NEWS AND NOTES:
For Jon Teitel’s All Access Coverage of the Wooden Legacy – CLICK HERE
-The game of the day was a thriller. Duke led Gonzaga for most of the game, but it was always close with Gonzaga getting the lead at times, and the Zags had a chance to win all the way up until the final minute. Duke ended up pulling it out though with an 84-81 win. Gonzaga, who has wins over Texas and UCLA, will likely fall out of the #1 spot, but this will hardly hurt their chances at getting a #1 seed. They’ve already managed to beat two other highly ranked teams. It’s also a big statement win for Duke. It’s not that we didn’t think Duke was good, but now one can objectively say that they can beat anyone in the country.
-The biggest surprise of the day, and the year, and perhaps the last several years, was Dayton’s win over Kansas in the ESPN Events Invitational. It’s not just that a highly ranked team lost in an upset, but that Dayton had basically stunk up until the start of this event. They had lost three home buy games, and two of them were to UTR teams that aren’t even that good UTR standards. So the idea that they could come in, not even sweat against Miami FL, and then beat Kansas, was preposterous. But…that’s what happened. Now the question is whether or not Dayton has turned their season around and can play at a high level the rest of the way. They’ll face Belmont in the championship game tomorrow. About Belmont…
-Belmont was one of the under the radar teams we were really big on coming into the year, and who we thought could finish inside the bubble. After some missed opportunities at Ohio U and at LSU, they have picked up two big wins in this event (Drake and Iona) and have the chance to win it today against Dayton. Their margin for error is thin, but there might be enough on their resume to land them inside the bubble if they can win on Sunday, and if they can avoid stubbing their toes the rest of the way.
So…who all out there had Belmont and Dayton meeting in the finals of this event??
-Baylor blew passed Michigan State to win the Battle 4 Atlantis. It was close for a while, but Baylor opened it up down the stretch. There were some questions as to whether or not Baylor would be able to replace all the talent they lost from a year ago. I believe that those questions have been answered. They absolutely can.
-Iowa State, along with Cincinnati, is one of the surprise teams of the year. We were expecting absolutely nothing out of the Cyclones this year, but they went to the NIT Tip-Off and beat two ranked teams in about 24hrs. They are unbeaten with two wins away from home against ranked teams, and they kinda blew Memphis out yesterday. That objectively qualifies as being good.
-UConn held off VCU in overtime 70-63 to improve to 6-1. VCU, who still has potential but who also has a long way to go, now falls to 3-4.
-Xavier bounced back from their loss to Iowa State to win a 59-58 thriller against Virginia Tech in the third place game of the NIT. It was something Xavier needed. A nice notable win away from home.
-Oral Roberts fell to Oklahoma State in overtime 78-77. It drops ORU to 3-3, and while there is still a lot of season left, they have missed some early chances to establish themselves as an Under the Radar team that can get inside the bubble.
-West Virginia really had to sweat, but survived against Eastern Kentucky with an 80-77 win. This kind of raises the question…how good is Eastern Kentucky??
-LSU remains unbeaten after beating Penn State in the Emerald Coast Classic in a game where a crazy last second shot sent it to overtime.
-Wichita State improves to 5-1 with a nice road win against Missouri.
-San Francisco is now 8-0 after beating a pretty good UAB team in the Las Vegas Invitational last night. Our eyes are on the Dons.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-LOUISVILLE VS MARYLAND (Bahamas Championship). Both teams have been tested and both have won some notable games. This is a chance to pick up another resume boosting win away from home.
-RICHMOND VS MISSISSIPPI STATE (Bahamas Championship). I still think both of these teams could end up having big years, but Mississippi State is still looking for their first notable win, and Richmond has stumbled out of the gate and struggled a little more than expected. Both of these teams could use this win so they can leave this event with something good on their resume.
