Hoops HD

NEWS AND NOTES:

-We will be recording our Under the Radar Video Podcast tonight, so be on the lookout for that.  Speaking of Under the Radar, for John Stalica’s UTR Game of the Day – CLICK HERE

-We’ve been saying all along, really since ACC Media Day, that the Miami Hurricanes are good this year, and now maybe some others will be saying it as well.  They knocked off Virginia 66-64 yesterday in a game where they pretty much had a lead the whole way, but UVA almost fought back and stole it at the end.  It’s the second straight loss for the Hoos after being ranked as high as 2nd in the polls, but I have no concerns as to whether or not they’ll bounce back.

-Baylor did get somewhat of a battle from a really good Northwestern State team, but held on to win (as expected) 58-48.  I think Northwestern State may absolutely blow through the Southland and enter the NCAA Tournament with a ridiculously bloated record.

-It’s hard to win on the road, and last night Duke didn’t do it.  Wake Forest pretty much led the entire game and ended up with an 81-70 win.  It was Duke’s first true road game of the season.  They didn’t play any out of conference.  Psst…the committee notices things like this.

-Drake, who we were big on coming into the season but who we were starting to give up on, has now given us a reason to be believers again.  They knocked off Mississippi State 58-52 for what is clearly their biggest win of the year so far, and may finally be starting to look like the team that we thought could dominate the MVC and land inside the bubble.  It was the first loss of the year for Mississippi State, so it’s a win that Drake should get a lot of credit for.

-Providence needed two overtimes, but they held off Marquette 103-98 in a game that was close and exciting the entire way.  That’s a nice win for the Friars who are suddenly 10-3 on the year.

-Texas A&M is a team we were all big on coming into the season.  Last night TAMU lost at home to Wofford and fell to 6-5 on the year.  We are no longer big on Texas A&M.

-Pittsburgh got a nice 84-82 win at Syracuse.  They’ve now won eight of their last nine and have three true road wins.  They’re definitely someone we need to keep an eye on.

-Every time I think Oregon might be turning it around, they do something that clearly demonstrates that they are, in fact, not.  They lost at home to Utah Valley last night 77-72, and were actually getting blown out and had to come back just to make the score respectable.  The Ducks are now just 7-6 on the year and look nothing like the top 25 team many were expecting them to be.

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:

-Some games tonight have been cancelled due to the winter storms.  We will keep you up to date if they are rescheduled.

-SAINT JOHN’S AT VILLANOVA (Big East).  The Johnnies are 11-1 on the year, but they’ve built that record against a mostly weak schedule, and will be tested today by a Villanova team that’s won four in a row after getting off to a sluggish 2-5 start and who seems to be trending in the right direction.

-MICHIGAN VS NORTH CAROLINA (Jumpman Invitational, Charlotte NC).  Both teams could really use this one.  North Carolina is coming off a much needed win over Ohio State, which was probably their first real notable win of the season, and will want to keep that momentum going.  Michigan’s best win to date is probably against Pittsburgh, so a win like this on a neutral floor would give their resume a boost as well.

-KENT STATE AT NEW MEXICO STATE.  Kent State has had a lot of strong showings this year, and while their margin for error is small, landing inside the bubble is not an impossibility if they can really blow through the rest of their schedule.  That would mean winning this one on the road.

-LOUISIANA AT TEXAS.  Louisiana is 10-1 on the year, and while they’ve caught our attention on Under the Radar, they haven’t catapulted themselves onto the national scene yet.  Well, if they could somehow win tonight, then that would happen.  They’re probably swinging over their heads, but Texas better not totally overlook them. The Cajun can play!

-SAINT MARY’S VS WYOMING (Jerry Colangelo Classic).  Saint Mary’s feels like they’re hovering around the bubble and needs to string together some wins to solidify their resume.  Wyoming isn’t anything like what we thought they’d be due to injuries, and this is the kind of game SMC should be expected to win.

-TCU AT UTAH.  This is big for both teams.  TCU has strung together a bunch of wins, but the schedule hasn’t been the strongest and a road win like this could really make their current resume look a lot better.  Utah has the big win at home against Arizona (which is no small thing), but they don’t have much else and are coming off a loss to a very average BYU team that they need to bounce back from.

-AUBURN AT WASHINGTON.  This is a tough road game for Auburn, but it’s the kind of road game that a solid top 25 team should be able to win.  Auburn has lost two of their last three and is trying to pull out of a bit of a tailspin.  Washington is trying to pick up a big time win for their resume and make a statement that they can be a tournament caliber team.  They’re a respectable 9-3, but don’t have any wins of this caliber yet.

-ARIZONA STATE AT SAN FRANCISCO.  Arizona State keeps winning and will be tested on the road again today against a really good San Francisco team that has some nice wins of their own.  The Dons are coming off a really bad and somewhat inexplicable loss to UT Arlington, which does not look good on their resume, but if they can pull this win off today it will go a long way toward offsetting that.

-COLORADO STATE VS USC (Jerry Colangelo Classic, Phoenix AZ).  USC should be able to hold serve in this one.  They’ve won five straight and are coming off a nice win against Auburn, so they should be starting to get some national attention.

