NEWS AND NOTES:
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-Tarleton went into Gonzaga and made them sweat a whole lot more than what anyone was expecting. Tarleton, who is a transitional team that has just one win on the season, gave an outstanding effort. The Zags won 64-55, but I ended up watching most of this game, and coming into the day I didn’t think I’d watch any of it.
-Iowa had a big win at Virginia to stay unbeaten. It was the first road win of the year for the Hawkeyes, and probably their most impressive win to date. They controlled the half, but UVA fought back and had a chance to win the game on the final possession, but came up empty and Iowa held on 75-74.
-UC Santa Barbara, and under the radar team that we were all pretty big on, lost rather inexplicably to UT Arlington, who had just one win on the season going in to last night’s game. UTA pretty much led tip to buzzer. So…we are now a little less big on the Gouchos.
-Illinois did’t have too much trouble knocking off Notre Dame 82-72 and improving to 5-2 on the season. Notre Dame football coach Brian Kelly must have been really upset after the game. He seems to have taken the loss kind of hard! I mean…SHEESH!!
-Keep an eye on Wyoming. I know they haven’t done anything to make a huge splash on the national scene, but they are 6-0 on the year and picked up their third true road win last night as they knocked off Cal State Fullerton.
-Boston College beat South Florida. They should be playing Penn State in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. The fact that they are not JUST RUINS THE WHOLE THING!!!!!
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-DAVIDSON AT CHARLOTTE. This is always a fun rivalry. I don’t think either team will be inside the bubble come March, but both are off to at least semi-respectable starts.
-INDIANA AT SYRACUSE (Big Ten/ACC Challenge). Indiana is unbeaten, but is also for the most part untested. Lots of teams would be unbeaten against the schedule they’ve played so far. If they can win this game tonight, then they’ll have my attention. Syracuse could use a big win as well. They come in at 3-3, and you get the sense they need a win in a game like this in order to feel like their season is on track.
-MINNESOTA AT PITTSBURGH (Big Ten/ACC Challenge). Minney is unbeaten and untested. One could argue that playing at Pitt doesn’t qualify as a test, but it is at least a road game for the Gophers.
-FLORIDA STATE AT PURDUE (Big Ten/ACC Challenge). Purdue is ranked #2 in the country, and based on what they’ve done so far this season the ranking is certainly deserved. Florida State is a team that I’m big on even though they’ haven’t exploded onto the national scene yet. A win on the road in a game like this would certainly put them there, but even without the win it’s a chance to see what they can do against a really good team in a true road game.
-SAINT LOUIS AT BOISE STATE. SLU is 6-1. Many wrote them off due to losing some key players to injuries, but 6-1 ain’t bad, and if they can get this road win then you need to start paying attention to them again.
-NEW MEXICO AT NEW MEXICO STATE. We really like this New Mexico State team and think they’ve got a shot at finishing inside the bubble, but their margin for error is small. They can’t afford to lose home games like this, and considering that they’re playing their rival, this one would hurt off paper as sell as on paper if they don’t get it done.
-NORTHWESTERN AT WAKE FOREST (Big Ten/ACC Challenge). I’m not sold on either team yet, and may not be at any point, but both come in with good records.
-CLEMSON AT RUTGERS (Big Ten/ACC Challenge). Rutgers has been very disappointing this year. Clemson isn’t really proven yet, but they may be DIS-proven if they can’t get this one on the road.
-DUKE AT OHIO STATE (Big Ten/ACC Challenge). I can’t help but think this Ohio State team is better than what they’ve gotten credit for so far. They certainly have the chance to demonstrate that tonight. It won’t be easy, though, even at home. This is a Duke team that is ranked #1, and that is not over-ranked.
BUY GAMES (and others worth mentioning):
-Presbyterian @ Tennessee – Presby is off to a good start, but they’re overmatched tonight
-UMES @ UCONN
-Chattanooga @ Tennessee Tech – Chattanooga can get to 6-1 on the season and pick up their third road win
-Furman @ High Point – Furman has the big win against Louisville
-New Orleans @ Texas A&M
-Bellarmine @ West Virginia
-Northwestern State @ Houston
-Jackson State @ Marquette
-Hawaii @ Santa Clara – this is still a decent Santa Clara team
-Prairie View A&M @ South Dakota State
-North Dakota State @ Creighton
-Long Beach State @ San Diego State