News, Notes, and Highlighted Games: Monday, Nov 15th

NEWS AND NOTES:

-And just like that…Week 1 is over.  The season really does fly by.  On to week 2!!

-I plan on having a way too early (but still fun) Merit Rankings, seedlist, and bracket posted later on today.  I say I PLAN on having that done.  Sometimes it’s hard to find time to do everything, so if it’s a little late, that’s why.

-The biggest game yesterday was between Florida State and Florida.  I still think the Noles have the talent to finish as a protected seed, but they will need to improve as the season goes on.  It was back and forth for the first 30ish minutes of the game, but Florida pulled away and got control down the stretch for the 71-55 win.  The Gators get a nice win on paper, and they win the bragging rights!

-After blowing out UMass, Yale was blown out by Seton Hall last night 80-44.

-Drake absolutely blasted South Dakota into the sun.  South Dakota isn’t a top 50ish caliber team, but they aren’t terrible either.  Drake is DAMN good.  They aren’t ranked right now, but they probably will be before the season is over.

-Minnesota, who we thought would be one of the worst P5 teams this year, is now 3-0 with a few decent wins.  They’re not great wins, but they’re far better than just winning buy games.  They knocked off Princeton in overtime last night 87-80 to win the Asheville Championship MTE.

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:

-FURMAN AT BELMONT (***Spotlight Game***).  This is a hugely important UTR game for both teams.  Furman is unbeaten and already has a win at Louisville, which is the kind of win that can result in the selection committee taking a team even if they don’t win their conference tournament.  Belmont is another really good team that we also think might be good enough to play their way inside the bubble, so the stakes are high tonight.

-ILLINOIS AT MARQUETTE (Gavitt Tipoff Games).  Illinois clearly looks to be the superior team, but they are on the road, and teams who play early season showcase games at home often come in with a lot of energy.  Tonight will be an interesting test for the Illini and an interesting opportunity for Marquette.

-LIBERTY AT LSU.  Liberty is always one of the top UTR teams each year, and this year probably isn’t any different.  They’ve got a huge opportunity to get a quality road win that would really impress the committee if they can knock off LSU tonight.

-BUFFALO AT NORTH TEXAS.  Buffalo lost their season opener at Michigan, but this is still an outstanding team that’ looking for their first win.  Winning at North Texas certainly isn’t easy, but Buffalo is good enough to win games that aren’t easy to win.

-NAVY AT LOUISVILLE.  Navy did win at Virginia, and Louisville has an early season loss to Furman to make up for, so this one is worth keeping a bit of an eye on.

-WISCONSIN AT PROVIDENCE (Gavitt Tipoff Games).  Both teams come in at 2-0, and both are looking for an early signature win.  It’s the first real test for either team.

-OREGON STATE AT TULSA.  I still think Oregon State has some potential this year, but in order to meet it they have to be able to win road games like this.

-NORTH DAKOTA STATE AT UNLV.  Both teams come in 2-0, and it’s probably the toughest test for either of them up to this point.

-UC SANTA BARBARA AT WASHINGTON STATE.  Many are picking Wazzu as a dark horse in the Pac 12, and many (myself included) think UC Santa Barbara is one of the better UTR teams in the country this year, so this is a really interesting early season match-up.

BUY GAMES AND OTHER GAMES OF NOTE:

-Nicholls @ Baylor – both teams unbeaten
-Bowling Green @ Ohio State
-The Citadel @ Presbyterian – The Citadel is 2-0 with a win at Pitt.  If they can get to 3-0 with two true road wins, that’s a hell of a start for a team that’s normally among the worst in D1!
-Radford @ Virginia Tech
-Bryant @ Clemson
-Penn State @ UMass – a chance for Penn State to pick up a road win and remain unbeaten
-Robert Morris @ Ohio U
-Lamar @ Georgia Tech
-Prairie View A&M @ Texas Tech
-Southern Miss @ TCU
-Kansas City @ Missouri
-Northwestern State @ SMU
-Maine @ Colorado
-Alcorn State @ Gonzaga
-San Diego @ California – San Diego can pick up a road win and improve to 3-0
-Samford @ San Francisco – both teams unbeaten
-North Florida @ Arizona State
-Bethune Cookman @ Utah
-Southern Utah @ Saint Mary’s – the preseason Big Sky favorite against a really solid SMC team
-Long Beach State @ UCLA – both teams unbeaten
-San Jose State @ Stanford