NEWS AND NOTES:
For everything you could possibly need to know about the ongoing In-Season Tournaments – CLICK HERE
For John Stalica’s UTR Game of the Day, and it’s a big one between Akron and Drake – CLICK HERE
We had an 11am tipoff yesterday, and the last game of the day wasn’t over until almost 4am the next morning. That’s 19 straight hours of college basketball! Here are the highlights!!…
-I’ll start under the radar with Bradley’s win against Tulane in the SoCal Challenge. I really like both these teams. I know the national media hasn’t picked up on either one of them yet, but both are good, and I think both will go on to have big years. It was a really exciting game with momentum shifts, and both teams answering said momentum shifts, and just a well played, well coached, early season game between what I believe are two good teams. Bradley got the 80-77 win, and their resume is already looking kinda good! They’ve won at UAB, beat Utah State, and now have a win against Tulane on a neutral floor. Those aren’t big jackpot wins, but they’re three decent wins, and decent wins on a resume can start to add up!
-Gonzaga stayed with Purdue, and actually had a lead throughout most of the first half, but Purdue got control down the stretch and held on for a 73-63 win. It was part of an absolutely stacked Maui Invitational field.
-UCLA didn’t get the win against Marquette, but I think they showed they are a lot better than advertised. The game was close all throughout and UCLA had a chance to either win or tie on the last possession of the game, but just couldn’t get it to fall. Marquette moves on to the winners side of the bracket, and UCLA will face Chaminade, which is notable because it’s one less chance for the Bruins to get a big time win, but considering what conference they play in and what the rest of the schedule looks like, UCLA will definitely have their chances to build up a big resume, and if they can play like they did yesterday they’re certainly good enough to take advantage of those chances.
-Tennessee had no trouble getting past Syracuse, and Kansas blew past Chaminade in the other two Maui games.
-UConn outlasted Texas 81-71 to win the Empire Classic. It wasn’t a blowout, but at no point did it feel like UConn was not in control of the game.
-Kentucky needed overtime to get by Saint Joseph’s 96-88. Joe’s does have some strong guard play, and they shot the lights out yesterday, which was a huge change from their previous game where shot below 30% from the floor. Kentucky tends to struggle early in the season. People always forget that. Even in the years where they’ve been really good they don’t start firing on all cylinders until the Christmas break. I think this is more of a sign of a young team that’s still getting used to itself than it is a sign that the overall ceiling is low.
-Wisconsin absolutely shot down Virginia for a very impressive 65-41 win. The pace of the game and the overall offensive output was pretty much exactly what you would expect it to be whenever these two face each other.
-UNC Wilmongton got a scare from Murray State, but managed to make a late run and then hold on to win 83-81 in overtime. UNC Wilmington improves to 4-0 and is starting to add some decent looking wins to their resume.
-Drake, who was a team I was big on coming into the year, suffered their first loss of the season yesterday, and they did not mess around in doing so. Stephen F Austin pretty much blew them out 92-68 and totally dominated the second half.
-I wasn’t too big on Long Beach State coming into the year, but they certainly got my attention when they won at Michigan. Yesterday in the Cayman Islands, they fell to 2-3 with a 61-52 loss to an Illinois State team that I guess is okay, but not exactly NCAA Tournament caliber.
-Florida State was blown out by Florida last week, but has won their other three games and beat UNLV 83-75 n the Sunshine Slam yesterday. There may be life in the Noles after all.
-Kent State had a great second half against a Fordham team was trying to get some early season wins and build up their resume, and came away with a 79-72 win.
-South Dakota State, who I was very big on coming into the year, has not shown out at all. There is still time for them to turn it around, but they are now just 1-4 and have failed every single time they’ve been tested. George Mason, who was a team that I wasn’t all that big on but who is now 4-1 beat them 73-71 in the Jacksonville Classic.
-Keep an eye on UMass Lowell! The are now 4-1, with three of those wins being true road games and the only loss coming against an Arizona State team that they really had a chance to beat. they won at Saint Peter’s yesterday 69-61.
-As well as James Madison has played so far this season, Akron is probably the under the radar team that I thought had the biggest ceiling. At least prior to yesterday. They fell 65-62 to Utah State in the Cayman Islands. Utah State is definitely a decent team, but if Akron wants to make a push at the top 25 and be in a position to land inside the bubble, they need to win these types of games. There is still a lot of season to go, and their season definitely isn’t over, but the reality of the sport is that UTR teams just don’t get as many strikes as P5 teams or teams from multi-bid leagues. They need to get the wins in this tournament.
