Hoops HD

NEWS AND NOTES:

-For John Stalica’s latest Staff Bracket – CLICK HERE

-Marquette got a battle from Creighton, but was able to hold them off at home 79-71 and stay unbeaten in Big East play. Creighton falls to 9-6 on the year, and the injuries they’ve had to deal with have not made things any easier, but considering how competitive they were in what was likely their toughest remaining regular season game the Bluejays may be good enough to start stringing together some wins and get themselves back in the position to make the NCAA Tournament.

-Michigan State picked up a really solid road win against Ohio State as they held them off 69-62.

-New Mexico needed overtime, and then a crazy last second play and shot at the end of overtime, to BARELY escape Nevada 82-81.

-And, last but not least, CHICAGO STATE IS A D1 CONFERENCE LEADER!!!! They knocked off Saint Francis U yesterday 64-52 and are now in a four-way tie for first place in the NEC!!!

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HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:

-FLORIDA AT KENTUCKY. It’s two top ten teams in the SEC conference opener, and both have looked like top ten teams for the bulk of the season. It should be an electric crowd for an SEC match-up between two likely protected seeds.

-GEORGIA AT OLE MISS (SEC). Georgia is 12-1 overall with some really nice wins and seems well positioned to land inside the bubble. It’s not going to be easy against an Ole Miss team that’s had a good year overall, but is looking to bounce back from a rather decisive loss against Memphis.

-OKLAHOMA STATE AT WEST VIRGINIA (Big 12). West Virginia is coming off a massive win at Kansas, and their resume looks amazing right now. They should be able to hold serve against Oklahoma State at home today.

-DAYTON AT GEORGE WASHINGTON (Atlantic 10). Dayton is having an outstanding year, but this is their first true road game of the season and it will be a bit of a test. GW has not played a strong schedule, but they come in at 11-3 and can take a big step forward if they’re able to pull out this win.

-ARKANSAS AT TENNESSEE (SEC). Arkansas is ranked in the 20s and looks like a solid team. Tennessee is ranked #1 and looks like a Final Four team, and with them being at home you have to think they’ll be big favorites in this one.

-BAYLOR AT IOWA STATE (Big 12). Iowa State is ranked 3rd in the nation and while it’s hard to say if they’ll end up with a #1 seed at the end, it is certainly possible. Their only loss of the season was a very close game to Auburn, and they already have some big wins. Baylor is good, but they probably aren’t good enough to pull this one out at Iowa State.

-BYU AT HOUSTON (Big 12). Houston is a solid team whose resume, while good, probably doesn’t reflect how good they actually are. BYU is coming off an impressive and decisive win against Arizona State, and if they can somehow get this one on the road it should shoot them up our seedlist, but it’s not going to be easy.

-UCLA AT NEBRASKA (Big Ten). A really interesting match-up here between a UCLA team that just beat Gonzaga and is perhaps being a little undervalued, and a Nebraska team with a solid 11-2 record and some decent wins of their own that is probably also being undervalued.

-DUKE AT SMU (ACC). This game is fascinating. Duke has proven that they are a strong team, and they’ve done it on the road. SMU is a very solid 11-2, and while they don’t have any super-flashy wins, they do have a lot of decent ones where they’ve played really well. This is a showcase game for SMU that will give them a chance to put themselves in the spotlight if they can pull this one out at home.

-ARIZONA AT CINCINNATI. Arizona is 7-5, but they’ve played a tough schedule and their last three losses were close games against really solid team. They go on the road to Cincinnati, who is ranked 17th with a 10-2 overall record, but other than their win against Dayton they’ve amassed that record against a rather weak schedule and will be challenged today. It could very well be that these are two teams that are going in opposite directions.

-MISSOURI AT AUBURN (SEC). Missouri is good. They’re 11-2, they’ve got a nice win against Kansas, and they nearly beat a really good Illinois team just before Christmas. Auburn is outstanding, though, and winning at Auburn is likely too tall of an order.

