NEWS AND NOTES
-Another Legends Classic is in the books! Michigan State sure looked impressive by getting the win at Duke. I know there is a huge asterisk by that result because the arena was empty, but they still played a solid defensive game and were pretty much in control for the entire second half. To do that against Duke is rather impressive whether it’s in front of a packed house or not. NOTE from Chad: It was the Champions Classic. #StupidPuppet
-Kentucky appeared to be in control against Kansas early on, and I remember thinking how impressive they looked after falling to a Richmond team. But, then the second half started, Kentucky went ice cold, and Kansas ended up holding them off and picking up the win. While the game was close and exciting, it did feel a little bit sloppy while watching it. But, then again, it’s early. I don’t think either team is nearly as good now as they will be at the end of the year.
-Texas crushed Indiana for a very impressive early season win. We’ve been waiting for t he Longhorns to put together a top 25 caliber team under Shaka Smart, and the early vital signs appear to be that they finally now have one.
-North Carolina held off a really tough Stanford team and will face Texas later on today. The Tarheels look much better than they did a year ago, and can probably catapult themselves into the top ten if they can get the win against Texas.
-Davidson lost in the final seconds for the second day in a row. Providence picked up what was a nice early season win against them 63-62. While it’s been a frustrating couple of days for Davidson, I think they have more to be optimistic about than concerned about.
-USC blew BYU off the floor in one of the more surprising results of the day. We really like this BYU team, and had questions about USC, especially after seeing them struggle early on. It appears as though that, once again, USC is better than we thought they’d be in the preseason. That’s a recurring theme for them ever since Andy Enfield arrived. Maybe eventually we’ll learn our lesson and start paying more attention to them in the preseason??
-Navy improved to 3-1 with a win over Georgetown. Navy is much better than expected, and Georgetown is just as bad as expected.
-Dayton had to sweat out their opener against Eastern Illinois after blowing a big early game lead, but held on to win 66-63.
-Oklahoma State took down Marquette on the road to remain unbeaten. Is it time to seriously start paying attention to the Pokes? And, is it time for them to start considering an appeal of the postseason ban? NOTE from Chad: The appeal is already pending and has been for months. #StupidPuppet
-Winthrop got a somewhat surprising win against UNC Greensboro. We liked this Winthrop team as a solid UTR team, but we liked UNCG a little more. It was the first game for Winthrop, and they certainly looked impressive against a team we thought could end up on the bubble.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES
-WEST VIRGINIA VS GONZAGA (Indianapolis). Gonzaga has one big win already against Kansas, and West Virginia comes into this game with three pretty good wins, but obviously none against the top ranked team in the country. This is going to be a fun match up to watch between WVU’s tough pressure defense and Gonzaga’s offensive machine. Oh yeah, and this is the kind of game that #1 seeds win!
-ILLINOIS VS BAYLOR (Indianapolis). Both teams are in the top five, both are probable protected seeds, and both are potential #1 seeds. This is a big game because other than perhaps Illinois’ game against Ohio U, neither has faced an NCAA Tournament caliber team yet, much less a potential #1 seed caliber team. So, it should be a fun early season match up.
-INDIANA VS STANFORD (Maui Invitational). Stanford looked really impressive yesterday despite the loss to North Carolina, whereas Indiana looked surprisingly bad after looking so strong in their first game against Providence. Both teams are looking to pick up a second notable win from the event.
-ARMY VS FLORIDA (Mohegan Sun). It’s the season opener for Florida, and Army comes into this game with a 3-0 record. It will likely be a mismatch, but Florida could have some trouble considering that Army already has three games under their belts.
-TEXAS VS NORTH CAROLINA (Maui Invitational). Both teams are in the top 20, both have picked up some impressive wins already, and both are looking for another . It’s a chance to get a lot of early season momentum for two teams that had no momentum of any kind last year.
-LIPSCOMB AT CINCINNATI. It’s a buy game, but Lipscomb is likely and ASun frontrunner and it’s the season opener for Cincinnati so we will go ahead and highlight it.
-VCU AT PENN STATE. VCU has looked much better than we expected to in their first three games, and this is the first real test for a Penn State team that’s undergoing quite a bit of change.
-SAINT JOHN’S VS BYU (Mohegan Sun). BYU got clobbered by USC earlier in the week in a rather surprising result, and the Johnnies are off to a notable 3-0 start. It’s another game that can allow whoever wins it to take a step forward early on.
-UNC GREENSBORO VS DUQUESNE (Louisville, KY). Duquesne dropped their season opener and has another test today against a UNCG team that we expect to be good, but that is also coming off a loss and looking to rebound.
-SOUTH DAKOTA STATE AT IOWA STATE. South Dakota State was a team that we were really big on coming into the year, and we still think they can have a big season, but the 1-2 start they are off to is somewhat disappointing, and if they really are a team that belongs in the NCAA Tournament even if they don’t win their conference tournament, then this is the kind of road game that they need to be able to win.
-SETON HALL AT RHODE ISLAND. Seton Hall has a close loss to Louisville, but is still looking for their first meaningful win of the season. Rhody has looked impressive, but also use another meaningful win to show for it.
-PROVIDENCE VS ALABAMA (Maui Invitational). Both teams are looking to pick up another notable win and leave this event on a high note. Both could be tournament teams by the end of the year, but both have also shown they have some things they need to work on.
-OREGON VS MISSOURI (Omaha, NE). It’s the first game for Oregon, who we think is a top 25 caliber team, and the first real test for a Missouri team that we aren’t expecting too much out of this year, but who we will certainly begin to pay attention to if they win tonight.
-DAVIDSON VS UNLV (Maui Invitational). Davidson has lost two games in the final seconds on back to back days. They need to leave this event with at least one win in their pocket. While the results have been frustrating, I think there is more reason for optimism than concern for the Wildcats right now.
-OREGON STATE AT WASHINGTON STATE (Pac 12). It’s a crazy situation. Both teams are unbeaten, and at the end of the night one of them will be in first place in the Pac 12! I don’t think either one will be in the picture when the season ends, but for now it’s worth watching!
-KENNESAW STATE AT UAB. I don’t expect either team to be in the picture at the end of the year, but for now they’re both 2-0.
-OLD DOMINION AT NORFOLK STATE. It’s a crosstown battle!! And if Norfolk wins it they actually improve to a very impressive 3-0!
-BELMONT AT TENNESSEE STATE. A win for Belmont gets them to 4-0 on the year. NOTE from Chad: This game has been postponed to December 8. #StupidPuppet
BUY GAMES
-Morehead State @ Ohio State
-FGCU @ South Florida – Gulf Coast is 1-0
-South Carolina State @ Clemson – win gets Clemson to 3-0
-Ball State @ Michigan
-Southern Wesleyan (nondiv1) @ Furman
-Oral Roberts @ Wichita State
-Tarleton @ Texas A&M — Tarleton’s first game in Division I against a D1 opponent!
-Tennessee Tech @ Xavier
-North Florida @ Florida State
-Houston Baptist @ SMU
-Arkansas State @ Memphis
-Cal State Bakersfield @ Santa Clara – game being played in Santa Cruz
-Arkansas Pine Bluff @ Northwestern
-UT Arlington @ Arkansas
-North Dakota @ Dixie State – Dixie State’s first game as a member of D1!