Hofstra (7-3, 5-3 D1) at Norfolk State (6-3, 4-3 D1) – 7:00 PM ET (No Live TV)
Tonight’s UTR Game of the Day heads to Norfolk, Virginia for a nonconference matchup between the Hofstra Pride and the hometown Norfolk State Spartans. Hofstra has had a couple of notable wins in the nonconference slate with road wins at Seton Hall and UMass. They did finish as the runner-up in the Baha Mar Invitational with a win against Rice and a loss against Tarleton in the championship game. Cruz Davis averages 14.9 points a game and 4.1 assists a game for Hofstra.
It’s not often you see a team from the MEAC with a nonconference record against D1 opponents above .500, but Norfolk State is a perennial contender in the league and is currently on a 2-game winning streak against D1 opponents with road wins against UC-Davis and Stony Brook. The Spartans went 1-2 on their road trip out west overall that also included a 7-point loss at Stanford and an 18-point loss at Grand Canyon. Brian Moore Jr. averages over 21 points a game for the Spartans.
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DAILY RUNDOWN (From the Puppet):
-Missouri sprinted out to a lead against rival Kansas and held it for the entire game. The 76-67 win over their hated rivals who have entirely outperformed them for the past…ohh…century or so, might be one of the more feelgood moments Mizzou has had on the basketball court since nearly making the Final Four in 2009.
-Purdue had to come from behind at home in the second half to beat Maryland, but held on for the 83-78 win. Still, a really good showing on the road by the Terps and a sign that they may have a little more potential than we thought.
-UCLA, who had seemingly slipped out of the spotlight after losing to New Mexico the first week of the season, should absolutely be back into it now. They picked up a HUGE win at Oregon and are now 2-0 in Big Ten play for the first time ever!!! The Bruins had a 3pt shot that banked in at the buzzer to give them the win, which some will say was lucky, but they played an outstanding game on another team’s home court prior to that to end up in that situation.
-Duke picked up an impressive 76-65 road win at Louisville and looked particularly strong in the second half. The Blue Devils now have road wins at Arizona and at Louisville. That’s impressive!!
-Arkansas State is an Under the Radar team we’ve been praising some, and who we are about to be praising them a hell of a lot more! They went on the road to Memphis and didn’t just win, but played a fantastic game where they were basically in control for the entire 40 minutes. To do that on the road against a team as good as Memphis may be the single most impressive performance from a UTR team we’ve seen this season so far.
-I’d say the health of UConn’s profile has been restored. They picked up their first true road win of the season knocking off Texas 76-65 in a game that they basically controlled the whole way.
-Texas A&M held off former conference rival Texas Tech down in Forth Worth yesterday 72-67 to pick up another a nice win away from home.
-MINNESOTA AT INDIANA (Big Ten). It’s the Big Ten opener for the Hoosiers and they should be able to hold serve in this one. Minnesota is 6-4 on the year and playing in their first true road game.
-Penn @ VCU – VCU can improve to 8-2 on the season
-Abilene Christian @ Baylor