A HOLIDAY MESSAGE FROM THE PUPPET:
For all of you who enjoyed the Holidays, I’m glad you did! It’s been a crappy year and everyone deserves some enjoyment. For those of you who endured the Holidays, congrats!! you made it!! The Holidays are great for a lot of people, but also awful for a lot of people. It can be a sad reminder of something (or someone) that you’ve lost, or it can be a constant reminder of something that seemingly everyone else seems to have, but that you don’t. Social media is full of images of people who seem to be having a blast, and if you’re not having a blast, that can suck. Or, it could just mean that it’s always a time where the work and stress that goes into it always surpasses the enjoyment that comes out of it. In short, please know that while it’s normal for people to love The Holidays, it’s also normal for people to not like them at all. I can definitely relate to both experiences.
And to make things worse this year…HALF OF THE DIAMOND HEAD CLASSIC GAMES ON CHRISTMAS DAY WERE CANCELLED!!!! That TOTALLY ruined Christmas for me!!!
NEWS AND NOTES:
-Our regularly podcasting, Bracketing, and Posting schedule has been somewhat disrupted due to the Holidays. We should have a new bracket on Thursday (from me), perhaps a mid-week podcast some time in the next couple of days, and then back to our regular routine next week with the Hoops HD Report on Monday, Under the Radar on Thursday, and our first Bracket Rundown Podcast on Thursday.
-It has been an incredibly uneventful couple of days, and today is another snoozer with just three total games on the schedule, and only one that features two D1 teams (Brown @ Syracuse). Things should start to pick back up tomorrow (highlighted games listed below). But with that being said…
-More and more games are being cancelled or postponed due to COVID protocol, and common sense tells us all that those cancellations were increase before they decrease. Many teams were given time off during the holidays, and with players, coaches, and support staff traveling it could result in a spike in infection rates over the next few weeks. Conferences are kind of figuring it all out as they go, which means their policies and protocols are changing from day to day.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES (for Tuesday, Dec 28):
-At the time I’m writing this, seven games have been either cancelled or postponed. By the time you read this, it will probably be more than that.
-JAMES MADISON AT PENN. James Madison can get to 10-2 on the year, which still makes them a long shot (at best) for landing inside the bubble. They basically need to win out in order to get there.
-CONNECTICUT AT XAVIER (Big East). Hugely important game in the Big East. Both teams have played well, both already have notable wins, and both are off to 1-1 starts in the Big East. Xavier has been unbelievably good at home this year, so this would be a big win for the Huskies if they could pull it off.
-CARVER BIBLE COLLEGE AT JACKSONVILLE STATE. Carver Bible College is looking to make history!! This could be their first D1 win!!
-EASTERN MICHIGAN AT OHIO U (MAC). Ohio U’s got a very narrow path to landing inside the bubble, and it basically involves blowing through the MAC Conference.
-FRESNO STATE AT BOISE STATE (Mountain West). I think both teams are outside the bubble, but that both are also within reach of it, which makes this an important game for both of them. This would be a really nice road win for Fresno State, who only has one up to this point. It’s also the conference opener for both teams, so…
BUY GAMES:
-Alabama State @ Texas Tech
-North Alabama @ Gonzaga
-Northwestern State @ Baylor
-LSU Alexandria (nonD1) @ North Texas
-Incarnate Word @ Texas
-Lehigh @ Maryland
-Academy of Art (nonD1) @ San Francisco
-Yale @ Saint Mary’s