News, Notes, and Highlighted Games: Saturday, Dec 2nd

NEWS AND NOTES:

-Northwestern got a big night from Boo Buie, and had an amazingly low total of just 3 turnovers, as they held on to upset top ranked Purdue 92-88 in overtime. There were two incredible plays at the end of regulation, one by Boo Buie that appeared to give Northwestern the lead with just seconds to play, and another by Zach Edey who had a great catch and put-in as time expired. It’s the second year in a row that Northwestern has knocked off Purdue at home. As for Purdue, it stings a little bit for now, but won’t sting in the long run. Their overall resume is still amazing and they still have both the opportunities and abilities to end up as a #1 seed come March. As for Northwestern, it goes without saying that this is a massive win for their tournament resume. And while this game was going on…

-The team that probably impressed me the most yesterday was UConn. They didn’t win the game, and they certainly didn’t look all that good in the first few minutes of the game, but a key player was dealing with an injury which impacted his play, and they were on the road at Kansas, and they fell behind early, but despite all that they still managed to play their way back into it, get a lead for part or the second half, and nearly pull of an amazing road win. The Jayhawks held on 69-65, but it was a very impressive showing by UConn.

-Liberty lost their second game in a row as they fell to Charleston in the Field-of-68 Tipoff 76-67. For much of the game the Flames trailed by a lot more than what the final margin ended up being. Liberty is a good team, but they have limited opportunities at notable wins. This event was a big chance to get a couple of them, so it does hurt them that they couldn’t take advantage.

-Indiana is now 6-1 after a rather decisive 65-53 win at home over Maryland. The Hoosiers do appear to be getting better, but Maryland appears to be going nowhere at all.

-South Carolina improved to 7-0 after their 89-67 win over George Washington. None of South Carolina’s wins are necessarily jaw dropping, but they have looked like a good team and they will certainly get their opportunities at the kinds of wins that will impress the committee later in the season.

-Saint John’s picked up their first road win of the year as they knocked off a West Virginia team that will likely limp through the rest of the season 79-73. The Johnnies are now 5-2.

-Boise State held off Saint Mary’s 63-60 to improve to a modest 4-3. Boise State needs to pick up the pace in order to catch up to the rest of the runners in the race, but they are still perhaps good enough to do that and we are still in the early part of the season. As for Saint Mary’s, they have fallen down right out of the starting gate and are still laying on the ground as the rest of the runners are running away from them. They are now just 3-5 on the year.

-San Diego State trailed 57-43 late in the game at UC San Diego, and hadn’t looked good at all, and the place was going crazy for what looked to be a season making win for UCSD. The Aztecs then closed the game on a 20-5 run to pull out the 63-62 game and escape with the road win. What looked like a disaster ended up looking pretty good. San Diego State is now 7-1 on the year, they pick up their first true road win of the season, and hand UCSD their first home loss.

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HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:

-SYRACUSE AT VIRGINIA (ACC). Syracuse is a quiet 5-2, and while they don’t have that strong of a resume, a win in a game like this could make them look a lot stronger. Virginia is coming off what is arguably their best game of the year against Texas A&M and should have the upper hand at home.

-MARQUETTE AT WISCONSIN. Marquette is one of the few teams so far that has impressed me to the point of thinking they can win it all. They have beaten some highly ranked teams already, and their only loss was a close one to Purdue. Wisconsin is good, and is likely a tournament team, and it’s not easy to win there, and this is a rivalry game, but Marquette is a #1 seed caliber team and should be able to win a game like this.

-FLORIDA STATE AT NORTH CAROLINA (ACC). North Carolina is coming off a really good win against Tennessee, and while Florida State hasn’t been quite as consistently good as the Tarheels, they at least have a good win against Colorado and could really boost the value of their resume if they’re able to get this one on the road. Having said that, it’s much easier said than done. I’m someone who’s been highly skeptical of North Carolina in recent years, but I really like their team this year.

-INDIANA STATE AT BRADLEY (Missouri Valley). This game actually has a very pivotal feel to it. Bradley looked really strong out of conference, but lost their conference opener to Murray State earlier this week, and will really take a hit of they can’t get it done at home today and lose their second in a row. Indiana State is not a bad team at all. They only have one loss, they won their conference opener in decisive fashion against Southern Illinois, and a win like this would do a lot for their tournament resume.

-MEMPHIS AT OLE MISS. Ole Miss has proven that they can win home buy games, and while they’re unbeaten they really haven’t been challenged let like they will be today. I think this Memphis team is really good. They’re 5-1 with wins over Arkansas, Missouri, and Michigan, all of which were away from home, so they have been tested.

