NEWS AND NOTES:
-In Boston, UConn jumped out to a big early lead against BYU and appeared to be cruising, but the Cougars just kept chipping away, and chipping away, and chipping away. They it down to 2pts, but could not quite get completely over the top and the Huskies held on to win 86-84. It’s hard to not be impressed with BYU despite the loss. They were without a key player, and while it wasn’t a true road game, it was a crowd that was very partial to UConn, and they were able to come back after a very rough start and almost pull off the win.
-Georgetown is off to a great start and the voters better take notice! They defeated Clemson 79-74 to remain unbeaten on the season. They’ve now racked up wins against Clemson and Maryland. Speaking of Maryland…
-The Terps went on the road and got a big 89-82 win at Marquette. This was a nice bounce back after the loss to Georgetown and was their first real meaningful win of the year. I liked this Marquette team in the preseason, but they’ve struggled early. They were also blown out by Indiana and have lost their only two games that weren’t home buy games.
-Yale struggled some with Stony Brook, but got the 86-79 win to remain unbeaten. I think Yale is one of the top UTR teams and may be good enough to make a run at the bubble.
-SMU got a huge battle from Butler, but held on to win 87-85. Butler had a shot to win it at the end of the game, but the 3-pointer did not go down. It was a nice win for SMU and a strong showing from a Butler team that has struggled in recent years, but may have some signs of life this year.
-Boise State escaped another upset loss as they got a battle from Montana State, but were able to hold them off 62-58. I don’t want to beat up on Boise State too much for this one. Montana State played a great game.
-Saint Bonaventure held on to beat Youngstown State 84-80. The game seesawed back and forth all throughout, and Youngstown had a chance to tie or win on their last possession, but air-balled what would have been a game-winning 3 and the Bonnies iced it with two late freethrows. Saint Bonaventure remains unbeaten, and Youngstown State falls to 2-2, but has played well in some pretty tough games this year and is showing signs of being one of the top ten UTR teams.
-Nebraska trailed Oklahoma at the half, but came back and picked up the 105-99 win over the Sooners in the Sanford Pentegon. This was a fun game to watch. It was two former rivals and two potential tournament caliber teams playing in a venue that was both packed and intimate.
-Santa Clara had no trouble with Nevada and picked up the 98-83 win. Santa Clara now has decisive wins at Xavier and at home against Nevada in back-to-back games. Those aren’t exactly top-ten caliber opponents, but those aren’t home buy games either. Santa Clara is looking really good.
-Grand Canyon fell to 2-2 and Saint Louis remains unbeaten after SLU picked up the win at home 78-64. At no point in the second half did it feel like SLU was not in complete control.
-New Mexico and New Mexico State was a battle, which it almost always is, but New Mexico State pulled away late in the game (it was very late, actually) and picked up the 76-68 win at home to remain unbeaten on the year.
.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-HOUSTON VS AUBURN (Birmingham, AL). The two faced each other last year early in the season, and both were in the Final Four a year ago. This year Houston comes into this one as the top ranked team, and while Auburn is also ranked in the top 25 they really haven’t shown that they deserve it yet. They’ve only played three home buy games and nearly lost the first one to Bethune Cookman. Having said that, it’s the first real test for Houston as well, so we should learn quite a bit about these two teams today.
-MIAMI FL VS FLORIDA (Jacksonville FL). Florida is high in the rankings, but they’re coming off a near upset loss to rival Florida State in a game where they didn’t exactly look like a top ten team. Still, the Gators have at least tested themselves so far this season. Miami comes into this one at 3-0, but has only played home buy games and has not been tested at all.
–Notre Dame @ Ohio State – Both teams are unbeaten, but have only played home buy games, so this is their first real test today.
-South Florida @ Kennesaw State – South Florida is looking for their first road win of the year
-Charlotte @ Virginia Tech – VA Tech is 3-0 with a win over Providence. They should get a bit of a test today, but it’s a winnable game for them
-Tennessee State @ Western Kentucky – WKU had a nice win at Eastern Kentucky earlier in the week and can stay unbeaten with a win today
-UNLV @ Memphis – UNLV has really struggled this year. Memphis is just 1-1, but both of their games have been tests. They won at home against San Francisco and lost on the road to Ole Miss. This is arguably the easiest game they’ve played all season up to this point.
-Colorado State @ Loyola Chicago – Colorado State comes in at 3-0 and is looking for their first road win.
-Akron @ Purdue – Akron comes in unbeaten and will likely have a big year in the MAC, but they are swinging way over their heads in this one
-Umass Lowell @ Wake Forest
-TAMUCC @ Oklahoma State
-Incarnate Word @ Indiana
-Mount Saint Mary’s @ Cincinnati
