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