-DUKE AT GEORGIA TECH (ACC). This is the conference opener for Duke, and it’s just their second true road game of the year. They appear to be much better than GA Tech, but the Blue Devils have yet to win a true road game and GA Tech managed to beat a pretty good Mississippi State team at home in their last game, so this one could be interesting.

-MICHIGAN AT OREGON. Both teams have the talent and potential to have big years, but neither team has exactly exploded out of the starting gate. This would be a good resume building win at this point in the season for whichever team is able to pull it off.

-UNC WILMINGTON AT KENTUCKY. This is a straight up buy game, and UNCW is coming off a loss at East Carolina after going flat in the second half whereas Kentucky just blew out Miami FL at home, so it could also be a mismatch. Still, this is a UNCW team with some potential, and if they want any shot at all at getting their resume to the point of being able to land inside the bubble, this is their chance for that kind of a win.

-ILLINOIS AT RUTGERS (Big Ten). I think both of these teams are likely tournament. It’s a conference game and a resume-building opportunity for both of them.

-NC STATE AT BOSTON COLLEGE (ACC). Both teams have work to do, and this is an important early season league game for both of them.

-MISSOURI STATE AT DRAKE (Missouri Valley). Both teams come into this one at 6-1 and both won their conference opener. There is room in this league for teams to land inside the bubble, and that’s what makes this such an important game for both of them.

-PORTLAND STATE AT WASHINGTON STATE. This is a game that we did not expect to highlight when the season started, but Portland State is off to a great 6-1 start, three of those wins have been on the road, and they’ve REALLY got a chance to get some people’s attention today. Wazzu is comes in at 5-1 and while they haven’t really been tested in a big way, they do have a decisive win against Rhode Island and were competitive against Mississippi State last in their MTE, so they won’t be the easiest team to beat on the road.

-TCU AT GEORGETOWN (Big East-Big 12 Battle). TCU is unbeaten, but all their wins came in home buy games, and their opponents are a combined 2-35 on the year, which is beyond atrocious. Georgetown is not a good team, but they’ve at least one some games at home and will give TCU some semblance of a test.

-CHARLESTON AT FLORIDA ATLANTIC (Field of 68 Tip Off). Charleston is a team that should do very well in the CAA. FAU is a team that is ranked in the top 15 and should do very well (again) in the NCAA Tournament. It’s a bit of a mismatch.

-COLORADO STATE VS WASHINGTON (Las Vegas Invitational). Washington is off to a decent 4-2 start, but doesn’t have a win anywhere near this caliber on their resume. Colorado State is unbeaten, has multiple impressive wins, and can add yet another notable win to their resume tonight.

-YALE AT VERMONT. I still think of Yale as being really good and having the potential to get inside the bubble. But, they haven’t managed those types of wins yet. This is another tough road game, but it’s the kind of game that an at-large caliber team needs to be able to win.

-SAINT JOSEPH’S VS TEMPLE (Big 5 Classic). Saint Joseph’s has been catapulted onto our radar after their decisive win at Villanova and their near win at Kentucky. Temple is a respectable 4-2, and this would at least be a somewhat notable win away from home for the Hawks if they’re able to pull it off.

-RHODE ISLAND AT PROVIDENCE. This is just a super fun and highly intense rivalry! Rhody comes in at 5-2 and has a decent win over Yale, and Providence is having a really good start to the season despite all of their offseason changes.

-UC IRVINE AT UTAH STATE. UC Irvine had a chance at a notable win earlier this week against Duquesne and came up short, and they have another opportunity tonight. A road win in a game like this could make the difference of whether or not the Eaters need to win the Big West Tournament to make the field. Utah State is off to a really good 6-1 start and likely won’t be easy to beat at home, so it’s a game UCI would get a lot of credit for if they’re able to win it.

-USC VS GONZAGA (Las Vegas Invitational). This should once again be a really fun game. Gonzaga appears to be their normal top-15ish selves, and USC looks really good as well despite the two losses. This is a big resume building opportunity for both these teams.

