Hoops HD

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

NEWS AND NOTES:

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

-Kent State had a lead on Houston with less than a minute to go, and I thought we were bracing for what would be the upset of the season, but Houston held on to win at home 49-44.  John Stalica summed this game up best.  It was a rock fight with boulders.  Houston will almost assuredly be ranked #1 in the next poll, and will likely remain there for quite some time.  Kent State is a good team, Houston didn’t play their best game, and still found a way to win.  REALLY good teams can beat other good teams even when they don’t play well, so for me personally, this isn’t an indictment on Houston’s potential at all.

-James Madison blew out South Dakota State 79-60 in a game played in Savannah GA.  The margin of victory is somewhat surprising.  JMU just controlled the entire game against a pretty good South Dakota State team.  While I thought James Madison was good, I’m now thinking they’re perhaps even better.

-Towson bounced back after an inexplicable loss two days ago with a win over South Alabama yesterday in the Hostile Hoops Community Classic.  The score was just 62-60.  South Alabama is a decent team, but they’re not a top 40ish caliber team like we thought Towson was just a few days ago.  Kind of a rough weekend for the Tigers.  They’ve had a rough time in an event we were all kind of expecting them to dominate.  They’ll face Mercer later on today.

-Bryant basically led Syracuse from tip to buzzer in their 73-72 win yesterday and controlled most of the game, but Syracuse came back at the end and nearly stole the victory.  This game saw multiple players ejected after a couple of guys traded slaps about midway through the first half, so the game was tense all throughout.  Bryant is now 5-1 on the year with two wins away from home, and future games against Tulane, Cincinnati, and Towson on the schedule for December.  Right now they look to be the best team in the America East, and dare I say, will have a shot at making a run at the bubble if they can pick up a few more wins like yesterday.  Syracuse isn’t THAT good, but teams who win at the Carrier Dome will get some credit for it.

-Drake put together what I thought was their best game of the season so far and picked up a 76-64 win against a pretty good Louisiana team.  It was Louisiana’s first loss of the year, and even though Drake was at home, they still (finally) looked like the top 40ish caliber team that we think that they are.  And, Drake is unbeaten.  So to look at an unbeaten team and say they’ve been underperforming…that’s a testament to what we think their potential is for this season.

-In the Emerald Coast Classic, TCU pretty much handled a pretty good Iowa team 79-66 in a game where it felt like they were in complete control for the entire second half.  Iowa was unbeaten and ranked 25th, so TCU after sleepwalking through some home buy games (and even dropping one of them) appears to have woken up and for the first time all year looked like the team that made the Sweet Sixteen a year ago.

HIGHLIGHED GAMES:

-OLE MISS VS OKLAHOMA (ESPN Events Invitational, Kissimmee FL).  Both teams have bloated records and a few semi-notable wins, but this would probably be the best win of the season so far for whichever team pulls it off.

-SAINT LOUIS AT AUBURN.  Saint Louis has a high ceiling, and while they haven’t always played up to it this season, it’s early and the potential for them to be really good is certainly there.  Having said that, picking up a win at Auburn is probably swinging above their weight class.  If it were to happen the Billikens would belong in the top 25 as this would be a protected seed caliber win.

-YALE AT COLORADO.  This game has an interesting storyline.  Yale is unbeaten at 6-0, and Colorado has beaten teams that are top ten caliber, but lost to teams that are mid-level SWAC caliber teams.  I just don’t know what to expect from this game today.

-NORTH CAROLINA VS ALABAMA (Phil Knight Invitational).  Both teams are coming off a loss, but as far as how this game will look on the team sheets that doesn’t mean anything.  It’s a top 20 match-up between two possible/probable protected seeds, and whoever wins this will get a ton of credit for doing so.

-DUKE VS PURDUE (Phil Knight Legacy).  Purdue has looked far more impressive throughout this event.  They’ve played better teams and beaten them more convincingly, so no matter what happens today Purdue should be ranked substantially higher than they currently are and have earned a ton of respect from the selection committee.  As for Duke, this would be their best win of the season by far up to this point.

-HOFSTRA VS QUINNIPIAC (Northern Classic, Laval PQ).  Quinnipiac is unbeaten on the year, and while they haven’t had any major tests yet, they are at least getting some decent quizzes out in this event.  Hofstra is a good team, but has dropped two straight, and a win today would go a long way toward getting them turned back around.

-MIAMI FL AT UCF.  This is a great game.  Miami FL team that I still think will end up in the top 20 by the end of the year and once everyone remembers they were in the Elite Eight last year and have most of their team back.  UCF comes in at 5-1 with some nice wins already, and can make a big statement today.  Being at home should also give them a boost.

-XAVIER VS GONZAGA (Phil Knight Legacy).  Gonzaga is looking to bounce back from a game against Purdue where they really got their noses bloodied, and Xavier is looking to pick up their first notable win of the year.

-IOWA STATE VS UCONN (Phil Knight Invitational).  Iowa State has been the biggest surprise of this tournament, and win or lose they should be in the top 25 next week.  If they can manage a win against a UConn team that looked fantastic the other night against Alabama, then they’ll probably end up as a protected seed in our next bracket projections.

OTHER NOTABLE GAMES:

-Memphis vs Stanford (ESPN Events Invitational, Kissimmee FL) – Memphis needs to hold serve in this one
-Stetson vs Campbell – Stetson has a couple decent wins and can pick up their 3rd road win of the season today
-SEMO vs UC Davis (Milwaukee WI) – both teams 4-1
-Harvard @ Fordham – both teams 5-1 (somehow)
-Maine @ Brown – Maine is much better than expected, and while we don’t expect it to continue, we’re going to enjoy it while we can!  A win today gets them to 5-1 on the year and gives them their THIRD road win!
-Wofford @ LSU – LSU should be able to hold serve, but so far Wofford has been a little better than expected
-Villanova vs Oregon (Phil Knight Invitational) – both these teams need this win just to get their seasons turned back around
-Boston U @ Milwaukee – Boston has just one loss on the year and is looking for their second road win
-Mercer vs Towson (Savannah GA) – It is very important that Towson gets this win and rebounds from their inexplicable loss on Friday
-Siena vs Seton Hall (ESPN Events Invitational) – Seton Hall better not overlook this Siena team that’s been playing well recently
-Portland vs Michigan State (Phil Knight Invitational) – Michigan State looking to hold serve, but are playing a de facto road game in Portland’s arena. We may also have to really take notice of the Pilots if they pull off another victory here
-UNC Wilmington vs North Texas (Nassau Championship) – North Texas can get to 6-1 and has some decent wins away from home on their profile
-Florida vs West Virginia (Phil Knight Legacy) – both teams have decent records, but could use some decent wins

BUY GAMES:

-Prairie View A&M @ Oklahoma State
-Mobile (nonD1) @ Southern Miss – Southern Miss is good, but they did themselves no favors scheduling so many nonD1 teams
-Alcorn State @ Arizona State – Arizona State has just one loss this season, but it was to a SWAC team, so…
-Bellarmine @ UCLA
-Northern Colorado @ New Mexico