Hanging with the Hoyas: Part 2

Posted on December 3, 2022 by Jon Teitel

HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel will spend the upcoming months covering several Georgetown basketball home games, with (hopefully) a very special reward coming in March. You can find Part 1 at:
https://hoopshd.com/2022/11/12/hanging-with-the-hoyas-part-1-2
See below for his photo essay about the Hoyas’ matchup earlier today against South Carolina.

I entered the arena quite hungry and was thrilled to find a delicious pregame meal catered by Einstein Bros. Bagels: egg sandwich/ham & cheese sandwich/chocolate chip cookie/chocolate chip muffin! Everyone in the media room got very excited while watching the US soccer team score to make it a 2-1 game…then got substantially less excited when the Netherlands made it 3-1 just 5 minutes later: klootzak! I know that Georgetown and South Carolina are not exactly NCAA tourney teams but I was still hoping for a decent crowd considering it was a matchup of major conference teams: not so much. Let’s tip it off:


I do not usually care about the opposing team but I was really looking forward to seeing South Carolina star GG Jackson. I do not get to see that many McDonald’s All-Americans in person, much less a super-frosh who is projected to be a lottery pick next June…but after he started 0-5 from the field while going scoreless in the 1st half I wondered what all the hype was about: stay tuned! Fortunately, he had some upperclassmen 3-PT shooters around him in the form of SR Hayden Brown (left: who came into the game shooting 4-21 from behind the arc this year but made a 3 from the corner and another from the top of the key) and JR Meechie Johnson (right: who made a couple of long-range shots in the 1st half…but saved his best for last):


Georgetown coach Patrick Ewing was unhappy with his team’s defense so he switched from a man-to-man to a zone late in the half and it seemed to pay immediate dividends:


The Hoyas transition offense gave them a huge boost in terms of PTS off of turnovers: they had a 23-0 advantage in that category late into the game. The player who you would expect to excel in transition was G Primo Spears, who made a couple of jumpers and was also able to get into the lane for a floater and a tough lefty layup:


The player I did not expect to do anything (but who proved me wrong) was PF Bradley Ezewiro. He had only scored 7 PTS all year but set a career-high with 6 PTS in just 3 minutes of action on a scoop/put-back/layup:


The Hoyas’ lead at halftime (37-26) was their largest of the afternoon and it looked like they might have finally figured things out…and then the 2nd half turned into the GG Jackson Show. The freshman made layup after jumper after 3 after scoop after &1 after dunk after tip-in to tie his career-high with 22 PTS. Georgetown tried a variety of defenses against him and when Ewing assigned a guard to defend him GG would be BEGGING for the ball down low while posting up his smaller opponent. Not a single opposing player had scored 22+ PTS vs. the Hoyas all year (Justin Steers of Coppin State had 21 in the season opener) but Jackson had 22 IN THE 2ND HALF! He may not have been perfect…but he looked a lot like a lottery pick:


Georgetown SG Jay Heath missed the 1st 2 games of the year while awaiting a decision on his eligibility after transferring from ASU, and since getting the good news he has looked pretty good. He scored 25 PTS in a win over UMBC last Saturday and added another 23 PTS this Saturday on a trio of trifectas and a perfect day from the FT line (6-6):


The game went right down to the wire and the final 30 seconds were quite intense. Johnson missed the front end of 1-and-1 with 24 seconds left (he is now 4-10 from the FT line this year), then Spears made what appeared to be the game-winning pull-up jumper with 6 seconds left (which bounced twice on the rim before falling through to give his team a 65-64 lead), but the Gamecocks pushed the ball down the court and Heath was called for a foul on Brown with 3.8 seconds left. With the home crowd screaming their lungs out, Brown made the 1st to tie it at 65…but missed the 2nd so we were headed to OT. Brown ended up fouling out in the final minute of OT and Johnson did not score a single PT in the extra period so I thought that the Cocks were cooked, but Meechie saved the day by drilling the tie-breaking/game-winning 3-PT shot with 25 seconds left, followed by the Hoyas missing a pair of threes in the final seconds as South Carolina emerged victorious by a score of 74-71. In the postgame press conference I asked Jackson how he was able to adapt to all of the different defenses that he had to face. He said that there is no defense that can completely shut him out because he is not a selfish player. He complimented his teammate Meechie and said that they have had a lot of talks together since GG 1st arrived on campus:


After Jackson headed to the locker room I tried to get his coach Lamont Paris to admit that GG was the best freshman in the nation. He was not ready to go that far but rattled off a bunch of his attributes such as “talented, mature, and grateful for the opportunity”. He was impressed that a kid who will not even turn 18 for a couple more weeks could admit that his body language was below-average during the 1st half and commended his ability to learn quickly and have some humility:


Coach Ewing was in a bad mood so rather than pick on his team’s 3-PT shooting (3-18) I wondered whether he would say some nice things about Jackson. He did not appreciate the inquiry after a loss but stated that he recruited GG and thought that he was a special player who stepped up in the 2nd half and got some “big boy” buckets:


That is a wrap for now, check back in a couple of weeks for the conference opener when Sean Miller brings his Musketeers to DC.

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Under The Radar Game of the Day – Saturday, December 3rd

Posted on December 3, 2022 by John Stalica

For Jon Teitel’s interview with Keno Davis about his father Tom Davis – CLICK HERE

UMass-Lowell (7-1) at Sacred Heart (5-3) – 2:00 PM ET (NECFrontRow.com)

Today’s UTR Game of the Day features a matchup of southern New England teams as the Riverhawks of UMass-Lowell visit the Pioneers of Sacred Heart. SHU comes in as the team favored to win the NEC Tournament this year; they are currently on a 2-game winning streak after getting a 66-61 win at New Hampshire earlier in the week. Nico Galette led the Pioneers with 17 points and 4 steals against New Hampshire.

Both teams already met earlier this season up in Lowell; the Riverhawks won the first matchup 90-81. That game started a 5-game winning streak for UML; their last win was against next-door neighbor Merrimack by a 77-51 margin; Max Brooks had 17 points in that game. The Riverhawks average margin of victory in their winning streak is 15 points against the 4 D1 opponents in that winning streak (and 22 points if you throw in a 52-pt blowout win against a non-D1 opponent mixed in the streak).

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Happy Birthday! HoopsHD interviews Keno Davis about his father Tom

Posted on December 3, 2022 by Jon Teitel

Tom Davis was such a good coach that he was named national COY at Iowa in 1987…and was such a good father that his son Keno was named national COY at Drake in 2008. Tom made a pair of NIT appearances as coach at Lafayette, led BC to back-to-back Sweet 16 appearances in 1981/1982, followed by 11 postseason trips in 13 years at Iowa from 1987-1999. Keno made the NCAA tourney in his very 1st year as head coach at Drake in 2008, followed by 5 postseason trips in 11 years at Providence/Central Michigan from 2009-2019. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Keno about his father’s fantastic career and taking over for him in Des Moines. Today is Tom’s 84th birthday so let us be the 1st to wish him a happy 1!

Your father played PG at Wisconsin–Platteville: how good a player was he back in the day, and why did he become a coach? He was a pretty good PG for that level, but the best thing about his playing career is that he learned so much about the game from his coach (John Barth) who stressed education and the love of the game.

In the 1972 NIT as coach at Lafayette, Jay Mottola made a FT with 3 seconds left in a 1-PT win over Virginia: what is the key to winning close games in March? That was the year I was born so I do not have any memories of the game myself but I heard stories about how to guard great inside players.

Future Hall of Famer Gary Williams served as 1 of his assistants at Lafayette: how big of an influence was Tom on Gary, and do they still remain close today? They are still close today. To have that relationship with someone who you grew up with and worked with and bounced ideas off of each other is nice. They later coached against each other in the Big 10. I had the chance to visit with Coach Williams at the Big 10 Network and it was good to hear the stories from another perspective.