OTHER NOTABLE GAMES/BUY GAMES:

-Notre Dame @ Miami FL (ACC) – Miami is looking to bounce back after being blown out at Kentucky
-Drexel vs Villanova (Big 5 Classic) – Nova has only lost two games this year, and both were in the Big 5 Classic
-Delaware @ Ohio U – this is a really good UTR game. I don’t think either team makes it all the way to the bubble, but it should be a really good game to watch
-Furman @ Princeton – Princeton is 7-0 and continues to look not just like an NCAA Tournament team, but perhaps a top 25 team
-North Alabama @ Kansas State
-Grambling @ Dayton
-Colgate @ Arizona
-Purdue Fort Wayne @ Oakland (Horizon League) – PFW can get to 8-1 on the year, win their second conference game, and go to 2-1 on the road. As for Oakland, they’re coming off a big road win at Xavier
-Harvard @ Loyola Chicago – Harvard comes in at 6-2 with three true road wins. They can make some noise in the Ivy League this year
-Northwestern State @ Baylor
-Western Carolina @ Gardner Webb – WCU can get to 7-0 and win their 4th true road game
-UMass Lowell @ Merrimack – UMass Lowell one-loss team that we are still keeping an eye on, and Merrimack is coming off a near upset road win at Georgetown
-Santa Clara @ California – this should be a winnable road game for Santa Clara and get them to 8-1 on the year
-George Mason @ Toledo – a win for Mason gets them to 7-1, but this is their first true road game of the season
-Tulsa @ Oral Roberts – a win for Tulsa would be their first true road win of the season, but it would get them to 5-1 overall
-UT Arlington @ Grand Canyon (WAC) a win for GCU gets them to 6-1 overall and 2-0 in the WAC
-LMU @ Nevada – a win for Nevada gets them to 6-0

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Under the Radar Game of the Day (And Other News, Notes, and Games)- Friday, December 1st

Charleston (3-3) vs. Liberty (6-1, 5-1 D1) – 6:00 PM ET (FloHoops)

Tonight’s UTR Game of the Day is the second game of a 3-game series called the Field of 68 Tip-Off being played at FAU. It is a 3-game round-robin series that will rotate among Charleston, Liberty and FAU. In the first game of the series that was played last night, the Owls of FAU doused the Liberty Flames by an 83-58 score. It was the only black mark in what has thus far been a great start to the season for Liberty; they did win the Myrtle Beach Invitational prior to Thanksgiving. Kyle Rode is averaging 14.9 points a game and 3 assists a game for Liberty.

Charleston struggled early in the season with a 3-game losing streak; they lost against Duquesne on a neutral court in Annapolis and had 2 losses in the Myrtle Beach Invitational against Vermont and Wyoming. More recently, the Cougars had a solid outing with an 84-78 win at Kent State – Reyne Smith led Charleston with 21 points.

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OTHER NEWS, NOTES, AND GAMES:

-John Stalica already covered FAU’s blowout win over Liberty. It was a pretty chalky night other than that. Butler did get a really nice overtime win at home over Texas Tech. This is a team that has really improved from a year ago and is looking like they can make a little bit of noise in the Big East this year. I don’t know if they’re quite good enough to be an NCAA Tournament team yet, but they are noticeably better this season.

-UNC Wilmington fell apart in the second half at East Carolina and ended up losing 74-66. These are the kinds of road games that teams need to be able to hold on and win if they want to land inside the bubble.

-Utah handed Hawaii their first loss of the season. It wasn’t a blowout, but at no point was Utah really sweating either. They finished with the 76-66 win. Speaking of sweating…

-UCLA absolutely sweated bullets against a UC Riverside team that, quite frankly, isn’t expected to do that well in the Big West. UCR shot the ball really well from outside, and actually had a double-digit lead with about 8 minutes to go. UCLA fought back, and hit a game winning shot in the final seconds to avoid a near upset and escape 66-65

-KANSAS AT CONNECTICUT (Spotlight Game). Both teams are ranked in the top five, both are potential Final Four teams, and both look like they may be good enough to end up as #1 seeds. It’s more of a litmus test and a showcase game than it is a must-win game. It’s fairly obvious that whoever loses this game will still be in really good shape as far as their season and seed, but as far as ending up a #1 seed this is one of those games that can impact that.

-HOUSTON AT XAVIER. This is a bit of a road test for the Cougars. They come in unbeaten, and while they have a smattering of decent wins in the Charleston Classic, this game tonight is their first true road game, and it’ arguably coming against their toughest opponent. Having said that, Xavier is coming off a home loss to Oakland, so they’ve got a lot of work to do if they want to play their way into position to make the NCAAs.

-MARYLAND AT INDIANA (Big Ten). Indiana has a good record, but they haven’t really looked like that good of a team yet, and for that matter neither has Maryland, so both teams could really use this one tonight.

-GEORGE WASHINGTON AT SOUTH CAROLINA. These are two teams that are off to better than expected starts. GW is 6-1 and South Carolina is still undefeated. This is the first true road game of the year for GW, so we should learn something about them tonight.

