NEWS AND NOTES:
–For John Stalica’s UNDER THE RADAR GAME OF THE DAY between Troy and Ohio U, CLICK HERE
-The game of the night was Baylor’s 88-82 win against Auburn out at the Pentagon in South Dakota. I believe there are a total 80 games at the Pentagon this year, and why that’s suddenly become a major destination for notable OOC games I’m not sure, but last night was a good one. Baylor was the favorites last night, and they showed that they were good, but so did Auburn. It was an evenly played and well played game, especially when you take into account that it was each team’s first game of the season. I think that by the end of the year you’re going to see both these teams in the top 25.
-La Salle, who I don’t think any of us were expecting much out of this year, won the first ever game of the new Big 5 Classic format against a Drexel team that we thought would make quite a bit of noise in the CAA 67-61.
-Indiana really had to sweat out Florida Gulf Coast, and was behind about midway through the second half, but held on to win 69-63.
-I really thought UNC Asheville would compete with, and even win at, Michigan last night, but Michigan totally dominated 99-74 and by midway through the first half the game really wasn’t in question.
-DePaul is, once again, indescribably bad. Not that that’s a shockingly new development, but they lost 82-74 to a Purdue Fort Wayne team that isn’t expected to do much of anything in the Horizon League this year. That’s bad even by DePaul’s standards!
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-FLORIDA ATLANTIC AT LOYOLA CHICAGO. Both of these programs have made a Final Four since 2018! Florida Atlantic was there just there last year, they have their entire team back, and they’re starting off ranked 10th in the nation this year. That being said, it’s never easy to win on the road, especially when it’s a showcase game for the other team, which all their road games will be.
-LIPSCOMB AT DRAKE. Lipscomb is coming off a rather decisive loss to Wichita State in their opener, which is a little surprising because I think they’re pretty good and will make quite a bit of noise in the ASun. It’s the season opener for Drake, and while they lost a couple of stars from last year’s team, I still think they are one of the top UTR teams this year and can make a run at the bubble. This is the kind of game they need to almost always be able to win if they want to make that happen, though.
-ARIZONA STATE VS MISSISSIPPI STATE (Chicago IL). I’m pretty big on this Mississippi State team and expect them to make the NCAA Tournament. Arizona State is a team with some pieces, but they’ve got a lot of questions marks. It’s the season opener for both, and it’s a game where we should be able to learn something about both of them.
BUY GAMES:
-Western Illinois @ SMU – SMU can get to 2-0 with a win
-Canisius @ Syracuse – Syracuse is 1-0
-Lincoln MO (nonD!) @ Saint Louis
-TAMU Commerce @ Texas Tech
-Dakota Wesleyan (nonD1) @ South Dakota State
-Southern @ UNLV