NEWS AND NOTES:
-We will be recording our Under the Radar Video Podcast tonight, and there is much to discuss, so be sure you tune in!
-Top ranked Duke went down on the road at Ohio State, which in and of itself isn’t a total surprise because Ohio State is good (obviously) and they are certainly good enough to beat just about anyone at home (obviously), but what was kind of surprising was how Duke appeared to be in complete control of this game early on in the second half, and then just totally fell apart. Ohio State outscored the Blue Devils 41-23 in the second half to come back and win 71-66.
-Purdue had no issues with Florida State, and in about five days will likely be the new #1 team (for whatever that’s worth).
-Furman needed double overtime to get by High Point. I’ve been big on this Furman team all year, and while they did win, and did so on the road, they didn’t exactly do it handily.
-Syracuse needed two overtimes to get by Indiana. They appeared to have it locked up at the end of regulation and did the ‘foul-up-3’ strategy…but it didn’t work. Indiana got the offensive rebound after missing the second freethrow and went back to the line with a chance to tie it…and did. But, the Orange did pull it out and it was one they really needed. While Indiana didn’t get the win, they did at least show that they can play with teams in games that aren’t easy to win. To date their best win of the year is a home win against Saint John’s, but after last night there is reason to believe that better wins are likely coming.
-Minnesota is unbeaten after winning at Pitt!! By 1!! I’m…not sure we should be excited about that, though.
-Saint Louis is now 7-1 after getting a road win at Boise State. That’s not exactly the hardest game in the world to win, but it’s also quite far from the easiest game to win. The Billikens have our attention!
-The lights went out in Las Crusas, and apparently so did the streaming feed, so if you weren’t there you didn’t see it. New Mexico picked up a nice road win against rival New Mexico State 101-94. I really liked this New Mexico State team coming into the year, and I still think they can be a good UTR team, but based on the start that they’re off to, it’s looking like one of their wins will need to be that last conference tournament game.
-Wake Forest knocked off Northwestern in a game between two teams that racked up big records against (for the most part) weak schedules.
-And San Jose State continues their turnaround toward excellence!! Tim Miles has them at 3-3 and unbeaten at home after knocking off South Dakota last night!!
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-CENTENARY (nonD1) AT UL MONROE (***Spotlight Game***). CENTENARY!!!!!!! The only team to (currently) have a Hoops HD Award named after them, is back in action tonight against a D1 opponent!!!!!!! LET’S GO GENTS!!!!!!
-SOUTH CAROLINA AT COASTAL CAROLINA. I like how South Carolina has played this season. This is their first true road game, and it appears to be a winnable one. This would get them to 6-1 on the year.
-CINCINNATI AT MIAMI OH. Cincinnati has had a schizophrenic start to the season where they’ve beaten teams like Illinois, but lost to teams like Monmouth at home. Miami OH wasn’t a team we were expecting much out of this season (even by UTR standards), but they come into this one 5-1 and have a chance to get a notable win against a regional opponent. This game suddenly has a storyline to it that we wouldn’t have imagined at the start of the season.
-RICHMOND AT WOFFORD. Richmond is off to a very disappointing 3-4 start and being able to describe them as a likely NCAA Tournament team is becoming harder and harder. They need to win this one tonight, and it’s hardly a gimme. Wofford is 5-2 on the year and unbeaten at home.
-RHODE ISLAND AT HARVARD. This game is interesting if nothing else. Both teams are 5-2 and while I wouldn’t guarantee that either of them will make a lot of noise in their conferences, I wouldn’t rule out the possibility either.
-SOUTHERN ILLINOIS AT EVANSVILLE (Missouri Valley). Southern Illinois has already used up some of the few strikes that they have, but I still think they have a good team and can make a lot of noise in the Missouri Valley.
-IONA AT MARIST (Metro Atlantic). This is not the easiest road game to win, but Iona already has a win against Alabama and I think they’ll be inside the bubble if they blow through this league.
-MEMPHIS AT GEORGIA. This is a winnable road game for the Tigers. They’ve been tested, but this is their first true road game of the season.
-LOUISVILLE AT MICHIGAN STATE (Big Ten/ACC Challenge). Louisville has rebounded since the loss to Furman and beat Maryland and Mississippi State to win their MTE. They’ve got a very tough road test tonight against a Michigan State team that is probably better than their #22 ranking.