-NORTHERN IOWA AT SAINT BONAVENTURE. Northern Iowa was a team we had high expectations for coming into the season, and while there is still a lot of season left they have not lived up to them at this point. At just 1-3, and with several missed opportunities at notable wins, they’d basically have to blow through most of the rest of their schedule to land inside the bubble. The Bonnies, on the other hand, are still unbeaten and are climbing the rankings.
-NORTHERN COLORADO AT COLORADO STATE (Front Range). WE AT HOOPS HD LOVE THE FRONT RANGE!!!!! Colorado State is a really good team that is inexplicably not in the top 25 right now, and shouldn’t have too much trouble improving to 7-0.
-OKLAHOMA AT UCF. UCF is unbeaten, but this is their first real test of the year. It’s arguably the biggest test of the year for the Sooners so far since it’s a road game against an unbeaten team that has the opportunity to make a statement.
-LOUISIANA TECH AT NC STATE. LA Tech is a really strong UTR team who we think will make quite a bit of noise in Conference USA, and who has the chance to make a little bit of a splash on the national scene today. NC State better not overlook them.
-RUTGERS AT UMASS. Rutgers is starting off slow, and doesn’t want to fall behind the pack even more. They need to win this one.
-CHARLESTON AT CHATTANOOGA. Two pretty good Under the Radar teams, and Chattanooga is looking to get to 6-0 on the season.
-UCLA AT UNLV. UCLA, despite the loss to Gonzaga earlier this week, could still have a big year and wind up as a #1 seed. This is a winnable road game against a UNLV team that is improving and that should be up for this one, but they’re probably still swinging over their heads.
-LSU VS WAKE FOREST (Emerald Coast Classic). Both teams come into this one at 6-0 and can keep that momentum going with a win today. I don’t think we were all that excited about either team before the season started, but both have played well so far and it’ll be interesting to see what they do against each other today.
-UC IRVINE AT SANTA CLARA. UC Irvine has been the most impressive team out of the Big West so far, and they can continue to add to their resume if they’re able to pick this one up on the road. Both teams come in with just one loss, and both are on our early season radar, so this should be a fun one tonight.
-BYU AT UTAH. There probably isn’t a more heated rivalry in college sports. I’m not saying it’s the “biggest” because there are rivalries out there that are more important as far as how they impact the national scene, but I don’t think there are two programs that hate each other more than these two. Both come in unbeaten, and both have the potential to make the NCAA Tournament, so it means something on paper because it’s likely a resume booster for the team that wins it. But, that is a secondary storyline to this just being a fierce rivalry.
BUY GAMES AND OTHER GAMES WORTH MENTIONING:
-Saint Peter’s @ Providence
-Coppin State @ East Carolina
-South Dakota @ Nebraska – perhaps a sneaky good game? The Yotes are 4-1 and they may be able to make the Huskers sweat some
-Monmouth @ Cincinnati – This Cincinnati team is for real, and they can improve to 6-1 today
-Furman @ SC Upstate – Furman has a nice win against Louisville and just needs to hold serve
-Idaho State @ Air Force – AFA can get to 6-1
-Georgia State @ Rhode Island – both teams are off to respectable starts
-Lamar @ Texas Tech
-NJIT @ Saint John’s
-Vermont @ UNC Greensboro – two strong UTR Teams
-Northeastern @ Harvard (Bean Pot) – We at Hoops HD love the Bean Pot!!!!
-Denver @ Utah Valley – Utah Valley can get to 6-1 with a win
-SIUE @ Creighton
-Grand Canyon @ Pepperdine – Pepperdine has struggled early, but GCU is off to a respectable 4-1 start and can pick up a road win tonight
-Marshall @ Indiana – IU is unbeaten, but Marshall is 4-1 and a little better than most buy game opponents
-Sacramento State @ Arizona
-Eastern Washington @ Washington State
-Northern Illinois @ Marquette
-UT Arlington @ Utah State
-Weber State @ Dixie State – Weber can get to 6-0 with a win
-Winthrop @ Washington – Washington probably won’t be on the board this March, but they’ve shown moments of being able to play well