NEWS AND NOTES:
-We will be recording our Under the Radar Video Podcast tonight, and there is A LOT to get to, so be on the lookout for that. Speaking of Under the Radar…
-For John Stalica’s UTR Game of the Day – CLICK HERE
Last night was another very busy night…
-2nd ranked Texas fell to Illinois in overtime 85-78 in the Jimmy V Classic in a game that seesawed back and forth. Every time it looked like one team was controlling the game, the other had an answer. Texas appeared to be putting the game away at the end of regulation, but the Illini made some big plays to get it to overtime, and then ultimately got the win. I’m about to state the obvious. Wins against the 2nd ranked team on a neutral floor are very good wins! I don’t know if Texas will be ranked that high at the end of the year, but they’ll probably at least be hovering around the top ten. This is the kind of win that can get a team a protected seed, so it was a HUGE result for Illinois.
-Duke held serve and beat Iowa 74-62 in the other Jimmy V Classic game.
-Virginia had to sweat out James Madison at home. With a minute to go JMU was right in there, but the Hoos just made a few more big plays and held on for the 55-50 win. For JMU this would have been the kind of win that gets them inside the bubble, and while it’s tough to come close to getting a win like that on their resume and falling just short, the loss will hardly set them back at all.
-Arkansas played with their food against UNC Greensboro, and actually trailed late into the second half, but held on for a 65-58 win.
-Wisconsin held off Maryland 64-59 to pick up a big conference home win. It’s one of many nice wins for the Badgers, who are now 7-2 overall. I think it’s time for the voters to start noticing them and start ranking them in the top 25.
-Iona absolutely trashed Saint Louis 84-62. The one team from the Atlantic Ten that I thought looked like they belonged inside the bubble did not look like it last night. Iona is good. It’s not easy to win there. But a tournament caliber team should be able to, and SLU…well…didn’t. They SPECTACULARLY didn’t!!
-Charleston had to sweat at Presby, but held on to win 67-62. They now improve to 9-1 on the year and pick up their second road win. They are also getting very close to cracking the top 25. I believe they were 28th in the AP poll this past week.
-Boston College fell to New Hampshire last night 74-71. BC is now 0-2 in home games against America East teams that will likely not finish in the top half of the America East.
-Oklahoma State held off a good Sam Houston team 65-51 in a game where they really didn’t have to sweat that much. Sam Houston is a legit good defensive team, but just couldn’t get enough offense going to stay with the Pokes. Still, with wins at Utah and at Oklahoma, Sam Houston’s resume is pretty solid and the committee will take a serious look at them if they can hold serve throughout WAC play.
-Nevada got a nice road win at Pepperdine 85-77. It’s the first home loss for Pepperdine, and the second road win for Nevada.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-PITTSBURGH AT VANDERBILT (***Stallings Award Showcase!!***). Pitt is suddenly playing basketball at a level that is way above “suckiness”!! It’s been a while since we’ve been able to say that, but they are!! Pitt was so bad that while we couldn’t give them the Centenary Award, we decided that we had to do SOMETHING, which is why we created the Stallings Award in honor of Coach Kevin Stallings, who coached at both Pitt and Vanderbilt. But right now they’re in the midst of a five game winning streak, and they’ve won two straight road games against Northwestern and NC State..both of whom are good at home! If they can get this one at Vandy tonight, then that’s a hell of a run!!
-TOWSON AT CLEMSON (***The ACTUAL Spotlight Game***). We like this Towson team, we feel they are one of the best Under the Radar teams, and we feel they have a shot at landing inside the bubble. This is an IMMENSELY important game for them. It’s the kind of road win that would jump out at the committee. Clemson is 7-2 on the year, they’re currently 6-0 at home, and they are starting to shape up as a team that could land inside the bubble themselves, so this one is HUGE!
-DEPAUL AT SAINT JOHN’S (Big East). It’s the Big East opener between two teams with decent/good records and decent resumes who still have a lot of work to do. This game kind of has a pivotal feel to it even though it’s just the conference opener.
