NEWS AND NOTES:
-There were very few surprises yesterday. Richmond suffered their first loss of the season as they fell 80-70 at Southern Illinois, but that was hardly a surprise.
-The Battle of I-10 was a good game with UTEP holding on to win 60-58. New Mexico State had a shot at the buzzer to win it, but it came up short.
And…that was really it! We’ve got a much busier night tonight…
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HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-GEORGETOWN AT CLEMSON. Both teams are 3-0, but Georgetown had to sweat out Delaware State in their last game and Clemson hasn’t exactly been challenged yet, so neither team has a notable win yet.
-PITTSBURGH AT BUTLER. Pitt is 3-0 with a semi-decent win over Penn State. This would be their first true road win if they’re able to pull it off. Neither team is expected to be all that good this year, but neither team has lost yet.
-OHIO U AT PURDUE. I know this is a buy game and there is a high probability that it will play out the way most buy games do, but I like this Ohio U team and think they can have a big year and this is a big opportunity for them.
-GEORGIA AT NORTH CAROLINA. Both teams are 3-0 after winning what amounted to three buy games, although North Carolina’s last game was against a semi-decent Wyoming team. This will be the first real test for either of them.
-OHIO STATE AT UCONN (Hartford, CT). We kind of like this Ohio State team. They’ve already suffered a setback in their loss to BYU, but they’re still a solid team. Having said that, I don’t think they’re good enough to beat a national championship contender on the road.
-VIRGINIA AT MARYLAND. This should be an early season winnable road game for the Hoos. Maryland just does not seem to be that good. At least not yet.
-ARIZONA AT AUBURN. Auburn hasn’t been tested yet, but they’ve at least won their buy games the way you would expect a tournament caliber team to win them. Arizona is also looking for their first meaningful win of the season. They fell to UCLA on opening night and have another very tough challenge tonight in one of the most electric road environments in the country.
-SETON HALL AT ALABAMA. I’m still not a believer in this Seton Hall team, but they do come into this one 3-0 with a chance to make a huge statement. Alabama is ranked 18th and in my opinion they are probably underreated. This is the first non-buy game for the Tide, though.
-DEPAUL AT NORTHWESTERN. I’m excited for this one!! I like DePaul this year and this is their first semblance of a tough game. It’s on the road and it’s against a team that they should be able to beat if they’re as good as I think they are. And there is some heat to this series!
-XAVIER VS MISSISSIPPI STATE (White Sulphur Springs, WV). Sort of an unusual neutral location for those two, but…whatever. Neither team has really been tested yet. I think Xavier can make a run at the NCAA Tournament this year and I like Mississippi State as well. This is one of those games that may not get all that much attention at the time it’s played, but then end up being looked at quite a bit by the committee come March.
-UC SAN DIEGO AT UTAH STATE. It’s only Week 2, but this game already has a sense of urgency to it. I think UC San Diego might be one of those teams that, if everything falls right, can play their way inside the bubble, but in order to get there, they need to be able to win a game like this. And that won’t be easy. Utah State is very good, especially at home, and they’re also trying to build up their tournament resume.
OTHER NOTABLE GAMES:
-Southern Miss @ Texas State – Texas State can get to 4-0
-Wright State @ Samford – a pretty good UTR game. I think Samford is a SoCon dark horse and Wright State has looked great in all three of their games. This would be their second road win if they can pull it out
-Stanford @ UNLV – I don’t think either team will end up having a big year, but both come into this one 3-0
-Chicago State @ San Diego – I’m on the Chicago State Train after their big win at Cal Baptist!! Can they pull off another road win tonight??
-UIC @ Saint Mary’s – it’s a buy game, but UIC is unbeaten and has looked pretty good and the Gaels better not overlook them
BUY GAMES:
-North Alabama @ Miami FL
-TAMUCC @ Florida State
-Bryant @ Rutgers
-Merrimack @ Florida
-Sam Houston @ Illinois
-Northern Iowa @ Michigan State
-Tennessee State @ Tennessee
-Prairie View A&M @ Vanderbilt
-Northern Arizona @ Kentucky
-Mount Saint Mary’s @ Virginia Tech
-Troy @ NC State
-NC Central @ Liberty
-SIUE @ Duke
-Central Arkansas @ Arkansas
-Texas Southern @ Murray State
-Georgia Southern @ UCF
-Milwaukee @ TCU
-Fairleigh Dickinson @ Oklahoma
-UL Monroe @ Arizona State
-Ball State @ SMU
-Mississippi Valley State @ Oregon State
