Hoops HD

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYBODY!!!!

NEWS AND NOTES:

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-Purdue beat their second top ten team in about 24hrs as they held off Marquette 78-75 to win the Maui Invitational. They should go up to the #1 ranking, and rightfully so. Most of us thought they were the best team coming into the year, and up until this point they certainly have the most impressive profile out of anyone.

-Kansas bounced back with a big 69-60 win over Tennessee in the third place game. Tennessee, despite two losses, is still in incredible shape. Back to back losses away from home against the top two ranked teams in the country is hardly a setback.

-Gonzaga knocked UCLA off 69-65 in the 5th place game. UCLA, despite the two losses, is still a team that impressed me with how they played and I think that by the end of the year their resume will look pretty solid.

-Arkansas needed overtime to hold off Stanford, but got the 77-74 win and will stay on the winners side of the Battle 4 Atlantis bracket. For Stanford it was a big missed opportunity for a quality win that they really could have used.

-Virginia got a big scare from West Virginia in the Fort Myers Tip-Off, but held on to win 56-54. Virginia has not looked good this week. They’v been blown out by Wisconsin and barely beat West Virginia.

-As for the championship game of the Fort Myers Tip-Off, Wisconsin came back from an 8-point deficit to beat SMU. The Badgers have gotten off to a slow start after back-to-back losses against Tennessee at home and Providence on the road, but wins against Virginia and SMU on a neutral floor will help.

-Colorado State is absolutely worth keeping an eye on! They improved to 5-0 after picking up an 86-74 win in the Hall of Fame Classic.

-Harvard got a really nice 76-70 road win at Colgate. Colgate will not lose much at home, so the committee should give the Crimson a lot more credit for this win than most people may realize. In fact the whole Ivy League is collectively starting to look like a multi-bid league.

-For the first time in about two years, Nova looked like a legit top 20 caliber team, and beat a decent Texas Tech team rather handily in the Battle 4 Atlantis 85-69. They’ve got another big game today against North Carolina.

-Memphis got a really nice win against Michigan 71-67 and will face Arkansas in a really interesting Battle 4 Atlantis Semifinal game.

-Nebraska remains undefeated after holding off a pretty good Duquesne 89-79 at home. It was a big missed opportunity for Duquesne because while Nebraska isn’t exactly a top 25 caliber team, they should win a lot of home games and this would have been a win that could have helped out their resume.

-Florida got a nice decisive 86-71 win over Pittsburgh in the Preseason NIT.. I know it’s November, but the Gators are starting to look like a solid tournament team.

-Bradley remains unbeaten after knocking off a previously unbeaten UTEP team 63-59 in the SoCal Challenge. Bradley has been one of the better under the radar teams this season and is getting the early season wins they need to help build a strong resume.

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HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:

-PENN STATE VS TEXAS A&M (ESPN Events, Kissimmee FL). Both teams come into this one unbeaten, but Penn State has only played home buy games whereas TAMU has won at Ohio State and at SMU. The Aggies look to be the the stronger team, and we think they actually have a chance to win the SEC this year. This event is a chance for them to pick up a few more notable wins away from home.

-VILLANOVA VS NORTH CAROLINA (Battle 4 Atlantis). Both teams won decisively yesterday against pretty decent teams as North Carolina pulled away from Northern Iowa in the second half and Nova took care of Texas Tech. Both teams have tough schedules ahead, but to date this would be the biggest win for whichever team is able to pull his off, and in the case of Villanova should quiet some of the rumblings of the frustrated fans.

-FLORIDA ATLANTIC VS BUTLER (ESPN Events, Kissimmee FL). FAU is obviously solid and has a ton of potential, but they are also coming off a hugely surprising loss to Bryant and are looking to rebound. I think Butler’s program is getting better, but I don’t think they’ll be anywhere near the bubble by the end of this season. Having said that, if they could somehow pull off a win today those expectations would completely change.

-COLORADO STATE VS CREIGHTON (Hall of Fame Classic, Kansas City). Creighton is heavily favored to win this event, but they cannot sleep on a Colorado State team that handily beat Boston College yesterday.

-OKLAHOMA VS IOWA (Rady Children’s Invitational, San Diego CA). Neither team has managed to win a game outside of a home buy game, although Iowa did play pretty well on the road against a good Creighton team. We should know a little more about both these teams after this event.

-ARIZONA VS MICHIGAN STATE (Acrisure Classic, San Juan Capistrano). Both teams had huge preseason expectations. Arizona is living up to them as they come in unbeaten and have a road win at Duke. Michigan State has already dropped two games, but can rebound in a big way if they can pick up this win. In short, this is a huge resume-building opportunity for both of them.

-ARKANSAS VS MEMPHIS (Battle 4 Atlantis). This one should be fun! This is a match-up that you wish you saw more frequently. This year’s edition of it features a very talented Memphis team that’s looking to build up their NCAA Tournament resume and a super talented Arkansas team that will likely become more and more dangerous as the year goes along. Memphis probably needs it a little more because the conference they play in doesn’t present them with as many opportunities at notable wins.

