CLICK HERE for the latest Hoops HD Report Video Podcast
NEWS AND NOTES
-There are now nine teams in the Big Ten, and with Maryland getting a surprise road win at #6 Wisconsin yesterday, we may be closing in on a tenth if everyone else can hold serve this week (which is admittedly assuming a lot). Speaking of not holding serve… (NOTE FROM CHAD: No David, there are still 14 teams in the Big Ten. There are, however, nine **ranked* teams)
-Michigan State was completely blown out by Minnesota yesterday. The game was pretty much blown open in the first few minutes and Sparty just never caught back up. Minnesota, who wasn’t expected to do much of anything this year, is now 9-1 with wins over Saint Louis, Iowa, and Michigan State in their last three games. They have done all this at home and they need to do something on the road to round out their resume, but so far they are off to an incredible start.
-Southern Illinois suffered their first loss of the season as they fell at home to Evansville. It is Evansville’s first conference win since March 2019. They had more recently beaten a #1 team on the road (Kentucky at Rupp Arena last year) than they had won a conference game.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES
-MIAMI FL AT VIRGINIA TECH (ACC). Miami FL has had to deal with injuries this year, which has made things tough for them. VA Tech is still in the rankings, still has a solid resume, and is looking to hold serve at home tonight.
-PURDUE AT RUTGERS. Rutgers continues to play for a protected seed and is looking to hold serve. Purdue is trying to play their way inside the bubble and is looking for a big road win.
-FLORIDA STATE AT CLEMSON (ACC). Both teams are probably tournament teams looking for a notable win. Florida State is currently in the rankings and Clemson isn’t that far out. A couple of wins this week should land them there.
-SANTA CLARA AT USC. Santa Clara has a bloated record, but they went to the bakery to build it up and lost the one game where they were tested. They need a win in a game like this to help build their tournament resume. USC is 4-1 and could also use some more quality wins on their profile.
-TEXAS A&M AT LSU (SEC). This is a conference game between two teams with good records, but who need more good wins on their resumes.
-WOFFORD AT MERCER (SoCon). Mercer needs to run through the SoCon in order to be inside the bubble, but so far they look like they may be good enough to do it.
-HOUSTON AT TULSA (American). Houston appears to be cruising toward a protected seed and is good enough to totally run away from the rest of the American. This is a winnable road game for them tonight.
-NORTHWESTERN AT IOWA (Big Ten). A great game tonight between two ranked teams who come into this with two different kinds of momentum. Northwestern has won three big games in a row and is looking to pick up their biggest win of the year so far. It’s against a top ten team on the road. Iowa, while in the top ten, is coming off a rather surprising loss to Minnesota and is trying to avoid losing their third game out of their last four.
-OLE MISS AT ALABAMA. Another case of two potentially good teams who need more good wins on their resume.
BUY GAMES (or games that might as well be)
-Northeastern @ West Virginia
-Central Arkansas @ Baylor
-Incarnate Word @ Texas Tech
-Dixie State @ Gonzaga