News, Notes, and Highlighted Games – Monday, Nov 21st

NEWS AND NOTES:

-We will be recording our HOOPS HD REPORT Video Podcast tonight, so keep an eye out for that.

-For John Stalica’s UTR Game of the Day – CLICK HERE

-Gonzaga had what felt like a comfortable lead from pretty much tip to buzzer against Kentucky in their 80-64 win.  There were times Kentucky made a run at them, but Gonzaga would always respond with a run of their own.  I think it’s important to remind people that we’ve seen this from Kentucky before.  In fact there are very few years we don’t see it.  They are often a top ten caliber team by the end of December, but they are more of a top 35-40ish team in November.  In MANY years.  Don’t believe me??  Go back and check.

-Houston got the 66-56 win at Oregon, which will end up looking pretty good on paper, but it was a struggle for them on the offensive end.  They didn’t exactly blow Oregon off the court.

-Baylor and UCLA was another match-up between top ten teams, which was our second of the day, and it was a good one.  Baylor had a lead for most of the game, but it was close, and they ended up getting a huge 80-75 win over the Bruins.  It’s the second loss in a row for UCLA, but when you’re losing games that close to teams that good this early in the season, it may be frustrating, but it is by no means discouraging.  The Bruins will be fine.

-Virginia knocked off Illinois 70-61 in the championship game of the Main Event to cap off a huge weekend for the Hoos.  They should be moving way up in the rankings when they come out later today, and are making a solid early case that they are a protected seed caliber team.

-Michigan needed overtime to get by Ohio U 70-66.  This is the second time this season Michigan needed overtime to get by a team from the MAC, and it followed a blowout loss to Arizona State.  Perhaps Michigan isn’t a top 25 caliber team at the moment?

-Maryland has been a big surprise out of the Big Ten, and blew their way through the Basketball Hall of Fame Tip Off.  They ran over a pretty good Miami FL team yesterday 88-70 and other than Michigan State have looked as good as anyone in the Big Ten up until now.

-It wasn’t the prettiest of games, but Saint Louis did manage to come back and beat Providence 76-73 in the third place game of the Hall of Fame Tip-Off, which is a game that the Billikens kind of needed.

-Drake picked up their best win of the year against Wyoming 61-56.  Most of Drake’s wins have not been impressive, but they have managed to win all their games.  Wyoming is a team with a very high ceiling that’s off to a very slow start.  They cannot afford to drop another game in this tournament, or else they are going to start their run for the bubble from about a hundred miles away.

-Penn State is off to a very respectable 5-1 start, and they beat a decent Colorado State team yesterday 68-56.  I don’t want to get carried away.  I don’t think they’re a top 25 team.  But a top 40 team??  Maybe!

-UCF is now off to a sneaky 4-1 start after knocking off what appears to be an at least decent Santa Clara team 57-50,  We may need to start keeping an eye on them.

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:

-AKRON VS WESTERN KENTUCKY (Cayman Islands Classic).  These are two really good UTR teams, and doing well in an early season tournament like this is crucial when it comes to building a resume and making a case that they belong inside the bubble.

-TEXAS TECH VS CREIGHTON (Maui Invitational, Maui HI).   Both teams are in the rankings, and neither team has a loss.  This tournament, as it is every year, is a chance to rack up really big resume building wins, and to catapult a team into the national spotlight.  It wouldn’t surprise me if both these teams were in the rankings all year long.  Texas Tech’s defense against Creighton’s outside shooting!  Should be fun!

-LOUISVILLE VS ARKANSAS (Maui Invitational, Maui HI).  Louisville has lost three home buy games, each by just one point, so they haven’t exactly been setting the world on fire.  Arkansas is off to a 3-0 start and while they may not be all that tested today, they will be tested throughout this tournament.

-TULANE VS NEVADA (Cayman Islands Classic, George Town Cayman Islands).  Neither team has a loss, but neither team has been super tested yet either.  We think both have a lot of potential and are looking forward to see what they can do against each other, and what they can do throughout the tournament.

-DRAKE VS TARLETON STATE (Paradise Jam, Saint Thomas Virgin Islands).  Drake picked up a nice win yesterday against Wyoming, which was their best of the season so far, and shouldn’t have too much trouble today getting past a good, but yet seemingly overmatched, Tarleton State team.  Tarleton did beat Boston College yesterday, so they’ll be coming into this one with some confidence.

-MISSISSIPPI STATE VS MARQUETTE.  These are two teams that may be a little better than we thought coming in.  Mississippi State hasn’t passed any major tests yet, and Marquette did lose at Purdue, but they also gave Purdue a really good team.  Tonight is a bit of a litmus test for both of them, as well as an early season resume building opportunity.

-OHIO STATE VS SAN DIEGO STATE (Maui Invitational, Maui HI).  Both teams are in the rankings, but this game (and tournament) probably means more to San Diego State simply because they won’t have as many chances at big wins as Ohio State will later on in the year, so if they want to make a case to the committee that they deserve a protected seed, this tournament is their chance to do it.

-SAINT JOHN’S VS TEMPLE (Empire Classic, Brooklyn NY).  Temple has been hot and cold this season, and Saint John’s comes in at 4-0, so it’s a big game as far as early season momentum is concerned.

-CINCINNATI VS ARIZONA (Maui Invitational, Maui HI) – This appears to be a bit of a mismatch, and Cincinnati is coming off a loss to Northern Kentucky, but if Cincinnati can somehow do well in this tournament it will change the entire complexion of how they’re viewed.

OTHER NOTABLE GAMES:

-Toledo vs Kansas City (Gulf Coast Showcase) – Toledo looking to remain unbeaten
-Illinois State vs LS( (Cayman Islands Classic) – LSU is 3-0
-Northern Iowa vs San Francisco (Hall of Fame Classic) – San Francisco is 3-0
-East Carolina vs Indiana State (Gulf Coast Showcase) – Both teams come in at 3-0
-Wichita State vs Grand Canyon (Hall of Fame Classic) – GCU has shown some life early, but they need to do well in this tournament if they want to make a strong case for themselves
-Wyoming vs Boston College (Paradise Jam) – It is very important that Wyoming bounce back and not drop any more games in this event
-UAB vs South Florida (Sunshine Slam) – UAB’s only loss is to Toledo, and while they don’t have any big wins yet, they appear to have a good team.  They just need to hold serve in this event
-Georgia Tech vs Utah (Fort Meyer’s Tip Off).  I’m not particularly impressed with either team yet, but Utah has just one loss and Georgia Tech is unbeaten, so we will continue to keep an eye on them until we have a reason not to
-North Florida vs Duquesne – Duquesne is coming off a nice win against Colgate and can get to 4-1 on the season with a win today
-Syracuse vs Richmond (Empire Classic) – Both teams need to start stringing together wins to avoid falling completely off the radar
-Wright State vs Abilene Christian (Vegas 4) – both teams with just one loss
-Rhode Island vs Kansas State (Cayman Islands Classic) – K State looking to stay unbeaten
-Georgia vs Saint Joseph’s (Sunshine Slam)
-CA Baptist @ Minnesota – both teams 3-1

BUY GAMES:

-Loyola MD @ Clemson
-Omaha @ Iowa
-Bellarmine @ Duke
-Northern Arizona vs Texas – Game in Edinburg, TX
-Hampton @ UC Santa Barbara
-San Diego Christian (nonD1) @ San Diego
-Life Pacific (nonD1) @ UC Irvine