Hoops HD

NEWS AND NOTES:

For all the information you could possibly need about all the In-Season Tournaments going on right now – CLICK HERE

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

-Miami FL held on to beat Georgia 79-67, and it was the second loss of the year for the Bulldogs, but I’ve seen enough to convince me that they are not an SEC doormat. They may not make the NCAA Tournament, but they’ve played well this season and have twice now battled against some pretty good teams. Speaking of the SEC…

-Arkansas, who is by all accounts super talented, dropped one at home to UNC Greensboro yesterday 78-72. Greensboro pretty much maintained a lead for the entire game. I know a lot of people will be quick to point out that UNCG is good, and they are, but I don’t think anyone who’s being completely honest with themselves would say they thought they were good enough to win at Arkansas. UNCG was, after all, coming off of a loss at Vanderbilt (albeit a close loss), and most would agree that Vandy is nowhere near as good as Arkansas. So, it was a bit of a surprise. Not just that they won, but that they controlled the whole game.

-Another big surprise was Long Beach State’s win at Michigan. I believe the term “eye test” is way overused, but in the case of Michigan they had certainly passed it in their first three games. Beach was a team we thought would be good once they got into Big West play, but came into this one at just 1-2 with the only win being a close game at DePaul. Beach shot the ball really well hitting 8-of-17 from three, whereas Michigan struggled from the field.

-Someone needs to tell Maryland their season has started. They hadn’t looked all that good before yesterday, and when yesterday rolled around they looked even worse. Villanova had a 39-15 lead at the half and cruised to a 57-40 win.

-James Madison, the media darlings of the season so far, nearly dropped their home opener to Radford. They needed some heroics in the final seconds of the game to pull out the 76-73 win.

-Vermont held off Saint Louis 78-68 down at the Myrtle Beach Invitational, and is putting together quite the early season resume. They remain unbeaten and have neutral floor wins against Charleston and Saint Louis.

-Dayton managed a really nice win against Saint John’s in the Charleston Classic. It was close throughout, but Dayton appeared to be in control in the latter stages of the game and held on 88-81. They’ll face…

HOUSTON! The Cougars got the 76-66 win over Utah, but had to sweat a little bit to do it. Dayton has a history of playing in incredibly exciting games in in-season tournaments, so Houston better not overlook them.

-Yale had no trouble with Colgate and blew past them 68-50. This Yale team hasn’t gotten many people’s attention yet, and I get it because they don’t have the splashy wins that James Madison has, but this may be the best Under the Radar team in the country and the one that ends up making the most noise both as the season continues and in March.

-Kansas State needed overtime to get past Providence 73-70. I like this K State team quite a bit, but what I took away from this is that Providence, who once again lostg a ton from a season ago, is once again a lot better than we thought they’d be.

-Florida absolutely blew Florida State off the court last night. The final score was 89-68, but I kind of quit paying attention at halftime.

-San Diego State absolutely blew Saint Mary’s off the court 79-54. The fact that San Diego State was able to win the game isn’t all that surprising. I mean they are, after all, the national runners up. But the fact that they just blew the Gaels into the sun WAS a surprise. This was a Saint Mary’s team that many were expecting to win the WCC and earn a protected seed. I know it’s early, but they certainly haven’t looked like it so far.

-Washington knocked off Xavier 74-71 in a game that went back and forth. This was a nice early season win for the Huskies, and they’ll face San Diego State on Sunday. Xavier will get Saint Mary’s in the third place game.

-Portland State remains unbeaten and is worth keeping an eye on. They won at CA Baptist 66-63 last night, which I know isn’t exactly a snake pit, but it’s not exactly a cakewalk either. It’s the third road win of the season for a Portland State team we thought at best would finish around the middle of the Big Sky.

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HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:

MISSISSIPPI STATE VS WASHINGTON STATE (Hall of Fame Tip-Off, Uncasville CT). Basketball is back at the Mohegan Sun Arena! Both of these teams come in unbeaten, but Mississippi State clearly looks to be the better team with bigger expectations and shouldn’t have too much trouble with Wazzu today. Having said that, it’s a chance for Wazzu to raise their own expectations if they can somehow find a way to win.

-PRINCETON AT MONMOUTH. Princeton can get to 4-0 on the year, and pick up their third road win today. Monmouth is a team we weren’t expecting much out of at all, but they are coming off a road win at West Virginia, and didn’t play all that badly in their opener against George Mason, so I wouldn’t just assume that Princeton is going to walk all over them in this one.

