It’s 11/11! Happy Nigel Tufnel Day!!! – These go to eleven
NEWS AND NOTES:
-Last night was a busy night and it was the first day/night of the season so far that was packed with good games.
-Florida got a battle at Florida State in a game that was not easy for them to win. The crowd was electric and Florida State is a good team, but the Gators held on 81-72 to pick up their second really good win of the season so far. Poor shooting hurt the Seminoles, but then again so did playing against the top ranked team in the country.
-Michigan State got out to an early lead against Duke and never really let it go. Duke was competitive and got close at times in the second half, but at no point did it feel like the Spartans were not in control. I think Duke will get better. I still think they’re good enough to make the Final Four and possibly win it all. And it’s not like we didn’t know that Michigan State was also really good, but I must admit I wasn’t expecting the Spartans to win the way that they did.
-The second game of the Champions Classic was hardly classic. Kansas beat Kentucky 89-69 and at no point did it not feel like that Kansas was in complete control. Kentucky is a top 25 caliber team. Kansas is just a better team.
-Illinois went into Texas Tech, and like the Florida/Florida State game this one just gave us an incredible atmosphere. Texas Tech led by as much as 22, but Illinois fought back and actually had a chance to win it, but couldn’t quite get over the hump. This was such an impressive game. The atmosphere was impressive and I think that affected Illinois early on, Texas Tech looked incredible jumping out to a big lead, Illinois’s comeback was impressive, and overall this was just a great college basketball. game. And it was an important game. The committee will not give this any less weight because it was played just one week into the season.
-After a great start to the season, Memphis could not keep up with Vanderbilt last night. An injury to a key player early in the game certainly effected the Tigers and in the second half Vandy just blew it open for a 105-81 win. I’m sure the loss doesn’t feel good for Memphis, but I don’t think it should discourage them all that much. They’ve tested themselves perhaps more than any other team has so far and have managed two big wins. They can still end up having a really big year.
-Virginia Tech picked up a really nice (mostly) road win against Iowa 93-88 in overtime. I wasn’t all that big on the Hokies this year, but this was a really nice win for them and they certainly have my attention. While it wasn’t a true road game, it was in Sioux City in front of a crowd that definitely favored Iowa.
-Duquesne is now 3-0! They won a 72-71 thriller against Washington State. I don’t think Duquesne will end up anywhere near the bubble, but they’re off to a much better start than I thought they would be.
-The utter surprise of the night, at least for me, was Kansas State’s 89-82 win over Creighton. I know K State was at home and it’s not easy to win on the road and all that stuff, but WOW! I DID NOT see that one coming!!!
We saw a few really bad performances in buy games last night…
-Georgetown had to come from behind to beat Delaware State and really didn’t put the game away until the final minutes or so. They won 83-78, but it was more discouraging than encouraging. Delaware State was a team that we thought might win the Centenary Award.
-Rhode Island had to come from behind in the second half to beat Maine 71-65. To be fair Rhody isn’t expected to be all that good, but no one thought they’d struggle to beat Maine.
-TCU needed double overtime to get past UL Monroe. UL Monroe had been among the worst programs in all of D1 in recent years, but to be fair they’ve made some overhauls and appear to be much better this year. They almost pulled off a monster upset, but TCU held on. Ummm…well done Frogs? I guess?
-Dayton was not able to beat Siena. They lost 99-89 in a game where Siena had control in the final minutes. This is the second striaght home buy game that Dayton has lost. Perhaps they’re in for a long season.
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HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-MARQUETTE AT MICHIGAN. We are still learning about both these teams. Michigan lost their last game to UConn, but we already knew that they probably weren’t as good as UConn so no real surprise there. Marquette is a team that we really have our eyes on and this is their first test after two home buy wins.
-VALPARAISO AT SOUTH DAKOTA STATE. Both teams are 2-0, both have notable road wins with Valpo winning at Purdue and South Dakota State winning at Kansas State, so that makes both of these teams more accomplished than many of the teams that are currently ranked in the top 25 but have only won home buy games, so of course we are going to highlight it! I’m looking forward to this one!!
-SANTA CLARA AT NORTH TEXAS. Both teams are unbeaten and this is a potentially tough road test for Santa Clara.
OTHER NOTABLE GAMES:
-Fairleigh Dickinson @ East Texas A&M – ETAMU has been one of the biggest surprises of the college basketball season. Can they stay unbeaten and beat Fairly Dickinson at home this…well…morning?
-Saint Joseph’s vs South Florida (Veterans Classic – Annapolis, MD) – South Florida already has a loss on the season, but I still like their team and still think they can end up having a big year. St Joe’s comes in at 2-0 after two home buy wins
-Loyola Chicago @ Air Force – Loyola should be able to pick up their first road win and improve to 3-0 on the season
-Charleston @ Temple – this is CofC’s first road game and they should be able to win it and get to 3-0
-Kent State @ UNC Wilmington – This is a solid UTR matchup. Kent State already has a road win and UNCW is looking to remain unbeaten on the season.
-Old Dominion @ Norfolk State – Old Dominion is trying to get to 4-0 on the year and pick up their second true road win
-UMass Lowell @ UMass – slightly interesting since UMass Lowell is 3-0 with a road win and UMass has looked a little better than expected so far
-Nevada @ UC Santa Barbara – Nevada is 2-0 after their big win against Saint Mary’s this past weekend and is looking for their first true road win
-Pacific @ Long Beach State – Pacific looking to get to 3-0 and pick up their second road win
-USC at California – This is somewhat of a tough road game for the Trojans, but it’s one they should be able to win
BUY GAMES:
-Bethune Cookman @ San Diego State
-Colgate @ Saint John’s
-South Carolina State @ Notre Dame – both teams 3-0 and SC State has two road wins
-Saint Peter’s @ South Carolina
-NJIT @ VCU
-Campbellsville (nonD1) @ Western Kentucky
-Friends (nonD1) @ Wichita State
-Jacksonville State @ Houston
-Robert Morris @ Arkansas
-Oral Roberts @ Tulsa
-Arkansas Pine Bluff @ UCLA
-Lindenwood @ Nebraska
-Oakland @ Boise State
-Portland State @ Colorado State
-Cal Poly @ Grand Canyon
-Mississippi Valley State @ Oregon