-SAINT JOHN’S AT WEST VIRGINIA (Big East-Big 12 Challenge). Neither team has shown out yet, and neither has really looked all that impressive yet.

-IOWA STATE AT DEPAUL (Big East- Big 12 Challenge). DePaul has looked, well, like DePaul this season whereas Iowa State is off to a decent 5-2 start. This is their first true road game, but it’s one they should be able to win.

-PURDUE AT NORTHWESTERN (Big Ten). I really like this Northwestern team and think they’re goin to make it back to the NCAA Tournament. They’re a little overmatched tonight, though. Purdue is ranked #1, deserves to be ranked #1, and probably is legit #1. Even though it’s a home game and the atmosphere should be incredible, this is still a very tall order for the Wildcats.

-BOISE STATE AT SAINT MARY’S. It is debatable as to which team has been more disappointing up to this point. Both can certainly still turn it around and have big years, but neither has really shown it yet. This game is a lot less appealing than we thought it would be back before the season started.

-William Pace (nonD1) @ UNC Greensboro
-Fresno State @ BYU – the Cougars can improve to 7-0 and continue to climb the rankings
-San Diego State @ UC San Diego – UCSD is 4-0 at home and San Diego State is still looking for their first road win

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Happy Anniversary! HoopsHD interviews Howard legend Charles Williams

When you are nicknamed “Bean” in honor of Kobe Bryant you had best be a heck of a scorer…and Charles Williams lived up to that lofty legacy. As a freshman at Howard he averaged 15.7 PPG and was named MEAC ROY. As a sophomore he scored 20.4 PPG and was named 1st-Team All-MEAC. As a senior he became the all-time leading scorer in MEAC history and graduated with 2404 career PTS. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Charles about being a great scorer and playing pro basketball. Today is the 4th anniversary of Charles becoming Howard’s all-time leading scorer on November 30, 2019, so we take this time to remember his remarkable college career.

You were born on 9/11/96: what do you remember about your 5th birthday? I do not remember it too well because I was so young. A year or 2 after that is when I started to understand the significance of that day and how it affected a lot of people.

Your nickname growing up was Kobe Bryant’s middle name of “Bean”: who gave it to you, and how did you like it?
I loved it! My teammates at Howard gave it to me when I was a freshman. They saw that I had a lot of confidence shooting the ball and saw some similarities between my game and his. The entire name they wanted to give me that nobody really knows was based on 3 masterminds of the game “Tony Bean Jackson”: Tony for Tony Allen (who used to play for Memphis), Bean for Kobe, and Jackson for Phil.

You were born/raised in Virginia: what made you choose Howard? The relationship that I had with the previous coach, Kevin Nickelberry. My official visit was during their homecoming, which put some extra icing on top of the cake.

What makes Coach Nickelberry such a good coach, and what was the most important thing that you ever learned from him?
He was heavily invested in me both as a player/person. He came to my school to watch me practice but also called me a lot to check up on me and see how I was doing. He built a level of trust with my parents, which meant a lot to me. I admired his understanding of the game and how it translates over to life. I was thrust into a leadership/scoring role as a freshman but after he recruited RJ Cole the next year it was huge for our school. In 2018 my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer and he was the main guy in my corner for anything I needed to talk about. He was not just a basketball guy but like another family member so I have high praise for him.

In January of 2017 you scored a career-high 37 PTS/15-25 FG in a 3-PT loss to Savannah State: was it just 1 of those scenarios where every shot you put up seemed to go in because you were “in the zone?
I think so. If I remember correctly I think I started the game 1-5 from the field but my teammates knew that if they kept getting me the ball then I would get in positions to score. It eventually felt like everything I put up was going in: I did not realize I had that many PTS until late in the game when I saw that I had 33 PTS. It was cool to come in as a freshman and score so many PTS: I wish that we could have won the game but we missed a last-second shot.

As a #11-seed in the 2017 MEAC tourney you beat Coppin State/Morgan State before losing to Norfolk State in the semifinals: what is the key to pulling off an upset in March?
Just going out there and understanding the moment but not deviating from what you bring to the team and that night’s game plan. Each game gets harder as you advance so you have to lock in and get your rest and look at your scouting report so that you are prepared to give it your all.

In 2017 you scored 15.6 PPG and were named conference ROY: what did it mean to you to get such an outstanding honor like that?
It meant a lot to me. James Daniel III had been named conference ROY in 2014 and he was in my ear all year to help me play my game. I went back and forth with Jermaine Marrow at Hampton: he would win Rookie of the Week and then I would win it the following week.

