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NEWS AND NOTES:
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-Michigan, who I wasn’t all that impressed with before the start of the Players Era, has been unbelievably impressive in their two Players Era games and absolutely mauled Auburn yesterday 102-72.
-California got a big win against former conference rival UCLA 80-72. Cal is suddenly 6-1 on the year with a really good win on their resume. They’re a team that no one was all that big on, but that now appears to be worth paying attention to.
-UC San Diego is now 6-0 on the season after their 87-77 win against Bradley in the ESPN Events Invitational). UCSD had a great year last year and they’re a team we need to keep our eyes on this year.
-McNeese completed their sweep of the Cayman Islands Classic yesterday as they held off Middle Tennessee 82-72. They are looking like one of the top UTR teams and could be good enough to make a run at the bubble.
-USC handed Seton Hall their first loss of the season in an 83-81 thriller out in Maui. Both these teams have been in some battles, both appear to be better than what we were expecting before the start of the season, and both could go on to have big years.
-Iowa remains perfect on the year after getting a battle from Ole Miss, but also getting the win 74-69. This was another one of those early season neutral floor games between two teams that we could see inside the bubble.
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HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-USC VS ARIZONA STATE (Maui Invitational). I’m surprised to see Arizona State in this game, but so far this year they’ve won at Hawaii, knocked off Texas in this event, and beat Washington State yesterday. Their only loss on the year was a game against Gonzaga where they were competitive. USC is perfect on the year and has won some really exciting games along the way. Today is another resume building opportunity for both teams.
-NORTHERN IOWA VS TULSA (Acrisure Holiday Invitational). Northern Iowa is a solid UTR team that hasn’t lost a game yet and Tulsa has probably looked like the best team out of the American so far. Both are good (or at least have been so far), and both have limited opportunities at notable wins, which is why today is so important for both of them.
-KANSAS VS TENNESSEE (Players Era Festival). Both teams won their first two games with Tennessee getting a big win against Houston yesterday and Kansas knocking off Syracuse. Kansas is 5-2 overall and a win today would be their biggest of the season so far. The Vols are high in the rankings and looking to remain unbeaten.
-SAINT MARY’S VS WICHITA STATE (Battle 4 Atlantis). We fully expect Saint Mary’s to be inside the bubble come March and this event is a chance for them to start building up their profile. Wichita State comes in at a respectable 4-1 overall, but they haven’t beaten anyone that is even remotely noteworthy and must do well in this event in order to establish themselves
-SAINT JOHN’S VS AUBURN (Players Era Festival) – The Johnnies picked up their first notable win of the season yesterday as they knocked off Baylor and Auburn was blasted by Michigan and is looking to rebound.
-NC STATE VS TEXAS (Maui Invitational). Both teams have a lot of potential, but both are also off to somewhat rough starts and finishing off this event with a win in this game today would really help each team going forward. You get the sense that both could end up inside the bubble, so this game could turn out to be more important than what it feels like it is at the moment.
-BAYLOR VS SAN DIEGO STATE (Players Era Festival). Both teams could really use this win. Both have struggled some throughout the year, but San Diego State had a nice win against Oregon yesterday that they really needed, and Baylor is coming off of their first loss of the season, but a win today would be one of the better wins they’ve managed so far.
OTHER NOTABLE GAMES:
-Vanderbilt vs Western Kentucky (Battle 4 Atlantis) – both teams come in unbeaten, but neither has really been tested yet. If WKU wants to build up a profile that can land them in the inside the bubble, they need to do well in this event, and they probably need to win today
-Towson vs UC San Diego (ESPN Events Invitational) – both teams are solid UTR teams. UCSD is looking to remain unbeaten and Towson is coming off a big win against Liberty
-Syracuse vs Iowa State (Players Era Festival) – Syracuse has battled in their two games in this event, but has lost both games and has a really tough test today against an Iowa State team that has won both their games and is looking to finish perfect.
-New Orleans @ Texas Tech – it’s a buy game, but New Orleans has a talented roster so Texas Tech better not overlook them
-Toledo vs Belmont (Coconut Hoops) – Belmont is trying to remain unbeaten
-Buffalo vs Bucknell (Fort Myers Tip-Off) – Buffalo is off to a surprising 6-0 start and has another winnable game today
-Liberty vs Bradley (ESPN Events Invitational) – both teams are coming off a loss and looking to bounce back. Bradley has struggled a little more than expected and Liberty dropped a somewhat surprising one to Towson yesterday
-VCU vs South Florida (Battle 4 Atlantis) – both teams need to build up their profiles, both need to play well in this event, and both could really use this win today
-Notre Dame vs Houston (Players Era Festival) – Houston won a battle on Monday, lost a battle yesterday, and given how their opponents have looked so far they shouldn’t get much of a battle today
-Virginia Tech vs Colorado State (Battle 4 Atlantis) – both teams have built up good records against weak schedules so far, so we will learn something about them in this event
-Seton Hall vs Washington State (Maui Invitational) – Wazzu has struggled this year and Seton Hall has been a surprise. The Hall should be able to rebound after losing their first game of the season yesterday
-Rhode Island vs Temple (ESPN Events Invitational) – I’m not expecting either team to end up near the bubble, but both are off to solid starts and have had some good moments early on
-Denver @ Wyoming (Front Range) – We at Hoops HD love the Front Range!! Wyoming can get to 6-1 on the year, and Denver can pick up their second Front Range win on the road
-Iowa vs Grand Canyon (Acrisure Classic) – Iowa is still unbeaten and Grand Canyon has been playing better after a bit of a rough start to the season. If the Lopes could get this win it would be big for them
-Utah vs Ole Miss (Acrisure Classic) – both teams are looking to bounce back from losses yesterday
BUY GAMES/CRAP GAMES:
-UNC Greensboro vs Miami OH – game is in Jacksonville FL
-Georgia State vs New Mexico State (Cancun Challenge) – New Mexico State can remain unbeaten
-Lipscomb @ Marshall – Marshall can get to 6-1 on the year
-Tennessee Tech @ Kentucky
-Pepperdine vs Fresno State (Acrisure Series) – Fresno is having a better than expected season
-Eastern Michigan @ Cincinnati
-NJIT @ Louisville
-Alabama State @ New Mexico
