NEWS AND NOTES:
-For all of the In-Season Tournament Brackets and Schedules – CLICK HERE
-I don’t think there has ever been a 7th place finish in any event that was anywhere near as impressive as Dayton’s was in the Maui Invitational. They almost upset two really highly ranked teams, and then blew UConn’s doors off 85-67 yesterday. UConn is, without question, NOT the 2nd best team in the country like their ranking indicated, but Dayton is, without question, one of the best 25 teams in the country. They’re probably good enough to blow through the rest of their schedule and end the regular season ranked very high, and perhaps be on the fringe of a protected seed.
-Auburn ended up winning the Maui Invitational as they skated past Memphis 90-76. Auburn’s resume is as follows: they have wins over Houston, Iowa State, North Carolina, and now Memphis, and all those wins are away from home. That’s insanely good!!
-Michigan State finished things off in Maui with a win over North Carolina. Sparty was not a team I was super big on coming into this event, but they picked up two really good wins and are off to a very solid start to the season.
-Gonzaga, who had looked like one of the best teams in the country, somehow fell to West Virginia, who had shown very few signs of life prior to yesterday. That one game completely changes the complexion of WVU’s outlook this season.
-The other surprise was Louisville’s win over Indiana. The fact that Louisville won isn’t that surprising because we had questions about Indiana coming in, but Louisville winning 89-61 was pretty astounding. Louisville is probably a lot better than we thought, and Indiana may be even worse.
-Rutgers, who less than a week ago fell on the road to Kennesaw State, must have woken up. They didn’t get the win against Alabama yesterday out in the Players Era Festival, but they were extremely competitive and only lost 95-90. I’d say there is more reason to hope than to be discouraged after that.
-Texas A&M held on to beat Creighton yesterday 77-73. While it is the 3rd straight loss or Creighton, they were at least competitive against a strong opponent. In their previous two games it didn’t even look like they belonged on the floor.
-Michigan totally blew Xavier’s doors off 78-53. It’s another case of not being surprised at which team won, but being surprised at how much that team dominated. It was a real statement win for the Wolverines.
-Oregon remains unbeaten after their win over San Diego State in the Players Era Festival. Keep your eye on the Ducks!!
-SMU got a nice 77-60 win over a Washington State team that came in looking pretty good. It may not be a win that jumps off the resume, but to me it’s an indication that SMU is capable of playing well.
-Last, and definitely latest, Houston finished off Notre Dame 65-54 in a game that wrapped up at some time around 3am. It’s Houston’s most notable win of the season so far.
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HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-LOUISVILLE VS WEST VIRGINIA (Battle 4 Atlantis). Many were probably expecting to see these two play today, but probably not on the winners’ side of the bracket. Louisville blew Indiana into the sun and West Virginia, after having shown no real signs of life prior to yesterday, somehow upset Gonzaga. Both have another chance to pick up a notable win again today.
-MINNESOTA VS WICHITA STATE (ESPN Events Invitational). Minnesota comes in at 5-1, but their only wins have been home buy games. Wichita State is a little more proven, but they have a limited number of opportunities at big wins the rest of the way so it is very important that they do well in this event and pick up some notable wins.
-INDIANA AT GONZAGA (Battle 4 Atlantis). Both teams are in the rankings and both still have a shot at picking up a solid win for their tournament resumes today. The fact that it’s on the losers’ side of the bracket won’t matter to any metrics or team sheets. Gonzaga’s resume still looks very impressive, whereas Indiana has still only won home buy games up to this point.
-FLORIDA VS WAKE FOREST (ESPN Events Invitational). Florida appears to be really solid, but their schedule up until now has been somewhat flimsy outside of a win against Florida State. Wake has a nice win against Michigan, but could also stand to build up their resume some, so this event is a good opportunity for both of them.
-PURDUE VS NC STATE (Rady Children’s Invitational). NC State is unbeaten but also untested. Purdue has already managed a big win against Alabama, but this would be their first win of note away from home, so there’s something at stake for both these teams.
-ARKANSAS VS ILLINOIS (Thanksgiving Hoops Showcase). Both of these teams appear to be good and both have high expectations for the year, but to date they are both also lacking in a high caliber win, so this is clearly an opportunity for them to pick up what would be their biggest win of the year to date.
-OKLAHOMA VS ARIZONA (Battle 4 Atlantis). Oklahoma pulled out a close one against Providence yesterday and they’ll have an even tougher test today against an Arizona team that cruised by Davidson and who can add another nice win to their resume today.
-BYU VS OLE MISS (Rady Children’s Invitational). Both teams come in at 5-0 and both have high expectations of being likely tournament teams this year, but they’re also both facing their first real test of the season today.
-UTAH STATE VS SAINT BONAVENTURE (NIT Season Tip-Off). Utah State is coming off a very nice win against Iowa and can add another notable neutral floor win to their resume today. Saint Bonaventure is unbeaten, but completely unproven. This event is a chance for them to pick up some decent wins and get the committee’s attention.
-NORTHWESTERN VS BUTLER (Arizona Tip-Off). Despite Butler’s early loss to Austin Peay and Northwestern not having managed any sort of notable win yet, I still think both of these teams can have bigger years than what their preseason expectations were and even make it to the NCAA Tournament. So, this event and this game today is a big opportunity for both of them.
-KENNESAW STATE VS UC IRVINE (Western Slam). Kennesaw State is a very surprising 5-1 on the year and has a really nice win against Rutgers. UC Irvine is a perfect 5-0 and probably one of the best UTR teams out there. If they are going to make a run at the bubble, the margin for error is very thin.
-USC VS SAINT MARY’S (Acrisure Classic). Saint Mary’s is a perfect 6-1 and USC is a very respectable 5-1. Outside of Saint Mary’s win against Nebraska both teams need some quality wins to build up their resumes.
-MISSISSIPPI STATE VS UNLV (Arizona Tip-Off). Mississippi State is coming off a really nice road win at SMU and can build up their resume some more if they’re able to pick up a couple of wins in this event.
-NEW MEXICO VS ARIZONA STATE (Acrisure Classic). Both teams have managed some decent wins already, and both seem to be better than what we were expecting in the preseason. It will be interesting to see what they do against each other tonight.
BUY GAMES (and other games of note):
-Rhode Island vs UT Arlington (Jacksonville Classic) – Rhody can remain unbeaten on the year
-TCU vs Santa Clara (Acrisure Invitational) – TCU can get to 5-1, but Santa Clara is probably better than their 2-4 record
-Washington vs Colorado State (Acrisure Invitational) – Washington can get to 5-1 with a win
-Providence vs Davidson (Battle 4 Atlantis) – both teams are looking to bounce back and pick up their first notable win of the season
-Northern Iowa vs North Texas (NIT Season Tip-Off) – North Texas can improve to 6-1 and add another road/neutral win to their profile
-Kent State vs Towson (Western Slam) – Kent State can improve to 5-1