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-I’ll begin with the news that makes me both sad and angry, UNLV’s game at Dayton was cancelled due to the shooting that took place on UNLV’s campus. And just so I’m clear, it’s the shooting and not the game being cancelled that makes me sad and angry. Sooner or later there will be a mass shooting during a college sporting event. At the rate we are going I don’t see how that won’t eventually happen. Thoughts and prayers to all those who were impacted by this. I’ve known three different people who were killed in mass shootings, so my sympathies are absolutely with UNLV today.

-At no point was Marquette ever not in complete control of Texas as they absolutely blew them out in last night’s Big East-Big 12 Battle. I’m guessing this was a rather cathartic evening for Shaka Smart, who was once fired by Texas despite the Longhorns earning a protected seed in that year’s NCAA Tournament.

-Denver stayed with Colorado State for most of the game, and actually had a lead with about 10 minutes to go, but the Rams pulled out the 90-80 win and remain unbeaten.

-Clemson trailed South Carolina for much of the game in the battle between the two unbeaten teams, but finally got control late and escaped with a 72-67 win. This was South Carolina’s biggest test so far by far. It was their first true road game and it was against a ranked team. While they didn’t get the win, I think they demonstrated they can play at a high level and will likely win their share of games in SEC play.

-Memphis needed overtime, but they did get a relatively good 85-80 road win at VCU, which is their second of the year.

-Purdue Fort Wayne has been a bit of a surprise out of the Horizon League. They won 70-57 at Southern Indiana last night, which I know isn’t that great in and of itself, but PFW is now 9-1 on the season and this was their third true road win.

-Belmont almost blew an 18pt halftime lead on their own home court and just barely survived a furious comeback by Lipscomb and held on to win the Battle of the Boulevard 72-71. I love this rivalry! It actually goes back to when the two were NAIA schools.

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:

-IOWA AT IOWA STATE. This is a very bitter rivalry and both teams could use this one both on and off paper. Both teams have respectable records and both have potential, but neither really has any real wins of note yet.

-Eastern Kentucky @ UNC Greensboro – EKU has been a disappointment this year, but UNCG is turning out to be one of the better UTR teams and can get to 7-1 with a win today

NEWS AND NOTES:

-I counted, and as of the time I’m writing this UConn is playing eight games this year against current top 12 teams and could face more in the Big East Tournament. That’s over 25% of their schedule. That’s an entire conference schedule in football. They didn’t get it done at Kansas, but it was hard to not be impressed with how well they played in that game, and they did get it done against North Carolina last night 87-76. This game was hardly a blowout, but throughout pretty much all of it it felt as though UConn was in control. The Huskies have certainly gone out and played, and they’ve certainly passed their tests.

-Illinois shot a stupidly high percentage from the floor against Florida Atlantic, and had a lead for pretty much the entire second half, but despite their hot shooting, and an amazing 59pts in the second half, they could not put the Owls away. It wasn’t until about the final minute of the game where the finally got control and held on for a 98-89 win at the Jimmy V Classic.

-Evansville had been one of the bigger surprises in all of college basketball in getting off to a 7-1 start, and I still think they can end up having a decent year overall, but BYU blew them into the sun last night with a 96-55 win. I think the Cougars were up by 20 when the game tipped off.

-Providence had also been having a really good (and much better than expected) start to the season, but ran into a buzz saw against a really good Oklahoma team in Norman last night. The Sooners picked up the really impressive 72-51 win.

-Grand Canyon improved to 7-1 on the season and picked up their first ever win against a top 25 team as they knocked off San Diego State 79-73. The atmosphere was incredible, and to me this is the kind of thing that college basketball needs more of and that top 25 caliber programs should be more willing to schedule. In the long run, this loss isn’t likely to hurt San Diego State all that much. You know why? Because they ARE a top 25 caliber team!! They’ll have the chances to get the wins. they need to in order to demonstrate that, and will still end up very solidly in the field. Same with Auburn, who lost a similar type game at Appalachian State a few days ago. Those losses don’t hurt a team’s profile or season nearly as much as what a lot coaches are afraid of. SO PLAY MORE OF THEM!!! What are you afraid of?? At the end of the day, Auburn is still Auburn, San Diego State is still San Diego State, and Appalachian State is still App State, and GCU is still GCU.