In the 1980 NIT as coach at BC he had a 2-PT loss to Virginia and tourney MVP Ralph Sampson: how close did he come to beating the eventual champs)? My 1st real memories of him coaching were the following tourney years: I went to practice every day that I could.

Take me through the 1981 NCAA tourney:
John Bagley scored a season-high 35 PTS in 32 minutes and made 3 FT down the stretch in a 3-PT win over Wake Forest: did he get the feeling that he had a team that could make a deep run in the tourney? I am not so sure that a deep run back then was something we talked about as much as we do now. For BC, as a team in the Big East without a lot of previous success, just to get into the NCAA tourney as a bubble team was optimistic.

Bryan Warrick scored 20 PTS including a pair of FTs with 21 seconds left in a 1-PT win by St. Joe’s: what was the reaction like in the locker room afterward? I was traveling that year with the band and my mom. I remember that our flight was delayed due to weather but being that young I just remember that people thought highly of the team. It is obviously disappointing whenever your season ends.

Take me through the 1982 NCAA tourney:
Bagley scored 26 PTS in a 7-PT win over #1-seed DePaul: where does that upset rank among the greatest of his career? That was a big memory for me down in Dallas after we beat San Francisco by 4 PTS in the 1st round. I think it is right up there because DePaul was nationally ranked and at the top of the polls the entire season. A lot of other bubble teams were upset when BC made the tourney so there was a big party back at the hotel for all of the supporters who made the trip. Whenever you truly upset a team it is more special.

Clyde Drexler had 15 PTS/9 REB in a 7-PT win by Houston: could you tell at the time that Drexler was going to be a star? That is more of a question for the coaches who did the scouting report! That was the start of the great years in Houston basketball along with Hakeem Olajuwon. I think that Bagley got in some early foul trouble and you need everything to go right to pull off an upset.

In his 1st year at Iowa he was named 1987 national COY: what did it mean to him to win such an outstanding honor? To win the AP award meant a lot to him because of who was voting on it. He has never been really big on individual awards but that 1 was pretty special. He had a lot of talented players on that team and had everything go right. They had some great comeback wins throughout that year due to their resiliency.

Take me through the 1987 NCAA tourney:
Kevin Gamble scored 26 PTS/11-13 FG and made a 21-foot shot with 2 seconds left in a 2-PT OT win over Oklahoma: where does that rank among the most clutch shots that you have ever seen? I would say right at the top. They came back from a 16-PT deficit and the final play had several different options after reading the defense to see what was open. It was a preview of things to come for Gamble.

Armen Gilliam scored 27 PTS as the Rebels overcame an 18-PT 2nd half deficit in a 3-PT win by UNLV: how devastating was that loss after blowing such a big lead? It is always devastating to lose in the tourney…but to be that close to the Final 4 was especially tough. UNLV had an incredibly talented team and that was the very 1st tourney to use the 3-PT shot. UNLV had some guys playing their best and knocking down key shots.

Take me through the 1988 NCAA tourney:
BJ Armstrong scored a career-high 35 PTS/16-20 FT in a 4-PT win over Florida State: how on earth did he win all 11 1st round NCAA tourney games in his career without losing a single one? I am 0-1 in the tourney so unfortunately that did not carry over! Whether they were playing a non-conference game against a weak opponent or a conference tourney title game, he placed the same emphasis on every single game. They played at a consistent level so that they would never play tight in the tourney. They would press and run and shoot from 3-PT land so they were hard to prepare for.

Jeff Moe/Ed Horton each scored 24 PTS in an 18-PT win over UNLV: was it extra-special to beat the Rebels after they had knocked him out the previous March? There was not a lot of talk about revenge because there is so much turnover from 1 year to another. Revenge games are more about beating teams who beat you earlier in that same season. Winning a tourney game is enough incentive.

