Hoops HD Daily Rundown – Saturday, Feb 4th

Posted on February 4, 2023 by David Griggs

NEWS AND NOTES:

For John Stalica’s UTR Game of the Day, which happens to have MASSIVE Centenary Award Implications – CLICK HERE

-Something that happened on Thursday that I just flat out forgot to mention yesterday’s was Charleston losing a second consecutive game, this time on the road at Drexel.  Charleston’s record is solid, but their strength of schedule and the overall strength of the Colonial is not.  If they need the at-large bid, then it will mean that they will have lost in the conference tournament, which would add a third damaging loss to their resume and that may not be enough despite the fact that just about a week ago they were ranked in the teens.

-Kent State, another UTR team that we’ve been championing, lost their big rivalry game on the road at Akron last night.  Winning at Akron isn’t easy, but that’s precisely why Kent State needed to do it.  They’re still a dangerous team, but chances are they’ll need to win the MAC Tournament to make the Round of 64.

 

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:

-VIRGINIA AT VIRGINIA TECH (ACC).  Virginia is a protected seed and VA Tech is an NIT team at best right now, but it is a rivalry game and it is on the road against a VA Tech team that’s played really well at home this year.

-KANSAS AT IOWA STATE (Big 12).  It’s yet another Big 12 game between two teams that are within reach of a protected seed.  Kansas is back on our #1 line, but this will be an exceptionally difficult road game.  Iowa State was on fire, but they’ve now lost three of their last four, and two of the games in that stretch were rather surprising.  Having said that, they should be amped WAAAY up for this one.

-MICHIGAN STATE AT RUTGERS (Big Ten) (Game in New York, NY).  Both teams are inside our bubble, but it’s still an opportunity for both to add another nice win to their resume and to move up the seedlist.  This game isn’t being played on Rutgers’s campus, but it will still count as a home game.

-AUBURN AT TENNESSEE (SEC).  Tennessee has risen as high as #2 in the rankings and was once again receiving some chatter for a #1 seed, but they had a somewhat surprising loss on the road to Florida earlier this week.  Still, they’re a very good team, especially when they’re at home.  Auburn doesn’t have a win that totally blows you away yet, but it goes without saying that a win today would fall into that category.

-TCU AT OKLAHOMA STATE (Big 12).  The Pokes are now squarely on our bubble, and appear to be playing their best basketball of the season right now.  They’ve won four of their last five, and a win today would be another huge step toward making the field.  TCU is dealing with an injury, and even though they have an amazing profile and have still won three of their last four, they do seem to be a little shorthanded, so this could be a very difficult game for them.

-ILLINOIS AT IOWA (Big Ten).  So this game already has some great theater mixed in!  If you don’t know the story of the Illinois students buying group tickets to this game and then having them revoked for claiming to be a non-profit charity, Google that story!!  As far as what the game means on the court, it means quite a bit.  Illinois is absolutely on fire right now having won seven of their last eight, and today they have the chance to add another quality road win to their resume.  Iowa is inside our bubble, but their resume is a little more flimsy and they could use a win like this to help shore it up.

-MIAMI FL AT CLEMSON (ACC).  This is a bit odd to say about a team that’s ranked in the top 5 and that’s in a tie for first place in the ACC…but this is kind of a pivotal game for Clemson.  While they have a lot of good wins, they have some really bad losses as well, including their last game where they lost on the road to Boston College.  Miami FL has gone through a spotty stretch, but they still have a shot at ending up as a protected seed and getting this win on the road would be huge for their resume.

-ARKANSAS AT SOUTH CAROLINA (SEC).  Arkansas is talented, they have a few decent wins (albeit the key word there is “FEW”), but they don’t have a true road win yet.  If they don’t get this one, I believe a strong case can be made that they don’t belong in the NCAA Tournament at all right now.

-PURDUE AT INDIANA (Big Ten).  This is going to be a blast!!  Purdue is the unanimous #1 team and unanimously at the top of our seedlist, but what they don’t have is a road win against a team that’s in the top 25.  This would arguably be one of their biggest wins of the season up to this point if they’re able to pull it off.  It won’t be easy.  Indiana is 11-1 at home, and while they are coming off a loss at Maryland, they had been playing really well prior to that.

