NEWS AND NOTES:
-For all of the In-Season Tournament Brackets and Schedules – CLICK HERE
For John Stalica’s UTR Game of the Day – CLICK HERE
-Rutgers went on the road to play at Kennesaw State in a game that I didn’t really expect to be competitive despite it being a road game, and Kennesaw pulled off the massive 79-77 upest win. It was their first ever win against a ranked opponent, and now Kennesaw is suddenly 5-1 on the season.
-Wisconsin is now 7-0 on the season after winning the Greenbrier Tip-Off and knocking off Pittsburgh 81-75 yesterday. While Pitt didn’t get the win, they played really well in this event. Outside of Duke and North Carolina I think they’ve impressed me more than any other ACC team so far. I think the Panthers are set up to have a really good year this year.
-Georgia is also off to a better than expected start, and got a nice 66-63 win against Saint John’s yesterday down in the Bahamas to improve to 6-1. Their only loss so far was to Marquette, and they were actually competitive in that game.
-My preseason sleeper pick was the Miami Hurricanes, and they continue to be asleep. They fell to VCU yesterday 77-70 in the Charleston Classic. It was a game that VCU needed after dropping several close ones in the last week or so.
-LSU needed triple-OT to outlast UCF in one of the more exciting games of the season so far. LSU was someone else that we weren’t all that big on in the preseason, but is now off to a 5-1 start with a couple of decent wins.
-Liberty is emerging as a UTR team that may be able to play their way inside the bubble. They kncoked off Kansas State 67-65 in the Paradise Jam. K State had a chance to tie or win at the end, but couldn’t get a shot to fall. The Flames are now 6-1 on the year with another opportunity tonight.
-Bradley is now 6-1 after beating Middle Tennessee 80-69 in the Myrtle Beach Invitational. They are another team to keep an eye on.
-Last, but DEFINITELY not least, Drake is turning into one of the more compelling stories in all of college basketball. They are now 6-0 on the year after beating Vanderbilt in the championship game of the Charleston Classic. Drake lost their coach and all their starters from a year ago and no one expected much out of them, especially since they were rebuilding with predominantly nonD1 transfers. Well, I’m a believer now!! 6-0 with wins over Miami FL, FAU, and Vanderbilt. They’ve outperformed a lot of teams that are currently ranked in the top 25.
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HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-BOISE STATE VS SOUTH DAKOTA STATE (Cayman Islands Classic). When I think of the Cayman Islands, and the beaches, and the warm sunny weather, of course I’m also going to think of Boise State and South Dakota State!! South Dakota State was a team we had a lot of questions about coming into the season, but so far they’ve absolutely delivered and have the chance to pick up a really nice neutral floor and resume building win today.
-MEMPHIS VS UCONN (Maui Invitational). I’m already much higher on Memphis than I’ve been in a very long time. This event is a chance for them to REALLY cement themselves as a nationally relevant program. Having said that, I don’t think they’re quite as good as UConn. A win would be huge, but a loss wouldn’t set them back all that much. In fact even if they just win one game in this event they’ll still be in really good shape.
-COLORADO VS MICHIGAN STATE (Maui Invitational). Colorado is unbeaten, but they have not been tested at all. The teams they will face in this event are just on another level. Having said that, while Michigan State hasn’t been a disaster and their record is a respectable 4-1, they haven’t exactly shown out in dominant fashion either. We’ll see what both these teams can do out in Maui.
-MICHIGAN VS VIRGINIA TECH (Fort Meyers Tip-Off). I’ve been much more impressed with Michigan than VA Tech so far. I know it’s early, but Michigan looks like an NCAA Tournament team and VA Tech looks like they’ll be a hundred miles from the NIT.
-CLEMSON VS SAN FRANCISCO (Sunshine Slam). Both teams are off to good starts, and both have a good opportunity today to pick up what should be a solid resume-building win away from home.
-MISSOURI STATE VS BOSTON COLLEGE (Cayman Islands Classic). I wasn’t big on either team coming into the year, but both have good records, both managed good wins yesterday, and both have an opportunity to continue to build momentum and add to their resumes today.
-MCNEESE VS LIBERTY (Paradise Jam). A hugely important game for two top level UTR teams that are good enough to win a game in the round of 64 and perhaps even reach the bubble. What makes this game so important is that both teams have such limited opportunities to put big wins on their resumes.
-OREGON STATE AT NORTH TEXAS. An interesting road trip for the Beavers who up until now have only won home buy games, but who also nearly beat Oregon their last time out. North Texas is also off to a 4-1 start and is starting to establish themselves.
-XAVIER VS SOUTH CAROLINA (Fort Meyers Tip-Off). This is Xavier’s first game away from home. This event is a chance for them to start building up their resume. South Carolina doesn’t appear to be the strongest team in the world, but it’s still probably the toughest test for X up to this point.
-AUBURN VS IOWA STATE (Maui Invitational). How awesome is it that we get a top 5 match-up in the QUARTERFINALS of the Maui!!?? Obviously these are two potential protected seeds and this would be a high caliber win away from home. Auburn already has a big win against Houston and has looked the part of a top 5 team all season long. Iowa State has only played three home buy games, so this is a massive first real test for them.
-DAYTON VS NORTH CAROLINA (Maui Invitaitonal). Dayton comes in at 5-0, but has only played home buy games. The caliber of competition will be slightly higher than that in this event. UNC is coming off a respectable road win at Hawaii and took Kansas to the wire earlier this year. Still, this would probably be their biggest win to date if they can take care of business.
BUY GAMES (and other games of note):
-Illinois State vs George Washington (Paradise Jam) – GW has a good record, but they need some wins in this event
-Southern Illinois vs Louisiana Tech (Gulf Coast Showcase) – LA Tech looking to remain unbeaten
-Penn State vs Fordham (Sunshine Slam) – Penn State can get to 6-0
-High Point @ Old Dominion – High Point needs to bounce back from their loss to Missouri State yesterday
-Longwoond vs Kansas State (Paradise Jam) – Longwood has had a good run to start the season and has a chance at a notable win today
-New Hampshire @ Columbia – Columbia can get to 8-0
-UMES @ Arkansas
-Green Bay @ Ohio State
-Central Michigan @ Minnesota
-Little Rock @ Illinois