-The CAA continues to win big games! Last night Delaware went in to Xavier and pretty much owned them in the second half of the game and picked up the 87-80 win. Delaware had no trouble getting to the basket and getting good looks on seemingly every crucial offensive possession.

-Princeton is 9-0 for the first time in well over a century!! Congrats to the Tigers after their 81-70 win over Drexel.

-Villanova continues to play well when they’re not playing Big 5 teams, but they came up short last night at Kansas State in a game they kind of blew. They had a chance to win at the end of regulation, but took too much time to get into their offense and get a good shot off. In overtime, they led by 4pts late, but a late 3 pointer put K State ahead and then Nova failed to score on their final possession so the K State escaped 72-71. Still, it was a good effort in a tough environment, and I still think Nova is going to end up having a good year and making the NCAA Tournament.

-Georgia Tech has proven they can beat good teams at home. In their last two home games they managed wins against Mississippi State and Duke. They’ve also proven that they can’t beat mediocre teams on the road. They were pretty much never in the game against Georgia last night and lost 76-62.

-Indiana got a really nice 78-75 win at Michigan. I was critical of them because all their wins had been home buy games, and they had struggled in a lot of those, but now they’re 7-1 on the year with a win at Michigan. That just looks and sounds a lot better!

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HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:

-RUTGERS AT WAKE FOREST. Both teams are off to somewhat slower starts than they had hoped, but both are still good teams that could have big years and this is potentially a nice resume-building opportunity for both of them.

-MEMPHIS AT VCU. I think this is a good Memphis team, and I do think they’ll land inside the bubble, but it’s also worth noting that they don’t have quite as many chances at big wins as teams from the P5/Big East have. It’s not easy to win at VCU, but it’s the kind of game that an at-large caliber team should be able to win.

-TEXAS AT MARQUETTE (Big East-Big 12 Battle). Marquette is coming off a road loss to Wisconsin, which may have bruised their egos a little bit, but the overall health of their team and resume is just fine. They’re facing a really good Texas team today, and it’s a chance for the Longhorns to pick up a huge quality road win if they can pull it off, but that’s much easier said than done.

-SOUTH CAROLINA AT CLEMSON. It’s a rivalry game between two undefeated teams that are off to much better starts than what we typically see. In fact, this is perhaps the greatest storyline the basketball version of this rivalry has ever had! It should be fun!

-LIPSCOMB AT BELMONT. This game is not likely to have any sort of impact on the bubble or the NCAA Tournament whatsoever, but we at Hoops HD will ALWAYS highlight The Battle of the Boulevard!!

-UC SANTA BARBARA AT NEW MEXICO. I kind of like both of these teams, but there is no ignoring that neither has passed a big test yet. UCSB has won four straight since getting off to an 0-2 start, and has the chance to pick up a big road win tonight. New Mexico is 7-1, but their one loss was rather handily to a Saint Mary’s team that’s…well…been terrible this year and none of their wins so far are all that notable. So, I guess this is somewhat of a test for both of them.

-NEBRASKA AT MINNESOTA (Big Ten). This isn’t the kind of game that I would normally feel it was necessary to mention, but Nebraska is 7-1 (although six of those wins were home buy games) and this is their first true road game.

-SAN DIEGO AT UTAH STATE. San Diego is a modest 6-3, but still hasn’t won on the road. Utah State has looked really good so far and a win tonight gets them to 8-1.

-PITTSBURGH AT WEST VIRGINIA. It’s the Backyard Brawl!!! Or, in the case of this year, the Backyard Pillow Fight!!! Actually, I still think Pitt may end up having a good year, but they haven’t shown out in a big way just yet.

-SMU AT ARIZONA STATE. Both teams have modest records, but both still have work to do and both could use this win tonight.

