NEWS AND NOTES
-For John Stalica’s UTR Game of the Day between Arkansas State and Missouri State – CLICK HERE
-For the fourth time this season, the #1 ranked team has lost. Not only that, it is the third time that the #1 team has lost to an unranked team. That has got to be some sort of record. Texas Tech, who we were big on in the preseason but who had a) not looked good all year, and b) was missing their best player, went out there against Louisville, got a lead about midway through the first half, and basically never relinquished it. Their defense was fantastic, and it is the kind of win that can completely change the complexion of their resume and turn their season around.
We are starting to hear rumblings about how there is no clear cut #1. While the #1 ranking has changed hands quite a bit, we should not rule out the possibility/probability that there very well may end up being a clear cut #1. We just don’t know who it is yet. Our friend David Warlock (@DavidWarlock) tweeted some trivia yesterday about how there have been seven seasons with six different #1 teams. One of those years was 1982-1983, which is something that history has kind of forgotten because the way people remember that season is that Houston was a clear cut #1 until NC State beat them in the upset of all upsets. In 2008-2009 there were also six different #1 teams. That wasn’t that long ago, but I still don’t even remember that. I just remember North Carolina making the NCAA Tournament look like the Tarheel Invitational. In 1989-1990, there were five different #1 teams. History also remembers that year differently. That was the year UNLV blew everyone off the planet. So, it could very well be that we end up with one or two clear dominant teams by the end of the year. We just haven’t recognized who it is yet. BTW, Ohio State is unbeaten and looking pretty good. Just sayin…
-Maryland was ranked #4th, and they also went down to an unranked team in Penn State. This one wasn’t as surprising because Penn State had looked good at times, and they were at home for a showcase game, and Maryland, while good, had to sweat out some of their previous games.
-Northern Iowa got a big road win in Colorado in what was probably the most exciting game of the night. There were several lead changes, UNI opened up a double digit lead right out of the half, Colorado came back and got the lead and appeared to have momentum, then UNI would counterpunch and get the control back. Colorado had a chance to tie the game with a three at the buzzer, but came up short. It is a huge win for UNI’s profile, which is something they needed if they want to land inside the bubble. Colorado, on the other hand, still looks to be in good shape, but their best win is still a neutral floor non-conference conference win against Arizona State. They’ll need to take advantage of some future opportunities in order to end up safely inside the bubble.
-Baylor jumped out on Butler at home, but rather than cruising to an easy win, which it looked like they’d do early on in the first half, Butler clawed back in a game where both teams played fantastic defense. The Bulldogs had a chance to win in the final seconds, but came up just short as Baylor gets one of their better wins of the year, and Butler suffered their first loss of the season. It would have been a great win for Butler, but it’s hardly a damaging loss. They’re still in good shape, and if anything they proved that their top 20 ranking was warranted because they played so well on the road against a very good Baylor team.
-Indiana held on to beat UConn, which is their first win of note away from home. They still got work to do, )and UConn has even more work to do), but last night’s win was a big step in the right direction.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES
-WISCONSIN AT RUTGERS (Big Ten_. Wisky really needs this one on the road. They’re off to a slow start and need to get things turned around in a hurry. Having said that, it’s much easier said than done. Rutgers continues to improve as a program and it will not be easy to go on the road and beat them.
-BOISE STATE AT TULSA. Both of these teams are off to respectable starts, but both still have a ton of work to do if they want to be in the discussion at the end of the year. A win tonight certainly wouldn’t hurt.
-MICHIGAN AT ILLINOIS (Big Ten). We’ve all seen what Michigan can do this year, but this game at Illinois tonight is probably tougher than it appears. Illinois is a very modest 5-3, but two of those losses were by a combined total of just 3pts, and they nearly upset Maryland in their last game.
BUY GAMES
-North Greenville (nondiv1) @ Furman
-Omaha @ Arizona
-Winthrop @ TCU
-Alabama State @ Kansas State
-UTA @ Houston
-Chattanooga @ Virginia Tech
-Prairie View A&M @ Arizona State