News, Notes, and Highlighted Games: Monday, Nov 20th

NEWS AND NOTES:

-For all of the information you can possibly need on the currently ongoing In Season Tournaments – CLICK HERE

-For John Stalica’s UTR Game of the Day – CLICK HERE

There was a fair amount of chalk yesterday…

-UConn blew past Indiana in the Empire class and will face a Texas team that got a big scare from Louisville, but squeaked by on a last second shot,
-Houston held of Dayton to win the Charleston Classic,
-Miami FL had no trouble with Kansas State to win the Bahamas Championship,
-Drake had to sweat out Oakland, but held on for an 85-77 win in the Cayman Islands Classic,
-South Carolina improved to 5-0 after a 75-68 win over a pretty good Grand Canyon team in the Arizona Tip-Off

-San Diego State got a battle from Washington, but held on to win 100-97. Washington has been a bit of a surprise this year. They got the win over Xavier, which was a shock, and everyone thought they were in way over their heads today, but they hung in against a very good San Diego State team. They didn’t get the win, but they’ve certainly gotten our attention.

-Providence got a 71-64 win over Georgia in the Bahamas Championship to improve to 4-1. I am not ready to decree Providence as an NCAA Tournament caliber team, but what I am saying is that I’ve gone from thinking they were going to be in complete rebuild mode and at the bottom of the Big East to realizing that this team can play and is at least worth paying attention to. If they can keep improving, they could end up being rather dangerous. Providence seems to ALWAYS exceed expectations, and here they go again!

-Clemson had no trouble with a pretty good Boise State team and knocked them off 85-68. Clemson is now 4-0 with some fairly decent wins and has DEFINITELY passed the early season eye-test.

-Mississippi State is now 5-0 after a 66-57 win over a pretty good and previously unbeaten Northwestern team in the Hall of Fame Tip-Off. This Bulldogs (and for that matter the Wildcats too) are a team that I thought should have gotten a little more preseason love than what they did get, and is showing it now.

-Weber State was flying high after their win at Saint Mary’s, but since then have come crashing down a bit. They suffered a 57-55 loss to Colgate yesterday to fall to 3-2 on the season, and while Colgate is good by Under the Radar standards, they’re still the kind of team you need to beat if you want to show that you belong in inside the bubble. As for Saint Mary’s, which was Weber’s signature win…

-Saint Mary’s was blown out for the second game in a row, this time by Xavier, and is looking nothing like the top 25 caliber team we thought they were. They still have the talent and the pieces they need to rebound and have a big year, but up to this point they haven’t even looked like an NIT team.

-Yale needed overtime, but held on to beat Gardner Webb 71-70 in the Atlantic Slam. I’m still really big on this Yale team, but they did struggle in this event a little more than I thought they would.

-Last, and DEFINITELY least, Missouri lost at home to Jackson State 73-72. It was the first win of the year for Jackson State, and this just completely came out of nowhere. Preseason expectations were very high for Mizzou, but in their last two games they really struggled to beat Minnesota, and then they go and lose at home to Jackson State. That is a HORRIBLE week for the Tigers.

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HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:

-MURRAY STATE VS UNC WILMINGTON (Fort Myers Tip-Off). UNCW is off to a 3-0 start, and while none of the wins have been great wins, they’ve certainly looked good in the games that they’ve played and this event gives them the chance to rack up a few more wins away from home

-DRAKE VS STEPHEN F AUSTIN (Cayman Islands Classic). Drake really had to sweat out Oakland yesterday, but held on to win and is unbeaten on the year. They shouldn’t have too much trouble with SFA today, but they certainly sweated more then expected yesterday.

-LONG BEACH STATE VS ILLINOIS STATE (Gulf Coast Showcase). Long Beach State really got our attention with their win over Michigan last week, and suddenly they seem in position to really build up their resume if they can win this event.

-TENNESSEE VS SYRACUSE (Maui Invitational). This is probably the signature event of the month with a field of five teams that are currently highly ranked. Syracuse isn’t a team we are quite as big on, and they did need to come from behind to beat Colgate last week, but they are 3-0. Tennessee looks insanely good and depending on how the match-ups work out they should be able to pick up some wins that can help solidify them as a protected seed come March.

-INDIANA VS LOUISVILLE (Empire Classic, New York NY). Louisville did something yesterday that they haven’t done in recent memory, and that’s play a really good game against a really good team. Texas hit a game winning shot with less than a second to go, and while that really does have to sting, perhaps Louisville is able to take something away from it. They face an Indiana team today that’s had their own struggles. It’s funny to think that not that long ago these two teams could have sold out a dome. Now they’ll be playing in front of a half empty MSG for most of their game. It should fill up toward the end with the fans coming in to watch Texas v UConn.

