NEWS AND NOTES:
-Alabama got a massive win at Saint John’s yesterday 103-96. Saint John’s is currently ranked 5th in the nation and believed by pretty much everyone to be a protected seed caliber team. For Bama to get a road win of that caliber is huge for their resume. Beating a protected seed in a true road game is not something we see happen all that often.
-Arkansas battled at Michigan State, but came up just short 69-66 in what was a really entertaining game. It’s a nice resume builder for Michigan State, and perhaps a missed opportunity for Arkansas, but both of these teams are going to have so many opportunities for big wins between now and March that you can hardly even call it a setback for the Razorbacks.
-Gonzaga basically lead Oklahoma from tip to buzzer and never really sweated in their 83-68 win over the Sooners. Once again the Zags appear to be very good.
-Memphis jumped all over San Francisco early, but the Dons mad a run in the second half to get back into the game. The Tigers still picked up the 76-70 win, which is huge for them because they don’t get as many chances at notable wins as the teams in the P4 do. It would have been a big win for San Francisco had they been able to pull it off, especially with it being a road game, but the loss isn’t a terrible setback. They don’t have chances at big wins every week the way the P4 seemingly does, but they’ll have enough to play their way inside the bubble if they’re good enough.
-Virginia Tech got an entertaining overtime win over Providience 107-101 in the Basketball Hall of Fame Tip Off. I’m still not all that big on either team, but it was a fun game to watch and we’ll pay attention to both teams until they give us a reason not to.
-Nevada got a scare from Pacific, but held on to win 78-77 to remain unbeaten. Pacific isn’t expected to be that good. We almost saw another shocking home loss by a Mountain West team.
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HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-INDIANA VS MARQUETTE (Chicago IL). It’s the first real test for both of these teams. Preseason expectations brought a lot of question marks for both of them, especially for the Hoosiers, so we should be able to learn something about both of them today. I wouldn’t be surprised to see them both in the NCAA Tournament this March.
-TEXAS A&M AT OKLAHOMA STATE. This is a true road test for TAMU. Oklahoma State isn’t expected to be all that great this year, but it would still be a true road win and a good early addition to TAMU’s profile if they can pull it off.
-WASHINGTON AT BAYLOR. This is the first real test for either team and a chance to sort of slingshot themselves into the spotlight with a notable early season win, especially Washington if they can get this one on the road.
-South Dakota State @ Northern Iowa – neither team has a loss yet, and I think both can do very well in their conferences. Northern Iowa is actually my pick to win the MVC this year.
-VMI @ Missouri – this may not seem like a big game on the surface, but both teams are unbeaten, VMI is perhaps a dark horse in the SoCon, and Mizzou had to sweat out SEMO just a couple nights ago
-North Texas @ Loyola Chicago – Loyola Chicago is coming off a loss to Mercyhurst, and North Texas can improve to 3-0 and pick up their second true road win
-Florida Atlantic @ Liberty – Both teams are unbeaten. It’s the first true road game for FAU, and Liberty may be an under the radar team that’s good enough to make a run at the bubble
-Morehead State @ Georgia
-Lehigh @ West Virginia
-Utah Tech @ Arizona State
-UC Davis @ Portland – both teams unbeaten
-Idaho State @ San Diego State – both teams unbeaten
-Manhattan @ USC – both teams unbeaten
-Omaha @ Colorado State