-TEXAS AT KANSAS STATE (Big 12).  Another game between two teams that both appear to be solid protected seeds right now, and who could even reach the #1 line if they can finish the season strong.  K State is coming off a loss at Kansas, but that is hardly a setback.  They’d bounce right back with a win today.  As for Texas, winning a road game like this would strengthen their case for a #2 seed (and possibly a #1 seed) even more.

-MISSOURI AT MISSISSIPPI STATE (SEC).  Mississippi State is starting to inch their way close to the bubble, but they still have a ton of work to do.  Missouri has been inside our bubble for most of the season, and we were certainly impressed with their recent win over Iowa State.  A road win in a game like this will strengthen their resume even more.

-NORTH CAROLINA AT DUKE (ACC).  These two schools are just EIGHT MILES APART!!!  And…they’ve NEVER met in the NCAA Tournament (in an even numbered year)!!!  North Carolina’s resume is very bland.  Most who follow college basketball and who forecast brackets (including many at Hoops HD) still think of them as a tournament team, but I don’t see why.  If UNC can win this one on the road, my opinion of them will change, but without this win there is just nothing there.  Duke is safely in the top half of the bracket, but has quite a bit of room to improve as well.  So, this is a rivalry game that means a lot to both teams both on and off paper.

-MARSHALL AT LOUISIANA (Sun Belt).  The chances of either team landing inside the bubble are small, but they’re not quite zero either.  Both teams have had good years, both could be dangerous in the Round of 64 if they’re able to get there, and this should be a fun game tonight.

-FLORIDA AT KENTUCKY (SEC).  Our mock committee did not select Florida in our most recent bracket, but we had them very close, and I personally had them in my field (not that my personal opinion matters, but still).  Neither of these teams really got their motors started until about mid-January, but both have been playing at a high level since then.  Florida has won six of eight with the only losses being a close road loss to Texas A&M and another to a very good Kansas State team.  They have some pretty solid wins in that stretch, including one against Tennessee in their last game.  Kentucky has won five of six with the only loss being to Kansas, and also has a win at Tennessee in that stretch.  Both can make the field, and both could really use this game on their resume, so it should be a fun one!

-MARYLAND AT MINNESOTA (Big Ten).  I highlight this to emphasize just how much Maryland needs a road win, and just how much they cannot afford to fail to get one against Minnesota.

-GONZAGA AT SAINT MARY’S (West Coast).  Gonzaga clearly has the better profile and is within range of a protected seed (and a win tonight would certainly help with that). but Saint Mary’s has been playing really well since conference play began and actually appears to be the better team on the court right now despite not getting the big OOC wins that Gonzaga got.  This one is always fun, and it’s always important on paper, and it once again appears to be both of those things tonight.

OTHER NOTABLE GAMES:

-UConn @ Georgetown (Big East) – should be a winnable game for a UConn team that needs to start stringing together wins again
-Texas Tech @ Baylor (Big 12) – Texas Tech just picked up their first conference win earlier in the week, but are likely way overmatched tonight
-Wake Forest @ Notre Dame (ACC) – Wake is in a tailspin and if they want to get back inside the bubble they need to start stringing together wins
-Georgia Tech @ NC State (ACC) – should be a winnable game for an NC State team that appears to be heading toward The Dance
-Butler @ Marquette (Big East) – Marquette is playing as well as anyone in the Big East right now and should have no problems holding serve tonight
-Tulane @ Memphis (American) – Memphis is inside our bubble, but barely.  They need to hold serve in this one
-Alabama @ LSU (SEC) – Bama crushed Vanderbilt in their last game and I expect them to win decisively again today
-Florida Atlantic @ Charlotte (Conference USA) – this is a big game for FAU because they need to bounce back after their loss at UAB
-Saint John’s @ Xavier (Big East) – Xavier has had to deal with some injuries, but they should be able to hold serve at home in this one
-Washington State @ UCLA (Pac 12) – Wazzu is probably the hardest team in the country with a losing record to beat, but UCLA should still be able to hold serve
-Villanova @ Creighton (Big East) – Villanova is starting to play better, but Creighton must hold serve at home as they are a team that is hovering around the bubble
-Utah State @ Colorado State (Mountain West) – Utah State had a nice win against New Mexico, and they can still reach the bubble, but their string of wins between now and the end of the season needs to be long in order for that to happen
-Georgia @ Texas A&M (SEC) – TAMU can reach the bubble and even get inside of it, but they need to keep winning
-Oregon State @ Arizona (Pac 12) – it’s a conference game, but it could end up looking like a buy game.  Arizona should cruise
-Washington @ USC (Pac 12)- USC has put together an impressive stretch and string of wins, and the value of their resume keeps going up and up.  They should be able to hold serve in this one.
-Oregon @ Arizona State (Pac 12) – Arizona State is now outside our bubble and needs to hold serve in this one and finish strong in order to make the field

