NEWS AND NOTES
For John Stalica’s UTR Game of the Day between Merrimack and Akron – CLICK HERE
-Gonzaga had their first real test of the season against Oregon yesterday down in the Battle 4 Atlantis, and they won a thrilling overtime game that seesawed back and forth the whole way. Before the season started we said that we thought Gonzaga was good, but that they probably wouldn’t contend for a #1 seed. Well, I know it’s early, but if they beat Michigan today, then they’ll be unbeaten with two really big wins away from home, and on an early pace to end up as a #1. Speaking of Michigan..
-The Wolverines seem to always start off the season unranked, but then e always win big games and get ranked by December. Yesterday they absolutely clobbered North Carolina. The Tarheels put together a late run to make the score look respectable, but at no point in the second half did Michigan appear to be in any danger of losing the game. It was a very impressive performance from a Michigan team that despite the roster overhaul and coaching change appears to be good again.
-Texas Tech did not look good yesterday. They appeared sluggish against a decent but not great Iowa team. I’m still big on this Texas Tech team, but they’ve got a ways to go to get to being as good as I think they can be.
-Arizona beat Pepperdine in a game that was much more thrilling than many of us expected. I believe there were 25 lead changes, two of which came in the final seconds of the game, before Arizona held on to win 93-91 and avoid what would have been a really big upset. It was a great effort by Pepperdine, and you hope they can bounce back from it and win their remaining two games in the Wooden Classic.
-San Diego State SMASHED Creighton! They are unbeaten, and appear to be crazy good this year. They face Iowa tonight in what looks to be another winnable game for them.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES
-MARYLAND VS HARVARD (Orlando Invitational). Maryland got a scare from Temple in their first game, but held on to win. They face a Harvard team today that has struggled on this season, but that we still think has a high level of potential.
-OREGON VS NORTH CAROLINA (Battle 4 Atlantis). This ain’t bad for a third place game! Both teams are highly ranked, both are probable protected seeds, and the fact that it’s a third place game doesn’t lessen its importance at all or change what it will look like to the committee. North Carolina was beaten rather handily by Michigan yesterday whereas Oregon lost an overtime thriller to Gonzaga. This would be a high caliber win on a neutral floor for whichever team is able to pull it off.
-TEMPLE VS TEXAS A&M (Orlando Invitational). Temple put up a hell of a fight against a very good Maryland team yesterday, but came up short. This is a winnable game for them today against a TAMU team that’s in complete rebuilding mode,
-UMASS AT RUTGERS. Neither team has done a whole lot other than win buy games, but both have good records and this is a chance for them to add a better win to their resumes.
-GONZAGA VS MICHIGAN (Battle 4 Atlantis). Michigan is playing like a top ten team even though they aren’t ranked. They beat North Carolina rather handily yesterday, who had to come back just to make the score look respectable. Gonzaga passed their first real test of the season with an overtime win against Oregon. This should be a fun one.
-DEPAUL AT MINNESOTA. If DePaul wins, they’ll be 8-0 on the season with three straight road wins. Not many teams in the Big East have done that well so far. Minney has lost a lot of close games, and are better than their 3-3 record indicates.
-USC VS MARQUETTE (Orlando Invitational). Both teams won their first games in this event, but neither team looked all that good. Both are showing signs that they may struggle this season, which kind of makes this an important game to not only get a decent neutral floor win on the resume, but to help build up momentum.
-PROVIDENCE VS CHARLESTON (Wooden Legacy). Providence is off to a very rough start and seem to be heading down a spiral. They need to string together some wins just to pull themselves out of it.
-LOUISVILLE VS WESTERN KENTUCKY (Game is in Nashville). Louisville is set to go to #1 next week if they can hang on and beat a talented but not always solid WKU team this week. WKU won two games down in the Paradise Jam, but this is by fair their toughest test if the year. If they can pick up the win, then it would certainly be a huge statement and at least open a path for them to land inside the bubble.
-SETON HALL VS IOWA STATE (Battle 4 Atlantis). This is the fifth place game. Both teams lost to strong teams in their first game, beat weaker teams in their second game, and are now trying to leave the event with a decent win to put on their resumes.
-FLORIDA STATE VS TENNESSEE (Emerald Coast Classic). Tennessee is off to an incredible start, and has the chance to add to it if they can pick this one up against Florida State. FSU has won five straight since losing their season opener at Pitt, and is a likely tournament team, which makes this a potential resume builder for both teams.
-PENN STATE VS SYRACUSE (NIT Season Tip-Off). Syracuse has looked sluggish this year and could use this early season win to kind of snap them out of it. Penn State has looked good even though they’re coming off a loss to Ole Miss, and can remain in good shape if they can pick up this neutral floor win against what should turn out to be a respectable Syracuse team.
-MISSOURI STATE AT LSU. Missouri State has looked good at times, but not all the time. Still, they should be one of the frontrunners in the Missouri Valley and this is a chance for them to pick up a really nice road win. It’s easier said than done, though. LSU is good.
-IOWA VS SAN DIEGO STATE (Las Vegas Invitational). San Diego State is unbeaten and they absolutely creamed Creighton last night. They looked to be good enough to challenge Utah State in the Mountain West and land safely inside the bubble come March. This is a chance for them to pick up another notable win away from home.
-VCU VS PURDUE (Emerald Coast Classic). VCU is looking to remain unbeaten, as well as add another notable win to their resume. Purdue is still trying to find themselves a little bit, and picking up some wins in this event, particularly the one today, would certainly help.
-OLE MISS VS OKLAHOMA STATE (NIT Season Tip-Off). No one was all that excited about either team coming into the season, but Okie State is unbeaten and Ole Miss’s only loss is by 1pt to Memphis, so both have played well and have a lot of momentum build up coming into this one.
-TEXAS TECH VS CREIGHTON (Las Vegas Invitational). Texas Tech was the national runner up a year ago, but they haven’t looked all that good this year and are still looking for their first win that didn’t come in a buy game. Creighton got absolutely smashed yesterday by San Diego State and is just looking to bounce back.
-PENN VS ARIZONA (Wooden Legacy). Both teams won close games yesterday to get here. Penn has made some noise early on, and although Arizona looks to be the better team they don’t have anything all that outstanding on their resume yet and they had to sweat out their last two games.
-UTAH STATE AT SAINT MARY’S. This is a big road test for a Utah State team that’s ranked 15th, but that many people still have questions about. It’s a test for a Saint Mary’s team that is looking to get back into the rankings as well. This one should be a fun one. It’s definitely an important game between two likely tournament caliber teams that need games like this to make a statement to the committee.
BUY GAMES
-Kentucky Christian (nondiv1) @ Liberty
-SEMO @ Santa Clara (Cable Care Classic) – Santa Clara can improve to 7-1
-Winthrop @ Duke – Duke is looking to rebound, and Winthrop already has a win at Saint Mary’s
-UAB @ Kentucky – UAB has a winning record all-time vs Kentucky! (3-2)
-UMES @ Delaware
-Abilene Christian @ SMU
-Morgan State @ Ohio State
-Marshall @ Florida
-UC Davis @ Utah