HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYBODY!!!!
NEWS AND NOTES:
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-Purdue beat their second top ten team in about 24hrs as they held off Marquette 78-75 to win the Maui Invitational. They should go up to the #1 ranking, and rightfully so. Most of us thought they were the best team coming into the year, and up until this point they certainly have the most impressive profile out of anyone.
-Kansas bounced back with a big 69-60 win over Tennessee in the third place game. Tennessee, despite two losses, is still in incredible shape. Back to back losses away from home against the top two ranked teams in the country is hardly a setback.
-Gonzaga knocked UCLA off 69-65 in the 5th place game. UCLA, despite the two losses, is still a team that impressed me with how they played and I think that by the end of the year their resume will look pretty solid.
-Arkansas needed overtime to hold off Stanford, but got the 77-74 win and will stay on the winners side of the Battle 4 Atlantis bracket. For Stanford it was a big missed opportunity for a quality win that they really could have used.
-Virginia got a big scare from West Virginia in the Fort Myers Tip-Off, but held on to win 56-54. Virginia has not looked good this week. They’v been blown out by Wisconsin and barely beat West Virginia.
-As for the championship game of the Fort Myers Tip-Off, Wisconsin came back from an 8-point deficit to beat SMU. The Badgers have gotten off to a slow start after back-to-back losses against Tennessee at home and Providence on the road, but wins against Virginia and SMU on a neutral floor will help.
-Colorado State is absolutely worth keeping an eye on! They improved to 5-0 after picking up an 86-74 win in the Hall of Fame Classic.
-Harvard got a really nice 76-70 road win at Colgate. Colgate will not lose much at home, so the committee should give the Crimson a lot more credit for this win than most people may realize. In fact the whole Ivy League is collectively starting to look like a multi-bid league.
-For the first time in about two years, Nova looked like a legit top 20 caliber team, and beat a decent Texas Tech team rather handily in the Battle 4 Atlantis 85-69. They’ve got another big game today against North Carolina.
-Memphis got a really nice win against Michigan 71-67 and will face Arkansas in a really interesting Battle 4 Atlantis Semifinal game.
-Nebraska remains undefeated after holding off a pretty good Duquesne 89-79 at home. It was a big missed opportunity for Duquesne because while Nebraska isn’t exactly a top 25 caliber team, they should win a lot of home games and this would have been a win that could have helped out their resume.
-Florida got a nice decisive 86-71 win over Pittsburgh in the Preseason NIT.. I know it’s November, but the Gators are starting to look like a solid tournament team.
-Bradley remains unbeaten after knocking off a previously unbeaten UTEP team 63-59 in the SoCal Challenge. Bradley has been one of the better under the radar teams this season and is getting the early season wins they need to help build a strong resume.
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HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-PENN STATE VS TEXAS A&M (ESPN Events, Kissimmee FL). Both teams come into this one unbeaten, but Penn State has only played home buy games whereas TAMU has won at Ohio State and at SMU. The Aggies look to be the the stronger team, and we think they actually have a chance to win the SEC this year. This event is a chance for them to pick up a few more notable wins away from home.
-VILLANOVA VS NORTH CAROLINA (Battle 4 Atlantis). Both teams won decisively yesterday against pretty decent teams as North Carolina pulled away from Northern Iowa in the second half and Nova took care of Texas Tech. Both teams have tough schedules ahead, but to date this would be the biggest win for whichever team is able to pull his off, and in the case of Villanova should quiet some of the rumblings of the frustrated fans.
-FLORIDA ATLANTIC VS BUTLER (ESPN Events, Kissimmee FL). FAU is obviously solid and has a ton of potential, but they are also coming off a hugely surprising loss to Bryant and are looking to rebound. I think Butler’s program is getting better, but I don’t think they’ll be anywhere near the bubble by the end of this season. Having said that, if they could somehow pull off a win today those expectations would completely change.
-COLORADO STATE VS CREIGHTON (Hall of Fame Classic, Kansas City). Creighton is heavily favored to win this event, but they cannot sleep on a Colorado State team that handily beat Boston College yesterday.
-OKLAHOMA VS IOWA (Rady Children’s Invitational, San Diego CA). Neither team has managed to win a game outside of a home buy game, although Iowa did play pretty well on the road against a good Creighton team. We should know a little more about both these teams after this event.
-ARIZONA VS MICHIGAN STATE (Acrisure Classic, San Juan Capistrano). Both teams had huge preseason expectations. Arizona is living up to them as they come in unbeaten and have a road win at Duke. Michigan State has already dropped two games, but can rebound in a big way if they can pick up this win. In short, this is a huge resume-building opportunity for both of them.
-ARKANSAS VS MEMPHIS (Battle 4 Atlantis). This one should be fun! This is a match-up that you wish you saw more frequently. This year’s edition of it features a very talented Memphis team that’s looking to build up their NCAA Tournament resume and a super talented Arkansas team that will likely become more and more dangerous as the year goes along. Memphis probably needs it a little more because the conference they play in doesn’t present them with as many opportunities at notable wins.
-SETON HALL VS USC (Rady Children’s Invitational). Seton Hall is unbeaten, but also hasn’t been tested like they will today having only played in home buy games. USC already has a nice win against Kansas State, but has struggled in their last two games with a loss to UC Irvine and a game that was much closer than expected against Brown.
-IOWA STATE VS VCU (ESPN Events Invitational). Both teams have potential, but both have only played in home buy games, and VCU even lost one of those.
-STANFORD VS MICHIGAN (Battle 4 Atlantis). Even though it’s early both teams should have a sense of urgency going into this one. Both have shown they can be good, but both have also lost games they should have won.
OTHER FEAST WEEK GAMES:
-Texas Tech vs Northern Iowa (Battle 4 Atlantis) – We were expecting more from Northern Iowa, and while there is still time for them to turn it around they are just 1-3 on the season so far
-Loyola Chicago vs Boston College (Hall of Fame Classic) – BC looking to rebound after their first loss of the season
-Boise State vs Virginia Tech (ESPN Events Invitational) – A chance at a nice early season win for both teams, as well as a chance to get on the winner’s side of the bracket, which is probably more important for Boise State
-NC State vs Vanderbilt (Vegas Showdown) – both teams have potential, but both have only played in home buy games and Vandy lost one of those
-BYU vs Arizona State (Vegas Showdown) – Sun Devils have had a couple close calls at home, but beating a currently unbeaten BYU team would really enhance their profile
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