-RHODE ISLAND VS NORTHWESTERN (Basketball Hall of Fame Tip-Off). Both teams come in unbeaten. Rhody hasn’t really been tested, but Northwestern’s home win against Dayton is starting to look a little better.

-MCNEESE AT WESTERN CAROLINA. This feels like a strange game to highlight, but both teams are unbeaten, and both have managed some pretty notable wins. McNeese has the win at VCU and Western Carolina has wins at Notre Dame and Middle Tennessee.

-HARVARD AT BOSTON COLLEGE (Bean Pot). It’s been a while since these two have played, but it’s back on the schedule!! And both are unbeaten!! And Harvard in particular has actually looked pretty good this year and is going after their third road win of the season.

-YALE VS WEBER STATE (Atlantic Slam). These are two Under the Radar teams that we think can end up inside the bubble, but Weber State is coming off a somewhat surprising loss to Gardner Webb yesterday and with such a small margin for error a game like this, as early as it is in the season, could make the difference as to whether or not they’re able to land inside the bubble. Yale, on the other hand, cruised past a pretty good Colgate team and looks to be as good as advertised.

BUY GAMES AND OTHER NOTABLE GAMES:

-Wagner @ Seton Hall – Seton Hall can get to 4-0
-Columbia @ Temple – Temple is still unbeaten
-New Hamspshire @ George Mason – Mason is unbeaten
-USC Upstate @ Minnesota – Minnesota’s expectations aren’t high this year, but they were able to hang with Missouri earlier in the week and should get to 3-1 after today
-Southern Indiana @ La Salle – La Salle unbeaten
-Ball State @ Evansville – we aren’t expecting either team to be all that good as the year progresses, but as of today neither of them has a loss yet
-Seattle U @ VCU – I don’t think either team will be inside the bubble come March, but they are both off to pretty good starts this year
-Marist @ Binghamton – Marist can improve to 3-0 on the season with all the wins coming on the road
-Gardner Webb vs Colgate (Atlantic Slam) – both teams have suffered some pretty hard fought and close losses. Both should do well once they get into conference play, but this still has a pivotal feel to it because both are looking to bounce back
-Nebraska vs Oregon State (Sioux Falls SD) – both are unbeaten, but it’s still hard to get excited for this one
-Purdue Fort Wayne vs South Dakota (Arizona Tip-Off) – PFW keeps winning, and they keep winning away from home
-Cal Poly vs Portland State (Riverside CA) – Portland State continues to impress. They had a win at the buzzer yesterday and can improve to 5-0 today
-Bryant @ Florida Atlantic
-Howard @ Rutgers
-SELA @ Santa Clara
-Texas Southern @ Creighton
-Morgan State @ BYU
-Portland @ Nevada – Nevada is looking to remain unbeaten

NEWS AND NOTES:

CLICK HERE for all of the In-Season Tournament Brackets and Schedules. It’s laid out in a way that’s probably easier to follow than the write-ups below.

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

-Not too many cataclysmic results yesterday, but there were some really exciting games…

-Saint John’s held off North Texas 53-52 in the Charleston Classic. North Texas is rebuilding somewhat, and this event was a chance for them to make some noise early on. This would have been a nice early season upset for them had they been able to pull it off.

-Vermont out of the America East is off to a 3-0 start with a 73-64 win over what we think is a pretty good Charleston team. They’ll be on the winner’s side of the bracket in the Myrtle Beach Invitational.

-Dayton came from behind late to get a 70-67 win over LSU. The Flyers hit a 3pt shot late in the game and then came up with a big defensive stop to secure the win.

-UAB, who we were kind of big on this year, had to sweat out Alcorn State who we were…well…NOT kind of big on this year. They did escape 80-77, but the alarm bells are going off.

-Missouri, who we were kind of big on this year, had to sweat out Minnesota who we were…well…NOT kind of big on this year. Mizzou escaped with a 70-68 win (albeit on the road), but the alarm bells are going off.

-Utah got a nice 77-70 win against Wake Forest. I still think Wake could end up having a big year, but they’re off to a somewhat small start. As for the Utes, they’re now 3-0 and moving on to the winners’ side of the bracket in the Charleston Classic.