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Happy Anniversary! HoopsHD interviews Toledo legend Ken Epperson

Posted on February 4, 2023 by Jon Teitel

Ken Epperson did it all at Toledo, as he remains the school’s all-time leader in PTS (2016)/REB (960) and is top-5 in almost everything else. He was named MAC ROY in 1982, led the Rockets in scoring in 1983/1984, and was a unanimous 1st-team All-MAC selection during his final 2 years. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Ken about being a great scorer and playing abroad. Today is the 39th anniversary of Ken playing a career-high 49 minutes in a win over Eastern Michigan on February 4, 1984, so we take this time to remember his remarkable accomplishments.

You grew up in Louisville: what made you choose Toledo? I did not know it at the time but they were the first school to offer me a scholarship. Coach Greg Kemp was my camp coach and 1 Tuesday afternoon after a game we were walking back to the dorms and he told me that he wanted me to play at Toledo. He had to confirm it with his boss but was 99.9% sure that Toledo would offer me a scholarship. The other schools that recruited me were good but only Toledo offered me the chance to play as a freshman…but only if I worked for it and proved that I belonged in the starting 5. Toledo had a forward who was a senior so they needed to fill that position during my freshman year. After going on an official visit I saw the campus, the playing facilities, how the players interacted with each other, and how the community embraced the university. It was kind of a no-brainer that I chose Toledo.

As a freshman you averaged 16.2 PPG/8.5 RPG en route to being named 1982 MAC ROY: how were you able to come in and contribute right from the start? I asked myself that same question! The only way to describe my freshman year was a combination of good teammates, coaches who believed in me, and lots of luck. Tim Reiser was a great passer: if you got a half-step advantage on your man then he would deliver the ball on time and without breaking stride. There were a lot of obstacles to overcome but my high school coach Mike Durham taught me to play hard/smart. You should always be thinking 2-3 moves ahead because the minute you stop working is the minute you will get beat. In high school I would get double- or triple-teamed but they did not do that during my freshman year of college. I was pretty much left alone in the post to make a move, run the floor, and hit the glass for offensive rebounds. Toledo ran a motion offense, which we also ran in high school, so I was pretty comfortable right away. I knew how to get open and get my shot.

In the 1985 MAC tourney you had a 2-PT loss to Ball State in the final game of your college career: where does that rank among the most devastating losses of your career? That would rank as my top loss in college because it was the last game I played in college. We were a good team but lost our way in the second half and could not get back on track. Everything we tried just did not work: we did not play well during the final 20 minutes.

You remain your school’s all-time leader with 2016 career PTS/960 career REB: how were you able to balance your scoring with your rebounding, and do you think that anyone will ever break your records? I think that scoring and rebounding go hand in hand because getting offensive rebounds gives you more chances to score. I have always been told to go get the rebounds on both offense and defense. Every time I got the ball my first thought was: how could I score? If I did not have the ball then I asked what could I do to get a teammate open or how could I get the ball to score

After graduation you played pro basketball in Australia: what is the biggest difference between basketball in the US vs. basketball overseas? Basketball in the US is more structured: the players are very athletic and there is a big emphasis on defense. Overseas it is much more free-flowing: players do not worry too much about defense until the end of the game. In the US you practice every day but overseas you might only practice twice/week and play 2-3 games/week.