OTHER NOTABLE GAMES/BUY GAMES:

-Long Island @ Miami FL
-Youngstown State @ Ohio U – Ohio U is off to a pretty good start, they can get to 6-2 with a win today, and should be one of the better teams in the MAC
-UMES @ NC State
-Duquesne @ Marshall – Duquesne is a respectable 5-2 on the season so far, but is still looking for their first road win
-UMass @ Towson – UMass is off to a somewhat quiet 4-1 start, but is also still looking for their first road win
-Sacred Heart @ Saint John’s
-Miami OH @ Ohio State
-American @ Saint Joseph’s
-Jacksonville @ UCF
-Rice @ Houston
-Saint Louis @ Drake – a win for Drake gets them to 8-1 on the year
-Purdue Fort Wayne @ Southern Indiana – still keeping an eye on PFW. A win gets them to 9-1 overall, and 3-1 on the road
-Omaha @ Texas Tech
-Denver @ Colorado State (Front Range) – Colorado State is in the rankings and should be able to remain unbeaten
-DePaul @ Texas A&M
-UC Davis @ Nevada – Nevada can get to 7-0 with a win
-UNLV @ Dayton – UNLV has been somewhat disappointing this year, whereas the Flyers have looked pretty good. A win get Dayton to 7-2 overall
-UC Riverside @ Washington State – Wazzu can get to 7-1

NEWS AND NOTES:

-For the latest HOOPS HD REPORT where we discuss all of last week’s action, a big weekend of upsets, and preview all the big games this week – CLICK HERE

-For John Stalica’s latest weekly Bracket Projections and write up – CLICK HERE

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

-It was an uneventful and chalky night as far as games go. If you wanted to take a night off, last night was the night to do it.

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:

-FLORIDA ATLANTIC VS ILLINOIS (Jimmy V Classic). Florida Atlantic has already racked up some really nice wins, but this could end up being their biggest win so far if they’re able to pull it off. The same is true for Illinois. Both teams are ranked in the top 20, both have a shot at becoming protected seeds, and this would be a big resume building win for whoever pulls it off.

-GEORGE MASON AT TENNESSEE. Tennessee has played a killer schedule so far, and their 4-3 record is a reflection of all the top ten teams they’ve played and not how much they have struggled. George Mason comes in at 7-1, but this is by far their biggest test of the year. A win would really catapult them into the spotlight.

-PROVIDENCE AT OKLAHOMA (Big East-Big 12 Battle). Providence is off to a very good and somewhat surprising 7-1 start and is coming off a feel-good win against rivals Rhode Island. Today is by far their biggest test of the year, and would be their most impressive win to date if they can knock off an Oklahoma team that has cracked the rankings. Having said that, this is one of the tougher games Oklahoma has played up to this point as well even though they are at home. They better not overlook the Friars.

-WISCONSIN AT MICHIGAN STATE (Big Ten). Wisconsin is coming off a great win against Marquette, and Michigan State has struggled somewhat this season and a win today could really get them back on track. This is only the second true road game for Wisky. They lost the first at Providence, so a win today would add something to their resume that they don’t yet have.

-BRADLEY AT AKRON. This is a really good under the radar match-up between a Bradley team that got off to a fantastic start, but is coming off two straight losses and looking to rebound. Akron is just 4-3 and has lost some tough games that they could have won, but I still think they are in position to have a really good year, and a win today would be big for the Zips as well. Both teams have limited opportunities at big wins in conference, so this is the kind of match-up you like to see between two really good UTR teams.

-DREXEL AT PRINCETON. Drexel is coming off a big win against Villanova, and Princeton is looking to get to 9-0 on the year.

-VILLANOVA AT KANSAS STATE (Big East-Big 12 Battle). Nova has won all six of their games that weren’t Big 5 games this season and is probably trying to wash the bad taste of their last two losses out of their mouths. Winning on the road against a good Kansas State team won’t be easy. Both teams have a really good chance of making the tournament and this is a resume building opportunity for them both.

-LOUISIANA TECH AT STEPHEN F AUSTIN. Neither team will likely end up inside the bubble, but this is still a really good UTR game and we could see both these teams in the fields via the auto-bid come March.

-GEORGIA TECH AT GEORGIA. We’ve seen that Georgia Tech can beat good teams at home as they’ve knocked off both Mississippi State and Duke in their last two games. The question now is can they beat an average team on the road? Oh yeah, and this is also a rivalry game.

