NEWS AND NOTES:
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-Let’s begin with Saint Joseph’s. I was not big on them at all coming into the year and their early loss to TAMU Commerce (a transitional team) did nothing to raise my opinion of them. They went to Kentucky and took the Wildcats to overtime, and while I like how they played in that game, I still attributed it to Kentucky overlooking them than I did anything else. Well, last night they won at Villanova, and won decisively 78-65. Saint Joseph’s is now 1-1 in true road games against teams ranked in the top 20. Their one win was a blowout, and their one loss was in overtime to a Kentucky team that just got through blowing out top ten Miami FL. I now think the Commerce loss was a complete anomaly, and an am now a full believer in this Saint Joe’s team. The issue is that they don’t have any other heavyweights remaining, but last night’s win at Villanova is a huge brick of gold for them. Every remaining game is winnable, and while they only have a few strikes remaining, I still think they’re good enough to play their way solidly inside the bubble come March. They may be the only Atlantic 10 team where that is the case, but if they can dominate the rest of the way and win the majority of the games they’re supposed to win, their resume should be there.
-Arkansas opened up a big second half lead agains Duke, but the Blue Devils came back and actually had it close within the final minute of the game. Arkansas held on to win 80-75 which does as much for their confidence and momentum as it does for their resume. This was Duke’s only out of conference true road game.
-North Carolina blew out Tennessee for about 30 minutes, and led by over 20 for much of the game. The Vols came back late to make the final 100-92 score look way more respectable than most of the game was. I have been hard on the Tarheels, and openly stated that since Roy Williams retired they’d looked lime an NIT team for most of that stretch outside of one month in March in 2022. Having said all that, they’ve looked really good so far this year, and looked exceptionally good last night.
-Virginia is tough to beat when they take control of a game, and that’s what they did last night. They shut Texas A&M down defensively, especially in the second half, and got the 59-47 win, which is probably their most impressive and most confidence building win of the season so far.
-Colorado State didn’t blow out Colorado, but they pretty much had a lead from tip to buzzer before ending up with the 88-83 win. The Rams remain unbeaten, there is a real buzz around this program, and they are for real!
-UC Irvine trailed Duquesne for most of the game, but kept it within reach and were still in it with less than a minute to go. Duquesne did end up with the 66-62 win, and continue to look like one of the better teams (along with Saint Joe’s) from the Atlantic 10. the Eaters fall to 6-2. A win like this on the road would have really helped them, but the loss doesn’t really hurt them. They still have the road win at USC, and if they can dominate the Big West, which I think they’re good enough to do, they can play their way into a position to receive an at-large.
-After a crazy-good start to the season, Evansville lost their first game of the year on the road at Missouri State 90-78 in their conference opener.
-Bradley, who had looked outstanding on the year so far, also lost their conference opener at Murray STate 79-72. Murray State isn’t the easiest place to go and win, but as good as Bradley had looked coming into this game it was still a bit of a surprise that they didn’t get it done.
-Dayton is now a respectable 5-2 on the year after picking up their first true road win over SMU 65-63. Dayton has nothing amazing on their resume just yet, but they have just two losses, one of those was to Houston and the other was on the road at Northwestern, which is hardly bad. They also have wins over LSU and Saint John’s in the Charleston Classic, which is decent, and now they have a win at SMU. That’s not bad! That’s at least giving them a chance to make a run at the bubble if they can keep stringing together wins.
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HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-LIBERTY AT FLORIDA ATLANTIC. This one is going to be a blast. Liberty is unbeaten and has past some pretty nice tests, but playing on the road against a legit top 15 caliber team is a totally different animal. I think both these teams are potentially first ballot caliber teams, and that will especially be true for Liberty if they’re somehow able to get this one on the road. It should be fun!
-TEXAS TECH AT BUTLER (Big East-Big 12 Battle). Both these teams are off to good starts, and both could use this win on their resume. Butler is coming off a win against Boise State in the ESPN Events Invitational, and this would be another notable win for them. Texas Tech is coming off a good lookin win against Michigan in the Battle 4 Atlantis and this is their first true road game of the year.
-UNC WILMINGTON AT EAST CAROLINA. I highlight this one because I like this UNCW team. They’re 5-1 with two road wins already, and this is yet another winnable road game against a fairly decent (but far form great) East Carolina team. These are the kinds of games UNCW needs to routinely win if they want to make a run at the bubble.
-CREIGHTON AT OKLAHOMA STATE (Big East-Big 12 Battle). Oklahoma State has struggled so far this season, and while Creighton has looked really good for the most part they are coming off a blowout loss to Colorado State. This is also their first true road game of the year, so while the Jays should win, it’s hardly an automatic win.
-HAWAII AT UTAH. Hawaii is unbeaten, but is also untested. They will be tested tonight by a Utah team that’s 4-2, but whose early resume could also use some work.
OTHER NOTABLE GAMES/BUY GAMES:
-Arkansas Pine Bluff @ Oklahoma
-Texas State @ Texas
-UC Riverside @ UCLA