It’s November 11th!! 11/11!! HAPPY NIGEL TUFNEL DAY!!! – “This one goes to Eleven!”
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NEWS AND NOTES:
– Within the Top 25 last night, nobody was seriously challenged. Creighton was one team that got a much-needed blowout win after a much closer than expected home opener on Monday night.
– Western Kentucky did trail at halftime against crossstate rival Eastern Kentucky, but did come back to get a much-needed road win last night.
– Towson jumped out to a 14-point lead at halftime and ended up with roadkill thanks to a 67-55 victory at UMass. Not the greatest of wins, but the games that Towson needs to pick off to send the message that they are the team to beat in the Colonial this year.
– Oklahoma State led by as many as 13 points against Southern Illinois, but a 3-pointer with 20 seconds to go gave the Salukis a come-from-behind win on the road at OSU. I know some of our colleagues (i.e. Rocco Miller) are high on SIU this year – this would be a positive development.
– Notre Dame had to come back in the closing seconds to survive an upset at home against Radford, but the Irish escaped with a 79-76 victory.
– Saint Mary’s did not fool around with Vermont; they blew out the Catamounts 79-53.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-FRESNO STATE AT UC SANTA BARBARA. Both teams come in at 1-0, but neither was tested in their opener. I like this UCSB team and think they’re good enough to make a run at the bubble, so we’re keeping an eye on them.
-UAB VS TOLEDO (Barstool Showcase – Philadelphia, PA). Under The Radar Game of the Day – This is a fantastic match-up between a UAB team that is not only good enough to land inside the bubble, but a team that we may see in the top 25 before the end of the year, and a Toledo team that’s expected to make quite a bit of noise in the MAC. It’s a really good early season neutral floor game and a big opportunity for both teams to get what will likely be a good resume win.
-HOUSTON VS SAINT JOSEPH’S (Veterans Classic – Annapolis, MD). Like many “Classics” this is a very liberal use of the word “Classic.” It appears to be a ridiculous mismatch. Houston may be even less tested in this one than they were in their opener where they blew out Northern Colorado.
-MICHIGAN STATE VS GONZAGA (Armed Forces Classic – San Diego, CA). Both teams are 1-0, neither team has been tested, but Gonzaga looks like a Final Four caliber team whereas Michigan State looks like maybe a Round of 32 caliber team. We’ll learn a lot about both of them today.
-DUQUESNE AT KENTUCKY. Both teams are 1-0. This appears to be a huge mismatch, but the way Duquesne blew out Montana in their first game made me sit up and take notice. I’m not expecting them t0 win today, but maybe they won’t get totally run over and will make it look like more than just a buy game blowout.
-VILLANOVA AT TEMPLE (Big Five). Temple won their opener against La Salle and is looking to improve to 2-0 on the season, and in the Mythical Big Five Conference. Temple was a team that we were excited about this year, but they really crapped the bed in their opener against Wagner. It’s a long season, but they’re off to a bad start. Of course a win tonight totally turns all that around, but that’s far easier said than done.
-SMU AT DAYTON. Both teams won their openers, but neither were really tested. We’re expecting HUGE things out of Dayton this year, and they should be able to win rather easily tonight despite being short handed due to injuries.
-AKRON AT MISSISSIPPI STATE. Akron won their first game in overtime against what looks to be a pretty good South Dakota State team. If they want to make a case that they are a tournament caliber team, then they need to be able to win this one. Mississippi State won their opener, but isn’t expected to be inside the bubble. This is the kind of team that tournament teams are expected to beat even if it’s on the road.
-IONA AT HOFSTRA. A really good match-up between two strong UTR teams. Both teams won their openers, and if Iona wants to start building an NCAA Tournament resume, winning road games against teams that win a lot at home is a good way to do it.
-WEST VIRGINIA AT PITTSBURGH. It’s the Backyard Brawl!! Neither team is expected to be anywhere near the NCAA Tournament come March, but they did both win their openers, and…well…It’s the Backyard Brawl!!!
-CLEMSON AT SOUTH CAROLINA. This is a rivalry game between two teams that won their openers, but neither were really tested. Neither is expected to do much this season, but whoever wins this will at least have some early momentum built up and they may be able to ride that for a while.
-STANFORD VS WISCONSIN (Brew City Battle – Milwaukee, WI). Both teams come in after winning their openers. Wisconsin isn’t expected to do much by the general populace, but they are one of my dark horses and I think they can get to 2-0 today. Stanford isn’t expected to do much by the general populace either. I completely agree with that prognosis.
