NEWS AND NOTES:
-UConn kept Illinois at arms length for pretty much the entire game and ran away with a 74-61 win at MSG. The Huskies actually never trailed in the game and at no point did it feel like they were in any danger of losing it.
-Dayton and BYU seesawed back and forth in the championship game of the ESPN Events Invitational. Dayton got a lead early, then BYU came back and built up a lead of their own, and then Dayton made big plays in the second half with seemingly each team coming up with big shots in key possessions down the stretch, but BYU survived 83-79. This loss won’t hurt Dayton at all, but a win could have really helped them in terms of building up their resume. The Flyers looked really good in this event despite the loss and should have the kind of team that will land inside the bubble.
-Vanderbilt absolutely clobbered Saint Mary’s 96-71 to win the Battle 4 Atlantis. It was hands down their most impressive showing of the year.
-San Francisco, who was a team we thought would end up inside the bubble, has not looked anything like an NCAA Tournament team so far this season. They were beaten rather handily by a so-so Nevada team yesterday 81-65 and now fall to a very modest 5-3 on the year with no real quality wins to speak of.
-Oklahoma edged out Marquette 75-74 in Chicago. Marquette has struggled all year long and is now just 4-4 on the year with no real wins of note on their profile.
-Colorado is now 7-0 after beating Washington 81-68 to win the Acrisure Holiday Classic. The Buffs are much better than we expected and are definitely worth keeping an eye on.
-Texas A&M, who has been very blah all season long, was not blah at all yesterday. They just blew Florida State off the floor 95-59 and looked a lot more like the team we were expecting them to be than what we had seen prior to yesterday. Florida State was a team that appeared to be playing pretty well coming into yesterday, but were totally blown off the court.
-TCU continues to roll after beating Wisconsin rather handily 74-63. The Horned Frogs have rebounded from their season opening loss to New Orleans, have started to build up a pretty solid profile, and are showing that they are capable of continuing to rack up big wins as the season goes on.
-Miami FL jumped out big and early on Georgetown and basically just coasted the rest of the way to a 78-65 win. The Hoyas had looked really solid coming into this event, but after losing in overtime to Dayton it’s as if they didn’t even bother showing up against Miami.
-Saint Louis, after picking up a really impressive win against Santa Clara two days ago, fell somewhat surprisingly to Stanford yesterday 78-77. Stanford is not a team that we expected much out of at all, but with this win the Cardinal are 6-1 on the year and suddenly have our attention.
-SMU needed overtime at Mississippi State, but pulled out the 87-81 win to pick up their first true road win of the season and remain unbeaten on the year.
-Ohio State suffered their first loss of the year at Pittsburgh 67-66 in a game that was a bit of a surprise. It was the first true road game for the Buckeyes, but Pitt had simply looked awful all year long so one sort of expected that Ohio State would win without too much trouble.
.
-Due to time and travel commitments, we are making this a Double-Daily Rundown.
SATURDAY, NOV 29TH:
-CENTRAL ARKANSAS AT EAST TENNESSEE STATE. This is, without question, the game of the day!! It is perhaps the game of the whole weekend!! East Tennessee State can improve to 6-1 on the year, which is a very good start for them, but the reason this game is so seismically important is because this game will determine the winner of the ASun/SoCon Challenge!!!
-James Madison @ George Mason – James Madison has started to play a little bit better, but this should still be a very manageable win for George Mason, which would keep them unbeaten on the year
-Stephen F Austin @ UT Arlington – two solid UTR teams that are off to good start this year. SFA is looking for their third true road win of the season
-UC Santa Barbara vs Seattle U (Las Vegas NV) – it’s two UTR teams that are off to really good starts this season facing each other on a neutral floor. UCSB in particular is a team to keep an eye on.
-Buffalo @ Canisius (Big 4) – Buffalo shouldn’t have too much trouble getting to 8-0 on the year and picking up their second true road win
-LSU vs DePaul (Emerald Coast Classic) – LSU should be able to pick this one up and remain unbeaten on the season, although DePaul is showing signs of being better than they typically are
-California Baptist @ Oregon State – this is a winnable game for Cal Baptist. They’ve played well this season, they’ve yet to lose, and they’ve shown that this is the kind of game they are good enough to win
-Bethune-Cookman @ Indiana
-VMI @ UCF
-USC Upstate @ Nebraska
-Tennessee Tech @ Georgia
-Western Carolina @ High Point
-Norfolk State @ Arizona
-Drake @ Georgia Tech
-Montana State @ Utah State
-Sacred Heart @ Penn State
.
SUNDAY, NOV 30TH
-WYOMING AT TEXAS TECH. Wyoming has just one loss on the year and has looked like one of the better teams in the Mountain West. Texas Tech hasn’t played at quite the level I had expected yet, but they are still a clear top 25 caliber team who is likely to get better as the year goes along and earn a protected seed. Wyoming is a team that they better not overlook, but this is still a game where they should hold serve.
-SAINT BONAVENTURE @ FLORIDA ATLANTIC. The Bonnies are off to a good start this season with their only loss being to North Carolina, but this is their first true road game of the year, and these are the types of games they need to expect to win in order for the committee to take them seriously.
-South Alabama @ UTSA – South Alabama can improve to 7-1 on the year and pick up their third true road win
-Yale @ Vermont – Yale is an Under the Radar team that we think can make a run at the bubble, and Vermont, while off to a somewhat slow start, is still the team we think will be the frontrunner in the America East
-Belmont @ Charleston – Belmont can improve to 8-0 and pick up their second true road win of the year
-Mercyhurst @ West Virginia
-Cal State Bakersfield @ Fresno State
