NEWS AND NOTES:
-For our latest UNDER THE RADAR Video Podcast – CLICK HERE
-For John Stalica’s UTR Game of the Day – CLICK HERE
-The biggest surprise of the day, and perhaps one of the biggest surprising results of all time, was Eastern Illinois’s 92-83 win at Iowa. The two teams were more than 300 spots apart in nearly ever metrics rating, which makes this the biggest upset we could ever identify at least in regards to how far apart the two teams were. Eastern Illinois was also a terrible offensive team, but statistically and in actuality, so to see them hang 92 total points, 55 of which were in the second half, on the road at Iowa is simply preposterous. You’ll want to go back and watch at least the second half of that game, as it was perhaps the most improbable half of college basketball ever played.
-TCU picked up a nice 75-71 win at Utah, which gets them to 10-1 on the year and puts a nice win on their resume. They’re now 10-1 on the year and playing like the Sweet Sixteen caliber team that we thought they’d be.
-Virginia Tech, who had been on a roll, stopped rolling yesterday. They fell on the road 70-65 to a Boston College team who is, to put it nicely, not very good.
-Arizona State had also been on a roll, and they just got completely blown off the floor by San Francisco 97-60. The Dons sprinted out to a big lead early and just never looked back. It’s probably the best win of the season so far for USF, and we need to once again start to think of them as a tournament caliber team.
-Villanova knocked off Saint John’s 78-63 and is starting to look more and more like a solid tournament team. That’s now their fifth straight win, they have some decent wins in that stretch, and they controlled the game yesterday against what had looked like a pretty good Saint John’s team.
-Michigan State knocked off Oakland 67-54. That’s hardly worth mentioning. But Tom Izzo was assessed a technical foul during the game, and there is nothing funnier than seeing a man wearing a ridiculous outfit totally flipping out!! If you haven’t seen it yet, then CLICK HERE!!!
-North Carolina knocked off Michigan 80-76 in a game that had a bit of a pivotal feel to it for both teams. Neither are in serious danger, but both still have a lot of work to do if they want to end up safely inside the bracket, so yesterday’s win really does help out UNC.
-Notre Dame, who we were just beginning to get excited about again, lost at Florida State 73-72. This is not a good Florida State team, and is therefore not a good loss for the Irish to have on their resume.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-BOISE STATE AT SANTA CLARA. Both of these teams are probably being under-appreciated right now. Having said that, both still have work to do. Boise has won nine in a row, but this will arguably be their toughest game in that stretch. Santa Clara is a very respectable 10-3, but their schedule strength has been weak and really need a win like this on their resume.
-SEATTLE U VS UTAH STATE (Diamond Head Classic). Utah State is coming off a surprising loss to Weber State, which was their first of the season. They should be able to take care of business at home in this one, but Seattle U is having a really good year as well and appears to be one of the top teams in the WAC. They have just two losses, and if they can get a win like this away from home, and pick up one or two others in this event, it would really give their resume a boost.
-CHARLOTTE AT UAB (Conference USA). Both teams are 9-2, both have a shot at making a run at the bubble, and both could really use this win in order to help make it happen. This one should be fun. It’s arguably the most intriguing game of the day.
-BUTLER AT CREIGHTON (Big East) Creighton has followed up their 6-0 start and top ten ranking with six straight losses. This should be a winnable game for them, but it’s hardly a given. Butler has looked pretty good at times this year. Both teams need to string together some wins in order to land inside the bubble, and could really use this one tonight.
-ILLINOIS VS MISSOURI (Saint Louis MO). BRAGGIN RIGHTS!!! Missouri is 10-1 on the year, but their schedule has been a pastry cart, and the one game where they did play a top 25 team, Kansas blew them off the floor. They need a win in a game like this in order to be taken seriously. This one is almost always fun!
-KENT STATE AT UTEP (Sun Bowl Invitational, El Paso TX). Kent State is really good and should be able to land inside the field if they can blow through the rest of their schedule. Winning games like this on the road isn’t easy, but it’s the kind of game they’ll have to routinely win the rest of the way in order for the committee to seriously consider taking them.
-SOUTHERN MISS AT UNLV. This is a HUGELY important game between two teams with bloated records and a couple of good wins who need to add some substance to their resume. Both are good enough to make a run at the bubble, but both will have limited opportunities the rest of the way at high caliber wins.
OTHER NOTABLE GAMES
-Towson @ Bryant – Towson has lost three straight and is probably out of strikes
-VMI @ Fordham
-Iona vs SMU (Diamond Head Classic) – Iona needs to do well in this event if they want to be in a position to where the bubble is within reach
-Quinnipiac @ Penn State – Quinnipiac is 9-3 with four true road wins, but they’ll need a win like this to put them on the map. Penn State should win, but they better not overlook them
-Stony Brook @ West Virginia
-Saint Peter’s @ Maryland
-Harvard @ Kansas
-Louisville @ NC State (ACC) – winnable home game for NC State, which would get them to 11-3, but be their first ACC win
-Western Kentucky @ South Carolina – WKU needs to bounce back after a really bad loss at Louisville
-Morgan State @ Arizona
-North Texas @ UTSA (Conference USA) – North Texas has a shot at making a run at the bubble, but they need to blow through the conference in order to do it
-Harford @ San Francisco
-Weber State @ BYU (Beehive)
-Pepperdine @ Hawaii (Diamond Head Classic)