-LIBERTY AT ALABAMA. So, how do you get inside the bubble if you’re not from a regular multi-bid league? You win games like this!! Liberty is really good, and this is their chance to pick up what would likely be a VERY impressive road win that would absolutely get the selection committee’s attention. We all feel Liberty is good. Are they good enough to land inside the bubble? Well, to do that, they’ll need a win like this at some point.
-GEORGIA AT WAKE FOREST. Both teams come in at 1-0. Some of us at Hoops HD are expecting Wake to make some noise. I’m not sure I’m among them, but we’ll keep paying attention to them until they give us a reason not to.
-BYU AT SAN DIEGO STATE. This was a pretty good rivalry prior to BYU leaving the Mountain West. San Diego State appears to be the superior team and they’re at home, but it’s an opportunity for BYU to make a huge statement and add a huge early season win onto their resume.
-LONG BEACH STATE AT UCLA. It’s a buy game, and it appears to be a mismatch, but this is still a really good Long Beach State team that can make quite a bit of noise in the Big West. It’s a long shot, but tonight they at least have a chance to make a ton of noise on a national scale and add what would be an NCAA Tournament caliber win to their resume.
OTHER NOTABLE GAMES:
-Louisiana vs Harvard (Asheville Championship, Asheville NC) – both teams 1-0
-Detroit Mercy @ Boston College – both teams 1-0
-Charleston @ North Carolina – both teams 1-0. It’s a buy game, but maybe Charleston has enough to be reasonably competitive
-Bowling Green @ Oakland – both teams 1-0
-Northern Iowa @ Richmond – neither team has huge expectations, but both are 1-0
-Belmont @ Furman – we really like this Furman team. Both teams come into this one 1-0, and Belmont won a thriller in their opener on Monday
-Southern Miss @ Vanderiblt – Vandy needs to rebound after losing their opener against Memphis
-UNC Greensboro at Miami FL – this is a buy game, but it’s interesting enough to (sort of highlight). Both teams are 1-0 and both are expected to do reasonably well in their conferences
-Florida State @ UCF – not the easiest road game for FSU after losing their opener to Stestson
-Fordham at Arkansas – Fordham is back from a .500 season and won their opener. They’re probably way overmatched today, but as a program could Fordham FINALLY be moving in the right direction?
-Loyola Chicago @ UIC – both teams 1-0
-Colorado @ Grambling (Pac 12/SWAC Legacy Series) – Both teams won their openers. This should be an easy road win for the Buffs. It actually does look better than just winning a home buy game, even if it’s not all that difficult of a game to win.
-Penn @ Missouri – Penn is expected to be an Ivy League frontrunner and this is actually a winnable road game for them
-Elon @ East Tennessee State – both teams 1-0
-Bradley @ Utah State – both teams 1-0
-South Alabama @ New Mexico – both teams 1-0
-Portland State @ Portland – this is always a fun game to watch, and Portland may be a bit of a dark horse in the WCC this year.
BUY GAMES:
-Howard @ George Washington – GW can get to 2-0
-Boston U @ UConn – both teams 1-0
-SC State @ Duke – both teams 1-0
-McNeese @ Tulane – both teams 1-0
-Cal State Bakersfiled @ Utah – both teams 1-0
-Austin Peay @ Purdue
-Saint Francis Brooklyn @ Minnesota
-Florida Atlantic @ Ole Miss – both teams 1-0
-Kennesaw State @ Florida – both teams 1-0
-Campbell @ NC State – both teams 1-0
-Norfolk State @ Baylor – both teams unbeaten
-Lamar @ TCU – both teams 1-0
-South Florida @ Auburn – not necessarily a buy game, but might as well be
-Montana @ Xavier
-Northern Illinois @ Northwestern
-NC A&T @ Iowa – both teams 1-0
-Arkansas Pine Bluff @ Oklahoma – Pine Bluff nearly upset TCU in their opener
-Southern @ Arizona
-Monmouth @ Virginia
-Eastern Michigan @ Michigan – both teams 1-0
-Kansas City @ Illinois
-Florida A&M @ Oregon State
-SELA @ Colorado State – both teams 1-0
-Western Illinois @ DePaul – both teams unbeaten
-UC Irvine @ Oregon – both teams 1-0
-North Florida @ Washington