You scored 29.6 PPG in your 1st year abroad: what is the secret to being a great scorer? There is really no secret: as an American player you were expected to score a lot of points…and if you did not score then you were more than likely on the next plane back to the States! It was an offensive league so you ran the floor, attacked the basket, and went for offensive rebounds. To be a scorer you have to be in better shape than your opponent. Scoring is hard work so that means hours in the gym shooting jump shots. In practice you have to work as hard as you would during a game, and the games are twice as fast as practice.

Did you ever get to play against FIBA Hall of Famer Andrew Gaze, and where does he rank among the greatest players that you have ever seen? I played many games against Andrew. He was great at moving without the ball and also a very good shooter: his range was when he crossed over the half-court line! I learned a lot by watching him play: coming off screens, when to go back-door, and how to set back screens to get open. He is the best scorer/pure shooter who I ever played against. His dad Lindsay is the father of Australian basketball. Speaking to Lindsay about basketball and his experience of playing/coaching would be like speaking to Adolph Rupp. He has so much knowledge of the game: it is amazing what he knows.

After retiring you became a coach and won a couple of COY awards: how did your history as a good player translate into your ability to become a good coach? Having played and having a lot of expectations put on you helps with coaching. As the coach you make all the decisions from when you hold tryouts to when you have practice and what things you practice. There is a whole lot of planning involved. Players have to worry about playing but coaches have to worry about every single aspect of the game. Just like when I was a player I coached to win, and if that meant extra practice sessions then that is what we would do. I started holding shooting practice on Saturday mornings before every game. This improved our shooting throughout the season and even helped us win a game in overtime. My teams were not the most talented but they worked hard and played as a team. Coaching is an art: you have to be able to reach inside your players to get every ounce of talent out of them. A lot of players do not like to be coached: they just want to play and do not care if they win or lose. I told my players that coaching them was my main focus and winning a championship was our goal. I was lucky to have a group of guys who were underachievers: once they were shown how to play together they took it to a new level.

In 2016 you were named to the Rockets’ All-Century team: what did it mean to you to receive such an outstanding honor? Making the Hall of Fame was a great honor but being named to the All-Century team was truly unexpected due to all of the great players that played for Toledo during the 20th century. I still think about how blessed I was to play for the University of Toledo: I was just happy to get a scholarship to play basketball.

Your son Jacob played basketball at Creighton and your daughter Britney played basketball at North Dakota State: who is the best athlete in the family? I asked Britney that question and she said Jacob was the better athlete. He has a lot of natural talent and picks things up really quickly. We are very happy that Jacob played at Creighton because Coach Greg McDermott is a great coach/person. Britney had to work at everything twice as hard as Jacob but she knew that she had to work at it to be competitive. My wife Kathy and I are very proud of both of them and the way they play the game of basketball. They both played the game hard and played it as part of a team.

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Under The Radar Game of the Day – Saturday, February 4th

Posted on February 4, 2023 by John Stalica

Green Bay (2-21, 1-11) at IUPUI (3-21, 0-13) – 12:00 PM ET (ESPN+)

Today’s UTR Game of the Day features two leading contenders for the Hoops HD Centenary Award – in other words, the winner of the award is given to the worst team in all of NCAA Division 1 basketball. Both of these teams already met in the regular season; Green Bay won the first matchup 68-61 at home earlier in the season. The only other win that the Phoenix have managed all season was a 70-64 victory against Kansas City at home. Even Georgetown managed to beat Green Bay by 34 points earlier in the season.

While the IUPUI Jaguars have more victories overall, two of those wins came against non-D1 foes Franklin and Spalding. Other than that, the average fan might think they don’t have any wins against D1 competition; their only official win came against a Texas A&M-Commerce team that is in their first season of Division 1 basketball. Strangely enough, the Jaguars by and large haven’t been getting blown out; only 5 of their losses have been by 20 or more points. Cleveland State and Youngstown State are the only two teams in the Horizon League to pull off such a feat this season.

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Hoops HD Daily Rundown – Friday, Feb 3rd

Posted on February 3, 2023 by David Griggs

NEWS AND NOTES:

-For the latest HOOPS HD BRACKET RUNDOWN Video Podcast, where we cross country rank our seedlists, build a bracket, and release that bracket on the air team by team and line by line – CLICK HERE

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

-Florida Atlantic suffered just their second loss of the season as they fell at UAB 86-77.  I don’t think the loss will set them back THAT much though, so long as they hold serve for the rest of the year.  UAB is suddenly playing really well, and this would have been a very tough road game to win.  They’ve got enough on their resume to where they should remain inside the bubble for now.