You finished your career as the leading scorer in MEAC history with 2404 career PTS: what is the secret to being a great scorer?
Picking/choosing where you get your buckets from on the floor. I am blessed to be a 3-level scorer: I am quick enough to get to the basket but can make a pull-up jumper, which goes back to me watching a lot of tape of Kobe. You also need to put in the work and have the mindset, not just in games/practices but on off-days.

After going undrafted you ended up in Luxembourg where you were named ROY in the Total League: what is the biggest difference between basketball in the US vs. basketball overseas?
It is a lot more physical overseas: the rules are very different and I had to get used to guys knocking the ball off the rim after FT attempts. I thought that college basketball was fast but European ball is extremely fast. The guys here are very smart and know how to manipulate the game in their favor. All pros are big/fast/can score but your basketball IQ will really separate you.

Your father Charles Sr. played basketball at Virginia State: who is the best athlete in the family? That is me! Pops thinks he can still take me on the court but I am no longer 11 years old so he cannot bully me in the post. I will dunk on him: put that in the article so he understands that! He can still shoot the ball but if he gets to making too many then I will lock in.

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News, Notes, and Highlighted Games: Thursday, Nov 30th

NEWS AND NOTES:

-For our latest UNDER THE RADAR Video Podcast – CLICK HERE

-Let’s begin with Saint Joseph’s. I was not big on them at all coming into the year and their early loss to TAMU Commerce (a transitional team) did nothing to raise my opinion of them. They went to Kentucky and took the Wildcats to overtime, and while I like how they played in that game, I still attributed it to Kentucky overlooking them than I did anything else. Well, last night they won at Villanova, and won decisively 78-65. Saint Joseph’s is now 1-1 in true road games against teams ranked in the top 20. Their one win was a blowout, and their one loss was in overtime to a Kentucky team that just got through blowing out top ten Miami FL. I now think the Commerce loss was a complete anomaly, and an am now a full believer in this Saint Joe’s team. The issue is that they don’t have any other heavyweights remaining, but last night’s win at Villanova is a huge brick of gold for them. Every remaining game is winnable, and while they only have a few strikes remaining, I still think they’re good enough to play their way solidly inside the bubble come March. They may be the only Atlantic 10 team where that is the case, but if they can dominate the rest of the way and win the majority of the games they’re supposed to win, their resume should be there.

-Arkansas opened up a big second half lead agains Duke, but the Blue Devils came back and actually had it close within the final minute of the game. Arkansas held on to win 80-75 which does as much for their confidence and momentum as it does for their resume. This was Duke’s only out of conference true road game.

-North Carolina blew out Tennessee for about 30 minutes, and led by over 20 for much of the game. The Vols came back late to make the final 100-92 score look way more respectable than most of the game was. I have been hard on the Tarheels, and openly stated that since Roy Williams retired they’d looked lime an NIT team for most of that stretch outside of one month in March in 2022. Having said all that, they’ve looked really good so far this year, and looked exceptionally good last night.

-Virginia is tough to beat when they take control of a game, and that’s what they did last night. They shut Texas A&M down defensively, especially in the second half, and got the 59-47 win, which is probably their most impressive and most confidence building win of the season so far.

-Colorado State didn’t blow out Colorado, but they pretty much had a lead from tip to buzzer before ending up with the 88-83 win. The Rams remain unbeaten, there is a real buzz around this program, and they are for real!

-UC Irvine trailed Duquesne for most of the game, but kept it within reach and were still in it with less than a minute to go. Duquesne did end up with the 66-62 win, and continue to look like one of the better teams (along with Saint Joe’s) from the Atlantic 10. the Eaters fall to 6-2. A win like this on the road would have really helped them, but the loss doesn’t really hurt them. They still have the road win at USC, and if they can dominate the Big West, which I think they’re good enough to do, they can play their way into a position to receive an at-large.

-After a crazy-good start to the season, Evansville lost their first game of the year on the road at Missouri State 90-78 in their conference opener.

-Bradley, who had looked outstanding on the year so far, also lost their conference opener at Murray STate 79-72. Murray State isn’t the easiest place to go and win, but as good as Bradley had looked coming into this game it was still a bit of a surprise that they didn’t get it done.

-Dayton is now a respectable 5-2 on the year after picking up their first true road win over SMU 65-63. Dayton has nothing amazing on their resume just yet, but they have just two losses, one of those was to Houston and the other was on the road at Northwestern, which is hardly bad. They also have wins over LSU and Saint John’s in the Charleston Classic, which is decent, and now they have a win at SMU. That’s not bad! That’s at least giving them a chance to make a run at the bubble if they can keep stringing together wins.