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HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:

-VERMONT VS SAINT LOUIS (Myrtle Beach Invitational). Both teams are unbeaten and both picked up notable wins yesterday. Events like this allow for notable wins away from home, which can really help build up a resume. That’s important for both these teams because they won’t have as many chances as the P5 teams do later in the season.

-DAYTON VS SAINT JOHN’S (Charleston Classic). Dayton had to come from behind yesterday to beat LSU, and the Johnnies barely held on to beat North Texas yesterday. Both teams could use this event to build up their early season profile.

-ABILENE CHRISTIAN VS SAN JOSE STATE. (Paradise Jam) – ACU started off with a big win at Oklahoma State, but now has a loss to Prairie View. They need to do well in this event if they want their resume to remain strong.

-GEORGIA VS MIAMI FL (Bahamas Championship). Georgia has looked a lot better than expected, but they are REALLY going to be tested today against.a Miami FL team that I think is good enough to win the ACC. Both teams will be tested plenty this year, but this event is a good way to get out of the blocks early.

-HOUSTON VS UTAH (Charleston Classic). Houston had no trouble with Towson yesterday and while Utah is better than Towson, Houston isn’t likely to have much trouble today either. Still, the Utes are undefeated and beat a pretty good (at least I think) Wake Forest team yesterday. Today is a chance for them to really step into the national spotlight if they can somehow pull off the upset.

-YALE AT COLGATE (Atlantic Slam). For UTR teams, doing well in these early season oftentimes makes the difference as to whether or not they end up inside the bubble come March. Colgate had a chance at a notable road win at Syracuse and sort of blew it, and they need to get over it quickly because they’re up against a Yale team that is also very good (probably better than Syracuse, actually) and who’s also looking to build up their NCAA Tournament resume. It’s a game that flies under the national radar, but it is a HUGELY important early season game.

-KANSAS STATE VS PROVIDENCE (Bahamas Championship). Providence, despite so many offseason changes, is off to a 3-0 start and has a chance to really make a statement today against what I think is a really good K State team (or at least a team that will be come really good). Having said that, K State already has a loss to USC and is looking for their first notable win of the season as well.

-BUTLER AT MICHIGAN STATE (Gavitt Games). I’m watching this one with curiosity, Michigan State is just 1-2 and everyone is down on them, but if they win their next six no one will remember that they were ever just 1-2. Butler has blown through their buy games so far. I know they were buy games, and that this is their first real test, but they blew through them in such a way that they at least have my attention. There is a reason to turn on the TV tonight and check this one out.

-AUBURN AT SAINT BONAVENTURE (Legends Classic). I really like this Auburn team and don’t think they’ll have too much trouble with the Bonnies tonight. Still, Saint Bona got a somewhat notable win over Oklahoma State to get here, and they’ve got a chance to pick up a really good win tonight.

-HARVARD AT UMASS. Oh yes!! WE ARE HIGHLIGHTING THIS!!! Both teams are unbeaten!! Now UMass isn’t likely to end up anywhere near the top of the Atlnatic 10, but for now they are unbeaten!! Actually, watch out for Harvard in the Ivy League! They may be better than expected and I’m actually expecting them to get this win tonight, which would get them to 4-0 with two of those wins coming on the road.

-FLORIDA STATE AT FLORIDA. This is a rivalry game that is almost always fun, and this particular year it’s between two teams that we at Hoops HD are kinds still trying to figure out. We should learn something about both of them tonight, and whoever pulls it off gets both bragging rights and a nice win on their resume.

-MARYLAND AT VILLANOVA (Gavitt Tipoff Games). Both these teams should have a sense of urgency coming into this one. Nova is coming off a surprising loss to Penn, and Maryland is just 1-2 after losing back to back games to Davidson and UAB. Both teams will have a lot of chances at big wins later, but both have also gotten out of the gate slowly and could really use this win tonight.

-GRAND CANYON VS SAN FRANCISCO (Arizona Tip-Off). GCU comes in without a loss and while they should be able to remain unbeaten against a San Francisco program that’s rebuilding, the Dons did play really well at Boise State. They lost the game, but they were far more competitive than what we were expecting, so they’re worth keeping an eye on.

-WICHITA STATE VS LIBERTY (Myrtle Beach Invitational). Liberty is once again looking like one of those very dangerous Under the Radar teams that can make a run at the bubble, and perhaps even crack the rankings by the end of the season. We weren’t expecting much at all out of Wichita State this year, but they come into this one at 4-0. This will be their biggest test of the year so far, though.

