NEWS AND NOTES
-So the game of the night was not the game that anyone would have ever guessed would have been the game of the night. UC Riverside stayed with Arizona State for the entire game, and the lead seesawed back and forth. After Arizona State hit what appeared to be a game winning shot with less than 2 seconds to go, All UCR could do was throw up one last prayer from beyond mid court. The thing is…IT WENT IN!! They pull off the huge upset win 66-65. This is a program that has made huge improvements in the last year or two, and they perhaps took another big step forward today.
-I thought Maryland was going to absolutely maul George Washington, but GW hung in for the entire game and with just a few minutes to play they were actually still in a position to win it. It was a really sloppy game, and I suppose both teams are still working off the rust that comes with the early part of the season, but even with that it was a bit of a surprise that GW stayed with them. They may be poised to have a better season than what I thought.
-Northern Iowa is poised to have a much worse season than what we thought. Two years ago they won 26 games, and after several key players missed last season due to injuries, they are now pretty much all back. But, they are not back to the form they were two years ago. They’re now 0-2 after falling at home to Vermont. We really like this Vermont team as well. This is a nice win for them, and they got it despite not having their best player. The problem is that if you’re an Under the Radar team, you just don’t get that many strikes, and Northern Iowa already has two nasty ones.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES
-VILLANOVA AT UCLA (***Spotlight Game***). It’s a late tip, but it will be worth staying up for!! Both teams are ranked in the top five, both are potentially Final Four caliber teams, both have a shot at ending up as #1 seeds, and a win today for either team would be a huge resume building win. It’s not a stretch to say that it may end up being the best win that either team has all season. It should be fun!!
-UTAH STATE AT RICHMOND. We think both these teams have potential this year. Utah State is lookin to bounce back from their opening loss, but it won’t be easy. Richmond won their season opener and we think they’re good enough to land inside the bubble. If that’s true, then they need to be able to take care of business at home in games like this.
-WESTERN KENTUCKY VS MINNESOTA. Both teams come into this one 1-0. This one is being played in Asheville NC, so it’s a chance for both to pick up a notable (at least for now) win away from home.
-NORTHEASTERN AT GEORGIA STATE. A fairly good game between two decent UTR teams. Georgia State is looking to improve to 2-0.
-MOREHEAD STATE AT UAB. This is most likely a buy game, but Morehead State is a fairly decent UTR team, and UAB is good enough to possibly land inside the bubble, so we will go ahead and highlight it.
-SOUTH DAKOTA STATE AT ALABAMA. Really interesting game here between a good UTR team in South Dakota State, and a team who we think can win the SEC in Alabama. South Dakota State is likely overmatched, but this is a tremendous opportunity for them. Winning a game like this would go a long way toward them not needing to win the conference tournament to make the NCAA Tournament.
-VIRGINIA TECH AT NAVY. This game has a storyline that at this time last week we were not expecting it to have. Navy opened the season with a win at Virginia. They now get to come home and play a very good Virginia Tech team in front of what should be a very enthusiastic collection of Midshipmen! VA Tech also won their opener and is looking for a road win, and perhaps looking a little more difficult than they initially thought.
-SAN DIEGO STATE AT BYU. We think both teams are likely solid tournament teams, and it wouldn’t shock me if they both ended up in the top 25 before the season is over. This was also a pretty good rivalry when they were both in the Mountain West, so it’s kind of fun to see them squaring off again.
-SMU AT OREGON. Oregon is ranked in the top 15 and we think they’re good enough to contend for a protected seed. We think SMU is a potential tournament team. Now if they can win on the road against Oregon, we will suddenly look at them as a lot more than just being a POTENTIAL tournament team.
-PITTSBURGH AT WEST VIRGINIA. Backyard Brawl!!! This game used to never disappoint!! It could disappoint tonight, though. Pitt lost their opener to The Citadel. West Virginia is much better, and they’re at home, and they’re a hated rival. It could be a rough night for Pitt.
-WOFFORD AT CLEMSON. It’s a buy game, but it’s kinda fun to see these two teams play. Both come into this one at 1-0, and it’s a chance for Wofford to really surprise some people if they can pull off the upset. That’s MUCH easier said than done, though.
-NORTH DAKOTA STATE AT CAL POLY – both teams 1-0
-UNC GREENSBORO AT NORTHERN KENTUCKY – both teams 1-0, and we think both are pretty good UTR teams this year.
-FORDHAM AT MANHATTAN. We aren’t expecting to hear from either of these teams in March, but for now both are 1-0 and it is a bit of a rivalry game, so it should be fun.
-NORTHERN ILLINOIS AT INDIANA. It’s a buy game, but both teams are 1-0, and Northern Illinois actually had the more impressive win in the opener. They won on the road at Washington.
-RICE AT HOUSTON. This will likely be a big mismatch, but it is a (sort of) rivalry game, and both teams are 1-0, and Houston did struggle to win their opener in a buy game the other night.
-AUSTIN PEAY AT SOUTHERN ILLINOIS. This is a buy game, but we highlight it because Southern Illinois simply cannot afford to lose it. Even though it’s early, it would be a very damaging blow. They did not look good in their opener the other night.
-LOUISIANA AT SOUTHERN MISS. Both teams 1-0
-TEXAS STATE AT LSU. It’s a buy game, but both teams come in 1-0, and while Texas State may be overmatched tonight we think they can make some noise in the Sun Belt, so we’ll go ahead and highlight it.
-UMASS AT YALE. We aren’t expecting much out of either team, but as for now both are 1-0
-SAN DIEGO AT NEVADA. Both teams come into this one after having won their season opener. It could still end up being a long season for San Diego, but we’ll keep paying attention to them until they give us a reason not to. Nevada is expected to have a rough year as well, but one of these teams is gonna leave this game 2-0.
-STANFORD AT SANTA CLARA. It’s a Bay Area match-up! Both teams come into this one 1-0, and it should be a fun one.
BUY GAMES
-Morris College (nonD1) @ The Citadel – Citadel can get to 2-0
-Bryant @ Rhode Island – both teams 1-0
-Kent State @ Xavier
-Central Arkansas @ Butler
-Western Michigan @ Michigan State
-Army @ Duke – both teams 1-0
-Robert Morris @ Kentucky
-Niagara @ Ohio State
-Radford @ Virginia – UVA lookin to bounce back after an upset loss to Navy in their season opener
-Charleston Southern @ Ole Miss – both teams 1-0
-Furman @ Louisville – both teams 1-0
-Holy Cross @ Boston College – both teams 1-0
-Jackson State @ Louisiana Tech
-Western Carolina @ Wake Forest – both teams 1-0
-Tarlton @ Kansas
-UL Monroe @ Auburn
-Carver (nonD1) @ Nicholls – Nicholls won their opener against Northern Iowa
-Grambling @ Texas Tech
-UTSA @ Oklahoma – both teams 1-0
-Green Bay @ Wisconsin
-High Point @ Northwestern – both teams 1-0
-Kansas City @ Iowa
-Eastern Illinois @ Saint Louis
-Abilene Christian @ Texas A&M
-Indiana State @ Purdue – both teams 1-0
-Incarnate Word @ Baylor
-New Hampshire @ Marquette – both teams 1-0
-Arkansas State @ Illinois – both teams 1-0
-Brown @ North Carolina – both teams 1-0
-UTRGV @ Arizona – both teams 1-0
-Princeton @ South Carolina – both teams 1-0
-Seattle @ Washington State – both teams 1-0
-Arkansas Pine Bluff @ Colorado State
-Texas Southern @ Saint Mary’s