In the 1989 NCAA tourney Rodney Monroe scored a career-high 40 PTS (including shots at the end of both regulation and the 1st OT) in a 6-PT 2-OT win by NC State: was it just 1 of those scenarios where every shot Monroe put up seemed to go in because he was “in the zone”? I think that NC State jumped out to a huge lead before Iowa battled back. The Wolfpack fouled Iowa PG Brian Garner toward the end of the game because he was a poor FT shooter but the Hawkeyes were fortunate enough to send that game into OT. Iowa had some really good players but did not have a lot of depth due to their role players getting injured.

Christian Laettner scored 19 PTS in wins by eventual champion Duke in both the 1991 and 1992 NCAA tourneys: what was it like to have to play those amazing Duke teams in back-to-back years? Most coaches always feel they have the toughest road to make it all the way, but Iowa had a stretch of years where it felt like they always saw teams such as Duke/Kentucky on their side of the bracket. It was obviously special to play against Coach K and if you beat Duke then you know you can go all the way, but guys like Laettner/Grant Hill made it tough.

In the 1996 NCAA tourney Jess Settles had 21 PTS/15 REB in a 2-PT win over GW: how was the team able to finish the game on a 25-6 run during the final 8 minutes?! I had already graduated but made it out to Tempe for that game. Sitting in the stands was something unique for me because I was always on the bench while growing up. I remember that it did not look like it was going to fall his way so I left the stands and just started walking around the concourse and occasionally peeking inside. Pressure defense can give you a chance to come back in those situations and those are the games that stand out the most to me.

In the 1997 NCAA tourney Andre Woolridge scored 29 PTS in a 6-PT loss to eventual national runner-up Kentucky: what was it like to face Rick Pitino in March? Woolridge was 1 of the best college PGs that I have ever seen and remains the only player in Big 10 history to lead the conference in PPG/APG. Coach Rick Pitino would send 3 players at Andre and he would just dribble right through them. They had 2-3 opportunities for some open 3-PT shots but just could not knock them down.

He is the winningest coach in Iowa history: what made him such a great coach, and do you think anyone will ever break his record? I think all records that look unbreakable eventually get broken. I felt that he was always learning/teaching and trying to get better. The program always improved whether he had talent or chemistry or just caught a few breaks. He would bring in under-recruited guys and get a lot out of their abilities.

After he announced his retirement as coach at Drake in 2007, you took over for him and went 28-5 in your 1st year there en route to being named national COY: how proud is he of all that you accomplished, and how do you think that he should be remembered the most? The most enjoyable time I have ever had in coaching was my 4 years as his assistant at Drake. It is a unique experience to get to work for your father and those years were pretty special. To take over as coach and have him continuing to help me during that amazing year was very special. That team was able to beat the odds and have an unbelievable season. To be ranked 14th in the country exceeded any expectations we had. I think that he will be remembered as an educator/teacher and a really good person as well.

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News, Notes, and Highlighted Games – Saturday, Dec 3rd

Posted on December 2, 2022 by David Griggs

NEWS AND NOTES:

-As we expected, Baylor and Gonzaga was a thriller that came down to the final seconds with Baylor holding on for a 64-63 win.  They now have wins against UCLA and Gonzaga on neutral floors, so their resume is already starting to look like a protected seed.  Gonzaga falls to 5-3, but all their losses are to top six teams away from home, so that’s not going to hurt them too much.  They’re still a really good team, their defense was a little better tonight, and when you look at the rest of the schedule, it wouldn’t shock me if they won all but one or two the rest of the way.

-Maryland held on for yet another big win as they got by Illinois at home.  The Terps are now 8-0 on the year with wins against Saint Louis, Miami FL, and Illinois.  Granted, none of those are true road wins, but that’s still an amazing early season profile.

