NEWS, NOTES, AND LINKS:
For the Hoops HD Merit Rankings and Bracket Projections after Week 1 – CLICK HERE
For John Stalica’s UTR Game of the Day – CLICK HERE
-The biggest game and surprise of the day was Weber State’s 61-57 win at Saint Mary’s. We liked this Weber State team coming into the year, and we even said we thought they could make some noise on the national scene, but this really was a shock. Saint Mary’s was a team we liked even more and were expecting to get a protected seed, which they absolutely can still do, but still. It was a surprising result. They won’t lose many at home. This is a MASSIVE statement win for Weber State. It’s the kind of win that can land them inside the bubble come March.
-Maryland lost their second game of the year as they fell to UAB 66-63. UAB is definitely a decent team, and this win had to feel good for the Blazers after suffering close losses in their first two games, but to see Maryland drop both games out in the Asheville Championship is a bit alarming. It’s certainly not the start they wanted or expected.
-Davidson was right with Clemson in the championship game of that event, but Clemson held on for the 68-65 win. Two neutral floor wins against solid competition is a great way for the Tigers to start off the season, but Davidson played really well too. They now have my attention. In fact they’ve probably looked better than everyone else in the Atlantic 10 up to this point. I know that’s not saying much, but still.
-Boise State got a battle at home from San Francisco, which was a bit unexpected, but still held on to win 63-58. A solid showing from the Dons, though, who we thought would be in a rebuild mode this year.
-Yale got a much needed road win at LMU, but it wasn’t easy. It was close the entire way, but the Bulldogs did hold on 83-80.
-Nevada picked up a nice 83-76 road win at Washington.
-Indiana has won both their buy games, but they’ve had to sweat a lot more than expected against what appear to be some pretty weak teams. When I say weak, I mean weak by Patriot League and Atlantic Sun standards. Army was in the game with the Hoosiers until after the final media timeout. It wasn’t until the last couple of minutes that they finally got control and held on to win 72-64. The Hoosiers may have some issues to work through this season.
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HIGHLIGHTED GAMES
-MICHIGAN AT SAINT JOHN’S (Gavitt Tipoff Games). Neither team has a loss, but neither team has really been tested either, although Michigan did really dominate what I think is a pretty good UNC Asheville team last week. This is the first chance that either team has to get a win of substance.
-WESTERN CAROLINA AT MIDDLE TENNESSEE. This is an odd game to highlight, but they are two teams that we thought could be Under the Radar dark horses this year. Both are 2-0, and both have shown signs that they could end up having big years. It will be interesting to see what they do against each other tonight.
-SOUTH DAKOTA STATE AT KANSAS STATE. A really interesting game here between a very good South Dakota State team that needs a signature win on their resume to get the attention of the committee, and a K State team that we think is being undervalued. Both have a loss, so in addition to this being an opportunity at a likely notable win, there is a bit of a sense of urgency to it as well even though it’s just the 8th day of the season.
-XAVIER AT PURDUE (Gavitt Tipoff Games). This will be Purdue’s biggest test of the year so far, but having said that it’s hard to say how much of a test it really is. Xavier is in a bit of a rebuild mode, but they did breeze through their buy games. We will learn something about them today as they face what I think is the best team in the country on the road.
BUY GAMES AND OTHER NOTABLE GAMES:
-Florida International @ Miami FL
-Villanova @ Penn (Big 5 Classic) – I know it’s a Big 5 rivalry, but it also looks to be a big mismatch
-The Citadel @ Presbyterian – we aren’t expecting much from Presby, but for now they’re 2-0 with a win at Vanderbilt
-Central Michigan @ Florida State
-Stony Brook @ Duquesne
-East Tennessee State @ Butler – Butler hasn’t really been tested yet, but they’ve blown out their first two opponents like you would expect a good team to do
-Quinnipiac @ UMass – both teams unbeaten
-FGCU @ Pittsburgh – Pitt trying to get to 3-0
-VMI @ South Carolina – South Carolina trying to get to 3-0
-Stetson @ Houston
-Southern @ Arizona – Southern did win at UNLV, but they’re likely in way over their heads int his one tonight
-Old Dominion @ Arkansas
-SIUE @ Missouri
-Rider @ Nebraska
-UC Santa Barbara @ UTEP – it’s usually not easy to win at UTEP, and they won their first two home games this year. UCSB needs to bounce back from a somewhat surprising home loss to Portland State