NEWS AND NOTES:
HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYBODY!!!! On days like today, it is important to remember the things that are really important! And the thing that is most important of all is COLLEGE BASKETBALL!! I hope everyone is able to enjoy the day. If you’re someone that finds holidays like this almost impossible to enjoy, then turn on college hoops and tweet at us. We’ll be watching/following all the action.
-For John Stalica’s UTR Game of the Day – CLICK HERE
-Yesterday was, as is every day during Feast Week, a busy day.
-In the afternoon session of the Battle 4 Atlantis, we saw NC State take Kansas to the wall before Kansas won 80-74in what was a very impressive showing for the Wolfpack. They didn’t get the win, but didn’t exactly get boat-raced out of the place either and were actually in a position to win until about the final minutes. Perhaps NC State is better than we thought.
The second game between Dayton and Wisconsin was close, the defense was tough, and the offense was…offensive. Wisconsin held on to win 43-42. Dayton had a chance to win in the final seconds, but couldn’t get a good shot up. This comes as no surprise, as both teams struggled to get good shots up for the entire game. On paper, though, a win is a win, and Wisconsin is starting to build a resume and show that they were perhaps undervalued in the preseason.
USC knocked off BYU 82-76 and has now won four straight since losing their season opener. Perhaps they have now woken up. We’ll see what they do in their next two games of this event.
-Out in Maui, Arkansas came from behind to force overtime against San Diego State, and then picked up the 78-74 in in the third place game. San Diego State won’t lose too many more this season, but it is a little disappointing that they weren’t able to pick up one really big win against a top 25 caliber team on a neutral floor. The conference they play in is good, and it will certainly enable them to build a good resume, but it won’t give them as many chances at high caliber wins as the SEC typically does.
In the championship game, Arizona held on to beat Creighton 81-79. Creighton made a late run at it, and even though they didn’t win, I think they’ve shown that they are very much capable of earning a protected seed and the win they picked up against Arkansas in the semifinals may end up being one of their best of the year.
Ohio State picked up a nice win in the 5th place game against a pretty good Texas Tech team, so it wasn’t a bad event for the Buckeyes either.
-Down in the Cancun Challenge, Auburn vs Northwestern was challenging to watch. It was also a little surprising that a Northwestern team we weren’t expecting much out of could play with, and almost beat an Auburn team, but like the Dayton vs Wisky game it was a defensive battle, and like the Dayton v Wisky game, the final score was 43-42 with Auburn holding on for the win.
-Western Kentucky got a really nice win against Tulane down in the Cayman Islands. We were big on this Tulane team, and we still are in terms of thinking they can have a really good season overall, but they had two chances to get notable wins in this event and came up short on both. As for WKU, this is a neutral floor win that will look nice on their resume. Now they just need to consistently hold serve in the games they’re supposed to win.
-Nevada is off to an impressive 6-1 start with some notable wins on their resume. They beat a pretty good Akron team 62-58 in the Cayman Islands. Akron likely won’t be an at-large team, but they are good enough to win a lot of games and I think this is a win that Nevada will end up getting quite a bit of credit for come March.
-Charleston picked up another really good win as they held off Kent State at home 74-72. This game had a feel of being between two teams who were good enough to receive at-large bids to the NCAA Tournament, but had limited opportunities at the kinds of statement wins that impress the committee, which is what made this game so important. The one thing about Charleston is that almost all of their notable wins have come on their home floor, so when they start to play on the road they’ll need to hold serve in order to keep their resume shored up.
-Kansas State beat LSU 61-59 in an absolutely wild finish where it looked as though LSU had tied the game to force overtime, but the basket was then waived off and suddenly K State was the Cayman Islands Classic Champs! We were not big on K State coming onto this season. Like, not AT ALL! But they’re now 6-0 on the year with some notable wins on their resume, so they now have our attention.
-Mississippi State remains unbeaten after knocking off Utah 52-49 in the Fort Meyers Tip-Off.
