NEWS, NOTES, AND LINKS:
-For the latest Hoops HD Staff Bracket Projections, which were done by John Stalica this week – CLICK HERE
-For John Stalica’s UTR Game of the Day – CLICK HERE
-For Jon Teitel’s Mid-Season Awards – CLICK HERE for Part 1 and CLICK HERE for Part 2
-We will be recording our Hoops HD Report Video Podcast tonight, and then Under the Radar and the Bracket Rundown tomorrow. Be sure to be on the lookout for those.
-The biggest surprise in the latest string of big surprises was Stanford’s 100-82 win over Arizona on New Year’s Eve. It was a home game, but Stanford had shown no signs of being anything other than bad, and Arizona was showing signs of being a Final Four caliber team. I guess the Wildcats just started celebrating a little too early.
-Utah downed Washington 95-90 in a hard fought game. Washington has now fallen to 8-5, and lost two straight in conference, but I’m still not ready to count them out. The losses were hard fought games on the road against Utah and Colorado, both of whom are really good (especially at home), so I think the Huskies have it in them to start stringing together wins.
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HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-UTAH STATE AT AIR FORCE (Mountain West). It’s the MWC opener for both of these teams. Utah State is off to a very impressive 12-1 start and looks like an NCAA Tournament team, while Air Force is 7-5 and a respectable 3-1 at home. For Utah State, it’s a road game that an NCAA Tournament caliber team should be able to win, but it is still a bit of a test.
-PURDUE AT MARYLAND (Big Ten). Purdue is clearly the more accomplished team, but Maryland is an impressive 8-0 at home, and as good as Purdue is they lost their only true road game of the season so far to Northwestern, so there is something at stake for the Boilers in this one.
-NORTH CAROLINA AT PITTSBURGH (ACC). UNC is in the top ten, and rightfully so, but this is a big road test against a Pitt team that is pretty good, but who still needs to build their resume up and who can really take a big step toward doing that with a win tonight.
-WAKE FOREST AT BOSTON COLLEGE (ACC). Both teams still have work to do, but amazingly enough both teams come into this one at 9-3 and at least have a path to land inside the bubble. They both could really use this win tonight, though, which is what makes the game so compelling.
-BUTLER AT SAINT JOHN’S (Big East). Both teams are having good seasons so far, and both have shown the potential to end up as NCAA Tournament teams. Butler is looking to bounce back from an overtime loss at Providence where they just missed out on what would have been a huge win for their resume, and Saint John’s is coming off of a game where they struggled to get by Hofstra, but where they were right in there against UConn in the game before.
-NORTHWESTERN AT ILLINOIS (Big Ten). This should be a fun one. It appears to be a mismatch with Illinois being both at home and ranked in the top ten, but Northwestern has shown they can play like a top 25 caliber team, and it’s a rivalry game, so there are several reasons to watch.
-SYRACUSE AT DUKE (ACC). Syracuse is 10-3 on the season, but it’s a bit of a quiet 10-3. It will get a lot noisier if they’re somehow able to go into Cameron and upset the Blue Devils. Duke has won four straight and has also been playing very well at home.
-NEW MEXICO AT COLORADO STATE (Mountain West). This is one of the better games of the day. Both teams come into this one at 12-1 and while Colorado State is much higher in the rankings, New Mexico could pick up what would probably be their biggest win of the year so far and perhaps ride that to a top 25 ranking themselves. Both teams are likely tournament teams, and this one is a big resume building opportunity.
OTHER NOTABLE GAMES/BUY GAMES:
-DePaul @ Connecticut (Big East) – it’s a conference game, but it might as well be a buy game
-Norfolk State @ Tennessee
-East Carolina @ Florida Atlantic (American) – FAU should be able to bounce back from the surprising loss to FGCU in their last game
-Iowa @ Wisonsin (Big Ten) – Iowa has struggled all throughout this season, especially on the road. Wisky should be able to hold serve in this one
-Cornell @ Baylor – this one is somewhat intriguing because of Cornell’s 10-2 record, but it’s still a buy game and still a game that Baylor should roll through
-Chicago State @ Kansas State
-Penn @ Auburn
-Illinois State @ Drake (Missouri Valley) – Drake can get to 12-2 on the season with a win