Miami-Middletown at Taylor University – 6:00 PM ET (Live Stream)
Records need not apply for our UTR Game of the Night – this is the 25th annual Silent Night game hosted by Taylor University (located in Upland, Indiana). It’s almost a mix of Halloween, Christmas and a sense of relief that final exams are done; students come dressed in a variety of costumes. But once the game tips off, everyone remains silent until Taylor scores their 10th point. At this time, wild cheers erupt and teams rush the floor (prearranged by both teams and game management). There has even been a successful marriage proposal one year.
This is a video of Silent Night from last season; it was put on hiatus due to Covid protocols in 2020-21 before making its triumphant return last season.
OTHER NEWS, NOTES, AND GAMES:
-The game of the night last night was Rutgers at Ohio State. It was close from tip to buzzer, Rutgers had a lead for a lot of the game, and was up 3 with less than 10 seconds to go. They fouled with about 5 secs to go rather than give Ohio State a chance to tie with a 3-pointer. Ohio State made both freethrows, then fouled Rutgers who made one-of-two, then fired up a contested 3-pointer at the buzzer….and hit it! The Buckeyes escaped with a thrilling 67-66 win. For Rutgers, it’s the second game where they played amazingly well on the road against a really good team, but just couldn’t get the win. Having said that, I’m sold. Aside from fouling with too much time to play (or fouling at all) Rutgers looked like a top 25 team last night, they looked like a top 25 team earlier this week against Indiana, and they looked like a top 25 team on the road at Miami FL. I think Rutgers is a top 25 team and will be in the rankings before the end of the year.
-Iowa jumped out to an 18-0 lead on rival Iowa State, and the game never really got any closer than that. The Hawkeyes rolled over their rivals 75-56
-UMass Lowell was in control for pretty much the entire game at UMass, but the Minutemen made a run late and cut it to 1. Lowell was able to hold on for an 85-80 win, which is their fifth road win of the season and gets them to 10-1 overall. That is impressive!!
-Marshall was in control for pretty much the entire game at Duquesne, and picked up another nice road win of their own. Duquesne had just one loss on the season and was unbeaten at home, so this win will really help their NET.
-GRAMBLING AT VANDERBILT. Grambling is off to their best start in…well…it’s been so long I can’t even remember. It’ll be fun to see what they can do tonight.
-WASHINGTON AT GONZAGA. This is a rivalry game, and it is not a friendly rivalry!! Washington has looked good this year, but lost their only road game, and this is a TOUGH road game. Gonzaga is 6-3, which isn’t quite as good as what they’re used to, but they have played an absolutely killer schedule.
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