OTHER NOTABLE GAMES:

-Saint Ambrose (nonD1) @ Drake
-Houston Christian @ Texas Tech
-Radford @ Kansas State
-Chattanooga @ Georgia
-Eastern Illinois @ Iowa
-Boston U @ UMass Lowell
-UC Davis @ UCLA
-Norfolk State @ Nevada
-Austin Peay @ Tennessee
-UC Santa Barbara vs Appalachian State (Jerry Colangelo Classic) – UCSB has won six of their last seven and is suddenly looking as good as anyone in the Big West
-Virginia Tech @ Boston College (ACC) – This should be a winnable conference road game for VA Tech and get them to 12-1 on the season
-Oakland @ Michigan State
-Florida A&M @ Kentucky
-Northern Kentucky @ Florida Atlantic – FAU can improve to 11-1 on the season with a win
-Stetson @ UCF
-Clemson @ Georgia Tech (ACC).  A win for Clemson gets them to 10-3 on the year, 2-0 in conference play, and would be their first road win of the season
-McNeese @ Houston
-Alabama State @ Memphis
-East Tennessee State @ LSU
-Notre Dame @ Florida State (ACC) – Notre Dame seems to be hovering around the bubble and needs to be able to win this kind of game on the road
-Maine @ Ohio State
-New Orleans @ Purdue
-UNC Asheville @ Arkansas

NEWS AND NOTES:

-For the latest HOOPS HD REPORT – CLICK HERE

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

-For the latest Staff Bracket Projections from David Dorman – CLICK HERE

-Utah State lost their first game of the season, and it was in a big upset at home against Weber State 75-72.  Utah State appeared to have complete control in the first half, but then Weber dominated the second half, drew even, went ahead, and held a close lead for the remainder of the game.  BEEHIVE ACTION BABY!!!

-San Francisco, who appeared to be about as hot as anyone in the nation, lost inexplicably at home to UT Arlington 68-63.  This appeared to just be a blah buy game going into it, but the Dons were pretty much behind the whole way and looked nothing at all like the team we’ve seen over the past couple of weeks.

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:

-DRAKE AT MISSISSIPPI STATE.  Mississippi State is unbeaten, but a lot of their wins have been quad 4 wins and they need some better ones to really solidify themselves.  Drake is a team we were big on coming into the year that has underperformed somewhat.  They’ve lost two straight, and neither team looks like they’re going to end up inside the bubble.  A win today would go a long way for Drake turning things around, but even with the win they’ll still have more work to do.

-GEORGETOWN AT UCONN (Big East).  UConn is unbeaten on the year and this is a game where they shouldn’t have too much trouble holding serve.

-DUKE AT WAKE FOREST (ACC).  At times Wake has looked like a good team, but they’ve lost three of their last four and haven’t looked good at all during that stretch.  This is a winnable road game for a Duke team that will likely, once again, end up with a protected seed.

-MARQUETTE AT PROVIDENCE (Big East).  Marquette has been playing really well this year and has cracked the rankings.  They still have just one true road win on the season, so they’ll likely be tested by Providence today who is unbeaten at home, 9-3 overall, and who can also start to get the attention of the selection committee if they can string together some wins.

-NORTHWESTERN STATE AT BAYLOR.  This is a buy game, and it will likely end up being a mismatch, but Northwestern State has made a fair amount of noise this year with a win at TCU and another at home against Southern Miss.  Baylor isn’t going to want to overlook them, and if Northwestern State were to somehow pull this off we’d have to start thinking of them as a team that can land inside the bubble.

-VIRGINIA AT MIAMI FL (ACC).  Virginia is looking to bounce back from their first loss of the year, but this is a very tall order.  It’s a road game against a really good Miami team that is probably still being undervalued even though they’ve cracked the rankings.  Miami is also looking for some respect, so they should be fired up for this one.

-SETON HALL AT XAVIER (Big East).  Xavier should be able to hold serve in this one.  They’ve shown all the signs of looking like an NCAA Tournament caliber team so far.

-PITTSBURGH AT SYRACUSE (ACC).  Pitt has shown some signs of life.  This isn’t an easy game to win, but it’s the kind of game that tournament caliber teams should be able to win, so it will be interesting to see what they can do.

-FLORIDA VS OKLAHOMA (Jumpman Invitational, Charlotte NC).  You get the feeling that both teams really need this one.  Both have potential, but neither has big wins on their resume yet that cement that they belong inside the bubble, so tonight is a much needed opportunity for both of them.

OTHER NOTABLE GAMES:

-Wofford @ Texas A&M
-TAMUCC @ Oklahoma State
-North Alabama @ Ole Miss
-Arlington Baptist (nonD1) @ Sam Houston
-Jackson State @ Alabama
-Elon @ Indiana
-Dartmouth @ UMass
-Montana State @ Arizona
-Montana @ Gonzaga
-Prairie View A&M @ New Mexico
-UIC @ Northwestern – UIC is a respectable 8-4, but Northwestern should roll in this one
-Harvard @ UC Irvine – UC Irvine should get the attention of the committee if they can hold serve in games like this and blow through the Big West, but as good as they are they’re running out of strikes
-UC San Diego @ San Diego STate