-SAN DIEGO STATE AT BOISE STATE (Mountain West). This is a huge game between two of the better teams in the MWC. San Diego State has the better resume, but it’s possible that we’ll see both of them in the NCAA Tournament. Having said that, both still have work to do, and both will only have a few more opportunities for high caliber wins the rest of the day, so this is a hugely important game for both of them.

-VANDERBILT AT LSU (SEC). With the SEC being so strong at the top most people haven’t paid that much attention to either of these teams, but Vandy is 12-1 and LSU is 11-2, and both have some decent wins to go along with those good records, so today is a big one.

-OKLAHOMA AT ALABAMA (SEC). Both teams are high in the rankings, and both have managed the kinds of wins they need to in order to position themselves for a protected seed. This is yet another SEC showdown between two really highly ranked and very good teams.

-COLORADO AT ARIZONA STATE (Big 12). Colorado has been much better this year than what I was expecting, and if they can pick this one up on the road we have to start thinking of them as being a tournament caliber team. Both teams are good, and both have won some notable games, but both still have work to do.

-STANFORD AT PITTSBURGH (ACC). Stanford has made a little bit of noise, but only a little. Pitt should be able to hold serve at home in this one. Tournament caliber teams need to win the home games against teams that aren’t likely to make it inside the bubble.

-TEXAS TECH AT UTAH (Big 12). Both have shown signs of life, but both still have a lot of work to do and both could really use this win today.

-SAN FRANCISCO AT WASHINGTON STATE (West Coast). I know it is still early January, but this game still has a bubblicious feel to it. Both teams have good records and both have managed some decent wins, but both have also missed a few opportunities and still have work to do. This would be a really good win for whichever team is able to pull it out.

-TEXAS AT TEXAS A&M (SEC). This is a HUGE rivalry game! And we finally get to see them together as members of the same conference!! TAMU is high in the rankings and has a really solid profile. Texas has a good record, but they don’t have much yet in the way of good wins. Of course that would change today if they’re able to pull off the road upset tonight.

-MICHIGAN AT USC (Big Ten). I really like this Michigan team, and while they’ve had a few nights where they just didn’t play up to their ceiling, and whle this is a road game against a very respectable USC team, it’s a game that Michigan can certainly win.

OTHER NOTABLE GAMES:

–Kean (nonD1) @ Princeton
–NC State @ Wake Forest (ACC) – both teams have work to do
–North Carolina @ Notre Dame (ACC) – UNC needs to start stringing together wins and not drop any to teams that are nowhere near the bubble, even if it’s a road game
–Saint Bonaventure @ Fordham (Atlantic 10) – a win for the Bonnies gets them to 14-1
–George Mason @ Rhode Island (Atlantic 10) – Rhody has played a weak schedule and has a small margin for error, but a win does get them to 12-2
–Butler @ Saint John’s (Big East) – The Johnnies are a really good team who’s had a few really tough losses against strong opponents. They should be able to hold serve in this one
–Arkansas State @ James Madison (Sun Belt) – Arkansas State will likely get a look from the committee if they can blow through conference play
–Furman @ UNC Greensboro (SoCon) – may be one of the tougher remaining games for Furman. A win gets them to a very impressive 14-1
–Wyoming @ Air Force (Mountain West, Front Range) – WE AT HOOPS HD LOVE THE FRONT RANGE!!!
–San Diego @ Oregon State (West Coast) – Oregon State needs to bounce back from their damaging and decisive loss to LMU
–Middle Tennessee @ Liberty (Conference USA) – Liberty needs to bounce back from a loss and they’ll likely be challenged by a pretty good MTSU team today
–Missouri State @ Bradley (Missouri Valley) – Bradley can improve to a very impressive 13-2 with a win
–California @ Clemson (ACC) – Clemson should hold serve at home
–Gonzaga @ LMU – LMU is coming off a very impressive showing against Oregon State and is not the easiest team to beat on their floor, but Gonzaga should still get this one
–Fresno State @ Utah State (Mountain West) – it’s a conference game, but it may as well be a buy game
–UC San Diego @ Cal State Fullerton (Big West) – I’m all in on UCSD and think they are good enough to land inside the bubble come March
-UC Riverside @ UC Irvine (Big West) – we’ve been big on UC Irvine all year. They have a path to the NCAA Tournament if they can hold serve throughout conference play
–Saint Mary’s @ Portland (West Coast) – should be a very winnable road game for SMC

NEWS AND NOTES:

–For our latest UNDER THE RADAR Video Podcast – CLICK HERE

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

-The most shocking result of the night, and one of the most impressive single game performances of the year, was Ilinois’s 109-77 blowout win at Oregon. Oregon had been ranked in the top ten and absolutely looked like they belonged there prior to last night, and Illinois just lit them up on their floor. I mean…WOW!!!