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HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:

-LIBERTY AT FLORIDA ATLANTIC. This one is going to be a blast. Liberty is unbeaten and has past some pretty nice tests, but playing on the road against a legit top 15 caliber team is a totally different animal. I think both these teams are potentially first ballot caliber teams, and that will especially be true for Liberty if they’re somehow able to get this one on the road. It should be fun!

-TEXAS TECH AT BUTLER (Big East-Big 12 Battle). Both these teams are off to good starts, and both could use this win on their resume. Butler is coming off a win against Boise State in the ESPN Events Invitational, and this would be another notable win for them. Texas Tech is coming off a good lookin win against Michigan in the Battle 4 Atlantis and this is their first true road game of the year.

-UNC WILMINGTON AT EAST CAROLINA. I highlight this one because I like this UNCW team. They’re 5-1 with two road wins already, and this is yet another winnable road game against a fairly decent (but far form great) East Carolina team. These are the kinds of games UNCW needs to routinely win if they want to make a run at the bubble.

-CREIGHTON AT OKLAHOMA STATE (Big East-Big 12 Battle). Oklahoma State has struggled so far this season, and while Creighton has looked really good for the most part they are coming off a blowout loss to Colorado State. This is also their first true road game of the year, so while the Jays should win, it’s hardly an automatic win.

-HAWAII AT UTAH. Hawaii is unbeaten, but is also untested. They will be tested tonight by a Utah team that’s 4-2, but whose early resume could also use some work.

OTHER NOTABLE GAMES/BUY GAMES:

-Arkansas Pine Bluff @ Oklahoma
-Texas State @ Texas
-UC Riverside @ UCLA

Posted in Daily Rundown, News and Notes | Comments Off on News, Notes, and Highlighted Games: Thursday, Nov 30th

Under the Radar (Nov 29th)

Tonight’s feature conference is the Missouri Valley, which actually started conference play this week. Multiple teams such as Bradley, Indiana State, and Evansville are off to great starts for the season, but Bradley actually lost their conference opener tonight. We discuss whether or not we feel this league can get teams inside the bubble, and look at what they have to do in order to make it happen.

From there, we move on to the other 21 UTR leagues, and talk about how Princeton out of the Ivy League continues to impress, how UMass Lowell is off to their best start in recent memory and will be a force in the America East, how strong Liberty is out of Conference USA and how they may be cracking the rankings before the end of the season, the opportunities Grand Canyon has coming up at quality wins, and more! And, as we do every week, we close with this week’s UTR Top Ten.

And for all you radio lovers, below is an audio only version of the show…

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News, Notes, and Highlighted Games: Wednesday, Nov 29th

NEWS AND NOTES:

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

-Eastern Illinois is in a bad league and is expected to do badly in that bad league, but for 38 minutes last night they were right in there with Kansas. They were actually within 3 with about 2 minutes to play. Kansas, of course, woke up and did what they had to to get control and escaped 71-63, but it was a less than impressive showing for the Jayhawks.

-As for a game that wasn’t close, Kentucky blew Miami FL’s doors off. About midway through the first half Miami looked really good and actually built a 6pt lead, so it wasn’t as if they were intimidated, and psyched out, and not ready to play. They were. But Kentucky just pulled it together and played as well as they’ve played in a very long time. The final score was 95-73.

It was bizarro world! Had you told me that Eastern Illinois v Kansas and Miami FL v Kentucky would be played at the same time, and one of them would be a blowout that I’d turn over and only be focusing on the other game, I wouldn’t have thought EIU v Kansas would be the one I ended up NOT turning over!

-I had some less than nice things to say about Georgia Tech yesterday, and some very nice things to say about Mississippi State. So of course GA Tech controlled pretty much the entire game and got the 67-59 win over Mississippi State. Mississippi State, as good as I thought they were, is now 0-1 in true road games.

-At least Clemson did not let me down! I had some nice things to say about them yesterday, and they managed a HUGE road win at Alabama 85-77. Clemson missed the NCAA Tournament last year, but it was largely due to their bad losses (and one in particular to Louisville) and not their lack of good wins, so this is a team that is capable of playing well and that has played well this season. They’re unbeaten, they had some decent wins away from home down in their MTE, and now they have a true road win at Alabama.

-Cincinnati needed overtime to knock off Howard 86-81. It was a good game for the Bearcats to go and play because one way to sort of game the NET is to go on the road against teams from weaker leagues that win a lot of home games, but that you can also beat. The “YOU CAN ALSO BEAT” part of that statement is highly important. UC did get the win, and it was their first road win, and they do remain unbeaten, but they REALLY had to sweat to do it!

