NEWS AND NOTES:
For John Stalica’s UTR Game of the Day – CLICK HERE
-The big surprise of the evening was Penn’s win over Villanova in the Big 5 Classic out at the Palestra. And, it’s surprising and notable for a lot of reasons. It’s not as if Penn is just turning out to be better than we thought. Penn lost to Saint Joseph’s just a few days ago. And since taking over at Villanova, Kyle Neptune just can’t seem to get the motor going there. They were patient with him in Year One, but when you start off Year Two with a loss to a Big 5 “rival” that appears to be as inferior as Penn is, I can understand how and why people are starting to grumble. I’ve been in Kyle Neptune’s corner the whole time, and in the preseason was preaching about how I thought he’d get it done this year in a big way. He still can get it done in a big way, but (no offense to Penn) he’s off to a rather small start.
-Michigan has impressed the hell out of me so far. They blew out UNC Asheville, which may not sound like much on the surface, but what impressed me the most was how well they seemed to game plan for it and knew the strengths and weaknesses of a pretty good UNCA team. They certainly did not overlook them. Last night at Saint John’s, it was the same thing again. They knew what the Johnnies wanted to do both in transition and on offense, and just basically stuffed them. Michigan was in control the entire time, and picked up a REALLY good win on the road! I wasn’t expecting much out of them this year, but have been genuinely impressed me so far. And, I agree with what Phil Martelli said after the game! THE PALESTRA IS A BETTER ARENA THAN MSG!! There! I said it!!
-Other than that, it was a pretty chalky night with most of the games going as you would expect them to.
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HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-WISCONSIN AT PROVIDENCE (Gavitt Games Tip-Off). This is the first real test for Providence after breezing through two of their buy games. It’s also a chance for Wisconsin to pick up their first notable win of the year.
-DUKE VS MICHIGAN STATE (Champions Classic, Chicago IL). Both of these teams started out ranked in the top 5, and both have already sustained a loss. I don’t want to say that this game has any sense of urgency for it, but the loser of it will fall to just 1-2. Still, it’s a showcase game on a neutral floor between two likely protected seeds, so it’s a chance for both of them to get a very notable win.
-COLGATE AT SYRACUSE. I know this is a buy game, and it could very well end up being a mismatch, but Colgate is a team that should absolutely dominate the Patriot League this year, and is coming into this game 1-0. It will be interesting to see what they can do on the road against a Syracuse team that’s won their first two games so far.
-UMASS LOWELL AT GEORGIA TECH. So, both teams are coming in at 2-0. I’m highlighting this more for UTR purposes than anything else. Lowell might be good! They haven’t really been tested yet, but they went on the road and blew Dartmouth off the floor like you would expect an actual good team to do. I’m very curious to see what they can do tonight.
-MARQUETTE AT ILLINOIS (Gavitt Games Tipoff). Both teams are in the rankings, and both have high expectations for the season, especially Marquette, who some say is a Final Four caliber team. This is more of a litmus test for both teams than it is a must-win game, but it would still be a really good win on either team’s resumes come march, so there is something at stake here. A good way to tell if a team is a legit Final Four caliber team is seeing how well they can play on the road against a ranked team.
-TEXAS A&M AT SMU. We are all really big on TAMU this year, but this is still a tricky road game against an SMU team that comes into this one undefeated and will undoubtedly be jacked way up for it.
-COLORADO STATE AT NORTHERN COLORADO (Front Range). We at Hoops HD Love the Front Range!!! Both teams come in 2-0, and we kind of like this Colorado State team. It’s a chance for them to pick up their first road win of the season.
-KANSAS VS KENTUCKY (Champions Classic, Chicago IL). It’s the biggest test of the year (so far) for both these teams. It seems like whenever they’ve met in recent years the games have been fantastic. This should be another fun one tonight between a very young and talented Kentucky team and top-ranked Kansas. It’s an early season game between two likely protected seeds.
-IOWA AT CREIGHTON (Gavitt Tipoff Games). Iowa comes in at 2-0, but they’re on the road and really haven’t been tested yet. This is probably Creighton’s biggest test of the season so far as well, but they did at least play a decent North Dakota State team over the weekend. I think Creighton could end up being the best team in the Big East, so I’m looking forward to seeing what they can do against a team that’s…yunno…an actual team.
BUY GAMES AND OTHER NOTABLE GAMES:
-Wofford @ Tennessee – Tennessee looks to remain unbeaten. Wofford coming in 2-0
-Bucknell @ La Salle – La Salle can get to 3-0
-Mississippi Valley State @ UConn – UConn can get to 3-0
-Eastern Michigan @ Florida Atlantic – FAU can get to 3-0
-Bellarmine @ Chattanooga – Chattanooga comes in at 2-0 with a win @ Louisville
-IUPUI @ Indiana State – Indiana State is a team we kind of like in the MVC this year, and shomehow IUPUI is 2-0 on the season
-Temple @ Drexel (Big 5 Classic) – Temple is 2-0 and can pick up their second road win of the season today
-Saint Francis U @ Penn State – Penn State can get to 3-0
-Bowling Green @ Oakland – Bowling Green is 2-0 and looking for their first road win
-Wagner @ Rhode Island – Rhody can get to 3-0
-Northeastern @ Harvard (Bean Pot) – A lot of teams in the Ivy League are off to a good start, and Harvard can get to 3-0 with a win tonight
-Hofstra @ George Washington – GW can get to 3-0, but it may not be easy
-Toledo @ Wright State – Toledo is 2-0 and looking for their first road win
-Stonehill @ Saint Joseph’s – Joe’s is 2-0
-Florida A&M @ Florida – the Gators are good and should have no trouble bouncing back from their loss to Virginia
-NC A&T @ Virginia – Hoos should get to 3-0
-North Alabama @ Mississippi State – both teams are unbeaten, but it’s still likely a big mismatch
-South Alabama @ Alabama – Alabama looking to stay unbeaten
-Prairie View @ Abilene Christian – ACU should be able to improve to 2-1, and they have the win at Oklahoma State on their resume already
-UNC Greensboro @ Vanderbilt – Vandy already has a loss to Presbyterian, and UNCG is likely a lot better than Presby, so the Dores better watch out
-Detroit Mercy @ Ole Miss – Ole Miss can get to 3-0
-Western Kentucky @ Murray State – it’s always fun when these two get together. Murray is trying to improve to 3-0
-Tarlton State @ Bradley – Bradley has a nice win at UAB this year and can get to 3-0 on the season with a win tonight
-Texas State @ Oklahoama – the Sooners should have no trouble getting to 3-0
-Western Michigan @ Northwestern – Northwestern should have no trouble getting to 3-0
-UTRGV @ TCU – TCU can get to 3-0
-Eastern Oregon (nonD1) @ Gonzaga
-Milwaukee @ Colorado
-South Dakota @ DePaul – The Yotes are 2-0 and while this is their first road game, it’s a road game they may be able to win
-Santa Clara @ Stanford – Neither one of these teams excites me all that much yet, but both are 2-0 coming in
-Kansas City @ Baylor – both teams are unbeaten, but it still appears to be a big mismatch
-Long Beach State @ San Diego State – Beach is one of the better teams in the Big West, but they are likely way overmatched in this one. San Diego State is looking to bounce back from the loss at BYU
-Appalachian State @ Oregon State – Oregon State can get to 3-0
-UC Irvine @ USC – The Eaters have overhauled their roster, and while they’ve had some really good teams in recent years, they’re likely overmatched in this one