-Clemson blew out a Wake Forest team 77-57 that had been playing fairly well coming into this game.  Clemson is now 7-2 on the year and worth keeping an eye on.

 

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:

-SYRACUSE AT NOTRE DAME (ACC).  Until the other night, Notre Dame hadn’t looked good at all, but after a blowout win against Michigan State, the Irish are a team to pay attention to.  This should be a winnable conference home game for them.

-OKLAHOMA AT VILLANOVA (Big East-Big 12 Battle).  Villanova is just 2-5 right now, and while they may be good enough to kick it into gear and start winning games, they need to do that soon if they want to turn their season around.  Oklahoma is 6-1, but this is probably one of their biggest tests of the season so far.  Nova isn’t great, but it is a road game, and while Nova may not end up making the field, they will likely improve quite a bit from where they currently are.

-FORDHAM AT TULANE.  I cannot believe we are highlighting this, but we are!!  Fordham comes in at an almost unbelievable 7-1 record.  Fordham hasn’t played the toughest schedule, but given their history for the past…oh…four decades or so, the fact that they are 7-1 against any schedule is amazing.  Tulane is 5-2, but has still been a little disappointing this year with some missed opportunities, but they still have a lot of season left and can be dangerous if/when they start playing up to their ceiling.  They’re also unbeaten at home.

-INDIANA AT RUTGERS (Big Ten).  Rutgers is coming off a loss at Miami FL, but it was a very impressive showing against a Miami team that is really good (regardless of what the voters say).  Now they get another shot at a quality win, this time at home, and in a conference game.  Indiana better not overlook this Rutgers team.  They’re probably better than what most realize.

-GRAND CANYON AT WYOMING.  Wyoming had a ton of potential coming into the year, but they are without their best player due to an injury, have struggled, and may be running out of strikes.  This is a game they need to pull their record even at 4-4, and it comes against a pretty decent Lopes team.

-SOUTHERN ILLINOIS AT SAINT LOUIS.  I really like this SLU team, but they need to start adding some meat onto their resume.  Southern Illinois comes in at a respectable 5-2 with two road wins.  If they could pull this upset, it would be a HUGE statement.

-WISCONSIN AT MARQUETTE.  This is a rivalry game between two teams that didn’t have the highest of expectations coming into this season, but have both had moments this season that indicate that they are better than expected.  Marquette just absolutely trashed Baylor earlier in the week, and Wisconsin played well in their MTE last week.  So, this one should be fun!  It almost always is.

-PROVIDENCE AT RHODE ISLAND.  Providence is looking like an NIT team, and Rhody is looking far worse than that, but we are highlighting this because DAMN this rivalry is fun!!

-WEST VIRGINIA AT XAVIER.  Xavier is a good team that is in search of a good win after playing tough against multiple top 15 teams, but ultimately coming up short against all of them.  West Virginia is off to a 6-1 start, but this would certainly be their most impressive win of the season so far if they’re able to pull it off.

-BOISE STATE VS TEXAS A&M (Fort Worth TX).  Both teams are good, both have potential, but both need some quality wins to start building up their resume.  This is certainly an opportunity.

-OLE MISS AT MEMPHIS.  Both teams have respectable records, but both are sort of lacking in the quality wins department.  They’ve both had a few chances, but have seemingly come up short in just about all of them.  This series also has a little bit of heat to it.  Many outside the geographic region may not realize that.  So, both teams could really use this win, and the series is a little heated!! Sign me up!!

-WICHITA STATE AT KANSAS STATE.  This is a fun in-state match-up between two teams that have perhaps been a little better than expected this year, but at the same time still have some work to do.

-SAINT MARY’S VS HOUSTON (Fort Worth TX).  Saint Mary’s is coming off a home loss to New Mexico, which was a bit of a surprise and it ended a long home winning streak, but they still appear to be pretty good.  The problem is that they are not insanely good.  Houston is.  They’re ranked #1 for a reason and will likely remain there for quite sme time.

