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NEWS AND NOTES:
-Duke vs Arkansas was the spotlight game from yesterday. Duke got out to an early lead, then Arkansas came back and built a lead of their own, but Duke came back again and got control down the stretch for the 80-71 win.
-TCU over Florida in the Rady Children’s Invitational was the upset of the day. TCU seemingly came out of nowhere for the 84-80 upset over the Gators. That win completely changes how I look at TCU. Now they are a team that lost their opener to a talented New Orleans team, nearly beat a very good Michigan team, and did beat the defending national champs.
-Saint Louis got a huge 73-72 win over Santa Clara. Neither team is in a power conference, but both teams appear to be good enough to land inside the bubble, which is why this game was so important. Santa Clara had a lead throughout most of the game, but it was close the entire time and Saint Louis just made the bigger plays at the end.
-Georgetown vs Dayton was another thriller that went into overtime with Dayton pulling out out 84-79 and handing Georgetown their first loss of the year. It’s a big win for Dayton who is starting to build a resume that is worthy of the tournament and who has now earned them a shot at BYU tonight.
-Michigan State pulled away from North Carolina in Fort Myers to pick up a solid and impressive 74-58 win over the Tarheels. It’s no surprise that the Spartans are looking like a protected seed right out of the gate.
-Richmond suffered their first loss of the season to Furman 73-72 in the ESPN Events Invitational. It was a close loss, but it was still damaging as Richmond hasn’t beaten anyone that’s all that noteworthy yet and they now likely won’t get the chance to do that in this event.
-Colorado remains unbeaten after picking up a solid 79-69 win over a solid San Francisco team in the Acrisure Holiday Classic. We’ve now suddenly got more eyes on Colorado and they’ve got another winnable game today against Washington.
-Oklahoma State is also unbeaten after taking care of a fairly solid Northwestern team 86-81 in Chicago.
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HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-CONNECTICUT AT ILLINOIS. This is a showcase game between two highly ranked teams that have both already been challenged and both managed notable wins. UConn’s only loss so far was to Arizona and Illinois fell to Alabama in a home-ish type of game, but both teams have managed big wins as well, both are probable protected seeds, and can boost the level of their profile even more with a win today.
-SAINT MARY’S VS VANDERBILT (Battle 4 Atlantis). This is an interesting matchup between two unbeaten teams, both of whom have managed some pretty decent wins already, but neither of whom have a win yet that’s as good as this one would be today.
-WASHINGTON VS COLORADO (Acrisure Holiday Classic). I wasn’t all that big on either team coming into the year, but Colorado is unbeaten and picked up a nice win against San Francisco yesterday, and Washington has just one loss on the year and dominated a Nevada team that is at least formidable. This is suddenly a compelling game that will likely be an early season resume builder.
-WISCONSIN VS TCU (Rady Children’s Invitational). TCU had a shocking upset win against Florida yesterday. Not much was expected from the Horned Frogs this year, and after losing their season opener to New Orleans they appeared to be living up to those low expectations. Now all of a sudden after yesterday, they’ve got a really good win on their profile and their only other loss was a very competitive game against Michigan. It’s crazy how one win can completely change a team’s complexion. Wisconsin had no issues with Providence yesterday and was probably expecting to play Florida. This is still a big game for the Badgers and would still be their best win of the season so far if they’re able to pull it off.
-STANFORD VS SAINT LOUIS (Acrisure Invitational). Saint Louis remains unbeaten on the year after winning a thriller against a really good Santa Clara team yesterday, and will face a Stanford team that has a respectable 5-1 record, but who doesn’t have any wins as good as this one would be.
-BYU VS DAYTON (ESPN Events Invitational). This could be a fun one and it’s a big opportunity for Dayton. The Flyers have two pretty good wins on their resume already, including the win against Georgetown yesterday, but to knock off a probable protected seed on a neutral floor is just a massive statement and may catapult them into the top 25. BYU has played a tough schedule and their only loss so far was a close game to UConn in Boston, so they are certainly proven and battle-tested.
OTHER NOTABLE GAMES:
-Virginia Tech vs VCU (Battle 4 Atlantis) – Not much was expected out of VA Tech this year, but they come into this one 6-1 and battled with Saint Mary’s yesterday. Quite a bit of was expected out of VCU this year, but so far they are just 4-3 and haven’t managed much in the way of notable wins
-Richmond vs Charlotte (ESPN Events Invitational) – Richmond lost to Furman 73-72 yesterday and as a result fell to the losers side of the bracket. They need to rebound and hold serve today
-Nevada vs San Francisco (Acrisure Holiday Classic) – San Francisco is coming off a somewhat surprising loss to Colorado. While we still think they can have a big year they really haven’t managed any big wins yet. They need to hold serve today
-Oklahoma vs Marquette (Chicago IL) – neither team has done much yet and both could use this win today to help jumpstart their seasons
-Providence vs Florida (Rady Children’s Invitational) – Florida is coming off a somewhat surprising loss to TCU and looking to bounce back
-Colorado State @ South Florida (Battle 4 Atlantis) – it’s unlikely that either team will end up anywhere near the bubble, but both have at least shown moments of being formidable so far this season
-Texas A&M vs Florida State (Tampa FL) – neither team has done much in the way of quality wins, but Florida State at least competed in against Florida in a game that is their only loss. TAMU is just off to a rough start, but has held serve in their buy games. This game has a sense of urgency to it because it’s one that both of these teams could really use
-Miami FL @ Georgetown (ESPN Events Invitational) – Miami is looking to bounce back from a loss to BYU, and they’ll face a Georgetown team who lost an overtime thriller to Dayton yesterday. Georgetown still looks like a tournament caliber team and can still pick up some decent wins in this event.
-Georgia Tech vs DePaul (Emerald Coast Classic) – not much is expected from either team this year, but both have respectable records early on
-SMU @ Mississippi State – SMU is 7-0 on the season and this does look like a winnable road game, but it’s also their first true road game
-Ohio State @ Pittsburgh – The Buckeyes are 6-0, but this is their first true road game
-Santa Clara vs Minnesota (Acrisure Invitational) – Santa Clara needs to bounce back from their loss to Saint Louis yesterday and hold serve in this one today
-LSU vs Drake (Emerald Coast Classic) – a win for LSU will get the Tigers to a very respectable 6-0 on the season
BUY GAMES/CRAP GAMES:
-Eastern Illinois @ Purdue
-Northeastern @ Wake Forest
-Wright State @ Butler
-Navy @ UNC Wilmington – UNCW can improve to 6-1
-NC A&T @ Davidson
-Charleston Southern @ South Carolina
-Queens @ Virginia
-TAMUCC @ Xavier
-Alabama A&M @ Clemson
-Stony Brook @ LMU