-UNLV also remains unbeaten after beating Minnesota in the SoCal Challenge. UNLV doesn’t have any wins that blow you away, but they haven’t all been home buy games either.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-WISCONSIN VS KANSAS (Battle 4 Atlantis, Nassau Bahamas). After winning one of the biggest rock fights of the season against Dayton, Wisconsin moves on to face a Kansas team that didn’t exactly cruise past NC State in their game either. Wisconsin really has a chance to make a statement today if they can pull off the win.
-NORTH CAROLINA VS PORTLAND (Phil Knight Invitational, Portland OR). This appears to be a huge mismatch. Portland may be better than expected, but they’re not so much better that it’s likely they can compete with the top ranked team in the nation.
-TENNESSEE VS USC (Battle 4 Atlantis, Nassau Bahamas). USC might finally be awake after sleepwalking through their first couple of games of the season. A win against Tennessee today would change the entire complexion and perception of their team this year. Tennessee absolutely ran away from Butler yesterday and can move back up in the rankings if they continue to do well in this event.
-IOWA STATE VS VILLANOVA (Phil Knight Invitational, Portland OR). Iowa State is unbeaten, but hasn’t really been tested yet. Villanova has not impressed so far this season, but a strong showing in this event could jumpstart both their season and their profile after getting off to a bit of a sluggish start.
-DAYTON VS NC STATE (Battle 4 Atlantis, Nassau Bahamas). Both teams lost close games yesterday, and Dayton is certainly missing one of their key players, but both teams also have the potential to end up having a big year. This game has a kind of pivotal feel to it even though it’s early in the season.
-FLORIDA VS XAVIER (Phil Knight Legacy, Portland OR). This will be Xavier’s first test (sort of) away from home and they are still looking for their first real notable win. Florida is off to a slow start and has actually dropped some home buy games. Doing well in this even can turn their season around. In short, this is a game between two teams that have been a little slow out of the starting gate.
-MEMPHIS VS SETON HALL (ESPN Events, Kissimmee FL). Both teams have potential, but so far neither team has much of a resume and this game is perhaps a chance for them to build on it. Memphis did win at Vanderbilt who may end up being better than expected, but another win away from home would certainly help.
-CONNECTICUT VS OREGON (Phil Knight Invitational, Portland OR). Oregon had high expectations for the year, but are off to a rather unspectacular 2-2 start. Having said that, this event is a great opportunity for them to right the ship. It’s also a good opportunity for UConn as well, who is can add some early season notable wins to their resume.
-PURDUE VS WEST VIRGINIA (Phil Knight Legacy, Portland OR). We weren’t expecting that much out of West Virginia, but they haven’t lost yet this season and have the chance to make some statements in this event. This is a resume building opportunity for Purdue as well, who has managed a home win against Marquette, but other than that has been untested up to this point.
-ALABAMA VS MICHIGAN STATE (Phil Knight Invitational, Portland OR). Michigan State has been outstanding this year, and can continue to establish themselves early as a team that deserves to be highly ranked. We’ve got high expectations for Bama as well, but this is by far their biggest test of the season so far.
-WASHINGTON VS SAINT MARY’S (Wooden Legacy). Washington comes in at 4-1 and can really catapult themselves forward today if they can some how pick up a win. Saint Mary’s is unbeaten on the season, and probably very undervalued as well. If they can do well in this event hopefully the voters start taking notice. I’m pretty sure the selection committee already has.
OTHER NOTABLE GAMES:
-Ole Miss vs Stanford (ESPN Events) – Ole Miss is unbeaten on the year
-Duke vs Oregon State (Phil Knight Legacy) – this is perhaps a bigger mismatch than many 1v16 games we see in the Round of 64
-Nebraska vs Oklahoma (ESPN Events) – it’s Big Red vs Big Red! Both teams have just one loss, and Oklahoma could be an NCAA Tournament team once they start firing on all cylinders.
-Butler vs BYU (Battle 4 Atlantis) – in the race to the bubble, both these teams appear to be falling behind the pack and need a win today just to keep up
-Portland State vs Gonzaga (Phil Knight Legacy) – there are a lot of good games in the Phil Knight events. This is not one of them