-SETON HALL VS USC (Rady Children’s Invitational). Seton Hall is unbeaten, but also hasn’t been tested like they will today having only played in home buy games. USC already has a nice win against Kansas State, but has struggled in their last two games with a loss to UC Irvine and a game that was much closer than expected against Brown.

-IOWA STATE VS VCU (ESPN Events Invitational). Both teams have potential, but both have only played in home buy games, and VCU even lost one of those.

-STANFORD VS MICHIGAN (Battle 4 Atlantis). Even though it’s early both teams should have a sense of urgency going into this one. Both have shown they can be good, but both have also lost games they should have won.

OTHER FEAST WEEK GAMES:

-Texas Tech vs Northern Iowa (Battle 4 Atlantis) – We were expecting more from Northern Iowa, and while there is still time for them to turn it around they are just 1-3 on the season so far
-Loyola Chicago vs Boston College (Hall of Fame Classic) – BC looking to rebound after their first loss of the season
-Boise State vs Virginia Tech (ESPN Events Invitational) – A chance at a nice early season win for both teams, as well as a chance to get on the winner’s side of the bracket, which is probably more important for Boise State
-NC State vs Vanderbilt (Vegas Showdown) – both teams have potential, but both have only played in home buy games and Vandy lost one of those
-BYU vs Arizona State (Vegas Showdown) – Sun Devils have had a couple close calls at home, but beating a currently unbeaten BYU team would really enhance their profile

NEWS AND NOTES:

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For John Stalica’s UTR Game of the Day between Bradley and UTEP – CLICK HERE

-Marquette’s win over Kansas, and the second half in particular, has to be in the running for most impressive showing by a team in a single game so far. The other candidate is Arizona’s win at Duke. Marquette just opened it up, took control, and then kept control against the top ranked Jayhawks. If Marquette pulls off the win tonight against Purdue, they should be the #1 ranked team. Speaking of Purdue…

-The score was close, but the game was hard to watch. So many fouls were called that it just didn’t have a whole lot of fluidity to it, but Purdue did hold off Tennessee 71-67 in the other Maui match-up between top ten teams.

-Gonzaga had no trouble with Syracuse, and UCLA didn’t have to sweat out Chaminade, so we get another Gonzaga v UCLA match-up for our fifth place game today!!

-I always like Colorado, and at the beginning of each season I always seem to overvalue them, but not even I thought they were the 18th best team in the country. After yesterday, I don’t think too many other people do either. They fell to Florida State 77-71 in overtime at the Sunshine Slam.

-James Madison keeps winning! They don’t always do it convincingly, and they’re not always playing top 40 caliber teams, but they do keep winning. They came from behind to beat Southern Illinois 82-76 yesterday.

-Drake blew out Akron 79*59 in the Cayman Islands 3rd place game. Akron was the UTR team I was the biggest on coming into the season. After they dropped two straight in this event I’m starting to rethink that. The teams they lost to were good, but that’s just it. You have to beat good teams to demonstrate that you yourself are good.

-Utah State, who looked like they had a complete rebuild ahead of them, is now 5-1 on the season after blowing out Stephen F Austin to win the Cayman Islands Classic. It’s time to start paying attention to them.

-If you were big on UNLV coming into the season, are you still? They were beaten rather handily by a Richmond that almost no one was big on coming into the season down in the Sunshine Slam yesterday.

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HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:

NORTHERN IOWA VS NORTH CAROLINA (Battle 4 Atlantis). Northern Iowa is off to just a 1-2 start, but we still think they can have a big year and this event is a chance for them to really build up their resume. North Carolina comes in at 3-0, but has only played three home buy games, so we’ll learn something about them throughout the week.

BOSTON COLLEGE VS COLORADO STATE (Hall of Fame Classic). I’m not entirely sold on BC yet, but I do like their coach and I do think their program is getting better. They’ve managed to win their first four games this year and it’ll be interesting to see what they can do against a Colorado State team that’s also unbeaten and who we think can make some noise in the Mountain West this year.

HARVARD AT COLGATE. Both teams are off to really good starts, both could make a lot of noise in their conferences, both look like they’re capable of posting really big records this year, and depending on how it goes, both may have a chance at making a run at the bubble. In order for that to even be a possibility they could both really use this win today. If anything, this is just a really good Under the Radar match-up.

-TENNESSEE VS KANSAS (Maui Invitational). The fact that this is a third place game doesn’t matter. It’s a neutral floor match-up between two top ten teams who are good enough to end up as #1 seeds. Both are coming off losses and looking to rebound. Tennessee fell against Purdue in a game that was a foul parade, and Kansas was knocked off by a really strong Marquette team.

-TEXAS TECH VS VILLANOVA (Battle 4 Atlantis). Texas Tech comes in unbeaten, but they also haven’t been tested like they will be in this event. Nova has a loss to rival Penn and the fans are understandably starting to grumble a little bit. If they can pick up some wins in this event, Nova can start to build up their resume, which is something they really need to do if they want to land on the right side of the bubble.

-OLE MISS AT TEMPLE. Chris Beard’s Ole Miss team is 4-0, but this is their first true road game and biggest test so far. Temple looks to be better this year, but they are coming off a rather damaging loss to Columbia and needs to rebound today if they want to get back on track.