-NEVADA AT LMU.  It’s time to start paying attention to this Nevada team.  They’re 7-1 with some pretty decent wins on their resume.  LMU is also a very respectable 6-3 and they’ve lost just once at home so far, so this is a win that Nevada should get some credit for if they’re able to pull it off.

OTHER NOTABLE GAMES:

-Indiana State @ Miami OH – Indiana State is 7-1, but still looking for their first true road win
-Charleston @ The Citadel – I won’t call this a crosstown rivalry, but it is a crosstown match-up and a chance for CofC to pick up a road win
-VCU @ Temple – VCU is 5-2 on the season, but still looking for their first road win
-Florida State @ Virginia (ACC) – Virginia shouldn’t have too much trouble holding serve
-Princeton @ Drexel – Princeton can get to 6-2 and pick up their third true road win
-Davidson @ Delaware – Davidson is a modest 6-2, but they need some more sturdy wins on their resume.  This will at least allow them to pick up a road win
-UMass Lowell @ Sacred Heart – Lowell can improve to 8-1 on the season and pick up their third road win with a win today
-Toledo @ George Mason – This should be a winnable road game for Toledo, although they did struggle away from home in their MTE.  This is their first true road game, so it’s a test
-Saint Bonaventure @ Buffalo (Big 4) – Bonnies can get to 6-2 with a win, which would be their first road win of the season
-San Jose State @ Arkansas – San Jose State has a decent record and an absolutely phenomenal coach, but they’re probably way overmatched in this one
-Boston College @ Duke (ACC) – a very winnable conference home game for Duke
-Northern Colorado @ Colorado State – (Front Range) – Colorado State can get to 7-2
-Ohio U @ Marshall – Marshall can extend their winning streak to 7
-Louisiana @ New Orleans – a winnable road game for the Cajun that can get them to 7-1 on the year
-UIC @ Drake (Missouri Valley) – Drake trying to bounce back from their loss at Indiana State
-Yale @ Stony Brook – Yale has looked really impressive this year and is out to a 7-1 start.  A win in this will give them their second true road win
-South Dakota State @ Alabama – this South Dakota State is much better than their 3-4 record.  They’ve played a tough schedule and obviously have another tough one tonight
-Fresno State @ UC Irvine – Irvine should improve to 7-2

BUY GAMES:

-Saint Francis U @ Ohio State
-SC State @ Furman
-Mississippi Valley State @ Mississippi State
-Ball State @ Duquesne – Duquesne can get to 7-1 with the only loss being to Kentucky
-SELA @ Dayton
-Tennessee Tech @ Butler
-South Dakota @ BYU – The Yotes aren’t bad, so BYU better not overlook them
-Sacramento State @ Santa Clara

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News, Notes, and Highlighted Games – Friday, Dec 2nd

Posted on December 2, 2022 by David Griggs

NEWS AND NOTES:

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

-Creighton is normally a pretty good outside shooting team, but they were somewhere around 5% from deep last night in their game at Texas.  But somehow, they were still in the game, and in the last couple of minutes had a chance to win it.  Texas ended up winning 72-67, and it’s a huge win for 2nd ranked Texas against a top ten team, but as for Creighton, had they shot the ball at a percentage that was even below average, but not so far below average that it actually defied the Law of Averages, they probably win the game.  I’m actually MORE impressed with Creighton being on the road and able to stay in the game despite such a poor night shooting than anything else.

-Arizona suffered their first loss of the season as they fell to Utah 81-66, and the game was basically seemingly played with Utah having a double digit lead the entire way.  Arizona was fantastic out in Maui, and absolutely earned their #4 ranking, but this was their first true road game of the season and it was a loss.

(as an aside, Sam Houston State DID win at Utah, and has just one loss on the year.  Can the voters, who I am sure take all their cues from a puppet, start showing this team some attention?).

