NEWS AND NOTES
-Schedules continue to change from day to day. The most exciting game yesterday was a game that we didn’t even know about until the day before, and that was Virginia Tech pulling off an overtime upset win over Villanova. VA Tech should be applauded for their toughness as much as anything. They hung with Nova the whole game. Every time it looked like Nova was about to get control, VA Tech made some big plays to get back into it, and after the game went into overtime after VA Tech appeared to have it in hand, they again remained poised, made big plays and got the win. I was far more impressed with VA Tech than I was discouraged with Villanova. I still think the Wildcats will be in the mix to win it all at the end of the year.
-Saint Louis held off a late comeback attempt by LSU to pick up their second win of the year. The Billikens look like they’ll be a solid frontrunner in the Atlantic Ten this season.
-South Carolina was a team I was big on coming into the season, and yesterday they were totally blasted by Liberty. Liberty had already lost a game (albeit not against a pushover), so it was a little surprising to see them just take South Carolina apart like that. The Flames could once again have a really strong squad this year.
-UMass Lowell, who opened things up with a win over San Francisco, followed that up with an 82-72 loss to Illinois State yesterday.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES
-UMASS LOWELL AT OHIO STATE. This is a buy game, but because UMass Lowell has the win over San Francisco we will go ahead and highlight it.
-RICHMOND AT KENTUCKY. We are used to seeing Kentucky go at 100mph, but they start off at about 50mph and work their way up to that. People seem to forget that and freak out when they struggle or lose games early in the season year after year after year even though it happens year after year after year. Richmond is a really good team that returns a lot of starters and is difficult to defend. It wouldn’t shock me at all if they want in to Rupp Arena and picked up the win, which would be a huge resume building win for the Spiders if they were able to pull it off.
-SOUTH CAROLINA VS TULSA (Hall of Fame Classic). I was big on South Carolina this year, and they could still end up having a good season, but they’re going to have to play better than they did against Liberty yesterday. Both teams are still searching for their first win of the season.
-LIBERTY VS TCU (Hall of Fame Classic). I don’t know how much we will be hearing from either team at the end of the year, but Liberty is coming in with a nice win against South Carolina, and TCU is 2-0.
HOFSTRA AT RUTGERS. This is a buy game, but Hofstra appears to be the favorites to win the Colonial, so it’ll be interesting to see what they can do against a Rutgers team that is in the top 25 and comes into the game unbeaten.
-TEXAS TECH VS HOUSTON (Southwest Showcase). Both these teams are ranked in the top 20, and both have the potential to go deep into the NCAA Tournament, so it will be fun watching the two of them go at it early.
-SAN FRANCISCO AT RHODE ISLAND (Mohegan Sun). Rhody has looked good early in the season despite being just 1-2, and San Francisco is coming off their huge win against Villanova and is looking to keep that momentum going with another notable win early on. Both of these teams have been fun to watch so far, so it should be fun watching them play each other.
-BAYLOR VS WASHINGTON (Las Vegas, NV). Baylor is the second ranked team in the nation and Washington looks like a team that’s going to struggle to get itself rebuild this year. Of course that whole narrative changes if the Huskies can pull off the upset.
-SOUTH FLORIDA VS VIRGINIA TECH (Mohegan Sun). Virginia Tech has blasted themselves onto the national scene with a huge upset win over Villanova. Tonight’s game, which is definitely winnable, will improve them to 3-0
-WINTHROP AT UNC GREENSBORO. It’s the best team in the Big South (we think) taking on one of the best teams in the SoCon and a team that may be good enough to make the NCAA Tournament without needing to win the conference tournament (we think).
-LIPSCOMB AT TULANE. Both teams 1-0
-SEATTLE VS AIR FORCE (Las Vegas, NV). Both teams unbeaten
BUY GAMES
-Arkansas Pine Bluff @ Iowa State
-Florida A&M @ Georgia
-Mount Saint Mary’s @ Maryland
-New Orleans @ Texas A&M
-Houston Baptist @ Arizona State
-North Dakota State @ Creighton
-Oakland @ Michigan
-North Florida @ Miami FL
-Prairie View @ Louisville
-New Mexico State @ Arizona Christian – REVERSE BUY GAME