NEWS AND NOTES:
-Top ranked Arizona ran away from Alabama in the second half for a very impressive 96-75 win. Arizona now has a true road win against UConn and a mostly-road win against Alabama on their resume. They have certainly earned the top ranking.
-Gonzaga held off UCLA 82-72 in Seattle for one of their better wins of the year. The Zags never really blew it open, but they did hold a lead for pretty much the entire game. I get the sense that UCLA will get better and build up a strong resume once they get into Big Ten play.
-Nebraska remains unbeaten and they’v now got a top level win on their resume. They went on the road to Illinois and pulled out an exciting 83-80 win. The Huskers held a lead for most of the game and every time Illinois seemed to be making a run they came up with an answer. The game ended on a last second 3 for the Huskers. After a road win like this I think we need to start thinking of Nebraska as a protected-seed caliber team.
-Arkansas came from behind in the second half to knock off Texas Tech 93-86 in Dallas. Arkansas also has a home win against Louisville, but given that this was a neutral floor game this is probably their biggest win of the year so far.
-Kansas needed overtime, but got a big 77-76 road win over NC State. I think this win will age well. NC State isn’t having a great year, but they’re at least having a decent year, and they’re getting better, and by the end of the year they could end up with both a really strong team and resume. Either way it was a huge win for Kansas, and their first true road win of the season.
-Michigan played with their food against Maryland, but blew it open late in the second half for a 101-83 win in a game that was more competitive than what the final score indicated for much of the game.
-Michigan State really had to sweat at Penn State, but pulled out a 76-72 conference road win. The Nittany Lions probably aren’t a tournament team, but they do appear to be good enough to give really good teams fits when they play them at home.
-UMass is a very respectable 8-3 after knocking off Florida State 103-95. We haven’t talked much about them even on the Under the Radar shows, but they are a team in the MAC that’s worth keeping an eye on.
-DePaul is now 8-3 after beating Wichita State in the Round House 61-58. DePaul probably won’t land inside the bubble, but they are VERY MUCH improved! Chris Holtman has them going in the right direction, and they are not going to be the Big East doormat this year.
-Oklahoma knocked off Oklahoma State in the Bedlam Game 85-76. It was a really nice win for the Sooners. Not only was it a win over a rival, but it was a win away from home against what has looked like a probable tournament caliber team so far. And suddenly Oklahoma’s neutral floor loss to Nebraska, which was a close game, is looking like a good effort against a top 20 caliber team. The Sooners might have more life than we thought.
-Butler’s double overtime win over Providence was the game of the day. I don’t know how many ties and lead changes their ended up being, but I think it was close to 30, and it was just big play after big play for fifty straight minutes! Butler got the win, and while Butler certainly still has work to do to get all the way inside the bubble, it’s by far the best team they’ve had since Thad Matta took back over.
-Tulsa is 10-1 after knocking off a solid New Mexico State team 83-70 on a neutral floor. They appear to be good enough to blow through the American and if they do that they should be safely inside the bubble.
-Santa Clara had what appeared to be a commanding 17pt lead at the half against Arizona State, but the Sun Devils dominated the second half and came back to win 82-79. It was a missed opportunity at a quality win that Santa Clara really could have used.
-Kentucky knocked off Indiana 72-60 in a game they really needed to win. Right now neither team has been playing like a tournament-caliber team, so I’d almost call this an important non-loss rather than a big win for Kentucky. Both teams still have a lot of work to do.
-Saint Bonaventure looked to have what should have been a lay-up level win away from home yesterday, but fell in overtime to Ohio U 88-83. This is an Ohio team that I thought would be good coming into the season, but up until yesterday had really struggled. It’s just the second loss of the year for the Bonnies, but it’s a damaging one.
-Saint Louis is still going strong after a solid 85-75 win over San Francisco. I know it’s a been a while since Saint Louis has been good, and maybe the fans have sort of forgotten about them, but they are good this year!! Spread the word!! People need to start showing up!! The attendance was kind of pathetic given how good SLU has been and that they were facing a quality opponent at home.
-LSU got a really good win over SMU 89-77. This is probably their biggest win of the year so far and they’re an SEC team that we need to really keep an eye on. It wouldn’t shock me at all of both these teams are dancing in March.
-There were a few close calls yesterday with Richmond and Georgetown needing overtime to win home buy games, and Belmont barely knocked off UIC in their conference opener
-Syracuse lost at home to Hofstra 70-69. It was more than just a close call. It’s an alarming loss for a Syracuse team that had been playing at a high level, but is still really light in terms of notable high level wins.
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HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-SAINT MARY’S AT BOISE STATE. Both teams are good enough to make a run at the bubble, but both have work to do and both could really use this win. Saint Mary’s is 9-1 and they do have a smattering of decent wins. Their only loss was to Vanderbilt, which is not a bad loss. This would be a true road for them against a solid Boise State team.
Buffalo @ East Carolina – Buffalo continues to play well and can pick up their 4th true road win of the season today
-High Point vs Appalachian State – should be a winnable neutral floor game for High Point
-Troy @ UAB – One never knows what Troy is going to do. Neither team is likely to finish near the bubble, but both have shown moments of being able to compete at a high level and it’s a bit of a rivalry game
-Kent State @ Portland – Kent State is 9-1 on the season, but amazingly this is their first true road game
-North Texas @ South Alabama – this is one of the better games of the day. Neither team will likely land inside the bubble, but both are good teams that are having good seasons so far, and the door isn’t completely closed
-UMES @ Virginia Tech
-Eastern Illinois @ Iowa State
-Bethune Cookman @ Missouri
-Northern New Mexico (nonD1) @ Colorado State
-Western Michigan @ Iowa
-FGCU @ New Mexico
-Queens @ Wake Forest
-Jacksonville @ Texas A&M
-Washington State @ USC
