NEWS AND NOTES:
-For John Stalica’s UTR Game of the Day, which to my knowledge is the first ever Battle for the Alamo!! – CLICK HERE
-We’ve had our first Quadrupler of the year!!!! Alabama and North Carolina went into four overtimes out at the Phil Knight Invitational before Bama held on for the 103-101 win. It was a huge win for Alabama, who is showing all the early signs of ending up as a protected seed. As for North Carolina, it was their second straight loss. Having said that, they played better in this game than they did in some of their wins, so it’s hardly game-over for the Tarheels.
-Xavier is leading the nation in games against top 15 teams where they had a lead late in the game, but ultimately didn’t win the game. It happened at Home against Indiana, then the other day against Duke, and now against Gonzaga. Gonzaga jumped out to a 17-4 lead, and from that point on Xavier totally outplayed them and built up an 8pt lead of their own in the second half. The Zags fought back for an 88-84 win, though. But for those middle 34 minutes or so, Xavier looked really good! To date, Xavier’s only wins have been home buy games, but given how well they’ve played in their three losses, you can’t help but think that the notable wins are on the way.
-Portland is another team that’s played some really highly ranked teams really close, but ultimately did not win. They fell to Michigan State 78-77 in the Phil Knight Invitational yesterday.
-UConn ended up winning the Phil Knight Invitational, and looked very impressive doing it. They blew an Iowa State team off the floor that came in unbeaten and had some pretty big wins. The Huskies are now 8-0 and looking very much like a top 15ish team.
-James Madison, after we sang their praises just a day ago, followed that up with an 81-79 loss to Valparaiso out in Savannah. This is NOT a good loss for a team that’s trying to land inside the bubble, and has limited opportunities at big wins. It’s more than just getting notable wins. It’s also about not losing winnable games. They don’t get too many strikes and can’t afford too many more like this one.
-Oklahoma is now 6-1 on the season after beating a previously unbeaten Ole Miss team 59-55. Their only loss was the opener to Sam Houston, and Sam Houston is suddenly looking like a really good team, so that’s a loss that really isn’t all that damaging.
-Oregon, who started off in the top 25, has had some early issues, but did knock off Villanova yesterday 74-67 to improve to 3-4. Villanova, who was in the Final Four a year ago, is now just 2-5 to start the year and looking nothing like even an NIT team.
-Yale suffered their first loss of the year 65-62 at Colorado, but it was a notably competitive game, which actually makes me want to keep more of a close eye on Yale despite the loss. As for Colorado, it’s hard to say if they’re going to beat a top ten team or lose a home buy game. They’re this year’s most schizophrenic team.
-Quinnipiac, who had been unbeaten, suffered their first loss of the year in a close one against a pretty good Hofstra team 72-70. Still, at least by UTR standards, Quinnipiac might have some life.
-Miami FL picked up a big road win against what appears to be a really good UCF team 66-64. UCF had a call not go their way in the final few seconds, which was a bit of a tough brea, but I think they got the call right. It’s a big win for a Miami team that’s receiving very little respect despite returning most of a roster that was in the Elite Eight a year ago, and a UCF team that’s also not gotten much respect this year despite how well they’ve played. This is an example of why I don’t want the media on the committee!! Hopefully the committee has been paying attention! (and I think they have).
-West Virginia clobbered Florida 84-55. Florida isn’t good, but they’re not so bad that you would expect the final score to end up looking like a buy game. West Virginia is now 6-1 and probably deserves more attention than what we’ve been giving them. Well, they’ve certainly gotten it now!
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-MINNESOTA AT VIRGINIA TECH (ACC/Big Ten Challenge). Minnesota comes in at 4-2, but their only wins so far have been home buy games. Virginia Tech looks to be a good team, but at the moment they’re sort of lacking as well when it comes to notable wins. Neither team has done much to build their resume so far this season and could use this win tonight.
-TROY AT ARKANSAS. Troy is likely way overmatched in this one, but they do come in with a 5-1 overall record and have managed road wins at Florida State and Montana, so they should at least have a little bit of confidence. Arkansas is a talented team that’s coming off a real nice win against San Diego State and is showing all the early signs of ending up as a protected seed in the NCAA Tournament.
-PITTSBURGH AT NORTHWESTERN (ACC/Big Ten Challenge). Northwestern has just one loss and the chances of that doubling tonight aren’t all that good. Pitt has not been impressive at all this season. As for Northwestern, their only loss was by 1pt to Auburn, and they also have decisive wins at Georgetown and against Liberty, so they are perhaps better than what we are used to seeing.
-SEATTLE U AT WASHINGTON. This is by far the game I’m most excited about today. Seattle U is unbeaten and I feel was grossly undervalued coming into the season. Washington had no real expectations this season either, but they are off to a 5-1 start and just picked up a huge win against Saint Mary’s, so the Huskies may have some life this year as well. Both teams are better than advertised, both are looking to prove that, both could use a good win on their resumes, and…oh yeah…it’s also a crosstown matchup! So this one should be all kinds of fun!
-SAM HOUSTON AT NEVADA. Sam Houston has wins at Oklahoma (the only loss for the Sooners) and at Utah (only home loss for the Utes) and is unbeaten on the year. Yet, when you look at the top 25 polls…nothing! When are the voters going to notice this team?? This why I don’t want the media on the committee!! Hopefully the committee has been paying attention! (and I think they have). They have another tough road game tonight against a Nevada team that’s 5-1 with some pretty nice wins on their resume (Tulane and Akron) and their only loss was in overtime to Kansas State. So, they’re fighting for some respect as well.
BUY GAMES:
-Framington State (nonD1) @ Bryant
-UL Monroe @ Tulane
-Omaha @ Mississippi State
-Texas Southern @ Kansas
Hoops HD Staff Bracket – Monday, November 28th
Now that we’ve gotten through much of the first month of the college basketball season, we’re slowly starting to see some separation of the haves and have-nots. The exempt tournament season has now passed (with the exception of the Sun Bowl/Diamond Head tournaments) and staff member John Stalica now has a bracket to post for the week:
Outside of teams like Purdue, Virginia, Arizona and UConn who vaulted to (or near) the top, also pay attention to teams like Sam Houston State (wins at Oklahoma and Utah), Charleston, Southern Miss and Florida Atlantic. This is not to say that these teams will ultimately end up in these spots, but they have accomplished a lot more so far this season than usual suspects like Kentucky, UCLA, North Carolina, etc.