NEWS AND NOTES:
-Hawaii v Oregon had a lot of the sloppiness that you typically see in the first week of the season, but it was exciting, and it was a battle, and Oregon needed a shot in the final seconds to escape 60-59. Hawaii actaully battled back late in the second half and got a lead late in the game, but couldn’t hold on to win it. Still, I think the Rainbow Warriors are a good team that can have a really big year. As a fan of Under the Radar teams it would have been nice to see them pick up a road win like this for their resume, but they have a lot of season in front of them.
-Duke v Texas probably went the way most people guessed it would. Texas battled, and actually fought to keep themselves in it at many points when it looked like Duke was going to establish control, but in the end Duke did establish control and won 75-60.
-Wichita State absolutely handled UNC Asheville 75-58. I know there is nothing to celebrate about winning a buy game, but UNCA is a halfway decent team by Big South standards, and Wichita State hasn’t been halfway decent by any standards in quite some time.
-UT Martin got a surprising road win at UNLV 86-81. This is the second head-scratching home loss in about a 24 hour stretch that involved a Mountain West team, but at least UT Martin is D1!
-And we may already have a Centenary Award update!!! NJIT got a road win at Fordham 72-61. I know you almost never see the Centenary winner come from a conference like the A10, but to lose AT HOME to NJIT (and by double digits) is a Centenary level loss!!
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HIGHLIGHTED GAMES (and this is a very liberal use of the word “highlighted”)
-Southern Indiana @ Butler – It’s a buy game, and Southern Indiana is not expected to do well in the OVC, but I think they’ll be a little better than expected and that this game is at least worth turning on for a few minutes
-North Dakota State @ UC Davis – this is a chance for North Dakota State to get a decent road win against. UC Davis team that may make some noise in the Big West This year
-North Alabama @ Mississippi State – North Alabama will likely be one of the better teams in the ASun, but they are overmatched tonight
CRAPPY BUY GAMES:
-Rider @ Rutgers
-Delaware State @ Temple
-UMES @ Georgia
-Southern Virginia (nonD1) @ Richmond
-South Dakota @ Creighton
-Alabama A&M @ Indiana
-Tarleton State @ LSU
-Southern @ Marquette
-East Texas A&M @ New Mexico
