NEWS AND NOTES:
-Memphis turned in another impressive performance against another good team. Western Kentucky stayed with them for a good portion of the game, but the Tigers got control at the end for a 72-64 win.
-Kentucky pulled away from Ohio U in the second half for a 77-59 victory. This Ohio U team is pretty good, and they actually stayed with Kentucky for the first half. Kentucky probably deserves more credit for how well they played in this game than what they’ll probably get.
-Alabama played another solid under the radar team yesterday in Oakland, and totally blasted them off the floor 89-56. Another impressive showing for The Tide.
-Maryland bounced back from their loss to George Mason with a hard fought 69-67 win over Hofstra. Hofstra has fallen to 1-3 on the year, but two of those losses were to ranked teams, and one of those came in overtime.
-After sleepwalking through their first couple of games, Saint Bonaventure looked like they were going to continue sleepwalking in the first half against Clemson. The woke up in the second half, though, and overcame a 16pt deficit to get the win. It was the first time the Bonnies had really looked good this season, and I’m betting it won’t be the last.
-Colorado State had to sweat out Bradley a lot more than what we were expecting, but they held on for the 66-60 win.
-Iona got a big neutral floor win against Liberty to stay unbeaten. These are two really good UTR teams, and it’s probably a win Iona will get some credit for once the season is over.
-Marquette picked up their second notable win of the year yesterday as they knocked off West Virginia in the Charleston Classic. They’ve put together quite the resume early in the season, and I’ll be shocked if they don’t crack the rankings next week.
-After a somewhat disappointing start to the season, Southern Illinois picked up a nice win against Colorado in the Paradise Jam. They are one of several Missouri Valley teams that we think we need to keep an eye on this year. Of course, the bad news about this is that we don’t get a Colorado vs Colorado State game this year!! IT IS AN ASSAULT ON THE FRONT RANGE!!!
-Arizona needed overtime to get past Wichita State in the Roman Main Event out in Las Vegas. We thought this Wichita State team would be good this year, and while this was a missed opportunity for them, it is far from their only opportunity.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-VILLANOVA VS TENNESSEE (Hall of Fame Tip-Off). Villanova has already had a big test out at UCLA where they lost in overtime. Despite the loss, they showed they could play against a really good team on the road. It’s the first real test for Tennessee, so we should learn something about them today. It’s an early chance for both teams to pick up a quality win away from home.
-STANFORD AT BAYLOR. Stanford is off to a 3-1 start, but they haven’t been tested at all like they will be today. Baylor can improve to 4-0 with a win
-RICHMOND AT DRAKE. This is a really big opportunity for both of these teams. We think both are good enough to land inside the bubble, and an early win in a game like this would go a long way toward helping build their resume. Both teams are still looking for their first notable win.
-PURDUE VS NORTH CAROLINA (Hall of Fame Tip Off). Both teams are in the rankings, and both are deserving of it. It would’t shock me at all if they both ended up as protected seeds. Both teams will have a lot of chances at big wins this year, so this is more of an early season litmus test than anything else.
-CHATTANOOGA AT VCU. Chattanooga is an under the radar team that we really like. They are coming into this one 3-0 and already have a road win, but if they can pull this one off it would give their resume a nice boost. VCU is dealing with injuries, but they are still a pretty good team.
UTAH VS BOSTON COLLEGE (Sunshine Slam). Both teams have good records so far, but neither team has really won a game of note. This event is a chance for them to do that.
-TULSA VS RHODE ISLAND (Sunshine Slam). Rhody is unbeaten, but also hasn’t really been tested. They will get a bit of a challenge from Tulsa today. As is the case for all the teams in these kinds of events, it’s a chance to pick up some notable wins away from home.
-WESTERN ILLINOIS @ DEPAUL. This is a buy game, but both teams are 3-0 and Western Illinois has a notable win at Nebraska, so we’ll go ahead and highlight it.
BUY GAMES AND OTHERS WORTH MENTIONING:
-Binghamton @ UConn
-UCF @ Evansville – UCF can improve to 4-0 on the year and pick up their second road win
-Detroit Mercy @ Louisville
-Rider @ Buffalo
-UIC @ Loyola Chicago – inter city battle!!
-Chicago State @ UC Santa Barbara
-NC A&T @ Wake Forest – Wake can get to 4-0
-Mercer @ Saint Louis
-Texas Tech vs Incarnate Word (Game at South Padre Island)
-Colgate @ Syracuse
-Eastern Michigan @ Michigan State
-Duquesne @ Colorado
-San Jose State @ Texas
-Fairleigh Dickinson @ Saint John’s
-Winthrop @ Vanderbilt
-Iona vs North Alabama (MAAC/ASun Challenge) – Iona can get to 5-0
-Central Methodist (nonD1) @ BYU
-UT Arlington @ San Diego State