For today’s UTR Game of the Day between Sam Houston State and Rice – CLICK HERE
NEWS AND NOTES
-The Louisville-Kentucky rivalry started out like it was going to be a rockfight in favor of Kentucky, but the Cards did rally to tie the game in regulation and narrowly avoided what could have been a buzzer-beater layup by UK as a Maxey layup rimmed out. All it ended up doing was prolonging the agony as the Wildcats took advantage of missed Louisville free throws and ended up winning by 8 in overtime. It ended a 2-game losing streak for Kentucky and now leaves Chris Mack 0-2 against UK in his brief UofL tenure.
-Wisconsin came into yesterday not having won a single game away from home, but they blew Tennessee out of the water and ended up blowing out the Vols from tip to buzzer. This was UT’s first game without Lamonte Turner (out for the season with a shoulder injury) and they suddenly look like a team in disarray with losses in three of their last four games.
-UCLA was not featured in yesterday’s lineup, but they definitely will be featured today after yet another embarrassing home loss against Cal State-Fullerton. The Bruins actually came back from a 14-point deficit in the 2nd half with a 17-0 run, but Fullerton never blinked and came back themselves with a pair of clutch shots in the final minute of the game. They didn’t allow UCLA to get off a final shot, and the end result was Yosemite Sam, err, Mick Cronin throwing the entire team under the bus during his postgame show.
-Belmont hasn’t played as consistently well as they did last season that saw them sneak into the NCAA Tournament as one of the last four teams in the field, but they looked solid yesterday with a 17-point win at Western Kentucky. Barring any major speed bumps or injuries along the way, Belmont will be the clear favorite in the OVC this season.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES
-WEST VIRGINIA VS OHIO STATE (Game in Cleveland, OH). This should be a fun neutral court match-up between two top 25 teams, and a great resume building opportunity for both of them. Ohio State just got a big win against Kentucky, and has the chance to add another one to an already really good resume today. West Virginia has just one loss on the season, but they don’t have any wins that are anywhere close to as good as this one, so this is a really good opportunity for them as well. (There’s also going to be a lot of Buckeye fans in attendance with the mother of all hangovers after last night for some reason.)
-LIBERTY AT LSU. Liberty is unbeaten, and if they win this game there is a very good chance they will run the table and enter the NCAA Tournament without a loss. LSU is a decent team that has the room and ability to improve. While it’s not a win that completely blows you away, it would still likely end up being the best win on Liberty’s resume at the end of the year if they’re able to pull it off.
-DUQUESNE VS MARSHALL (Game in Cleveland OH). Duquesne is looking to bounce back from their first loss of the season and pick up a win away from home.
-KANSAS AT STANFORD. This is a tough road game for the Jayhawks, but if they want a #1 seed then they’re going to have to be good enough to win tough road games. Stanford is off to a surprising (at least to me) and impressive 11-1 start with some pretty good wins on their resume. If they were to get this one at home it would ignite even more energy and excitement around this team.
-APPALACHIAN STATE AT NC STATE. This is a buy game, and the end result should end up looking like a buy game, but Appalachian State is off to a HOT HOT HOT start and looks to be one of the better teams in the Sun Belt, so NC State better not overlook them!
-RHODE ISLAND AT MIDDLE TENNESSEE. Rhody has a ton of work to do, and they’re still looking for their first road win. They have potential, but they also have a very small margin for error.
-ARKANSAS AT INDIANA. Both teams have good records, and Indiana has a few decent wins, but for the most part both teams have bloated their records out against cupcakes, and you get the sense that both could really benefit from a win today.
-TULSA AT KANSAS STATE. Both teams need to put together a long string of wins if they want to end up on the right side of the bubble. A win today would be a nice start.
-HARVARD AT CALIFORNIA. Harvard got off to a disappointing start, but has been playing better and has what looks to be a winnable road game today.
-RICHMOND AT ALABAMA. Richmond has had a good year so far and looks like they’re good enough to be inside the bubble come Selection Sunday. A win today would be a huge step in the right direction. Alabama has had an unimpressive season overall, but they are playing much better now than they were during what was a slow start, and a win today would be another big step in the right direction.
BUY GAMES
-Bryant @ Maryland
-Cornell @ Penn State
-Alabama A&M @ Notre Dame
-NJIT @ UConn
-UMass Lowell @ Michigan
-North Carolina A&T @ Illinois
-Iona @ Colorado
-Mars Hill (nondiv1) @ East Tennessee State
-SELA @ Oklahoma State
-Abilene Christian @ Wichita State
-Alcorn State @ Santa Clara
-Alabama State @ Oregon
-Lipscomb @ Auburn
-Navy @ Virginia
-Cal State Bakersfield @ Texas Tech
-Kennesaw State @ Iowa
-Tennessee Tech @ Ole Miss
-UC Davis @ New Mexico
-Loyola MD @ VCU
-North Dakota @ Oregon State
-UMES @ Virginia Tech
-Bethune Cookman @ Saint Louis
-Western Michigan @ Michigan State
-FGCU @ USC