-Missouri, who I was starting to lose a little bit of interest in, went on the road against a pretty good Pittsburgh team and got the 71-64 win. It was Pitt’s first home loss, and Mizzou improves to 6-2 with their second true road win.

-Utah State continues to look like a really good team. They picked up the 81-76 win at Saint Louis. I know SLU isn’t exactly a top 25 team, but it’s still not the easiest place to go and win at. Utah State is now 6-1 on the year.

-Ole Miss blew out NC State 72-52 to improve to 6-0 on the year. Granted, five of those wins have come at home, but they did look good yesterday.

-Okay Akron…I’ve tried to be nice! The Zips lost (again) in a game they could have won, and that a tournament caliber team should have won. This time it was at UNLV 72-70. I know that’s not an easy game to win, but to make the NCAA Tournament, any team, whether it’s an under the radar team or a P5 team, must win games that are hard to win! So far this season Akron has not done that.

-Portland State’s big year continues after a 75-74 win over rivals Portland. They are now 6-1 on the year, and if you missed this game, go back and watch the last sixty seconds of it! It was fantastic!

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HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:

-SAINT JOSEPH’S AT VILLANOVA (Big 5 Classic). This looks like it will be lopsided, but Joe’s did hang with Kentucky at Kentucky for a lot longer than Miami FL did, and it’s a rivalry game, and as well as Nova has played over the past week, they do already have a loss in this Big 5 Classic event.

-UC IRVINE AT DUQUESNE. This game excites me! UC Irvine, at least so far, has looked like the best team out of the Big West. They come in at 6-1 and have a win at USC, as well as three wins in the Ball Dawg Classic. That has the early makings of an at-large worthy resume, and they’ll get another test tonight against a Duquesne team that I have felt all along is the best team in the Atlantic Ten. Duquesne has a chance of landing inside the bubble, but they’re going to need to string together a lot of wins in order to do it, and they probably need to start doing that tonight.

-LA SALLE AT TEMPLE (Big 5 Classic). All of La Salle’s wins have been cupcakes they got at the pastry cart, but their only loss was at Duke (albeit by a lot), and if they can get this one on the road, then they’re off to a better start than most of the rest of the Atlantic 10.

-TENNESSEE AT NORTH CAROLINA (ACC/SEC Challenge). Even though they lost two games in Maui, I still really like this Tennessee team and definitely think they are deserving of their top ten ranking. Beating North Carolina on the road will not be easy, and the Tarheels looked pretty good in the Battle 4 Atlantis last week managing decisive wins over both Northern Iowa and Arkansas. I’ve said for the past…oh…three years or so that I felt UNC was overvalued. Well, after seeing them last week, I no longer feel that way. This is a good team, but they’ll get a big test tonight. Both teams are in the rankings and both look like they’re on a good early pace to easily land in the top half of the bracket.

-TEXAS A&M AT VIRGINIA (ACC/SEC Challenge). Virginia is 5-1, which isn’t bad at all, but they still haven’t looked the part of being a really good team yet. Then again, it’s early, and it wouldn’t be the first time we saw it take a little bit for Virginia to fully hit their stride. They face a really strong TAMU team tonight that we feel can make quite a bit of noise, and even win, the SEC. They already have a really nice road win against a pretty good Ohio State team, so they’ve already shown they can play.

-FLORIDA AT WAKE FOREST (ACC/SEC Challenge). Wake was a team that I thought would have a good year this year, and of course they still can, but so far they really haven’t shown out yet. Florida, on the other hand, has looked pretty good to me so far and I wonder why they’re not getting more attention. They do have two losses, but they were close games to Virginia and Baylor, who aren’t exactly bad teams, and they beat a pretty good Pitt team rather handliy, and blew their rivals Florida State into the sun. This is yet another winnable game away from home for the Gators.

-RICHMOND AT WICHITA STATE. I still don’t think either team ends up inside the bubble, but for now Richmond is 4-2 and Wichita is 6-1. It would be a notable road win for the Spiders, and it would keep a solid record in tact for the Shockers, so at this point in time the game is at least worth paying attention to.

-EVANSVILLE AT MISSOURI STATE (Missouri Valley). Evansville may be one of the bigger surprises in all of college basketball so far. They’re 6-0, and while they haven’t been knocking off top 25 teams, their wins haven’t just been home buy games either, and the fact that they’ve been beating anyone at all is sort of a surprise. They have a really nice road win at Chattanooga, and can get another one in their conference opener tonight against a Missouri State team that is also off to a good start at 5-1, and who won the Paradise Jam earlier this season.

