NEWS AND NOTES:
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-The In-Season Tournaments get rolling today!!!
-Alabama basically kept Illinois at arms length for the entire game. It never really felt like the Tide were not in control and they cruised to a 100-87 win that perhaps wasn’t even as close as the score indicated.
-Grand Canyon continues to struggle out of the gate as they fell at home to UC Davis 75-68. The loss to Arizona State was a missed opportunity, but the loss to UC Davis is a big setback. We had thought this was a top 40 team, and they still may end up being that, but they haven’t shown it so far, and they don’t get many strikes if they want to end up inside the bubble. I know they are still down a key player, and that UC Davis isn’t bad, but this is the kind of game you would expect a solid NCAA Tournament team to be able to win at home.
-Arizona State BARELY escaped Cal Poly last night 93-89. They’re 5-1 on the year with the only loss being a very close game against Gonzaga, but they dodged a bullet last night.
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HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-MIAMI FL VS DRAKE (Charleston Classic). Both teams are unbeaten and Miami has blown through their buy games. I wouldn’t call this a huge test, but Drake probably is better than the teams the Canes have been blowing out. I still think Miami can have a big year and make the NCAA Tournament. This event is a chance for them to get some notable wins away from home that aren’t just home buy games.
-OKLAHOMA STATE VS FLORIDA ATLANTIC (Charleston Classic). FAU doesn’t have any notable wins yet other than perhaps Liberty, but I do really like how they’ve played. They hung in with both UCF and Charleston and nearly beat both of them. This event is a chance for them to pick up some notable wins that will look good on their tournament resume. Oklahoma State is 3-0, but they’ve only played in home buy games and they didn’t exactly blow out their opponents, so this will be their toughest test of the year so far.
-SETON HALL VS VCU (Charleston Classic). Seton Hall has been underwhelming so far. While VCU hasn’t lost, they haven’t been tested yet like they will in this event. This is a chance for them to pick up some notable neutral floor wins.
-BAYLOR VS SAINT JOHN’S (Bahamas Championship). The Johnnies come into this one 4-0 and just had a really nice win against New Mexico, but this is their first game away from home and it comes against a Baylor team that is super talented and already has a nice win against Arkansas. In short, this is a resume building opportunity for both teams.
-SYRACUSE VS TEXAS (Legends Classic). I’m not sure what’s so legendary about this match-up. Syracuse is unbeaten, but they barely won each of their three buy games. Today, they’re not playing a buy game. They’re playing Texas, who to be fair has no wins yet that weren’t home buy games, and for that matter has no wins against a team that has a D1 win yet, but still at least looks the part. Both these teams could use this to make their resume not look like doodoo.
-VANDERBILT VS NEVADA (Charleston Classic). Both teams are unbeaten, and each has what is at least a semi-notable win so far, but this is the first time either team will have played away from home yet, so we should learn a little more about them tonight.
-TEXAS TECH VS SAINT JOSEPH’S (Legends Classic). This is the first test for Texas Tech, and while many people wrote Saint Joe’s off after their loss to Central Connecticut, I still think Joe’s could have a good year this year. They’ve beaten rivals Villanova and Penn in their last two games, and have a chance to pick up a quality win tonight as well as take a step into the national spotlight.
-VIRGINIA VS TENNESSEE (Bahamas Championship). Tennessee has just looked awesome. They haven’t beaten any really good teams, but they’ve absolutely dump-trucked a few decent ones. Virginia comes in 3-0, and they did beat Villanova, but Tennessee is on a whole other level compared to anyone they’ve played so far.
-EASTERN WASHINGTON AT WASHINGTON STATE. On paper, Wazzu can get to a respectable 5-1 with a win, but what makes this game so interesting is how many players and coaches for Wazzu were a part of Eastern Washington’s program a year ago.
-MEMPHIS AT SAN FRANCISCO. I’ve been very critical of Memphis for the past…ohhh…six years or so, but they may actually be starting to win me over. They come in unbeaten and have a nice win at UNLV. This is probably their toughest test of the season so far. San Francisco is 4-0 and the Sobrato Center is not an easy place to play. The Dons already have a win against a good (we think) Boise State team, and if Memphis can get this one on the road, they’ll REALLY have my attention!
-OREGON AT OREGON STATE. It’s a rivalry game between two unbeaten teams!! Whether or not either team is any good still remains to be seen. Oregon did beat Troy pretty badly their last time out, and while that was a buy game, Troy is a pretty good UTR team. This is the first road game for the Ducks and probably their biggest test. Oregon State really hasn’t been tested either as they’ve just blown through four buy games.
BUY GAMES (and other somewhat notable games):
-Ohio U vs Middle Tennessee (Myrtle Beach Invitaitonal) – MTSU is 3-1 and a good showing in this event will put some sparkle on their resume
-LaSalle vs UC San Diego (Boardwalk Battle) – La Salle can get to 5-0 and pick up their 2nd win away from home
-East Carolina vs Jacksonville State (Boardwalk Battle) – ECU is unbeaten but doesn’t yet have a win away from home
-UNC Greensboro @ Indiana
-Radford @ Clemson
-ETAMU @ Oklahoma
-Princeton vs Wright State (Myrtle Beach Invitaitonal) – Princeton hasn’t looked all that strong so far this season, but they could still have a big year and this event is an opportunity for them
-Oral Roberts @ Ole Miss – Ole Miss can get to 5-0
-Tarleton State @ Michigan
-Grambling @ New Mexico