-NEBRASKA AT NC STATE (ACC/Big Ten Challenge). Neither team has really lifted any weight that’s all that heavy yet, but both come in with good records and both have a chance at a notable (at least for now) win tonight.
-VIRGINIA TECH AT MARYLAND (ACC/Big Ten Challenge). Both teams are off to decent starts, and both could use this win tonight to help put them on a good trajectory early on.
-EAST TENNESSEE STATE AT UAB. While there is a good chance that neither of these teams finish inside the bubble, there is also a reasonable chance that at least one of them will. So…this is a big game for both these teams, and it should be a good one.
-WASHINGTON STATE AT ARIZONA STATE (Pac 12). Wazzu is off to a respectable 5-1 start, and winning their first conference game on the road seems very doable.
-FLORIDA AT OKLAHOMA. Florida is high in the rankings, and Oklahoma is a likely tournament team. It’s a really good resume building opportunity for both of them.
-UCF AT AUBURN. UCF is a decent team that has the chances they need to establish themselves on their schedule. Now, having said that, scheduling them is a lot easier than winning them, but if they can win this one tonight, they will certainly be squarely on our radar.
-WICHITA STATE AT OKLAHOMA STATE. Wichita State has just one loss and is looking to add a notable win to their resume.
-NORTHERN IOWA AT BRADLEY (Missouri Valley). Northern Iowa is off to a really disappointing start, but their one D1 win was against Saint Bonaventure, so they have shown that they can play at a high level. They better start doing it consistently if they want to be inside the bubble come March.
-MISSOURI STATE AT ILLINOIS STATE (Missouri Valley). Missouri State has a very small margin for error, but they do have a good and experienced team and if they can start stringing together wins they do have a path to land inside the bubble.
-OHIO U AT LSU. This is a huge opportunity for an Ohio U team that we think is an NCAA Tournament caliber team. They just need the wins on their resume to prove it, and they have a chance to pick up one of those tonight.
-TEXAS TECH AT PROVIDENCE. Texas Tech is unbeaten, and Providence has just one loss and has passed some pretty big tests. Like a lot of games tonight, it’s a chance for both these teams to pick up another early quality win.
-WISCONSIN AT GEORGIA TECH (Big Ten/ACC Challenge). This just isn’t the match-up that excites you the most. It appears to be a big mismatch, and a very winnable road game for the Badgers. Georgia Tech is 5-1, but hasn’t really been tested. If they do win this, then it will completely change my opinion of them.
-MICHIGAN AT NORTH CAROLINA (Big Ten/ACC Challenge). Neither team is high in the rankings, and North Carolina isn’t in them at all, but both will probably be there by the end of the year. It’s two teams with tons of potential that have struggled a little bit early, but have the chance to start to reverse that tonight.
-COLORADO AT UCLA (Pac 12). Colorado is a possible tournament team, but I don’t think they’re good enough to knock off a #1 seed caliber team on the road. Still, it’s a good opportunity.
-UTAH AT USC (Pac 12). Utah has a good record, but doesn’t have a win of this caliber on their resume yet. USC has looked really good early and will make quite a bit of noise in the Pac 12 this year.
BUY GAMES (and others worth mentioning):
-Central Michigan @ Xavier
-Villanova @ Penn (Big Five)
-Wagner @ Seton Hall – Wagner is back after a shutdown, and while it’s only their third game they looked good in the first two, so Seton Hall better not overlook them
-Dartmouth @ Vermont – two UTR teams that are off to good starts
-Princeton @ Hofstra – Princeton has looked good early on
-UT Martin @ Middle Tennessee – a win for Middle Tennessee gets them to 7-1
-William & Mary @ Navy
-La Salle @ Temple
-Brown @ UMass Lowell – two UTR teams that have looked good against some good power teams so far
-Alabama State @ Dayton
-Coppin State @ Saint Bonaventure
-Ball State @ Western Illinois – WIU can get to 6-2 with a win
-Texas Southern @ Louisiana Tech
-Central Arkansas @ Arkansas
-Arkansas Pine Bluff @ Iowa State
-Albany @ Kansas State
-Indiana State @ Loyola Chicago (Missouri Valley)
-BYU @ Utah Valley – a Beehive road game for BYU!! Utah Valley is a very respectable 6-1
-Little Rock @ Colorado State
-UC Riverside @ Oregon – UCR has looked good early, and Oregon has struggled some, but the Ducks are still the superior team.
-San Diego @ Fresno State