-SAINT MARY’S VS SAN DIEGO STATE (Las Vegas NV). Neither of these teams is currently in the rankings after they both sustained an early loss, but I think by the end of the year both will be in the top 25 and both will land in the top half of the NCAA Tournament bracket. This is a great and fun early season match-up, and a chance to pick up what should turn out to be one of the better wins of the season for whichever team ends up pulling it off.

-UNLV AT PEPPERDINE. A lot of people are big on the Rebels this year. This is a road game, but if they’re as good as everyone says they should be then it’s a road game that they should be able to win.

-DEPAUL VS SOUTH CAROLINA (Arizona Tip-Off). Not the most exciting game, but South Carolina is undefeated and should be able to stay that way after tonight.

-WASHINGTON VS XAVIER (Continental Tire Main Event). Xavier is rebuilding after a Sweet Sixteen season a year ago, but I thought they played pretty well in their game against Purdue. Washington’s expectations aren’t high, but an early season win in a game like this could change that.

BUY GAMES AND OTHER NOTABLE GAMES:

-North Texas vs LSU (Charleston Classic) – a chance for North Texas to get a notable win, and a chance for LSU to try and bounce back
-Norfolk State vs Fordham (Paradise Jam)
-Charleston vs Wyoming (Myrtle Beach Invitational) – both teams are looking to rebound after a loss yesterday
-Weber State vs Gardner Webb (Atlantic Slam) – Weber State can stay unbeaten and pick up yet another win away from home
-Presbyterian vs Maine (Jacksonville FL) – Presby has been one of the surprise teams of the season and is looking to remain unbeaten
-Purdue Fort Wayne @ Northern Arizona (Arizona Tip-Off) – PFW looking to stay unbeaten
-Notre Dame vs Oklahoma State (Legends Classic) – You know what?? Forget it…
-Hampton vs Kent State (Paradise Jam) – a lot of people are suddenly big on Kent State. It’s important they do well in this event
-Bucknell @ Duke
-Coastal Carolina vs Furman (Myrtle Beach Invitational)
-Stonehill @ Kentucky
-Radford @ James Madison – Radford hasn’t looked all that bad this year, but they’re likely overmatched tonight
-UT Martin @ Eastern Kentucky – EKU can get to 3-0
-Morehead State @ Penn State – Penn State looking to remain unbeaten
-Davidson @ East Tennessee State – a bit of an odd road game for Davidson, but a fairly decent on to play. A win gets them to 3-1 on the season and puts a true road win on their resume
-Sacramento State @ Tulane – Tulane is unbeaten
-Robert Morris @ Wisconsin – Wisky needs to even their record at 2-2
-Rider @ Duquesne – a bounce-back game for the Dukes
-Charleston Southern @ NC State – NC State is unbeaten
-Towson vs Wake Forest (Charleston Classic) – Wake is now just 1-2 and could really use a win
-Long Beach State @ Michigan – Michigan is a lot better than I expected (so far) and should cruise tonight
-Jacksonville @ Pittsburgh – Pitt trying to remain unbeaten
-TAMU Commerce @ Saint Joseph’s – Joes is unbeaten
-Oral Roberts @ Texas A&M – TAMU trying to get to 4-0
-UNC Greensboro @ Arkansas – UNCG could make some noise in the SoCon this season, but they’re likely way overmatched tonight by a super-talented Arkansas team
-UC Riverside @ North Carolina
-Mercer @ Alabama
-Valparaiso @ Illinois
-Arkansas State @ Iowa – Iowa’s only loss was at Creighton, and they didn’t play badly in that game
-UTRGV @ Oklahoma – Sooners unbeaten
-Alabama State @ Memphis
-Mississippi Valley State @ TCU
-Austin Peay @ UTEP – UTEP can get to 4-0
-Sam Houston @ Ole Miss – Sam Hosuton will be pretty good once they get into league play, and Ole Miss is unbeaten
-Tennessee State @ Oregon – I was legit impressed with Tennessee State the other night against LMU. It was a buy game, and Oregon is a much stronger team, but the Ducks better not overlook them
-Eastern Washington @ Stanford
-Kansas City @ Colorado State
-Portland State @ CA Baptist – both teams are unbeaten, and watch out for Portland State! They are MUCH better than expected!
-Belmont @ Arizona

NEWS AND NOTES:

For our latest UNDER THE RADAR Video Podcast, where we review a very busy first week of the season and look ahead to a lot of big games this week – CLICK HERE

-Princeton got a 70-67 win at Duquesne in what was the game of the night both on paper, and perhaps on the court. Princeton led throughout, but Duquesne was never out of it and actually had a chance to win all the way down to the final seconds. Almost no one is on the Duquesne bandwagon yet, and everyone is referencing this loss as evidence that they aren’t actually that good. While you would expect a top 40ish team to be able to win a game like this at home, Princeton also won at Rutgers and no one is slamming Rutgers as being hot garbage just yet. I’m not giving up on Duquesne! If anything, this game has made me more in on Princeton.