-MICHIGAN STATE AT PENN STATE (Big Ten). Michigan State is just 5-4, but they’ve played such a brutal schedule and have some really good wins that I think their overall Tournament Resume is shaping up just fine. They’ve got another tough game tonight against a Penn State team that could use some quality wins of their own.
-FLORIDA ATLANTIC AT FGCU. These aren’t the two best teams in the state of Florida. That’s probably Miami FL and UCF, but both of them appear to be better than Florida and Florida State, and it’s not too of a stretch to think that it’s possible for one (or both) of them to make a run at the bubble. Tonight is a big one! This is also Stalica’s UTR Game of the Day, and it’s a good one.
-DAYTON AT VIRGINIA TECH. Dayton had very high expectations coming into the year, but multiple injuries to key players have grounded the Flyers and so far this season they haven’t even looked like an NIT team. VA Tech is off to an impressive 8-1 start with some decent wins and should be able to hold serve in this one.
-NEBRASKA AT INDIANA (Big Ten). Nebraska is off to a decent start and is coming off a shocking road win at Creighton, so you can’t help but sit up and take notice of the Huskers. If they can somehow win this one then you’ll REALLY need to take notice of them. That’s back-to-back top 15 road wins! Indiana has looked as good as advertised this year, but they are coming off a road loss to Rutgers and will be looking to rebound.
-UCONN AT FLORIDA. UConn has looked fantastic this year, and Florida…well…hasn’t. Still, it’s a tough road game for UConn, and it’s actually their first true road game of the season, so it’s a chance to add something to their resume that isn’t on there yet.
-LMU AT GRAND CANYON. It’s not likely that either team will end up on the bubble, but both are off to really good starts, and if they can keep it up they’ll have a chance. LMU has a few decent wins over Georgetown and Wake Forest from their MTE down in Jamaica, and if they can win at a place like Grand Canyon, that resume will be starting to look awfully good!
-ARIZONA STATE AT SMU. Arizona State just keeps winning. They’ve done more than enough to offset the loss to Texas Southern with wins over VCU, Michigan, and Colorado, and they’ve got a chance to add another road win to their resume tonight.
-NEW MEXICO STATE AT SANTA CLARA. New Mexico State is dealing with some off the court issues, but as for the storyline on the court Santa Clara is 7-2, looking pretty good, and will continue to have our attention so long as they continue to string together wins. So far as we know this game has not yet been cancelled.
-HAWAII AT UNLV. UNLV is unbeaten and has a smattering of decent wins. They don’t have any huge caliber wins yet, though, so it’s important that they hold serve in games like this. Hawaii isn’t having a bad year at all. They come into this at 5-2 and if they pick up this win it may be time to start paying a little bit of attention to them.
OTHER NOTABLE GAMES:
-Hofstra @ Purdue – Hofstra should make some noise in the CAA, but they’re overmatched tonight
-Eastern Kentucky @ Tennessee
-Navy @ West Virginia
-Boston U @ Notre Dame
-Cornell @ Miami FL – Cornell comes into this one at 7-1 and with three road wins, so while they appear to be overmatched it’s still worth paying attention to
-Omaha @ Drake
-Nicholls @ Texas Tech
-Manhattan @ Providence
-Lincoln PA (nonD1) @ Seton Hall
-Utah Valley @ BYU (Bee Hive) – We at Hoops HD LOVE the BeeHive!!
-Missouri State @ Saint Mary’s – SMC is coming off a strong showing against Houston in a game that they lost, but they should be able to bounce back tonight
-Merrimack @ San Francisco
-Cal State Fullerton @ USC
-Davidson, Saint Bonaventure, and VCU all play tonight, but it dawned on me that those games don’t even seem like they’re worth mentioning. But then I thought that it was worth mentioning that they didn’t seem worth mentioning. Either way, the Atlantic Ten is in rough shape this year.
