Hoops HD

NEWS AND NOTES:

-For John Stalica’s UTR Game of the Day – CLICK HERE

-Nebraska won the Diamond Head Classic, and picked up three decent wins in the process knocking off Murray State, Hawaii on their home court, and an Oregon State team that looks like they may be a bubble team themselves. The Huskers have a home buy game against Oregon State coming up, and then they host UCLA, in what should be a huge showcase home game for them.

.

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:

-OLE MISS AT MEMPHIS. There have been times this season where Memphis did not play up to their ceiling, but they’ve played a tough schedule and won enough big games to where I’m convinced they are a very good team. Ole Miss is good as well, and this should be a fun one. It’s a resume building opportunity for both teams (albeit one of many).

-NEW MEXICO AT COLORADO STATE (Mountain West). This is a conference road game for a New Mexico team that needs some conference road wins. They only played one true road game OOC and lost at Saint John’s, so they need some road wins to strengthen their resume, and while this is one that won’t be easy, it is one that you would expect an NCAA Tournament caliber team to be able to get.

-UCLA VS GONZAGA (Game in Inglewood CA). Both teams are in the rankings, both have multiple big wins, and both have a ton of potential. It wouldn’t shock me at all if they both ended up as protected seeds come March.

-UTAH STATE AT SAN DIEGO STATE (Mountain West). These appear to be the two best teams in the Mountain West. I feel both teams are good enough to land in the top half of the bracket, and this is one of the bigger opportunities remaining for each team in terms of how good this win would be for each team’s resume.

BUY GAMES (and other games of note):

-Coppin State @ Georgetown
-UMES @ Maryland
-Eastern Kentucky @ Louisville
-Eastern Michigan @ Davidson
-Abilene Christian @ Texas A&M
-Nevada @ Wyoming (Mountain West) – Nevada needs to start stringing together wins if they want to reach the bubble.
-Fairfield @ Columbia – Columbia can improve to 11-1 with a win
-Boise State @ San Jose State (Montain West) – this should be a winnable conference road game for the Broncos
-Delaware @ Saint John’s
-Grand Canyon vs San Diego (Game in Inglewood CA) – if the Lopes are going to make a run at the bubble they basically need to win out
-Occidental (nonD1) @ UC San Diego
-Pacifc @ Saint Mary’s (West Coast) – It’s a conference game that may as well be a buy game
-Washigton State @ Portland (West Coast) – I really like this Wazzu team and think they’ll be inside the bubble and in the top half of the standings at the end of the year
-LMU @ San Francisco (West Coast) – The Dons need to string together some wins if they’re going to end up making the field

NEWS AND NOTES:

-After today we will be going into Holiday mode. Things slow way down, so there won’t be s daily rundowns to recap days where no meaningful games happened. We will pick that back up this Saturday. As for now…

-The Braggin’ Rights Game seems to never disappoint! It was once again close, exciting, intense, and emotional. Missouri trailed by as much as 10 late, but went on a run to get the lead with under 5 minutes to go. It was was back and forth from that point on with Mizzou getting a chance to tie it at the buzzer, but the shot didn’t go down and the Illini held on for a big 80-77 win. This is big for Illinois both on and off paper! Missouri is good and they’ll get plenty of chances at big wins in conference. I think we’ll see both these teams in The Dance come March.

-Georgetown is now 10-2 overall and 2-0 in the Big East after picking up an exciting 61-60 road win at Seton Hall. Maybe it wasn’t so much picking up a win as surviving; the Hoyas were held scoreless for the final 4 minutes of the game and Seton Hall did not manage to get a shof off on their final possession. Georgetown may not be quite good enough to finish inside the bubble, but they’ve strung together quite a few wins and definitely have our attention for now.

-Utah State bounced back from their home loss to UC San Diego in a BIG way by picking up a true road win at Saint Mary’s. They were ahead for most of the game, which is not easy to do at Saint Mary’s, and picked up the very impressive 75-68 win. This game is a statement that Utah State is very good and perhaps belongs in the top 25. It’s also a statement that UC San Diego is also very good themselves and deserves a ton of credit for their win at Utah State last week.

-In the Diamond Head Classic, Oregon State pretty much controlled College of Charleston for the whole game. It was by no means a blowout, but at no point did it really feel like the Beavers weren’t in control.

Nebraska also cruised past Murray State and Hawaii knocked off Charlotte. The one big upset was Oakland’s win over Loyola Chicago, so Oregon State now faces Oakland in the semifinals today.

-Iowa State, Alabama, Kansas, Oklahoma, Cincinnati, Wisconsin, South Carolina, West Virginia, Georgia, LSU, and Michigan all easily won buy games.

MONDAY, DECEMBER 23RD:

-CHARLESTON VS LOYOLA CHICAGO (Diamnond Head Classic). Charleston was unable to get by a pretty solid Oregon State team, and Loyola Chicago fell to Oakland in a game that was a bit of a surprise. That was a missed opportunity for both teams yesterday, and a setback for Loyola Chicago, but they get a chance at another decent match-up today.

-MIDDLE TENNESSEE AT TENNESSEE. Middle Tennessee is a very respectable 9-3, but they are swinging way over their heads today on the road against the top ranked team in the country.

-OREGON STATE VS OAKLAND (Diamond Head Classic). Oregon State had a decent win yesterday against Charleston, and from a resume-building standpoint would probably rather be facing Loyola Chicago than Oakland. This should be a winnable game and allow them to advance to the Championship on Christmas Day.

-SEATTLE U AT WASHINGTON. Washington shouldn’t have too much trouble getting to 9-3.

-NEBRASKA AT HAWAII (Diamond Head Classic). Both teams cruised yesterday, and while this is a tournament this will also be considered a true road game for Nebraska, so this would be a nice addition to their resume.

-MURRAY STATE VS CHARLOTTE (Diamond Head Classic). Depending on who you ask, this is either a December 24 game (for those in the Eastern and Central time zones) or a December 23rd game given the 8 PM local tip time.

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 24TH:

-No Games! Reruns of old CBI games should be available on YouTube, though!! (Note from Stalica – I will settle for a rerun of DePaul-Creighton that was played on Christmas Day a couple of seasons ago to be simulcast with the annual marathon of A Christmas Story.)

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 25TH:

-The 7th, 5th, 3rd, and 1st place games of the Diamond Head Classic will be taking place. If the chalk holds, Nebraska v Oregon State should be a very interesting final between two possible tournament teams, and a nice resume-building opportunity for both of them.

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 26TH:

-No games! It is the Feast of St. Stephen, and I’m sure Good King Wenceslas would be spinning in his grave if he knew there was no college basketball today!!! (Note from Stalica – How does the Puppet not mention today is Boxing Day? Even here in the United States, we know today is a sporting day devoted to the English Premier League!)

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 27TH:

-Baylor hosts Arlington Baptist and Duquesne hosts Cleary. Nothing like a couple of nonD1 cupcakes a couple days after Christmas, I suppose.

.

I know the Holidays a very special and meaningful time for a lot of people, and I hope all of those people are able to enjoy it and have a safe and happy time. I also know that it is perhaps the hardest and most depressing time of the year for a lot of other people. If you fall into this category, I can certainly relate, and I hope you’re able to get through these next few days. We will be active on Twitter because even on Christmas Day we love talking college hoops, so give us a shout!