-UCF is now 4-1 after a 74-71 overtime win against Charlotte in the Jacksonville Classic.
-SMU is now 4-1 after a 70-58 win over West Virginia in the Fort Myers Tip-Off
-Missouri State is now 4-1 after a decisive 87-69 win in the Paradise Jam over an Abilene Christian team that won at Oklahoma State earlier in the year.
-UTEP is now 5-0 after their 75-72 win against California in the SoCal Challenge. But, let’s not get too excited just yet. Yes, they’re unbeaten, but they did struggle to beat Cal.
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HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-SYRACUSE VS GONZAGA (Maui Invitational). Gonzaga had a solid showing against Purdue, but just couldn’t keep pace for the entire game. Syracuse lost a little more decisively to Tennessee. it’s a chance for both teams to bounce back and get a solid early season resume-building win.
-COLORADO VS FLORIDA STATE (Sunshine Slam). A lot of people are super-big on Colorado and they’re (for some reason) currently ranked in the top 20. They are unbeaten, but their biggest test of the season so far was Richmond yesterday, and while Richmond can be tough to play against, The Buffs didn’t exactly blow them out. Florida State is coming off a fairly solid win against UNLV and should prove to be a bigger test for Colorado today.
-AKRON VS DRAKE (Cayman Islands Classic). Coming into the season, I felt both these teams would be good enough to make a run at the bubble, and they still may be able to, but both are coming off losses from games that were admittedly not easy to win, but also the kinds of games teams need to be able to win if they want to make The Dance. Today is important because it’s a bounce back game for both teams, and a shot at what will likely turn out to be a quality resume win.
-JAMES MADISON VS SOUTHERN ILLINOIS (Cancun Challenge). Both teams come into this without a loss, and James Madison has played their way into the rankings with some big early season wins. Southern Illinois really hasn’t been tested at all yet, but they certainly will be today.
-LA SALLE AT DUKE. Both are unbeaten, but La Salle hasn’t played on the road yet and hasn’t faced a team anywhere near the caliber of Duke yet.
-UAB AT MIDDLE TENNESSEE. These two teams are probably closer to being NIT caliber than NCAA Tournament caliber, but both still have a path to get onto, and even inside of, the bubble. It’s the first true road game for UAB, and Middle Tennessee is 3-1 at home.
-UTAH STATE VS STEPHEN F AUSTIN (Cayman Islands Classic). Both teams are coming off really nice wins and have the chance at another one today. SFA beat Drake rather decisively and Utah State got past an Akron team that, as I mentioned earlier, still think can be good enough to land inside the bubble.
-TENNESSEE AT PURDUE (Maui Invitational). This game speaks for itself. It’s two top ten teams that are likely protected seeds and perhaps even Final Four contenders. You love these early season high caliber match-ups because it’s a good litmus test for both teams, plus a chance for them to get a high caliber win on their resume, and more than anything else, as a fan these games are just great to watch!!
-KANSAS VS MARQUETTE (Maui Invitational). Like the other semifinal game in this event, this is a match-up between two Final Four contenders. It’s an early season litmus test, it’s a chance at a big resume building win, and it’s going to be a lot of fun to watch!
NEW MEXICO VS TOLEDO (Ball Dawgs Classic, Hendreson NV). New Mexico is one of the many teams I’m still trying to figure out, and while I wasn’t that big on Toledo coming into the season, they come into this game 4-0 and this event is a chance for them to pick up some nice wins away from home and get noticed.
BUY GAMES/OTHER NOTABLE GAMES:
-Long Beach State vs Iona (Gulf Coast Showcase) – both teams have the potential to do well in their leagues, but will need a Herculean effort between now and the end of the season to get inside the bubble
-Appalachian State @ UNC Wilmington (Fort Myers Tip-Off) – UNCW looking to remain unbeaten on the season
-UCLA vs Chamiunade (Maui Invitational)
-Richmond @ UNLV (Sunshine Slam) – it’s a bounce back game for both teams. Richmond played well against Colorado yesterday, and UNLV is a team that we think has potential
-UMBC @ Maryland – Maryland is just 1-3 on the year so far
-Alabama A&M @ Auburn
-Alcorn State @ TCU – TCU still unbeaten
-Pepperdine vs UC Irvine (Ball Dawgs Classic, Henderson NV) – UC Irvine has just one loss and a notable win over USC
-Arkansas Pine Bluff @ Minnesota
