NEWS AND NOTES:
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-It seems as though there are entire seasons where the teams who finish in the top ten have lost less than five games at home combined. I realize it’s just November, and the final top ten in March may not look anything like it does now, but so far this season we’ve already seen three top ten teams lose home games. The m0st recent was last night when Arizona went into Storrs and beat UConn in a 71-67 thriller. The crowd was great, the intensity was great, and it was just a great early season game. UConn was without a key player, so we do need to point that out. The loss may sting a little bit, but it’s hardly a setback.
-Alabama went up to Chicago and beat 8th ranked Illinois 90-86. On the young season Alabama already has wins at Saint John’s and now against Illinois in what was not a true road game, but was still a game where the crowd heavily favored the Illini. Like the UConn v Arizona game, it was a high energy and highly intense game that was played at a high level.
-Dayton went up to Marquette and got a really big 77-71 overtime win. It was a big win for the Flyers and a worrisome loss for Marquette, who now falls to 3-3 with the only wins being home buy games. Dayton’s only loss on the year was at Cincinnati, and they have multiple chances to build up a quality resume between now and the start of conference play. They basically held a lead for the entire game, and when Marquette started to come back they had an answer.
-South Alabama is now 6-0 on the season after handing Jacksonville State their first loss of the year 71-65. They haven’t beaten any one that’s top-40 level good, but four of their five D1 wins have come away from home.
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HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-MEMPHIS VS PURDUE (Baha Mar Championship). Memphis is off to a slow 1-2 start and is coming off a rather poor showing against UNLV in a game that they lost. Purdue is unbeaten with a true road win at Alabama. The two teams are in drastically different places right now.
-NEW MEXICO VS NEBRASKA (Hall of Fame Classic). Nebraska is coming off a nice win against Oklahoma and a strong showing in this event could really make their resume look good early on
-WAKE FOREST VS TEXAS TECH (Baha Mar Championship). Wake’s only loss so far is a close game against Michigan that they nearly won, and Texas Tech’s only loss was a road game at Illinois. I still think Texas Tech is one of the best teams in the country and this event is a chance for them to start putting notable wins on their resume.
-MISSISSIPPI STATE VS KANSAS STATE (Hall of Fame Classic). K State barely escaped Tulsa in their last game and they’ll be facing a couple of bigger challenges in this event. Mississippi State’s only wins have been buy games so it’s an opportunity for them as well
-Pittsburgh vs UCF (Skyscanner Legends Classic) – both teams have 4-1 records, but neither has any wins of note yet. This event will allow them the chance to pick up a few away from home
-Long Island @ Fordham – LIU is the NEC favorites and you get the sense that this is just going to be a fun game
-Troy @ USC – Troy is coming off the thrilling upset win against San Diego State, so they’re not a team that USC is going to want to overlook
-Arizona State @ Hawaii – I really like this Hawaii team and think they appear to be the best Big West team right now. Their only loss was a close one to Oregon, and they have a chance to pick up a notable win against an Arizona State team that’s played better than I had expected them to so far. A win at Hawaii would be big for them early
BUY GAMES AND GAMES THAT MIGHT AS WELL BE:
-Arkansas Pine Bluff @ Marshall
-Lindenwood @ Indiana
-Robert Morris @ Saint Bonaventure – the Bonnies are looking to stay unbeaten
-Bucknell @ Saint John’s
-Tennessee State @ Tennessee
-Texas Southern @ Vanderbilt
-Chicago State @ Iowa
-Mercyhurst @ Miami OH – Miami OH can remain unbeaten
-Elon @ Miami FL
-Western Michigan @ Ohio State
-Oral Roberts @ Oklahoma
-Central Arkansas @ North Texas
-South Dakota @ Missouri
-Rider @ Houston
-Cal Poly @ Utah – Utah can get to 6-0
