Hoops HD

NEWS, NOTES, AND LINKS:

For the Hoops HD Merit Rankings and Bracket Projections after Week 1 – CLICK HERE

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

-The biggest game and surprise of the day was Weber State’s 61-57 win at Saint Mary’s. We liked this Weber State team coming into the year, and we even said we thought they could make some noise on the national scene, but this really was a shock. Saint Mary’s was a team we liked even more and were expecting to get a protected seed, which they absolutely can still do, but still. It was a surprising result. They won’t lose many at home. This is a MASSIVE statement win for Weber State. It’s the kind of win that can land them inside the bubble come March.

-Maryland lost their second game of the year as they fell to UAB 66-63. UAB is definitely a decent team, and this win had to feel good for the Blazers after suffering close losses in their first two games, but to see Maryland drop both games out in the Asheville Championship is a bit alarming. It’s certainly not the start they wanted or expected.

-Davidson was right with Clemson in the championship game of that event, but Clemson held on for the 68-65 win. Two neutral floor wins against solid competition is a great way for the Tigers to start off the season, but Davidson played really well too. They now have my attention. In fact they’ve probably looked better than everyone else in the Atlantic 10 up to this point. I know that’s not saying much, but still.

-Boise State got a battle at home from San Francisco, which was a bit unexpected, but still held on to win 63-58. A solid showing from the Dons, though, who we thought would be in a rebuild mode this year.

-Yale got a much needed road win at LMU, but it wasn’t easy. It was close the entire way, but the Bulldogs did hold on 83-80.

-Nevada picked up a nice 83-76 road win at Washington.

-Indiana has won both their buy games, but they’ve had to sweat a lot more than expected against what appear to be some pretty weak teams. When I say weak, I mean weak by Patriot League and Atlantic Sun standards. Army was in the game with the Hoosiers until after the final media timeout. It wasn’t until the last couple of minutes that they finally got control and held on to win 72-64. The Hoosiers may have some issues to work through this season.

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HIGHLIGHTED GAMES

-MICHIGAN AT SAINT JOHN’S (Gavitt Tipoff Games). Neither team has a loss, but neither team has really been tested either, although Michigan did really dominate what I think is a pretty good UNC Asheville team last week. This is the first chance that either team has to get a win of substance.

-WESTERN CAROLINA AT MIDDLE TENNESSEE. This is an odd game to highlight, but they are two teams that we thought could be Under the Radar dark horses this year. Both are 2-0, and both have shown signs that they could end up having big years. It will be interesting to see what they do against each other tonight.

-SOUTH DAKOTA STATE AT KANSAS STATE. A really interesting game here between a very good South Dakota State team that needs a signature win on their resume to get the attention of the committee, and a K State team that we think is being undervalued. Both have a loss, so in addition to this being an opportunity at a likely notable win, there is a bit of a sense of urgency to it as well even though it’s just the 8th day of the season.

-XAVIER AT PURDUE (Gavitt Tipoff Games). This will be Purdue’s biggest test of the year so far, but having said that it’s hard to say how much of a test it really is. Xavier is in a bit of a rebuild mode, but they did breeze through their buy games. We will learn something about them today as they face what I think is the best team in the country on the road.

BUY GAMES AND OTHER NOTABLE GAMES:

-Florida International @ Miami FL
-Villanova @ Penn (Big 5 Classic) – I know it’s a Big 5 rivalry, but it also looks to be a big mismatch
-The Citadel @ Presbyterian – we aren’t expecting much from Presby, but for now they’re 2-0 with a win at Vanderbilt
-Central Michigan @ Florida State
-Stony Brook @ Duquesne
-East Tennessee State @ Butler – Butler hasn’t really been tested yet, but they’ve blown out their first two opponents like you would expect a good team to do
-Quinnipiac @ UMass – both teams unbeaten
-FGCU @ Pittsburgh – Pitt trying to get to 3-0
-VMI @ South Carolina – South Carolina trying to get to 3-0
-Stetson @ Houston
-Southern @ Arizona – Southern did win at UNLV, but they’re likely in way over their heads int his one tonight
-Old Dominion @ Arkansas
-SIUE @ Missouri
-Rider @ Nebraska
-UC Santa Barbara @ UTEP – it’s usually not easy to win at UTEP, and they won their first two home games this year. UCSB needs to bounce back from a somewhat surprising home loss to Portland State

NEWS AND NOTES:

-For John Stalica’s Under the Radar Game of the Day between Howard and James Madison – CLICK HERE

While there were certainly some exciting games yesterday, nothing overly cataclysmic happened. Most people were probably watching football instead anyway.

