NEWS AND NOTES:
-We’ve had an Under the Radar team knock off a top ten team! Iona and Alabama played in a thrilling game that went back and forth, but that Iona pulled out in the end with a 72-68 win in the ESPN Events Invitational. It was a huge quality win for the Gaels, and you have to start thinking of them as a team that can make the NCAA Tournament without the auto-bid. It really doesn’t lessen my opinion of Alabama all that much. I still think they’re really good, and can have a big year, and can earn a protected seed, and can even contend to win the SEC.
-Auburn rebounded from their overtime loss to UConn, which really didn’t even qualify as a setback, and knocked off a good Loyola Chicago team 62-53 in the Battle 4 Atlantis. Loyola could have really benefited from at least one big win in this event, but they still aren’t totally sunk. It probably is important that they beat Arizona State today, though.
-Michigan State wasn’t in the rankings coming into this week, but they are about to be. They knocked off UConn in a thriller to advance to the Battle 4 Atlantis Championship game.
-Maryland got a nice 86-80 win against a Richmond team that we thought would be an NCAA Tournament team this year, but that has struggled out of the gate. Both teams have important games coming up as Maryland will face Louisville, who blew out Mississippi State, who isRichmond’s next opponent.
-Belmont picked up a huge 74-69 win against Drake in the ESPN Events Invitational. It’s big because it adds what should turn out to be a quality win to their resume, and it gives them the chances to play higher caliber opponents throughout the rest of the event and build their resume even more. With that being said, Belmont will face Iona, who knocked off Alabama, and Drake will get a shot at the Tide.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-DUKE VS GONZAGA (Continental Tire Challenge) (***Spotlight Game***). Gonzaga is playing their third top five opponent this season, and they won the previous two without too much trouble. Duke is also unbeaten and super talented so this is another fantastic early season showcase between two teams that we could see end up as #1 seeds.
-BAYLOR VS MICHIGAN STATE (Battle 4 Atlantis). Both teams are already putting together the types of resumes that protected seeds end up with, both have gotten this far by picking up two big wins, and they’ve got another chance at another one today.
-MIAMI FL AT NORTH TEXAS (ESPN Events Invitational). North Texas fell to Kansas and Miami FL fell to Dayton. Neither team has picked up any wins that look to be all that notable, so it’s important that the finish strong in this event.
-DAYTON VS KANSAS (ESPN Events Invitational). Dayton had gotten off to a rough start, but they really played well in their win against Miami FL yesterday. Having said that, they’re probably way overmatched today. The last time these two met in an MTE it was an absolute classic, but it’s probably a bit of a mismatch today. But, to be fair to Dayton, they did look a lot better yesterday.
-VCU VS UCONN (Battle 4 Atlantis). UConn has looked really strong so far this season despite the loss yesterday and can still finish this event with a very strong resume. VCU has also played well. Our expectations for them went down a bit prior to the start of the season, but they’ve shown they can still play like an NCAA Tournament team, and really have the chance to pick up a big win today.
-OKLAHOMA STATE AT ORAL ROBERTS. Oklahoma State isn’t eligible for the NCAA Tournament, but they will still have an impact on all of their opponents’ profiles. This is a tough road game against an Oral Roberts team that finished strong last year by going to the Sweet Sixteen, has a lot of that talent back, and has a bit of a showcase home game against a P5 brand name school.
-ALABAMA VS DRAKE (ESPN Events). Alabama was upset by Iona yesterday, but we still think this Tide team could end up as a protected seed, and perhaps even win the SEC. They face a Drake team who lost to Belmont, but who we still think will be a big time force in the Missouri Valley and will have a chance to land inside the bubble. This game has a bit of a pivotal feel for both teams. Drake needs a quality win, and Alabama doesn’t want to lose it’s second straight to an Under the Radar team while having such a high ranking and high expectations.
-SYRACUSE VS AUBURN (Battle 4 Atlantis). A neutral floor match-up between two likely tournament teams that have already picked up some big wins.
-IONA VS BELMONT (ESPN Events Invitational). This is probably the match-up that many of us were expecting, but perhaps not the part of the bracket we were expecting to see it in. Both are really good under the radar teams, bot have a shot at making the NCAA Tournament without the automatic bid, both picked up a big win yesterday, and both are looking to add to it today. This is important because their opportunities at notable wins will be limited (or…nonexistent) once league play starts.
-XAVIER VS VIRGINIA TECH (NIT Season Tip-Off). Xavier looked pretty bad in their loss on Wednesday night, and while Virginia Tech really battled Memphis they couldn’t quite get it done. Nevertheless, this is still a chance for both teams to pick up what should be a notable win away from home tonight.
-ARIZONA STATE VS LOYOLA CHICAGO (Battle 4 Atlantis). It’s the 7th place game, and Loyola has played well but not managed a notable win. They don’t want to walk out of this completely empty handed. It’s important that they at least pick up this one.
-PENN STATE VS LSU (Emerald Coast Classic). We are way higher on LSU, who comes into this game unbeaten, but Penn State is 3-1 and can change some opinions about their potential really quickly if they’re able to pull off this (surprise) win.
-IOWA STATE VS MEMPHIS (NIT Preseason Tip-Off). Iowa State had very low expectations this year, but they come into this one unbeaten and beat a pretty good Xavier team in their last game. We had concerns about Memphis being able to utilize their talent. Based on their 5-0 start and some of the teams they’ve already beaten, that is no longer a concern. It’s a resume building opportunity for both teams, and the chance to stay unbeaten.
-WICHITA STATE AT MISSOURI. Missouri has looked a little better than expected, but still seems to be a long way from a tournament team, so it’s a winnable road game for Wichita State who will improve to 5-1 on the year if they pull it off.
-USC VS SAN DIEGO STATE (Wooden Legacy). USC is unbeaten and in the rankings, and San Diego State is off to a really good 4-1 start and looking to add to their resume with a really impressive neutral floor win. This one should be good!
-SAN FRANCISCO VS UAB (Las Vegas Invitational). Both teams are off to really good starts, we think both could end up inside the bubble, and therefore both could really use this on their resume.
BUY GAMES AND OTHER GAMES WORTH MENTIONING:
-Georgia Southern @ Georgia Tech – both teams 4-1
-Omaha @ Purdue
-Charleston Southern @ Clemson
-Tennessee Tech @ Tennessee
-Concordia (nonD1) @ Ohio U
-Mississippi Valley State @ Ole Miss
-Northern Kentucky @ DePaul – DePaul can get to 5-0
-North Florida @ Kentucky
-Eastern Kentucky @ West Virginia – both teams have just one loss
-Portland State @ Iowa
-Lehigh @ Virginia
-UTRGV @ Illinois
-Hastings (nonD1) @ Wyoming
-Oregon State vs Wake Forest (Emerald Coast Classic) – Wake can get to 6-0 with a win