-PURDUE VS GONZAGA (Maui Invitational). This is a match-up that feels like a potential Sweet Sixteen/Elite Eight type of game, and yet we are getting it in the first round of the Maui Invitational. Both teams are highly ranked, both will likely end up with protected seeds, and some feel (myself included) that Purdue is good enough to win it all. This is just a really good early season litmus test that will likely result in a high tier 1 win for whoever pulls it off. Not to mention, this game is just going to be a ton of fun to watch!

-FLORIDA STATE VS UNLV (Sunshine Slam). These are two teams that we think have potential, but who really haven’t shown it yet and need to get their motors started if they’re going to have a big year.

-VIRGINIA AT WISCONSIN (Fort Meyers Tip-Off). If you like defense, then this is the game for you!! First to 50 wins!! As far as what it means on paper, neither team got a whole lot of preseason attention, but Virginia is off to a 4-0 start, and while Wisconsin is just 2-2 I still think they’ll be in the discussion come March. This is a big early season game that would like nice on paper for whoever pulled it off, but also give them some momentum going forward.

-UCONN VS TEXAS (Empire Classic). UConn blew past Indiana yesterday and has looked like a top ten team all season long. Texas had all kinds of trouble with Louisville (as was previously mentioned) and needed a last second shot to get the win. Nevertheless, we ended up with the match-up between two top 20 teams that most were expecting to see.

-SAINT JOSEPH’S AT KENTUCKY. This could end up looking like your run of the mill buy game, but Joe’s is 3-1 and hadn’t looked absolutely terrible in any of their games until their last game, so MAYBE they can stay with Kentucky for a little bit. Kentucky is coming off a loss to Kansas, but it was a game where I thought they looked fantastic. All signs seem to be pointing to a team that will get better as the season goes along and be incredibly dangerous come March.

-UTAH STATE AT AKRON (Cayman Islands Classic). Utah State is off to a fairly decent 3-1 start and has an opportunity on this event to rack up some good wins. Akron is also off to a good start and is a team that I think has a chance to land inside the bubble. They’re going to need to play better today than they did against FIU yesterday, though.

-COLORADO VS RICHMOND (Sunshine Slam). Colorado comes in after just three buy games, and while this isn’t a huge test, it’s at least more than a buy game. Richmond is a decent 2-1 and coming off a loss to Boston College. This event is an opportunity for both teams.

-BRADLEY VS TULANE (SoCal Challenge). I’m REALLY looking forward to this one! Both teams are unbeaten, both have looked good up to this point and Bradley in particular already has some notable wins. Both are teams we felt could be dark horses this year and take huge steps forward as a program. I like both these teams, I think it’s possible that one (or even both) are able to make a run at the bubble this year, and I think this may end up being one of the better games of the day.

-UCLA VS MARQUETTE (Maui Invitational). Both teams come in at 3-0, and while people aren’t as big on UCLA as they’ve been in recent years, they’re still a really tough defensive team. Marquette is just awesome. They pressure, they can score, and they are super athletic, so the contrast in styles should be as much fun as anything.

OTHER NOTABLE GAMES/BUY GAMES:

-Cornell vs Utah Valley (Jacksonville Classic) – both teams are coming in with solid records and just one loss
-Kent State @ Fordham (Paradise Jam) – both teams have potential and both are teams we’re kinda sorta rooting for to have good years, but both also have a lot of work to do
-George Mason vs South Dakota State (Jacksonville Classic) – I still think South Dakota State can blow through the Summit League, but they’re just 1-3 to start the year and could really use a win today
-UMass Lowell @ Saint Peter’s – Lowell really blew a chance at a big win at Arizona State in their last game, but they’re still a dangerous team and can pick up their third road win of the season today
-SC State @ Tulsa – Tulsa is unbeaten
-Oregon @ Florida A&M – this is part of the Pac-12/SWAC scheduling agreement. It’s a chance for Oregon to pick up a road win
-Abilene Christina vs Missouri State (Paradise Jam) – Both teams have shown some promise early on
-Charlotte vs UCF (Jacksonville Classic) – both teams 3-1
-SMU vs West Virginia (Fort Myers Tip-Off) – I’m not all that big on either team, but both come in to this one with just one loss
-Kansas vs Chaminade (Maui Invitational) – Kansas should roll, and tougher competition is on the way
-Navy @ San Diego – San Diego can improve to 4-1
-Mississippi Valley State @ Santa Clara – Santa Clara can remain unbeaten
-California vs UTEP (SoCal Challenge) – UTEP can get their record to 5-0 with a win