NEWS AND NOTES:
-So, let me start with this…
HAPPY COLLEGE BASKETBALL SEASON EVERYBODY!!
There are 184 games today. More games are being played today than on any other day of the season. It’s not even close, really. When you do the write-ups every day throughout the season, you learn things like that!!
-As for all the games today and what they all mean, everyone is technically starting out at zero. Nearly everything that I say in today’s writeup is purely speculative. For all I know, the Toledo @ Valpo game could end up being of much higher importance at the end of the season than the Duke vs Kentucky game. That’s one of the things that’s so great about college basketball. Teams ultimately play their way (for the most part) into whatever position they end up in. If the SWAC gets out there and wins 80 percent of their out of conference games, they’ll be sending 7 teams to the NCAA Tournament. Nothing is predetermined.
But, there is no way to look at today’s games without being able to speculate, so…
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-KANSAS VS MICHIGAN STATE (Champions Classic) (***Spotlight Game***). It’s two highly ranked teams playing on a neutral floor. It’s a chance for both of them to get a (likely) high caliber win away form home right out of the gate. Both teams are expected to be protected seeds, and generally a way to solidify yourself as a protected seed is to win games against top 25 caliber teams away from home.
-DUKE VS KENTUCKY (Champions Classic) (***Spotlight Game***). Just like the other Champions Classic game, the importance is obvious. It’s two highly ranked teams that we think can end up as protected seeds looking for a high caliber win right out of the gate. #1 seeded teams almost always have wins like this on their resume.
-ALCORN STATE AT WASHINGTON STATE. This is a straight up buy game, but it is also the first regulation game of the season!! So, it gets highlighted!!
-AKRON AT OHIO STATE. This is obviously a buy game, but it has enough intrigue to be highlighted. The last time the Buckeyes took on a really good UTR team, they lost! I think Ohio State is good enough to once again end up with a #1 or #2 seed, but they don’t want to overlook this Akron team, that could really give themselves an early season boost if they can pull the upset.
-SOUTHERN ILLINOIS AT LITTLE ROCK. Southern Illinois is a team that’s on our radar this year, and this is a winnable road game for them to open the season.
-BELMONT AT OHIO U. This game won’t get major headlines, but it is a hugely important game between two really good UTR teams that we think have a chance at playing their way inside the bubble. This is the kind of OCC games that we live for! It’s a high stakes game for two Under the Radar teams right out of the gate!!
-NORTHEASTERN AT COLGATE. I don’t think either team ends up inside the bubble, but it’s still a fun game between two good UTR teams that we think can end up at or near the top of their conference standings.
-EVANSVILLE AT CINCINNATI. This is technically a buy game, but we think the Missouri Valley could send multiple teams to the tournament this year, and while Cincinnati appears to be the better team, they better not completely overlook the Aces.
-DELAWARE AT DAVIDSON. This is another fun one to kick off the season. Delaware will likely be one of the frontrunners in the Colonial, and Davidson is always well coaches and could be good enough to make some noise in the A10. While I’m pretty sure this is technically a buy game, Davidson better not overlook the Blue Hens!
-APPALACHIAN STATE AT IONA. Another good early season UTR match-up between two teams that made the NCAA Tournament last season and have high expectations for this season.
-HOFSTRA AT HOUSTON. This is a buy game, and it could end up looking very much the way most buy games end up looking when it’s over, but Hofstra looks to be good enough to where they can give the Cougars a better game than most teams who end up on the receiving end of buy games. And, it’s a chance for Hofstra to make a huge splash early in the season
-MOREHEAD STATE AT AUBURN. This is a buy game, and it could end up looking very much the way most buy games end up looking when it’s over, but Morehead State looks to be good enough to where they can give the Tigers a better game than most teams who end up on the receiving end of buy games. And, it’s a chance for Morehead State, who made the NCAA Tournament a year ago, to make a huge splash early in the season.
-ABILENE CHRISTIAN AT UTAH. This is another buy game that involves a team on the receiving end that is above average. ACU went to the NCAA Tournament a year ago, and while they are rebuilding somewhat, Utah better not completely overlook them.
-SAINT THOMAS AT CHICAGO STATE. Welcome to D1 Saint Thomas!!!
-PEPPERDINE AT RICE. Some of us believe that Pepperdine may be a bit of a dark horse this year. If that’s true, then this should be a winnable road game for them.
-JACKSONVILLE STATE AT WICHITA STATE. This could be a sneaky good game. It’s a buy game, but Jax State is well coached and Wichita State better not overlook them.
