NEWS AND NOTES
-For the UTR Game of the Day between Bowling Green vs Appalachian State, who is off to a HOT HOT HOT 2-0 start right now – CLICK HERE
-It is a busy day here at Hoops HD! We will have our first Merit Rankings of the season posted shortly. Also, from those merit rankings, we create a seedlist, and from the seedlist, we build a bracket. It will look ridiculous because it’s so early, but that doesn’t stop us from doing it! We will also be recording Under the Radar tonight to recap the first week of the season.
-Yesterday was the fifth day of the season, and it was the third time we saw a game where a top ten team lost to an unranked opponent. Richmond took complete control of the second half in their game against Kentucky and ended up winning rather handily. The result of this game should not be a surprise. Richmond is a really good team that finished the season really strong last year, and who runs one of the more disciplined offenses in the country. It’s also worth noting that this is not a slap at Kentucky. We are used to seeing Kentucky running at 100mph, but what everyone seems to forget is that Kentucky NEVER starts off going 100mph. It isn’t until their 9th or 10th game that they really get going. Every Thanksgiving we hear people talking about how Kentucky is overrated and doesn’t have it this year. This is actually normal. By the 9th or 10th game, Kentucky will most likely be playing like a top ten team.
-San Francisco followed up their big upset win against Virginia with a loss to Rhode Island. To be fair, this is a Rhody team that’s looked impressive this year, so this was not going to be an easy game to win, but it’s probably the kind of game they needed to win if the Dons wanted to sustain their national relevance.
-Houston looked incredibly impressive against Texas Tech and basically controlled the entire game. In looking at Houston’s schedule, you have a hard time finding a game on it that you think they’ll have a difficult time winning, especially after seeing what they did yesterday.
-Michigan had to really sweat against Oakland, but they ended up getting the win in overtime and remain unbeaten.
-A shoutout to Seattle U, who was a team in the WAC that we didn’t expect much of anything out of, but is off to a noticeably good 3-0 start.
-Alabama A&M, who never seems to beat anybody, opened their season with a road win at Samford. I don’t know when the last time was they won a road game, but they don’t win many, so a big shout out to them. We’d like to see that program be able to build itself up.
-Murray State gave up 95pts to Greenville, who isn’t a D1 team, but still won by 78pts. The final score was 173-95. Unreal!
-New Mexico State had some trouble with Arizona Christian, who is a highly ranked NAIA team. This was a fascinating game to watch because it was played at Arizona Christian, and it came down to the final seconds. The 6pt margin is due to freethrows in the final seconds of the game. The lead seesawed back and forth and really wasn’t decided until the final seconds.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES
-TEXAS VS DAVIDSON (Maui Invitational). Both teams come into this game without a loss, but they’ve really only played buy games up to this point. This event is a chance to try and add some meat to their resume.
-INDIANA VS PROVIDENCE (Maui Invitational). This is the first real test for two teams who’s fans have rather high expectations for them this year. For Providence those expectations are there because of how good they looked down the stretch last season. For Indiana those expectations are there because…well…they’re Indiana.
-LITTLE ROCK VS DUQUESNE (Wade Houston Tip-Off Classic). Most people won’t be too excited for this game, but Little Rock is a team that we think will be a frontrunner in the Sun Belt, and Duquesne is a team that we think will be a dark horse in the Atlantic Ten, so we are looking forward to it.
-SAINT JOHN’S VS BOSTON COLLEGE (Mohegan Sun). BC is off to an impressive start and this is another winnable game for them today. The Johnnies are 2-0, but this is by far their biggest test of the year so far and it will be interesting to see what they can do. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but BC is playing the Johnnies, and there is definitely a reason to watch the game!!
-STANFORD AT ALABAMA. We think both these teams are potential tournament teams. It’s the season opener for Stanford and the first big test for Alabama.
-NORTH CAROLINA VS UNLV (Asheville, NC). UNC shouldn’t have too much trouble picking up a win away from home (sort of), and improving to 2-0.
-AUBURN AT UCF. Both these teams are in rebuilding mode and are looking to collect some early season wins.
-GEORGIA STATE AT MERCER. How about this game!! Both teams are unbeaten at 2-0, and both have managed wins against Georgia Tech. We thought Georgia State would be good this year, but Mercer is a bit of a surprise.
-SEATTLE U VS CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE (Las Vegas). A win gets Seattle to 4-0.
-EASTERN KENTUCKY AT XAVIER. It’s a buy game, but both teams are unbeaten and Xavier has struggled in home buy games this year.
-LMU AT MINNESOTA. Minney is trying to improve to 3-0 on the season.
-TEXAS STATE AT MISSISSIPPI STATE. This is a buy game, but Texas State can improve to 3-0 with a win and Mississippi State is still looking for their first win.
-IONA AT SETON HALL. It’s a buy game, but it is Rick Pitino’s debut at Iona, and Seton Hall is looking to rebound from their loss at Louisville and pick up their first win.
-PACIFIC AT NEVADA. Both teams unbeaten.
BUY GAMES
-SELA @ LSU
-TAMUCC @ SMU
-Kansas City @ Kansas State
-Nicholls @ California
-Texas Southern @ Wyoming
-Long Beach State @ UCLA