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NEWS AND NOTES:
-Troy came into yesterday’s game at USC after a double-overtime win at San Diego State. Last night they went into USC. Once again, the game was tied at the half. Once again, the game was tied at the end of regulation. Once again, the game went into a second overtime…and then to a third overtime. Troy had a key player foul out, but still jumped out to a lead in the 3rd overtime after trailing for most of the game. In the final seconds with a 2pt lead they came up with a big defensive stop, threw the ball down the court, but in a frantic desperation USC came up with the loose ball, got up a crazy contested shot that just beat the buzzer….and hit it. It may be one of the most exciting regular season basketball games I’ve ever seen. As for Troy, I hate that an Under the Radar team that has limited opportunities at notable wins was unable to finish this one off. It would have looked really good on their profile and begun to establish them as a possible at-large caliber team. But having said that, they have shown on this road trip that they can play!! They are poised for a big season!
-Memphis battled against Purdue and was right in there late in the game when a Memphis player threw himself to the ground as if he’d been pepper-sprayed in the face, and then got up and started yelling (I suppose to try and draw a technical foul?). After review, he himself was assessed a technical foul and Purdue got control of the game after that and went on to win 80-71.
-Wake Forest once again battled against a highly ranked team on a neutral floor, but once again came up just short. They took Michigan to overtime in Detroit and last night they took Texas Tech down to the final seconds before losing 84-83. It’s been a frustrating start of missed opportunities for Wake, but they’ve also shown that they can play at a high level and that they are good enough to take advantage of future opportunities. Their game against Memphis tonight is very important for both teams.
-Utah suffered their first loss of the season as they fell 92-85 in a home buy game to Cal Poly. I note this only to say that it wasn’t really that big of a surprise.
-Arizona State, who I have openly been very critical of, picked up a really big win last night at Hawaii 83-76. They have shut me up for now. Hawaii is a good team, Arizona State just beat them on the road, and is now 4-1 on the season.
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HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-WISCONSIN VS BYU (Bad Boy Mowers Series) – The game is in Salt Lake, so the crowd should hugely favor BYU. The Cougars don’t have any wins yet that are as big as this one would be, but they’ve shown they can play at a really high level with their near win against UConn. Wisconsin has blown through four buy games and this is their first real test.
-VIRGINIA VS NORTHWESTERN (Greenbrier Tip-Off). Both teams come in 4-0, but this is the first real big test for either one of them and their first chance to add a high caliber win to their resumes.
-IONA VS AKRON (Paradise Jam). This one will likely be fun. Both are solid Under the Radar teams and both have limited opportunities to build up a solid resume, so this event is a huge opportunity for both of them. To take full advantage of it both of them will need this win today.
-LOUISVILLE AT CINCINNATI. This game isn’t on campus, but it will still be a crowd that is very partial toward Cincinnati. It’s fun to see that they have restarted this series. Louisville already has a big win against Kentucky and this is their first real test away from home. Cincinnati also has a notable win against Dayton, but this will be a much tougher test today.
-WEST VIRGINIA VS CLEMSON (Charleston Classic). West Virginia does have a win against Pittsburgh, but based on how things have gone it’s probably not a win that they’re going to get a whole lot of credit for. Neither team has any real big wins yet, so this game tonight and this whole event is a chance for them to pick some up.
-WAKE FOREST VS MEMPHIS (Baha Mar Championship). Both teams battled yesterday against highly ranked teams, and if both can play like that the rest of the way then both are going to be fine. Having said that, this is a game that both of them could really use. It’s the third place game, but it has a bigger sense of energy to it than the championship game does. Wake has nearly beaten Michigan and Texas Tech, but came up short both times and is still looking for their first notable win. Memphis has struggled against a tough schedule and didn’t look good at all in their last game prior to this event, but hung in with Purdue for most of the game last night and could really use a win like this.
-TEXAS TECH VS PURDUE (Baha Mar Championship). This is why we love these events!! Its’ two top fifteen teams that otherwise probably wouldn’t be playing each other. And, not only are they playing each other, they’re playing in a fun and unique setting!! This is just one thing that makes these events so great!! As far as what it means on paper, it’s a chance at a high caliber resume building win for both teams.
-KANSAS STATE VS NEBRASKA (Hall of Fame Classic). Both teams are unbeaten, both had nice wins yesterday, and both are going after what may be their biggest win of the season so far. Nebraska also has a nice win against Oklahoma, so to get a third neutral floor win against a notable team would be a great start to the season for the Huskers.
OTHER NOTABLE GAMES:
-Utah State vs Tulane (Charleston Classic) – Utah State is off to a solid 4-0 start and can build up their resume by picking up some solid wins away from home in this event
-South Carolina vs Butler (Greenbrier Tip-Off). South Carolina is 4-0 and Butler comes in at 3-1, but neither team has any real wins of note yet
-Davidson vs Boston College (Charleston Classic) – Davidson is unbeaten, but also (for the most part) untested, although they did win at Charlotte. It’s fair to say that Davidson will still be untested after today
-Mississippi State vs New Mexico (Hall of Fame Classic) – both teams are coming off of a loss and both are still looking for their first real notable win this season.
-Saint Thomas vs Northern Colorado (Portland Invitational) – two solid UTR teams and Northern Colorado is looking to stay unbeaten
-South Alabama @ UAB – South Alabama is out to an impressive 6-0 start and two of those wins were true road games. UAB has had an up-and-down year, but they blew out High Point in their last game so this will be a challenge for South Alabama
-Austin Peay @ Tulsa – Tulsa nearly upset Kansas State in their last game and is worth keeping an eye on for now
-Stephen F Austin @ Pepperdine – SFA has looked really good so far and this looks like a winnable road game for them. They can improve to 5-1 if they can get it done
-UC Davis @ Colorado – this one might be fun to watch. UC Davis is off to a really good start and Colorado, while unbeaten, is also untested.
-Arkansas State @ SMU – this is a buy game, but Arkansas State is a pretty decent team so SMU better not overlook them.
-Xavier vs Georgia (Charleston Classic) – it’s a renewal of the biggest rivalry in all of sports!! And, it looks to be a huge mismatch!! Georgia is unbeaten and has a semi-decent win over Georgia Tech, but this event is a chance for them to add some real solid pieces to their profile assuming they win tonight
-New Orleans @ Fresno State – New Orleans has picked up some notable wins already and this looks to be another winnable road game for them
-BUY GAMES AND GAMES THAT MIGHT AS WELL BE:
-Green Bay vs Yale (Paradise Jam)
-Georgia Southern @ Florida State
-Detroit Mercy @ Michigan State
-Central Connecticut @ Rutgers
-Niagara @ Duke
-Merrimack @ Florida
-Loyola MD @ Kentucky
-Jackson State @ Arkansas
-Omaha @ LSU
-Evansville vs Oregon State (Paradise Jam)
-Manahattan vs Texas A&M – TAMU is off to a rough start
-PFW @ Saint Louis
-Denver @ Colorado State (Front Range) – Colorado State can get to 5-0
-Samford @ New Mexico State
-Louisiana @ Santa Clara
-Grambling @ California Baptist
-Seattle U @ Stanford
-Sacramento State @ California