-Wisconsin snapped their losing streak with a much needed 65-60 win at Ohio State.  Ohio State’s slump continues.  They are in real trouble.

-Northwestern, who had been playing well, did not play well at all last night as they were beaten handily on their own home floor by Michigan 68-51.  Michigan has played well at times this year, but not enough of the time to place them anywhere near the bubble.

-Utah was also hovering around our bubble.  Stanford was so far from the bubble that they can’t see it with a telescope.  Yet, Stanford won at Utah last night 78-72, and that might all but kill the Utes.

 

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:

-THE IVY LEAGUE.  This is a strange way to write this up, but right now just one game separates 3rd place from 7th place and only the top four teams make the conference tournament, so every game has a pivotal feel to it.  Harvard and Yale are both in that logjam, and they both face each other tonight.  So do Brown and Dartmouth.  Cornell and Princeton are tied for first, and they play each other tonight.  Penn faces Columbia in what should be a winnable game for the Quakers, but they are in that mix as well.  The Ivy League has become destination programming for Friday nights!!

-VCU AT SAINT LOUIS (Atlantic Ten).  If VCU runs the table they’ll get a serious look from the committee, but anything short of that and they’ll likely need the auto bid to get in.

-BOISE STATE AT SAN DIEGO STATE (Mountain West).  Both of these teams are inside our bubble right now, but both still have a lot of work to do in order to strengthen their position.  Not only is this a pivotal game that is highly important for both teams, it should be a really good game as well.

-KENT STATE AT AKRON (MAC).  The Wagon Wheel!!!!  This is one of the better rivalries not just for Under the Radar teams, but really in all of college basketball.  And, like it does most years, it involves what appear to be the two best teams in the conference and Kent State is perhaps in a position to land inside the bubble if they can run the table.  This would probably be their best win of the year given that it’s a road game and how well Akron has played.  And…oh yeah!  It’s a BIG rivalry game!

-AIR FORCE AT NEVADA (Mountain West).  Nevada is hovering right around our bubble and needs to avoid losing to teams like Air Force who are nowhere near it in order to stay there.

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Under The Radar Game of the Day – Friday, February 3rd

Posted on February 3, 2023 by John Stalica

Kent State (18-4, 8-1) at Akron (16-6, 8-1) – 9:00 PM ET (ESPNU)

Tonight’s UTR Game of the Day features a rematch of last year’s MAC Championship Game between the Akron Zips and the Kent State Golden Flashes. Akron took the deciding game in the Wagon Wheel rivalry last year and a subsequent trip to the 2022 NCAA Tournament. Akron has won 13 of their last 15 games; their only stumbles in that period were losses at Bradley and at Ball State. Enrique Freeman averages a double-double (15.1 PPG, 10.7 RPG) for the Zips.

Kent State had been cruising since a tough stretch of losses against Charleston, Houston and Gonzaga; the Golden Flashes had won 10 games in a row before a surprising 86-76 loss at Northern Illinois. Since the loss, Kent State has defeated Buffalo and Central Michigan at home. In the 81-69 victory against CMU, 6 different players for Kent State scored in double figures.

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Hoops HD Bracket Rundown – Thursday, Feb 2nd

Posted on February 2, 2023 by David Griggs

NOTE:  This broadcast was recorded at 10pm, est on Thursday, February 2nd, and the seedlist was created prior to 8pm, est.  No games that were played that day, particularly Florida Atlantic’s loss to UAB and Charleston’s loss to Drexel, were considered when creating this bracket.

The Hoops HD Staff have each created their own personal seedlists.  Those were cross country ranked to create a master seedlist, which was then put into a bracket by Chad.  On this show, we reveal that bracket team by team, and then line by line in a Selection Sunday type format.  The panel is seeing the bracket for the first time as it is revealed, and they debate, discuss, and assess each team as they are revealed.

Below is a final copy of the bracket, but don’t look at it until you’ve watched the show!!

And below is an audio only version of the show, but don’t look at it until you’ve watched the show!!!

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