NEWS AND NOTES:
-Auburn seems to blow teams out even when the team they are playing is really good. They blasted Purdue yesterday 87-69 and were basically in control for the entire 40 minutes.
-Ohio State blasted Kentucky for a result that was a big surprise. They knocked off the 4th ranked Wildcats 85-65 in the CBS Sports Classic, which is a huge statement win for Ohio State and that will give their resume a really big boost.
-Marquette survived a late run from from Xavier as they held on for a 72-70 conference road win. Xavier was behind by 15 in the second half, but went on an 18-2 run and actually got the lead with 2 minutes to play, but Marquette was able to survive after Xavier’s Ryan Conwell appeared to be tripped by a Marquette defender, but the game ended on a no-call. Xavier has now had back-to-back-to-back close losses against ranked teams, which on one hand has got to be incredibly frustrating, but on another hand tell you that they’re not far away from being a really good team themselves.
-UConn jumped out to a 22-7 lead at Butler, but they also had to sweat at Butler as the Bulldogs made a furious comeback themselves. Nonetheless UConn held on for a 78-74 conference road win. I still think Butler is capable of making some noise, they need to start stringing together some wins like this in order to make a run at the bubble.
-North Carolina, who had lost several close games to really good teams this season, finally won a close game against a really good team yesterday. They knocked off UCLA in a 76-74 thriller in the CBS Sports Classic. The Tarheels were down by as much as 16, but came from behind and got the lead with just 13 seconds to go and held on for a massively important win.
-Mississippi State got a huge win as they went on the road and beat Memphis 79-66. Memphis is having a great season, and their resume still looks really good despite the loss. As for Mississippi State, they just add to the long list of SEC wins against good teams away from home.
-Princeton, who we all liked coming into the year but had been somewhat disappointed with up until yesterday, did NOT disappoint yesterday! They knocked off Rutgers 83-82 to pick up a huge out of conference win. As for Rutgers, they’ve been somewhat of a disappointment as well, but they’re still talented and can still make quite a bit of noise in the Big Ten this year.
-Creighton came back from a pasting at Georgetown and were able to survive at home against a Villanova team that had a 5-game winning streak snapped.
-Northwestern had no trouble at home against DePaul in an intracity battle. We are guessing that the Wildcats had Giordano’s after the game.
-UC Irvine, after getting a big come from behind win at Belmont the other night, basically got their doors blown off at Duquesne yesterday. They lost 70-54 to a Duquesne team that’s looking like they’re on their way to finishing toward the bottom of the Atlantic 10. I know it’s hard to fly across the country and play two road games in three days, but like we always say, it’s also hard to land inside the bubble, and to do it a team needs to be able to win games that are hard to win. Duquesne, even though it’s a long trip, is NOT a hard road game to win. This is a big setback for the Eaters.
-Miami FL lost to Mount Saint Mary’s at home in overtime. Now I think they’re just trying to make me look bad for picking them as a sleeper team back in the preseason.
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HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-ILLINOIS VS MISSOURI (Game in Saint Louis MO). BRAGGIN’ RIGHTS!!!! This game is almost always a blast to watch, and this year both teams come in looking really good. Mizzou has just one loss, and already has a big win over one rival in Kansas. Illinois is a solid 7-3 with some decent wins on their resume and nearly beat to ranked Tennessee in their last game, but this would be one of their better wins to date if they’re able to pull it off.
-OREGON STATE VS CHARLESTON (Diamond Head Classic). Both teams have solid 8-2 records and both have shown an ability to play a a high level. This tournament is a big opportunity for both of these teams to put some solid wins on their resume, and that includes this game today. It should be a fun one.
-SAINT LOUIS AT GRAND CANYON. This was one we had circled back in October as what we thought would be a big game. Given how both teams have started the season, it has lost some of its bigness. Anything short of winning out for Grand Canyon would probably mean they’d have to win the WAC Tournament to make the NCAA Tournament. SLU is still looking for their first true road game and is a very modest 6-5 overall this season, so they have a lot of work to do as well.
-LOYOLA CHICAGO VS OAKLAND (Diamond Head Classic). Loyola can get to 10-1 with a win today. This event is a chance for them to pick up some big wins away from home.
-GEORGETOWN AT SETON HALL (Big East). Georgetown is off to a really good start this season. They won their Big East opener and they may be good enough to make some noise in the conference. They don’t have a true road win yet, but this looks like a winnable road game for them. (FACT CHECK: Georgetown’s first true road win came at Syracuse last week.)
-UTAH STATE AT SAINT MARY’S. Neither team is in the rankings, but it’s quite possible that both should be and/or will be by the end of the year. This is a very big test for an Utah State team that’s coming off their first loss of the season. It’s their first road game, and it’s against a strong team, so we will learn quite a bit about them today.
-NEBRASKA VS MURRAY STATE (Diamond Head Classic). Nebraska is a respectable 7-2 and this event is a chance for them to build up their resume.
-CHARLOTTE VS HAWAII (Diamond Head Classic). It’s not easy to win at Hawaii. They may be able to pull off some big wins in this event.
BUY GAMES (and other notable games):
-Morgan State @ Iowa State
-Kent State @ Alabama – Kent State is good, but probably way over their heads today
-Central Arkansas @ Oklahoma
-Purdue Fort Wayne @ Michigan
-Detroit Mercy @ Wisconsin
-Radford @ South Carolina
-Mercyhurst @ West Virginia
-William & Mary @ VCU
-Brown @ Kansas
-Oral Roberts @ Oklahoma State
-New Orleans @ LSU
-Charleston Southern @ Georgia
-Southern @ USC
-Rider @ NC State