-LOUISIANA TECH AT ALABAMA. Alabama is a team that we think can win the SEC, and earn a protected seed, and go deep into March. We don’t think LA Tech is quite that good, but we do think they are one of the better UTR teams out there who can contend for the top spot in Conference USA, and perhaps even a spot inside the bubble. If they can pull off the upset tonight, that will go a long way toward getting them in the field.
-UC IRVINE AT NEW MEXICO STATE. This is another fantastic match-up between two very good Under the Radar teams. We could be hearing from both of them in March, and if they have hopes of landing inside the bubble, then these are the kinds of games they need to be playing (and of course, winning).
-BRADLEY AT SOUTH DAKOTA STATE. South Dakota State is another very good Under the Radar team that’s worth keeping an eye on. They should be able to start things off with a win tonight.
-ORAL ROBERTS AT COLORADO STATE. Colorado State is who we like to win the Mountain West, and we could see them breaking in to the top 25 later on. Oral Roberts went on an amazing run last year, they have the bulk of those players back (albeit not all of them) and could be very dangerous this year. This is a great game for both these teams right out of the gate!
-UC RIVERSIDE AT SAN DIEGO STATE. This is a buy game, and it will probably end up being lopsided, but UC Riverside has made tremendous improvements to their program in recent years, and it will be interesting to see what they can do against a tournament caliber team right out of the gate.
-CHATTANOOGA AT LMU. Chattanooga will likely be toward the top of the pack in the SoCon, and LMU is a potential dark horse in the WCC.
-CLEVELAND STATE AT BYU. Cleveland State is another really strong Under the Radar team that we think can win the Horizon League. If they can somehow manage an opening night win at BYU, then you’re suddenly talking about them being good enough to land inside the bubble.
BUY GAMES
-Mount Saint Mary’s @ Villanova
-UC San Diego @ California
-Mary Baldwin (nonD1) @ Winthrop
-Saint Peter’s @ VCU
-Eastern Michigan @ Indiana
-Central Connecticut @ UConn
-IUPUI @ Butler
-Bellarmine @ Purdue
-Texas Southern @ Oregon – TX Southern is a SWAC favorite, but is probably still way overmatched
-Loyola MD @ North Carolina
-Quinnipiac @ Maryland
-Siena @ Saint Bonaventure – Big Four
-Oakland @ West Virginia
-USC Upstate @ South Carolina
-FIU@ Georgia
-NC Central @ Richmond
-Boston U @ Rhode Island
-Portland @ Arizona State
-UIC @ Dayton
-Lafayette @ Syracuse
-The Citadel @ Pittsburgh
-Presbyterian @ Clemson
-Fairfield @ Providence
-Miami OH @ Georgia Tech
-UNC Asheville @ UAB – may not be a buy game, but UAB is good enough to land inside the bubble, so we’ll list it as one
-New Orleans @ Ole Miss
-Canisius @ Miami FL
-Niagara @ Xavier
-Mississippi Valley State @ Saint John’s
-Jackson State @ Illinois
-Tennessee Tech @ Memphis
-Mercer @ Arkansas
-Alabama State @ Western Kentucky
-Nicholls @ Northern Iowa
-SEMO @ Missouri State
-Saint Francis Brooklyn @ Wisconsin
-Western Illinois @ Nebraska
-Arkansas Pine Bluff @ Creighton
-UL Monroe @ LSU
-Elon @ Florida
-McNeese @ SMU
-Northwestern State @ Oklahoma
-Coppin State @ Loyola Chicago
-Bucknell @ NC State
-Maine @ Virginia Tech
-North Florida @ Texas Tech
-Central Arkansas at Saint Louis
-Kennesaw State @ Iowa State – As bad as Iowa State was a year ago, any win is a good win
-Central Michigan @ Missouri
-Coe College (nonD1) @ Drake
-SIUE @ Marquette
-Dixie State (soon to be Utah Tech) @ Gonzaga
-Houston Baptist @ Texas
-Navy @ Virginia
-Cal State Northridge @ USC
-Utah Valley @ Boise State
-Southern @ Louisville
-UC Davis @ Utah State
-Tarleton @ Stanford
-Montana State @ Colorado
-Eastern Washington @ Nevada
-Longwood @ Iowa
-Prairie View A&M @ Saint Mary’s
-Northern Illinois @ Washington
-Portland State @ Oregon State
-Northern Arizona @ Arizona
-Long Island @ San Francisco
-Cal State Bakersfield @ UCLA