-Bradley is now 2-0 with wins over UAB on the road, which is tough to do, and an overtime win at home against a Utah State team that’s rebuilding, but that’s still a whole hell of a lot better than a lot of teams they could have played in a buy game. The Braves now have our attention.

-UNC Asheville, my preseason Big South pick and a team that I said I thought might be able to make some noise nationally, played their second game yesterday and for the second time was completely blown off the floor. UNC Wilmington (who to be fair is another really good team out of the CAA) just went into Asheville and dominated the entire game 83-66. I still think UNCA will be good once they get into the Big South, and if anything I’m starting to keep more of an eye on UNCW, but I will also admit that UNCA is not as good as I thought they would be. At least they haven’t show in it so far.

-It’s not easy to win at places like Cleveland State, but as we at Hoops HD like to say, it’s not easy to make the NCAA Tournament. Ohio U is a good team (or so we think), and they lost a game at Cleveland State yesterday 82-78 that we knew would be tough for them to win, but these are the kinds of games teams that end up making the NCAA Tournament have to be able to win.

-Kent State followed up their overtime thrilling loss against James Madison with a solid win at home against Fresno State 79-69. The Golden Flashes are not an easy team to beat on their floor.

-Notre Dame looks to be really bad. I want to make that perfectly clear. But Western Carolina actually doesn’t. That’s a strange thing to say because WCU has seemingly always been bad, but they’re actually a dark horse in the SoCon this year. Their 71-61 win in South Bend yesterday wasn’t really a fluke or a surprise.

-DePaul also looks really bad. They lost at home to Long Beach State yesterday 77-73, and unlike Western Carolina Long Beach State is NOT a team that’s expected to make much noise in their respective conference this year.

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:

-MARYLAND VS UAB (Asheville Championship). This is the third place game, but on the team sheets and to the selection committee that won’t be mentioned anywhere. It will appear as any other neutral floor game would. UAB is off to a rough start having close losses in both their games against pretty respectable teams, and Maryland is looking to bounce back after a surprising upset loss to Davidson. Both teams could use a win like this on their resume, and I think as the season goes on both will end up with very respectable records.

-SAN JOSE STATE AT TEXAS TECH. Not much is expected out of either team this year, but both come into this one without a loss. It’s also fair to say that both are coming in without a test, but nevertheless neither team has lost. Yet.

-DAVIDSON AT CLEMSON (Asheville Championship). Clemson is here after a nice win over UAB, and Davidson is here after a surprising win against Maryland. I believe Clemson is a solid NCAA Tournament caliber team, and picking up another win away from home would be a really solid start to the building of their tournament resume.

-SAN FRANCISCO AT BOISE STATE. We like this Boise State team, and they are off to a 2-0 start. We weren’t quite as big on the Dons as we have been in recent years, but if they can some how pull this one off on the road then they’ll certainly have our attention.

-WEBER STATE AT SAINT MARY’S. Weber State is the near consensus favorite to win the Big Sky and they come into this one after winning their season opener. They’re probably in way over their heads in this one, though. SMC is tough to beat at home, they come in ranked 23rd and probably should be higher, and they didn’t really have to sweat against a really good New Mexico team in their last game.

-NEVADA AT WASHINGTON. I don’t think either of these teams will be in the picture come March, but both come into this one without a loss and have the chance to get what would for now be a notable win.

BUY GAMES AND OTHER NOTABLE GAMES

-Bryant @ Rutgers – Rutgers looking for their first win (EDIT: and by first he means second)
-Eastern Washington @ Cincinnati – I still think EWU will be good once they get into Big Sky play. Cincinnati trying to improve to 3-0
-Idaho State @ Iowa State
-Lehigh @ North Carolina
-Friends (nonD1) @ Wichita State
-Sam Houston @ Oklahoma State – Sam Houston could make some noise in CUSA, and Oklahoma State is still looking for their first win
-Howard @ James Madison – it’s the home opener for JMU and I hope the place is sold out. They’ve had a fantastic start to the year to say the least!
-Gardner Webb @ Baylor
-NC Central @ Georgia – Georgia is 1-1 and has looked better than expected so far
-UC Riverside @ Portland – Portland can get to 3-0 with a win
-Northern Arizona @ Grand Canyon
-Yale @ LMU – I’m really big on this Yale team, and this should be a winnable road game for them. It’s one they need if they want to make a run at the bubble
-Army @ Indiana
-UC Davis @ Montana – The first road game for UC Davis after a 2-0 start