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
-In the Battle 4 Atlantis, Gonzaga blew out Indiana 89-73 and seems to be back on track after their surprising loss to West Virginia the day before. Indiana has now been blown out twice in two days, and is likewise starting to look more like the team we expected coming into the season.
-On the other side of the bracket, Louisville picked up a win against West Virginia in an overtime thriller, and will face Oklahoma who pulled off an upset win against Arizona. Arizona will likely still have a big year, but they have yet to manage any big time wins this season yet.
-Illinois pretty much led Arkansas from tip to buzzer in Kansas City for the 90-77 win. The loss knocks Arkansas back to 5-2 and the Razorbacks are still in search of their first win that isn’t a home buy game.
-Ole Miss needed overtime, but they got by BYU 96-85 in a thriller at the Rady Children’s Invitational. It was probably Ole Miss’s best win of the season up to this point, and they’ll get to face a really good Purdue team tonight.
-Wichita State is now 6-0 on the season after edging out Minnesota 68-66. The Shockers have a huge game today against Florida. If they can win that one then you have to start thinking about them as a tournament team.
-Utah State is also unbeaten after handing Saint Bonaventure their first loss in the NIT Season Tip-Off 72-67.
-Butler picked up their biggest win of the season yesterday as they held off Northwestern 71-69 in a thriller out in the Arizona Tip-Off. I still think Butler could be a dark-horse team, and if they’re able to beat Mississippi State today it should get the attention of the voters.
-Saint Mary’s blasted USC, and Arizona State beat New Mexico in a thriller out at the Acrisure Classic. That Saint Mary’s v Arizona State game tonight should be good. Neither team is currently in the top 25, but perhaps both of them should be and will be soon.
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HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-PROVIDENCE VS INDIANA (Battle 4 Atlantis). Both teams should have a sense of urgency coming into this one as both are still looking for their first notable win of the season.
-MINNESOTA VS WAKE FOREST (ESPN Events Invitational). One last chance for each team to pick up a win of note in this event.
-PITTSBURGH AT OHIO STATE. Pitt may be the best team in the ACC outside of Duke and North Carolina right now, and they have a chance to pick up a really good win this afternoon. Both of these teams have shown signs of being solid tournament teams, and this game is a resume building opportunity for each of them.
-ARIZONA VS WEST VIRGINIA (Battle 4 Atlantis). Arizona’s season has been a little disappointing so far and they fell to Oklahoma yesterday. West Virginia fell to Louisville in an overtime thriller after the shocking upset of Gonzaga two days ago. Both are looking to end things on a high note today.
-WICHITA STATE VS FLORIDA (ESPN Events Invitational). Both teams are unbeaten and both have picked up some nice wins already. This is probably a bigger game for Wichita State as they won’t have quite as many opportunities at notable wins the rest of the way as Florida will.
-NC STATE VS BYU (Rady Children’s Invitational). Both teams are coming off a loss yesterday, and both are still looking for their first win of the season that isn’t a home buy game.
-OKLAHOMA VS LOUISVILLE (Battle 4 Atlantis). This probably isn’t the championship game that most people were expecting. Louisville has knocked off Indiana and West Virginia, and Oklahoma had a nice win over Arizona yesterday. Both teams have picked up some really good wins in this event, and both have the chance to take home some hardware and finish it off with one more nice win today.
-OLE MISS VS PURDUE (Rady Children’s Invitational). Both teams are in the rankings and both had nice wins yesterday to get to the championship game.
-UTAH STATE VS NORTH TEXAS (NIT Tip-Off). Utah State is unbeaten, but their resume is still a little flimsy. North Texas is an impressive 6-1, but could also use some big wins to beef up their resume. It’s a game that both teams could really use.
-NORTHWESTERN VS UNLV (Arizona Tip-Off). Winning this game would help either team’s resume.
-DAVIDSON VS GONZAGA (Battle 4 Atlantis). This appears to be a huge mismatch, but it’s also a great chance for Davidson to pick up what would be a season-defining win.
-BUTLER VS MISSISSIPPI STATE (Arizona Tip-Off). I’ve said that I thought Butler could be a dark horse this year, and while they haven’t looked overly impressive yet, they’re still 5-1 on the season. This would be a statement win if they can knock off Mississippi State, who is currently 6-0 and in the rankings after some nice wins against Utah, SMU, and UNLV.
-ARIZONA STATE VS SAINT MARY’S (Acrisure Classic). Both teams are off to really good starts and both picked up some pretty good wins yesterday. Saint Mary’s blew USC’s doors off and Arizona State beat a really good New Mexico. Both look like tournament teams early on, and have the chance to continue to build their resumes today.
-UC IRVINE VS KENT STATE (Western Slam). These are two really good UTR teams that are both capable of making runs at the bubble, but who also have limited opportunities and can really use this win today. Props to this event for being able to match these two teams up. It is a HUGELY important early season game and a big opportunity for both of them.
-USC VS NEW MEXICO (Acrisure Classic). Both teams are looking to bounce back from yesterday’s losses and leave this event with a notable neutral floor win.
BUY GAMES (and other games of note):
-Dartmouth @ Boston College
-Valparaiso @ DePaul
-TCU vs Colorado State (Acrisure Classic) – TCU is still looking for their first notable win
-Judson (nonD1) @ Bradley
-VMI @ George Washington
-Tennessee Tech @ Vanderbilt
-Central Penn (nonD1) @ Liberty
-Holy Cross @ Virginia
-Santa Clara vs Washington (Acrisure Championship). Santa Clara blew out TCU yesterday and faces a 1-loss Washington team today
-Arkansas State vs Indiana State (Baha Mar Hoops) – Arkansas State can get to 5-1 with a win
-NC A&T @ East Carolina
-Georgia State @ Kentucky
-Seattle U @ Duke
-Hofstra vs Rice (Baha Mar Hoops) – both teams are off to impressive starts and both can build up their resumes with a win today
-Florida A&M @ Clemson
-Elizabeth State (nonD1) @ VCU
-Northern Colorado @ Texas Tech – it’s a buy game, but Northern Colorado is a good team and could be very competitive in this game
-Northwestern State @ LSU
-Saint Bonaventure vs Northern Iowa (NIT Season Tip-Off) – Saint Bona can get to 7-1
-Delaware State @ Texas
-Mississippi Valley State @ UC Santa Barbara