-DRAKE AT VALPARAISO (Missouri Valley). Drake has just one loss, and I still really like this team and think they can land inside the bubble. These are the kinds of games they need to routinely win in order to get there, though.

-BRADLEY AT MURRAY STATE (Missouri Valley). Bradley is off to an unbelievably good 6-0 start with some pretty good wins on their resume for now. This is a conference road game that isn’t easy to win, but if the Braves want to show they’re a tournament team then they need to be able to routinely win these kinds of games.

-DAYTON AT SMU. Both of these teams have a lot of work to do, and if your’e asking me if I think either one will make it inside the bubble, my guess would (as of now) be no. But both have the opportunities to prove me wrong, and maybe one or both of them is good enough to do just that.

-COLORADO AT COLORADO STATE (Front Range). Folks, this is a HUGE rivalry! Tonight’s edition of said rivalry is quite special because both of them look to be NCAA Tournament caliber teams. Colorado State comes in unbeaten and they absolutely smashed Creighton last week, so the Rams can play. The Buffs fell out of the top 25 after losing to Florida State in overtime, and truth be told none of their current wins are nearly as good as this one would be, but I still think they’re a tournament caliber team. This one is going to be fun! It’s for bragging rights, and it means something on paper! Those are the best storylines a game can have!

-DUKE AT ARKANSAS (ACC/SEC Challenge). Arkansas has shown us they can win big games at home! They did so when they beat Purdue! The problem is…that was a charity game. Since the regular season started Arkansas has shown us a lot less, and they were beaten by Memphis and North Carolina in their last two games, and neither of those teams appear to be as good as Duke is. This is the first true road game for the Blue Devils, so that could be a factor. And, if Arkansas could get the win, it would shift the momentum of their season back their way.

-VIRGINIA TECH AT AUBURN (ACC/SEC Challenge). It seems like in recent years Auburn has been in the rankings and I’ve been saying that they’re overvalued. This year, Auburn is nowhere near the rankings, and I’m now saying that they belong there. Since losing a close game to a very good Baylor team in the season opener, Auburn has blown out their last four opponents, and I think they get it done at home tonight against a Virginia Tech team that’s good, but I don’t think they’re quite good enough to win at Auburn. The Hokies were blown out by Florida Atlantic in the ESPN Events Invitational in their last game, but prior to that they did pick up two decent wins against Boise State and Iowa State, so they’re not a bad team.

OTHER NOTABLE GAMES/BUY GAMES:

-Chattanooga @ Lipscomb – Chattanooga can improve to 6-1 and pick up their second road win of the year
-UMass Lowell @ Stonehill – UMass Lowell’s only loss was the close one at Arizona State. They can improve to 5-1 and get their 4th true road win of the season
-Northeatern @ Seton Hall – all of Seton Hall’s wins so far have come at home
-Buffalo @ James Madison – JMU has a pretty impressive resume and is in the rankings. They should be able to remain unbeaten
-Prairie View @ Tulane – I still like this Tulane team, and a win tonight gets them to 5-1 on the year
-NJIT @ George Mason – Mason can improve to 6-1
-Green Bay @ Purdue Fort Wayne (Horizon League) PFW can improve to 7-1. They’ve looked like one of the better teams out of the HL so far
-Stony Brook @ Yale – I still like this Yale team, but they come in at just 4-3 and are running out of strikes
-Princeton @ Bucknell – Princeton can improve to a very impressive 7-0 on the season and pick up their 5th true road win tonight
-Monmouth @ Cornell – This is just the second home game for Cornell, and a win gets them to 6-1
-American U @ Harvard – Harvard is coming off a loss to Indiana, but is still 5-2 on the season and shouldn’t have too much trouble winning tonight
-Central Michigan @ Ohio State
-Grand Canyon @ UTRGV (WAC) – a winnable road game for the Lopes that will get them to 5-1 on the year
-Bellarmine @ Louisville – I mention this only because, once again, I think Bellarmine is the best team in Louisville
-Lousiana Tech @ New Mexico – both teams come into this one with 5-1 records, so this could be a sneaky good game
-North Florida @ Iowa
-Georgia @ Florida State (ACC/SEC Challenge) – I like this Noles team and don’t think they’ll have too much trouble getting to 5-1
-Montana @ Nevada – a win for Nevada gets them to 5-0
-Menlo (nonD1) @ Santa Clara
-Eastern Washington @ USC

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