Other than that, while there were some decent games to watch, the night was pretty chalky.

-For the brackets to all the In Season Tournaments, which have already gotten underway – CLICK HERE

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:

-CHARLESTON VS VERMONT (Myrtle Beach Invitational). These are two top level UTR programs that are expected to have big years. This event is a chance for them to pick up some notable wins for their resume, which they’re going to need if they’re wanting to make a run at the bubble.

-SAINT JOHN’S VS NORTH TEXAS (Charleston Classic). I don’t think either of these teams will end up being tournament teams, but North Texas is off to a 2-0 start with a win over a pretty good Northern Iowa team, so this event is a chance to really make their resume look good early.

-SAINT LOUIS AT WYOMING (Myrtle Beach Invitational). Both teams come in without a loss. It’s a unique match-up in a unique setting and a chance for both of them to build up decent wins away from home!

-DAYTON VS LSU (Charleston Classic). We liked this Dayton team coming into the year, but they’ve already had to go through some setbacks. LSU is also off to a sluggish start. A strong showing in this event would get both teams out of the blocks early, though.

-WICHITA STATE AT COASTAL CAROLINA (Myrtle Beach Invitational). Our expectations for both these teams coming into the year were…well…low, but to date neither team has a loss and Wichita State in particular has looked better than expected.

-HOUSTON VS TOWSON (Charleston Classic). Towson appears to be hugely overmatched in this one. I think they’ll have a pretty decent year once they get into CAA play, and could win a couple of games in this event, but this Houston team just has a stupid amount of talent and should roll today, and perhaps roll through the whole tournament.

-OKLAHOMA STATE VS SAINT BONAVENTURE (Legends Classic, Brooklyn NY). This is a very liberal use of the words “legends” and “classic.” Both teams might have some potential, but neither is expected to do much this season, and both have already dropped losses in home buy games.

-FURMAN VS LIBERTY (Myrtle Beach Invitational). Both teams come into this unbeaten and both have high expectations for the season. This is the kind of UTR match-up that you like to see. It’s not only a chance for a single quality win, but a chance to get on the winners’ side of the bracket and have more opportunities at quality wins throughout the event. As early as it is in the season, you get the sense that this is a stakes game with a pivotal feel to it.

-MISSOURI AT MINNESOTA. Mizzou has suffered a loss to Memphis already, but that’s hardly a bad loss. This is a game they should win despite the fact that it’s a road game.

-AUBURN VS NOTRE DAME (Legends Classic, Brooklyn NY). Auburn clearly looks like the superior team here and should win without too much trouble. Both teams have suffered a loss, but ND’s was at home to Western Carolina and Auburn’s was a hard fought neutral floor game against Baylor.

-UMASS LOWELL AT ARIZONA STATE. This is a buy game, but Arizona State better not overlook UMass Lowell. They come into this at 3-0 with wins at both Dartmouth and Georgia Tech, and are suddenly looking like the frontrunners in the America East. Arizona State didn’t exactly bury Texas Southern in their last game, and they could be in for a long season.

-UTAH VS WAKE FOREST (Charleston Classic). I still really like this Wake Forest team, but must admit that they havent’t exactly shown out this season yet, and are coming into this game after a loss at Georgia, who isn’t exactly expected to be good. Still, this event is a chance for them to get things turned around quickly. They should beat Utah today, but Utah did blow through both of their buy games so far, and this event is a chance for them to get some notable wins as well.

BUY GAMES AND OTHER NOTABLE GAMES:

-Presbyterian @ North Florida – Presby is unbeaten and looking for their second road win
-Wright State @ Indiana
-Texas Southern @ Virginia
-TAMUCC @ Texas Tech
-Chicago State @ Southern Illinois – Salukis can get to 3-0
-UT Arlington @ New Mexico – UTA is 2-0, but this is their first road game