NEWS AND NOTES:
-As we expected, Baylor and Gonzaga was a thriller that came down to the final seconds with Baylor holding on for a 64-63 win. They now have wins against UCLA and Gonzaga on neutral floors, so their resume is already starting to look like a protected seed. Gonzaga falls to 5-3, but all their losses are to top six teams away from home, so that’s not going to hurt them too much. They’re still a really good team, their defense was a little better tonight, and when you look at the rest of the schedule, it wouldn’t shock me if they won all but one or two the rest of the way.
-Maryland held on for yet another big win as they got by Illinois at home. The Terps are now 8-0 on the year with wins against Saint Louis, Miami FL, and Illinois. Granted, none of those are true road wins, but that’s still an amazing early season profile.
-Clemson blew out a Wake Forest team 77-57 that had been playing fairly well coming into this game. Clemson is now 7-2 on the year and worth keeping an eye on.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-SYRACUSE AT NOTRE DAME (ACC). Until the other night, Notre Dame hadn’t looked good at all, but after a blowout win against Michigan State, the Irish are a team to pay attention to. This should be a winnable conference home game for them.
-OKLAHOMA AT VILLANOVA (Big East-Big 12 Battle). Villanova is just 2-5 right now, and while they may be good enough to kick it into gear and start winning games, they need to do that soon if they want to turn their season around. Oklahoma is 6-1, but this is probably one of their biggest tests of the season so far. Nova isn’t great, but it is a road game, and while Nova may not end up making the field, they will likely improve quite a bit from where they currently are.
-FORDHAM AT TULANE. I cannot believe we are highlighting this, but we are!! Fordham comes in at an almost unbelievable 7-1 record. Fordham hasn’t played the toughest schedule, but given their history for the past…oh…four decades or so, the fact that they are 7-1 against any schedule is amazing. Tulane is 5-2, but has still been a little disappointing this year with some missed opportunities, but they still have a lot of season left and can be dangerous if/when they start playing up to their ceiling. They’re also unbeaten at home.
-INDIANA AT RUTGERS (Big Ten). Rutgers is coming off a loss at Miami FL, but it was a very impressive showing against a Miami team that is really good (regardless of what the voters say). Now they get another shot at a quality win, this time at home, and in a conference game. Indiana better not overlook this Rutgers team. They’re probably better than what most realize.
-GRAND CANYON AT WYOMING. Wyoming had a ton of potential coming into the year, but they are without their best player due to an injury, have struggled, and may be running out of strikes. This is a game they need to pull their record even at 4-4, and it comes against a pretty decent Lopes team.
-SOUTHERN ILLINOIS AT SAINT LOUIS. I really like this SLU team, but they need to start adding some meat onto their resume. Southern Illinois comes in at a respectable 5-2 with two road wins. If they could pull this upset, it would be a HUGE statement.
-WISCONSIN AT MARQUETTE. This is a rivalry game between two teams that didn’t have the highest of expectations coming into this season, but have both had moments this season that indicate that they are better than expected. Marquette just absolutely trashed Baylor earlier in the week, and Wisconsin played well in their MTE last week. So, this one should be fun! It almost always is.
-PROVIDENCE AT RHODE ISLAND. Providence is looking like an NIT team, and Rhody is looking far worse than that, but we are highlighting this because DAMN this rivalry is fun!!
-WEST VIRGINIA AT XAVIER. Xavier is a good team that is in search of a good win after playing tough against multiple top 15 teams, but ultimately coming up short against all of them. West Virginia is off to a 6-1 start, but this would certainly be their most impressive win of the season so far if they’re able to pull it off.
-BOISE STATE VS TEXAS A&M (Fort Worth TX). Both teams are good, both have potential, but both need some quality wins to start building up their resume. This is certainly an opportunity.
-OLE MISS AT MEMPHIS. Both teams have respectable records, but both are sort of lacking in the quality wins department. They’ve both had a few chances, but have seemingly come up short in just about all of them. This series also has a little bit of heat to it. Many outside the geographic region may not realize that. So, both teams could really use this win, and the series is a little heated!! Sign me up!!
-WICHITA STATE AT KANSAS STATE. This is a fun in-state match-up between two teams that have perhaps been a little better than expected this year, but at the same time still have some work to do.
-SAINT MARY’S VS HOUSTON (Fort Worth TX). Saint Mary’s is coming off a home loss to New Mexico, which was a bit of a surprise and it ended a long home winning streak, but they still appear to be pretty good. The problem is that they are not insanely good. Houston is. They’re ranked #1 for a reason and will likely remain there for quite sme time.
-NEVADA AT LMU. It’s time to start paying attention to this Nevada team. They’re 7-1 with some pretty decent wins on their resume. LMU is also a very respectable 6-3 and they’ve lost just once at home so far, so this is a win that Nevada should get some credit for if they’re able to pull it off.
OTHER NOTABLE GAMES:
-Indiana State @ Miami OH – Indiana State is 7-1, but still looking for their first true road win
-Charleston @ The Citadel – I won’t call this a crosstown rivalry, but it is a crosstown match-up and a chance for CofC to pick up a road win
-VCU @ Temple – VCU is 5-2 on the season, but still looking for their first road win
-Florida State @ Virginia (ACC) – Virginia shouldn’t have too much trouble holding serve
-Princeton @ Drexel – Princeton can get to 6-2 and pick up their third true road win
-Davidson @ Delaware – Davidson is a modest 6-2, but they need some more sturdy wins on their resume. This will at least allow them to pick up a road win
-UMass Lowell @ Sacred Heart – Lowell can improve to 8-1 on the season and pick up their third road win with a win today
-Toledo @ George Mason – This should be a winnable road game for Toledo, although they did struggle away from home in their MTE. This is their first true road game, so it’s a test
-Saint Bonaventure @ Buffalo (Big 4) – Bonnies can get to 6-2 with a win, which would be their first road win of the season
-San Jose State @ Arkansas – San Jose State has a decent record and an absolutely phenomenal coach, but they’re probably way overmatched in this one
-Boston College @ Duke (ACC) – a very winnable conference home game for Duke
-Northern Colorado @ Colorado State – (Front Range) – Colorado State can get to 7-2
-Ohio U @ Marshall – Marshall can extend their winning streak to 7
-Louisiana @ New Orleans – a winnable road game for the Cajun that can get them to 7-1 on the year
-UIC @ Drake (Missouri Valley) – Drake trying to bounce back from their loss at Indiana State
-Yale @ Stony Brook – Yale has looked really impressive this year and is out to a 7-1 start. A win in this will give them their second true road win
-South Dakota State @ Alabama – this South Dakota State is much better than their 3-4 record. They’ve played a tough schedule and obviously have another tough one tonight
-Fresno State @ UC Irvine – Irvine should improve to 7-2
BUY GAMES:
-Saint Francis U @ Ohio State
-SC State @ Furman
-Mississippi Valley State @ Mississippi State
-Ball State @ Duquesne – Duquesne can get to 7-1 with the only loss being to Kentucky
-SELA @ Dayton
-Tennessee Tech @ Butler
-South Dakota @ BYU – The Yotes aren’t bad, so BYU better not overlook them
-Sacramento State @ Santa Clara