-CREIGHTON VS LOYOLA CHICAGO (Hall of Fame Classic). Creighton comes in unbeaten and looks to be a really strong team. They should be able to pick up a neutral floor win in this one.

-PURDUE VS MARQUETTE (Maui Invitational). The winner of this game has a good chance of ending up with the #1 overall ranking in the polls next week. Both won big games to get here with Marquette handling top-ranked Kansas in one of the most impressive single game performances of the year so far for any team, and Purdue got it done against Tennessee. Both teams already have the kind of win on their resume that indicate that they can be a protected seed and certainly have the chance to pick up another one today.

-MICHIGAN VS MEMPHIS (Battle 4 Atlantis). These are two teams that we think are good, but haven’t quite started to build up their resumes yet. Today’s game, and this whole event, is a chance for them to do that.

-WEST VIRGINIA VS VIRGINIA (Fort Myers Tip-Off). Virginia is coming off a decisive loss to Wisconsin and is looking to rebound. Seeing as how WVU has gone through hell this offseason they look to be very beatable.

-BAYLOR VS OREGON STATE (NIT Season Tip-Off). Oregon State comes in with just one loss, but they clearly look to be overmatched by a Baylor team that, once again, looks good enough to earn a protected seed.

-STANFORD VS ARKANSAS (Battle 4 Atlantis). This appears to be a mismatch, but Stanford has just one loss and Arkansas has already fallen in a surprising upset loss earlier this season, so the Razorbacks don’t want to just overlook the Cardinal.

-DUQUESNE AT NEBRASKA. This is a really interesting game. It’s between a Duquesne team that we think is the best in the Atlantic Ten and who has a respectable 4-1 record, but still has a lot to prove, and a Nebraska team that comes in at 5-0, but who also really hasn’t been tested yet. This is one we will be paying attention to tonight.

-SMU VS WISCONSIN (Fort Myers Tip-Off). Wisconsin just had a really impressive win over Virginia and looks to be on their way to a big season. SMU has just one loss and beat West Virginia without having to sweat too much the other night, but this is a much bigger and tougher test.

-JAMES MADISON VS FRESNO STATE (Cancun Challenge). James Madison always makes it exciting, but they continue to rack up wins and remain undefeated. Fresno State enters this game at 3-1, but they really had to sweat out a New Mexico State team that is going through all kinds of rebuilding the other night, so this should be another winnable game away from home for the Dukes.

-FLORIDA VS PITTSBURGH (NIT Season Tip-Off). We like both these teams this year, and the reason we like this game (and the whole event) is because it is a big early season test for both of them. Pitt comes in with four home buy wins, and Florida did clobber Florida State in their last game and now has the chance to score some more big early season resume wins.

-BRADLEY VS UTEP (SoCal Challenge). This is a great game to watch. Both teams come in unbeaten, and Bradley has already racked up some notable wins on their resume. Tonight is a chance for another one against a UTEP team that’s also unbeaten and has wins over UC Santa Barbara and Cal. This is a resume-building opportunity for both teams.

-TOLEDO VS UC IRVINE (Ball Dawgs Classic). Another really solid match-up between two UTR teams that are off to very good starts. Each has just one loss, and UC Irvine has the surprising win at Oregon. This one is worth staying up for!

-GONZAGA VS UCLA (Maui Invitational). Whenever these two square off, it’s just awesome, and it doesn’t matter at all that this is the 5th place game. It’s a neutral floor game between two tournament teams that have chances to end up as at-larges. UCLA really did stay with Marquette the other day and showed they are capable of playing at a high level. A win today would help them establish their resume.

OTHER NOTABLE GAMES/BUY GAMES:

-Long Beach State vs Louisiana (Gulf Coast Showcase) – Beach has been inconsistent througout the season and could use this win today
-Tennessee Tech @ Presbyterian – I don’t think Presby will be in the picture come March, but to date they’re an impressive 5-1 with a win at Vanderbilt
-Princeton @ Old Dominion – Princeton is 4-0 with three of those wins coming on the road. They’re off to a fantastic start
-McNeese @ Louisiana Tech – both teams have just one loss and look to be solid UTR teams
-Southern Illinois vs New Mexico State (Cancun Challenge) – Southern Illinois hung tough with James Madison yesterday and should be able to get this win today
-Georgia Tech @ Cincinnati – Cincinnati can get to 5-0 with a win
-Indiana State @ Pepperdine (Ball Dawg Classic) – Indiana State has just one loss and can pick up a nice neutral floor win
-South Dakota State @ Southern Miss – we think both will be really good UTR teams, but neither team has really shown it yet
-Central Arkansas @ Kansas State
-Purdue Fort Wayne @ San Francisco – PFW IS 5-0, and while we don’t think they’ll keep that up we’ll continue to keep an eye on them so long as they do
-Syracuse vs Chaminade (nonD1) – one of the more exciting 7th place games you’ll ever see
-New Mexico vs Rice (Ball Dawg Classic) – New Mexico can get to 4-1 on the year
-Tulane vs California (SoCal Challenge) – Tulane can improve to 4-1