-Arizona State looked awful in the first half at Colorado, trailed 38-23 at the half, and the game showed all the earmarks of being a blowout.  Arizona State was much better in the second half, picked up the road win, and improved to 7-1 on the season.  Their only loss remains to be their game at Texas Southern, which is looking more and more like an anomaly as Arizona State continues to win.

 

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:

-SOUTH DAKOTA STATE AT KENT STATE.  South Dakota State has played a tough schedule, so their 3-4 record is more indicative of their schedule than them.  They’ve got another really tough road game tonight against a Kent State team that is coming off a loss at Houston where they actually had a lead with less than a minute to go, so the question is is Kent State good enough to put together a long enough string of wins to make a run at the bubble?

-WAKE FOREST AT CLEMSON (ACC).  Wake is off to a 7-1 start and is coming off a really nice win at Wisconsin, so a team that was basically an afterthought coming into the season is off to a very good start and has our attention.  Clemson is off to a respectable 6-2 start, but the bulk of their wins have been home buy games, so they still need to build up their resume.

-PITTSBURGH AT NC STATE (ACC).  NC State is 7-1 and had a couple of decent wins down in Atlantis, but they still have some work to do.  This is a winnable conference home game and they need to hold serve tonight.

-UMASS AT HARVARD.  Both teams have surprisingly good records, and while UMass probably won’t make it all the way to the NCAA Tournament, they are much improved, are coming in with a 5-1 record, and looking for their second road win of the year against a very respectable Harvard team.  We’ll keep watching both of them until they give us a reason not to.

-BAYLOR VS GONZAGA (Sioux Falls SD).  A neutral floor match-up between two probable protected seeds who were picked as Final Four contenders coming into the season!  What’s not to like about this??  Baylor really got their noses bloodied the other night at Marquette in a very surprising 96-70 blowout loss, so tonight is a chance for a huge bounce back.  Gonzaga has not exactly looked like a top five team every time they’ve taken the floor either, and could really use a win like this on their resume if they are thinking to (again) end up with a #1 seed.

-ILLINOIS AT MARYLAND (Big Ten).  Both teams have looked really good this season, both have good records, both have good wins, and both are in the rankings.  You couldn’t ask for a much better conference opener!!

OTHER NOTABLE GAMES:

-Brown @ Bryant – Bryant can get to 7-1 on the season
-Eastern Kentucky @ James Madison – JMU has a good team, but is coming off a damaging loss to Valpraiso and needs to rebound tonight
-Towson @ Long Island – Towson can improve to 8-1 and pick up their fourth road win of the season
-Florida A&M @ Georgia – buy game
-Colgate @ Auburn – Colgate is looking like the top team in the Patriot League, and they do have a nice win at Syracuse, but they’re probably overmatched tonight
-UT Arlington @ LSU – buy game
-Occidental (nonD1) @ San Diego State – buy game

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Under The Radar Game of the Day – Friday, December 2nd

Posted on December 2, 2022 by John Stalica

Appalachian State (5-3) at Charlotte (6-2) – 7:00 PM ET (ESPN+)

Tonight’s UTR Game of the Day takes us to the Queen City of North Carolina where the hometown Charlotte 49ers will host the Appalachian State Mountaineers in an intrastate battle. Charlotte is coming off of a last-second win at crosstown rival Davidson; Jackson Threadgill hit a 3 at the buzzer to give the 49ers a 68-66 victory. Prior to that game, the 49ers had a runner-up finish at the Myrtle Beach Invitational with wins against Boise State and Tulsa before losing to UMass in the title game.

Appalachian State looked like they might be turning the corner after a subpar 1-2 record in their home multi-team event; they won at East Tennessee State 74-70 just prior to the Thanksgiving holiday. But despite 12 points from Donovan Gregory and 11 points from Terence Harcum, App State’s upset bid at home against Furman fell short in a 65-61 loss.

Posted in CBB on TV, Daily Rundown, News and Notes, Under the Radar | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment