NEWS AND NOTES:
-We will be recording our Under the Radar Podcast tonight, so be on the lookout for that. Speaking of Under the Radar, for John Stalica’s UTR Game of the Day – CLICK HERE
-The first game of the Champions Classic may have been the game of the year so far. Michigan State trailed Kentucky for most of it, but it was close all throughout. They made some big plays at the end of regulation to force overtime, and then picked up the HUGE 86-77 overtime win. Michigan State was not a team many of us were big on, at least not as a top ten caliber team. However, in their last two games they nearly beat Gonzaga and then did beat Kentucky. When you play two top four teams, miss a last second shot that would have beaten one of them, and then beat the other one, perhaps that’s a sign that you’re pretty damn good!! Sparty should be ranked SUPER high in the next top 25. I don’t know that they will be, but they SHOULD be.
-Duke vs Kansas was exciting, but both teams struggled from outside the arc. Kansas ended up getting the 69-64 win, but didn’t pull away until there was less than a minute to go.
-We knew Dayton would be tested at UNLV because any true road game is a test. They looked good in the first half and appeared to be in control. Then I guess they just forgot to come out in the second half. UNLV absolutely dominated the Flyers outscoring them 38-20 in the second half and picked up the 60-52 win. This by no means ends Dayton’s season. Not even close. But as far as them ending up as a protected seed, the margin for error is very small, and losing to a team like UNLV (who doesn’t appear to be a tournament team), even if it’s on the road, can cost a team a protected seed. Top 15 caliber teams simply have to win these kinds of games in order to stay in the top 15. They just don’t get that many strikes, especially if there aren’t multiple highly ranked teams in their conference to potentially collect wins against.
-Appalachian State improved to 3-0 on the year after beating Louisville 61-60. It looked like Louisville had won the game on a last second shot, but it was waived off. Louisville has now lost three games, all by just one point.
-Temple is very schizophrenic this year. They lose to Wagner, then they beat Villanova, and last night they lost at home (in overtime) to a Vanderbilt team that was winless on the year.
-Colgate absolutely smoked Syracuse. The final score was 80-68, but the margin for much of the second half was more than that, and at no point did it look like Colgate was not the dominant team. Two takeaways from this game: Colgate is really good (which we kind of already knew), and Syracuse isn’t good at all (which we kind of already knew).
-Purdue got a nice 75-70 win at home against Marquette, but one of the things I actually took away was that Marquette played well. Purdue is a likely Tournament team, and they were playing at home. We didn’t think Marquette would be anywhere near the NIT, but they looked good for much of the game last night.
-Saint Louis looked really good against Memphis for about 35 minutes, and then almost completely blew it at the end of the game. Memphis came roaring back and almost stole it, but SLU held on to win 90-84.
-San Jose State, coached by Tim Miles, remains unbeaten on the season!! 3-0 after their win against Alabama State!! They are on a Final Four pace!!
-And finally USC bounced back last night. Sort of. They held on to beat Vermont 59-57. Vermont is good by UTR standards. I know that. But this is a USC team that I expected to be good by NCAA Tournament standards, and so far they simply have not shown it.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-MICHIGAN VS PITTSBURGH (Legends Classic, Brooklyn NY). Michigan looks to be the superior team, especially after Pitt was blown out at home by West Virginia last week, but this is the first big test away from home for the Wolverines, and their last game against Eastern Michigan wasn’t exactly the cakewalk that it should have been.
-FGCU AT TENNESSEE. We’ll highlight this one because FGCU does have the big upset win at USC, and Tennessee is coming off the somewhat surprising loss to Colorado. It’s a chance for Gulf Coast to pick up another big win, whereas Tennessee is just looking to bounce back.
-IOWA AT SETON HALL (Gavitt Tipoff Games). It’s the first real test for both teams. Iowa is someone that we think can do well in the Big Ten and land inside the bubble, but it’s a good chance for Seton Hall to leap onto the radar if they can come out of this one with a win.
-SOUTH DAKOTA STATE AT ARKANSAS. South Dakota State is playing their second game in just two days, and their first one wasn’t exactly awe inspiring. They had to sweat out Saint Bonaventure last night. Arkansas is stacked with talent, but is likely still getting used to playing together. I would call this a test for them because I really like South Dakota State’s team, but Arkansas is at home, the team they’re playing just played yesterday, and they didn’t look all that good. So…
-VCU VS ARIZONA STATE (Legends Classic, Brooklyn NY). Both of these teams are still in the early stages of having something to prove. VCU is unbeaten, but also untested. Arizona State is coming off a rather surprising loss to Texas Southern and really needs to bounce back from that.
-GONZAGA AT TEXAS. Gonzaga continues their gauntlet OOC schedule as they travel to Texas to face yet another highly ranked team. The Horns haven’t really been tested during the regular season yet, but that will certainly change tonight. Gonzaga is a #1 seed caliber team, and Texas is looking like a potential protected seed, so this would be a high caliber win on either team’s resume.
OTHER NOTABLE GAMES:
-Arknasas Pine Bluff @ Kent State – Pine Bluff has had some near upsets, so Kent State better look out
-Oakland @ Toledo – Toledo looking to remain unbeaten
-Army @ Siena – Siena looking to remain unbeaten
-Cincinnati @ Northern Kentucky – Cincinnati is unbeaten, but this is their first road game. It’s not the biggest challenge in the world, but it won’t necessarily be easy either
-Harvard @ Northeastern – (Bean Pot) – we mention this game only because we love the Bean Pot!!
-Missouri State @ BYU – BYU nearly upset San Diego State in their last game and should be able to bounce back at home tonight
-San Francisco @ Fresno State – San Francisco is unbeaten and lookin for their first road win
BUY GAMES:
-Hampton @ East Carolina
-Charleston Southern @ Tulane
-Eastern Illinois @ Ohio State
-Presbyterian @ UAB
-Texas Southern @ Houston
-Southern Indiana @ Notre Dame
-Southern U @ Saint Mary’s