NEWS AND NOTES:
-Xavier got a nice win against Ohio State 71-65. The two teams rarely play, so it had to be a feel good win for the Muskies, and it should be a win that they’ll likely end up getting quite a bit of credit for even though they were the home team. Ohio State is good enough to win more than their share of games on the road this year.
-Saint Bonaventure remains unbeaten, but it was once again an unimpressive win for what we think is a top 25 caliber team. They held off Boise State 67-61 and face their first real test today against Clemson.
-Marquette picked up a nice 78-72 road win against Ole Miss. With a road win against Ole Miss and a home win against Illinois, their resume is off to a fantastic early start.
-DePaul is 3-0@ They won an exciting game against Rutgers, who was also unbeaten coming into the game. I don’t know how long DePaul will keep this up, but they’ve won all the games they’ve played so far. This caps off a 6-2 win for the Big East over the Big Ten in the Gavitt Games. The Big Ten so far has been collectively underwhelming.
-Wazzu blew out Idaho 109-61 in one of our favorite rivalries. Until next year!!
-San Diego State needed to come from behind late, but they got the 65-63 home win against Arizona State. Arizona State had looked really blah coming into this game, but they really kicked it into gear last night. If they can play like that the rest of the way, they should be fine.
-Oregon State, who we liked coming into the year, lost at home to Samford last night 78-77. I believe we are done liking Oregon State.
-Wyoming is now 3-0 after winning at Washington last night. Winning at Washington appears to be something that is categorically not hard to do, but at 3-0 overall the Cowboys do have our attention.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-NEW MEXICO STATE VS UTAH STATE (Myrtle Beach Invitational). Both teams picked up wins yesterday. This is a big opportunity for both of them to gather some notable wins away from home, especially New Mexico State whose chances for quality wins will likely be limited once they get into WAC play.
-BRADLEY VS COLORADO STATE (Paradise Jam). Colorado State has a good team with a so-so schedule. This tournament is a chance for them to add some decent neutral floor wins to their resume.
-SAINT BONAVENTURE VS CLEMSON (Charleston Classic). This is a good match-up. Both teams are unbeaten, and the expectations this season for Saint Bonaventure is high. While they’ve won their first three games, they were for the most part unimpressive showings against weaker opponents. Today’s game will be their first real test.
-BRADLEY VS COLORADO STATE (Paradise Jam). Colorado State is unbeaten and we think they can finish really high in the rankings. They need to do well in this tournament so they can pick up some (hopefully) notable wins away from home.
-BROWN VS CREIGHTON (Paradise Jam). Creighton is unbeaten and Brown’s only loss was to North Carolina, who they hung with for much of the game.
-YALE AT VERMONT. Yale has a blowout win against UMass and Vermont comes in 2-1 with a win at Northern Iowa and a strong showing at Maryland in their only loss. This could end up being a good win on paper by the time the season is over for whoever pulls it off.
-LIBERTY AT IONA (MAAC/A-Sun Challenge). We really like both these teams and think that both have a chance at landing inside the bubble come March, which makes this game really important for both of them.
-HOFSTRA AT MARYLAND. Hofstra is 1-2, but their losses weren’t damaging at all as both were tough road games to Arkansas and Iona. Maryland is looking to bounce back after their loss to George Mason, and it won’t be easy.
-OHIO U AT KENTUCKY. This is a deceivingly good game if you’re not familiar with Ohio U. They are one of several UTR teams that we think can land inside the bubble, and while they might be overmatched by Kentucky, they’re also good enough to really give them a game if UK overlooks them. It goes without saying that this would qualify as a notable win for the Bobcats.
-AUBURN AT SOUTH FLORIDA. This is a winnable road game for Auburn, and a chance to remain unbeaten on the year.
-GEORGE MASON AT JAMES MADISON. George Mason just picked up a huge win at Maryland, and is making a statement that they belong in the top 25. James Madison is also unbeaten on the season and is looking for a big win. Landing inside the bubble, which is MUCH easier said than done, will be their only way into the NCAA Tournament since they will not be participating in the CAA Conference Tournament.
-WESTERN KENTUCKY AT MEMPHIS. WKU is off to a somewhat disappointing 1-2 start given what their expectations were, but this is a chance to completely turn things around. Granted, it won’t be easy. This Memphis team is loaded with talent, and they’ve shown that they know how to play together well.
-OAKLAND AT ALABAMA. Oakland is probably swinging way over their heads, but they do have a notable win at Oklahoma State already, and if they can somehow pull this off then you have to start thinking of them as a tournament caliber team. Having said that, Alabama has played some pretty good UTR teams already, so props to them for scheduling them. They’ve also looked rather impressive against most of them.
-SOUTHERN ILLINOIS VS COLORADO (Paradise Jam). Colorado is unbeaten on the year and trying to pick up some key wins for their resume. Southern Illinois is off to a bit of a slow start, but this is a chance for them to completely turn that around if they can rack up some wins in this event.
-GEORGIA TECH AT GEORGIA. Not really big on either team, but it is a rivalry game, both teams are off to a modest 2-1 start, and the winner will have some early momentum built up.
-WICHITA STATE AT ARIZONA. Both teams are unbeaten, and both have the chance to earn some respect with a win tonight.
-MICHIGAN VS UNLV (Roman Main Event). UNLV is unbeaten, but this is clearly the biggest test they’ve had so far. It’s really not even close. Michgian is looking to bounce back from their home loss to Seton Hall earlier this week.
BUY GAMES AND OTHERS WORTH MENTIONING:
-UMass @ UNC Greensboro – UNCG entered this event unbeaten and can pad their resume by picking up some wins away from home.
-Troy vs North Dakota – (Paradise Jam)
-Norfolk State @ Bowling Green – Norfolk St. looking to remain unbeaten
-Wells (nonD1) @ Cornell – Cornell is 3-0
-Radford @ Furman
-PFW @ Minnesota – both teams unbeaten
-UMass Lowell @ George Washington – UMass Lowell is 3-1 with the notable win @ Dayton
-Coppin State @ Virginia
-Belmont @ Kennesaw State – winnable road game for Belmont
-Arkansas State @ SEMO – SEMO 1-1 with a notable win at Missouri State
-Middle Tennessee State vs Stephen F Austin (Cancun Challenge). MTSU is unbeaten and SFA has just one loss
-Lafayette @ Duke
-Louisiana Tech @ Northwestern State – an in-state road test for what we think is a pretty good LA Tech team
-Bellarmine @ Gonzaga
-Cal Poly @ Santa Clara – Santa Clara is unbeaten
-Cal State Fullerton @ San Diego – San Diego is 3-1 with a win at Nevada, but a real bad loss to California
–