program is in the middle of a rebuilding project and beating a ranked team would have really accelerated the energy build up, but this won’t be the last opportunity at a good win for the Huskies. But, wow! this would have been a good one!
-Georgetown jumped out to an early lead against Duke, but ended up falling to the Blue Devils despite playing really well. Georgetown did not play anything like the team that limped through those first two buy games in either of their two 2K Empire Classic games.
-Oregon remains unbeaten as they knocked off a pretty good Houston team last night. Houston is off to a somewhat slow start. Their only win on the season so far is a buy game.
-Coastal Carolina actually led Baylor for much of the game, but the Bears finally got control in the second half to pick up the win and move on to the finals of the Myrtle Beach Classic. We didn’t expect a whole lot from Coastal this year, but they’ve played really well in this tournament. Mississippi State may be in for a battle in the third place game on Sunday.
-Illinois State had led Cincinnati for most of the game, but Cincinnati came back and it seesawed back and fourth in the final couple of minutes. Cincinnati needed a shot in the final seconds to get the 66-65 win and move on to the winners side of the bracket in the Paradise Jam. It’s a rather crushing loss for Illinois State not just because it would have been a good win away from home, but because it denied them the chances of playing better teams in the winners’ bracket and building up their resume even more.
-And speaking of the Paradise Jam, Bowling Green advanced to the semifinals with a thrilling 77-75 victory against Western Kentucky. The Falcons jumped out to an early 14-point lead, but this game ultimately featured numerous lead changes and it took a game winning shot from Justin Turner with 3.8 seconds remaining to give Bowling Green the victory. Either Valpo or Nevada will take on the winner of the UC-BGSU game in the Paradise Jam Invitational.
-Davidson lost at home to Wake Forest. Davidson is in real trouble.
-Temple went on the road and picked up a really nice win at USC. The Owls stay unbeaten, and it’s the first loss of the year for the Trojans.
-LSU looked fantastic for about 30 minutes against Utah State, and then just folded up as Utah State came charging back and ended up with a two point win to remain unbeaten and add a real nice neutral floor win in the Jamaica Classic to their resume.
-Evansville, who last week was the biggest story in college basketball, lost their second straight game. This one was to an East Carolina team that just isn’t any good, and the game wasn’t even close. Despite the big win at Kentucky, I’m starting to think that was an anomaly.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES
-VIRGINIA VS UMASS (Hall of Fame Tip-Off). UMass is unbeaten, and to be fair has looked a lot better than we thought they would so far, but this is a ginormous test for them. Virginia is also unbeaten with a handful of decent wins. Picking up a win against UMass on a neutral floor would be another good November win.
-DEPAUL AT BOSTON COLLEGE. DePaul is unbeaten and already has a win at Iowa. This could be their second notable road win of the year if they’re able to pick it up.
-OLE MISS AT MEMPHIS. Ole Miss is unbeaten and we think they could possibly be tournament team. This is a really big test for them on the road. Memphis is still pretty solid even without Wiseman, and this game is a fun little rivalry.
-ARIZONA STATE VS SAINT JOHN’S (Hall of Fame Tip-Off). Both these teams could really use this win. Up until now both of them have only won buy games.
-PENN AT PROVIDENCE. Providence is 4-1, but their one loss is rather inexplicable and probably rather damaging. Northwestern is just a really bad basketball team to lose to. Penn has a notable win at Alabama, but has been somewhat inconsistent all year long. This one is hard to predict, but given the start that both are off to it kind of feels like there is a sense of urgency to this one.
-BELMONT AT SAINT LOUIS. Belmont has won four straight since losing their opener. If they could pull this one off on the road against a 4-1 Saint Louis team then they’ll be off to a very solid start. The Billikens have won 4 buy games thus far but failed their toughest test when they lost at home to Seton Hall.
-VERMONT AT CENTRAL CONNECTICUT. This is a Vermont team that we think can land inside the bubble, and this is a very winnable (mostly) road game for them.
-SMU AT UNLV. We weren’t really big at all on SMU before the season started, but they come into this one unbeaten, have a nice road win agains an Evansville team that won at Kentucky, and have another winnable road game tonight. That ain’t a bad start!
BUY GAMES
-Florida A&M @ Seton Hall
-Bucknell @ Syracuse
-Little Rock @ NC State
-Saint Francis U @ Florida State
-Delaware State @ East Tennessee State
-Robert Morris @ Marquette
-Grambling @ Oregon State
-Oral Roberts @ Wichita State
-Yale @ Penn State
-FGCU @ VCU
-Cal State Bakersfield @ Gonzaga
-Jacksonville State @ Purdue
-Sam Houston State @ San Francisco
-Hampton @ Illinois
-Lehigh @ Saint Mary’s