NEWS AND NOTES
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-Gonzaga lived up to their #1 ranking by basically leading Kansas from tip to buzzer yesterday. Kansas did close it up in the second half, but only for a few minutes (literally). By the end of the game Gonzaga had blown it open and was on cruise control.
-Villanova also picked up an impressive win against a really good Arizona State team, so their resume looks about as good as it possibly could right out of the gate. And, they get some hardware to go along with it as they win the 2K Empire Classic.
-Boston College knocked off Rhode Island in the 3rd place game of the 2K Empire Classic. I must say that I was impressed with all four of these teams. It’s been a long time since BC impressed anyone, but they gave Villanova all they wanted in the first game and beat what looks to be a better than expected Rhode Island team in the second game. Rhody, despite being 0-2, can still take some things away from this and we may see more wins from them than what most of us were expecting this year.
-Xavier survived a scare from Bradley, but managed to hold on to win after Bradley missed what would have been a game tying freethrow on the front end of a 1-and-1.
-Western Kentucky looked good and picked up another notable win by knocking off Memphis 75-69. I think WKU belongs in the top 25. They may not get into the next poll, but I bet we see them in there before the end of the season. They face West Virginia today, and if they can win that one they will almost assuredly move right into the rankings.
-Northern Iowa desperately needed a bounce back win yesterday against Saint Mary’s, and didn’t get it. Neither of Northern Iowa’s losses are potentially damaging, but they are two missed opportunities for a team that isn’t likely to have too many more chances at committee-impressing-caliber-wins the rest of the way.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES
-GONZAGA VS AUBURN (Fort Myers Tip-Off). Gonzaga is ranked #1 and they totally looked the part yesterday against Kansas in a game they won without really even having to sweat. Auburn picked up a win in their opener against Saint Joseph’s, but it was slightly less impressive. Gonzaga should coast today. For Auburn it’s a chance to see what they can do against the top ranked team with so many new players.
-VIRGINIA VS SAN FRANCISCO (HomeLight Classic). San Francisco is a program that has improved over the past few years. Virginia is a Final Four contender.
-OHIO AT ILLINOIS. This is a buy game, but since I think Ohio is one of the better teams in the MAC we will go ahead and highlight it. At the very least they are much stronger than Illinois’ first two opponents.
-WESTERN KENTUCKY AT WEST VIRGINIA. WKU already has two really nice wins on the year against Northern Iowa and Memphis, and probably belongs in the Top 25 whether they can win this game or not. WVU has also looked good in their first two games, so what we got is a good game between two good teams that already have a couple of good wins. It’s probably a bigger deal for WKU than for WVU since they get fewer chances in conference play to impress the committee, but either way both teams will be in good shape after this tournament.
-KANSAS VS SAINT JOSPEH’S (For Myers Tip-Off). The Jayhawks shouldn’t have too much trouble rebounding from their loss to Gonzaga yesterday.
-BOISE STATE AT HOUSTON. Boise State could make some noise in the Mountain West this year, but we aren’t expecting them to be a big player on the national scene. Having said that, a win today could totally change that opinion. This Houston team is ranked in the top 20 and could end up in the top 10 by the end of the season.
-UCLA VS PEPPERDINE (San Diego, CA). UCLA is looking to bounce back from their loss to San Diego State, and while they should get this one it may not be as easy as some think. Pepperdine is good enough to beat the Bruins if they overlook them.
-SETON HALL AT LOUISVILLE. This is a fun early season match-up between two likely tournament teams. It’s a low risk/high reward game. The winner gets a good win for their resume, and the loser doesn’t really suffer much of a setback.
-UTAH STATE AT NORTHERN IOWA (Bad Boy Mowers Crossover Classic). Both teams come into this game 0-2 and both really need this win. Both teams have the potential to have big seasons, but starting off 0-3 means they’ll have a steeper up hill climb the rest of the way.
-SOUTH DAKOTA STATE VS SAINT MARY’S (Bad Boy Mowers Crossover Classic). These are two teams that look like they have NCAA Tournament potential, but in order to get there they need to win games like this one today. Since the opportunities are somewhat limited SMC, and very limited for South Dakota State, this game does have a feeling of importance to it.
-UC IRVINE AT SAN DIEGO STATE. It’s more or less a buy game, and UC Irvine did not look impressive in their opener, but they should improve and be able to make sone noise once they get into Big West play. San Diego State isn’t in the Top 25 right now, but they likely will be before long.
-UNC GREENSBORO VS LITTLE ROCK (Wade Houston Tip-Off Classic). Little Rock struggled in their first game, but they did get the win. I think these are two really good UTR teams, and it will be fun seeing them go against one another.
-VCU VS MEMPHIS (Bad Boy Mowers Crossover Classic). VCU wasn’t expected to do much this year, but they’ve looked decent in this tournament, and if they can get a win against Memphis they’ll be on a much better path than what we thought they’d be on (at least for now). That’s easier said than done, though. While Memphis lost yesterday, it was to a really good Western Kentucky team, and based on what we’ve seen so far they look like an NCAA Tournament caliber team.
-COLORAD AT KANSAS STATE. This is an early winnable road game for Colorado
-ABILENE CHRISTIAN VS AUSTIN PEAY (Gulf Coast Showcase). Both teams are unbeaten
-GEORGE MASON VS BELMONT (Paradise Jam). Both teams are unbeaten.
-NAVY AT MARYLAND. Both teams 1-0.
-FRESNO STATE AT PACIFIC. Both teams 1-0
REVERSE BUY GAME
-New Mexico State @ Arizona Christian (nondiv1) – I can’t think of a time when a div1 team, much less what looks to be an NCAA Tournament caliber div1 team, went on the road to play an NAIA team. But…this is the COVID world we now live in!
BUY GAMES
-Toledo @ Xavier – Xavier can improve to 3-0 with a win
-Northwest U (nondiv1) @ Oregon State
-Sam Houston State @ Texas Tech
-Lamar @ Tulane
-Bryant @ Syracuse
-UC Davis @ Santa Clara
-Toccoa Falls (nondiv1) @ Georgia State – HOW WAS THIS NOT THE UTR GAME OF THE DAY!!!??
-Southern @ Iowa
Grambling @ Arizona
-North Florida @ NC State
-Morehead State vs Richmond – game in Lexington, KY
-Fairleigh Dickinson @ Rutgers
-Valparaiso @ Vanderbilt
-Longwood @ Wake Forest
-Eastern Illinois @ Marquette
-Mercer @ Georgia Tech – Mercer is 1-0 and GA Tech is looking to bounce back from their season opening loss
-Hartford @ UConn
-Arkansas Pine Bluff @ Wisconsin