-INDIANA STATE AT NORTHERN ILLINOIS. This is another high quality Under the Radar match-up. Indiana State is 7-1 on the year, and is coming off a fantastic win at Bradley. Northern Illinois is a respectable 5-2 and is coming off a loss to Northwestern. This is just Northern Illinois’s third home game and they managed wins in the first two.

-CORNELL AT SYRACUSE. Cornell comes in at 7-1 and they’ve really battled with Syracuse in some recent games in the past. Syracuse is coming off a blowout loss at Virginia, which was their third of the season, but all of their losses have been against highly ranked teams so none of them were really all that damaging.

-NORTH CAROLINA VS UCONN (Jimmy V Classic). UConn is playing their second top ten opponent in a row, and as good as North Carolina is this is a much more manageable game being that it is in New York and not Allan Fiedlhouse, and as good as I think the Tarheels are, they’re not quite as good as Kansas. Still, the Tarheels are really good. Both teams have been tested, and both have past their tests. Both are showing all the signs of ending up as protected seeds, and this will be massive quality win for whoever pulls it off.

-SETON HALL AT BAYLOR (Big East-Big 12 Battle). Baylor is at home and they clearly look to be the superior team. Seton Hall is a respectable 5-2, but this is their first true road game. If they could pull it off the quality of their resume will go through the roof, but that’s far easier said than done.

-EVANSVILLE AT BYU. This is, perhaps, a buy game, and Evansville likely is overmatched, but they are also off to a surprising 7-1 start and have been one of the bigger early surprises in all of college basketball. Still, BYU is ranked in the top 15, they’ve earned the ranking, and they should get it done at home tonight.

-SAN DIEGO STATE AT GRAND CANYON. I’m looking forward to this one. San Diego State comes in at 7-1. but a lot of their wins have been underwhelming, including their last game where they had to come from behind late to win at UC San Diego. GCU, on the other hand, is very tough to beat at home, and this is a MASSIVE showcase game for them. They’re 6-1 on the year and will start to have a nice looking resume of their own if they can pull off this win. You’re gonna want to tune into this one just for the atmosphere alone!!

-NORTH TEXAS AT BOISE STATE. Both teams have work to do, but this is a good early season game between two teams that could conceivably make a run at the bubble. I think Boise State has underperformed a little bit early on, but could still have a big year.

-INDIANA AT MICHIGAN (Big Ten). Indiana comes in at 6-1, but this is their first true road game. It’s also a conference game, so it’s an important game for their resume. Michigan has shown signs of being good at times, but not recently. They’ve lost four of their last five and need a win to get them back on track.

-OKLAHOMA STATE AT SOUTHERN ILLINOIS. The Salukis blasted Saint Louis over the weekend, are 5-2 overall, are unbeaten at home, and have another winnable game tonight.

-KENT STATE AT SOUTH DAKOTA STATE. South Dakota State has been somewhat disappointing early on considering how good I thought they’d be this year. They’re just 4-4, but the potential is still there. They are good enough to start stringing together wins they can turn their season around.

OTHER NOTABLE GAMES/BUY GAMES:

-Delaware @ Xavier – Delaware should do well once they get into the CAA, but they’re a littel overmatched today
-Mississippi Valley State @ Liberty
-Western Carolina @ High Point – another really good UTR match-up. A win for WCU will get them to 7-1 on the year, as well as get them their 4th road win of the season
-Navy @ George Washington – a winnable home game for GW that will get them to 7-2
-Merrimack @ Florida
-NC Central @ Virginia
-Kansas City @ Kansas
-Mount Saint Mary’s @ Ole Miss
-Weber State @ Utah Valley (Bee Hive) – big mythical conference game here! Weber can improve to 5-2 overall and 2-0 in true road games with a win.
-Buffalo @ Butler – Butler is off to a pretty impressive 6-2 start and has looked pretty good this season
-Arkansas Pine Bluff @ Gonzaga
-Southern Utah @ Utah (Bee Hive)
-Cleveland State @ Saint Mary’s – SMC is just 3-5 and has to start winning games
-Montana State @ Washington