NEWS AND NOTES:
-We will be recording our Hoops HD Report Video Podcast tonight, which will be the first of the regular seaosn!! Be sure and be on the lookout for that and give it a watch and/or listen.
-Indiana blew Marquette into the sun 100-77. Based on how Indiana has played for the last…oh, I don’t know…several years or so it was easy to not take them all that seriously coming into this year. We better be taking them seriously now! Marquette is no pushover, and Indiana basically knocked them over! On paper it’s a nice neutral floor win for the Hoosiers. Off paper it was a major statement that they are for real.
-Oklahoma State blew out Texas A&M 87-63. It was TAMU’s first real test under Bucky McMillan and it did not go well. I know this was a road game for Texas A&M, but I was still expecting them to win, or at least not get blown out. Perhaps the Pokes are a lot better than I thought, and perhaps TAMU is a lot worse.
-An Under the Radar note – Vermont needed overtime to win at Brown. Vermont was a team we thought would run away from the America East. While they’re now 3-0 with a true road win, it’s one of the least impressive 3-0 starts I can ever recall.
-Baylor held serve against Washington and picked up a 78-69 win at home. It’s hard to say yet just how good Washington is, much less how good they will be on the road, but this is still categorically a much better win for the Bears than simply playing another buy game.
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HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-MISSISSIPPI STATE VS IOWA STATE (Sioux Falls, SD). Iowa State looks to be really good this year, and some are saying they’re good enough to win the Big 12. Mississippi State is a possible tournament team. If they can somehow get the win tonight it would be a huge early season quality win for thier resume, and a sign that they can play with just about anyone.
-NEW ORLEANS AT LSU. This is a fascinating game. UNO has dumped a lot of money into basketball, and all the early signs this season is that they are MUCH MUCH MUCH better than anyone thought!! They already have a road win at TCU, and if they can somehow pick this one up tonight then we would almost have to start thinking of them as a team that’s good enough to make a run at the bubble. They have the opportunities that they need to build that type of resume in OOC play if they’re good enough. I’m actually REALLY looking forward to this one tonight!
-Western Kentucky @ Eastern Kentucky – both teams won their openers, but this is the first real test for either one of them. I don’t think either team will end up anywhere near the bubble, but I like this EKU team and think they can win the Sun Belt. Plus, this is one of our favorite OOC UTR rivalries!!
-UNC Wilmington @ Kent State – it’s a match-up between two pretty solid UTR teams. UNCW is looking for their first true road win.
-Santa Clara @ Xavier – Xavier had to sweat out both of their home buy games, and will face a Santa Clara team tonight that’s a lot better than anyone they’ve played so far. Santa Clara comes in at 2-0 and is looking for their first true road win.
-Saint Thomas @ Washington State – the Tommies are the favorites to win the Summit League, so Wazzu better not overlook them. This is perhaps a winnable road game for them
-Columbia @ UConn – both teams unbeaten
-Maine @ Rutgers
-Fairfield @ Seton Hall
-Eastern Michigan @ Pittsburgh
-Stetson @ Miami FL
-Lindenwood @ Saint Louis
-Lamar @ TCU
-Cleveland State @ Northwestern
-Northern Illinois @ Grand Canyon
-Holy Cross @ Utah
-SELA @ Georgia Tech
-West Georgia @ UCLA
-Cal State Fullerton @ California