-Also in the Big Ten…I’ am not a good enough wordsmith to properly explain just how ridiculous the officiating was in the final seconds of Northwestern’s loss at Penn State. In case you missed it, Northwestern had the ball down 2 in the final seconds, and converted an offensive rebound and put-back to tie the game. Or so it appeared. There was a whistle on the play because the referees had called a goaltend. They then went to the monitor for several minutes, and after an extensive review determined that there had been no goaltend on the play. They also determined that the whistle to call the goaltend had occurred before the offensive rebound and putback went through the basket, and therefore it was an inadvertent whistle, the ball was dead, and the shot didn’t count. To top it off, there was an OBVIOUS defensive foul on Penn State after that where the whistle was not blown, and Penn State ended up winning 84-80 after a couple of made freethrows. Chris Collins somehow did not lose his mind. It was an all-timer. I’ve seen a lot of basketball games, and I’ve seen some really bad calls, but this was even outside the parameters of “really bad calls.” This was one of the most botched officiating jobs I’ve ever seen, and it definitely had an impact on the final result of the game. Penn State played a good game and is having a good season, but Northwestern had a chance to tie it on the road and pick up a really big win, and it was denied because of an inadvertent whistle for a goaltend that ended up negating the tying basket.

-Liberty fell at home to Western Kentucky 71-70 for their second loss of the season. Any loss for Liberty will be considered a setback in terms of their chances of landing inside the bubble. WKU is a talented team, but they’re still the kind of team that an NCAA Tournament caliber team should be able to beat at home.

-Indiana got a nice 84-74 win against Rutgers. Rutgers is now just 8-6 on the season with multiple losses to UTR teams and no really good wins. They are going to be watching the NCAA Tournament on TV if they don’t get things turned around quickly.

-Oregon State, who I was starting to think was good, was the complete and total opposite of good last night. They were blown off the floor by LMU 82-61 and now don’t appear to be anywhere close to the bubble.

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HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:

-WICHITA STATE AT TEMPLE (American). Wichita State is a modest 10-3, but they are lacking in notable wins and have a few bad losses on top of that. They’ll pretty much need to blow through the rest of their schedule if they want to reach the bubble.

-IOWA AT WISCONSIN (Big Ten). Both teams are 10-3, both are on a path to make the NCAA Tournament, and this is a win that would look good on both teams’ resumes.

-MICHIGAN STATE AT OHIO STATE (Big Ten). Since getting blasted into the sun by Auburn a few weeks ago, Ohio State has won three straight, and that includes a blowout win against Kentucky. They’re at home today against a really good Michigan State team, but the way the Buckeyes have been playing this is one they could end up winning. As for Michigan State, this would be a really strong win for them considering it’s a conference road game and considering how strong OSU has looked in their last few games.

-XAVIER AT GEORGETOWN (Big East). Xavier is on the outside looking in, but they are coming off a blowout win against Seton Hall, which ended a three game losing streak. Each of those three games was a close loss to a ranked team, so X may be turning the corner. A conference road win against a much improved Georgetown team would be a huge step in the right direction.

-CREIGHTON AT MARQUETTE (Big East). Creighton is having a tough year, but they are coming off a nice win against Saint John’s, which was their second straight. Having said that, this is a much taller order. It’s probably their toughest remaining regular season game given that it’s against the best team in the Big East on the road.

-NEVADA AT NEW MEXICO (Mountain West). New Mexico is well positioned to land inside the bubble if they can perform well in conference. They need to be able to hold serve against a decent (but not great) Nevada team tonight.