Hoops HD

NEWS AND NOTES:

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

We basically had 14 hours of awesome basketball yesterday.

-North Carolina had a much tougher time with Portland than what many were expecting, but they held on for the 89-81 out in Oregon and move on in the Phil Knight Invitational.

-Over in the Phil Knight Legacy, Duke struggled even more with Oregon State barely holding on for a 54-51 win.  Portland strikes me as being a lot better than Oregon State, so this would have been a really surprising upset loss.  But Duke does win and advances to the winners side of the bracket.

-Also out in Oregon, Alabama picked up a really solid win against a very good Michigan State team 81-70.  Alabama has been ranked all year and has received quite a bit of respect, but they still may be even better than what people thought.  It wouldn’t shock me at all to see them go on and win this event.

-Wisconsin and Kansas went into overtime with Wisconsin having a chance to win at the end, but Kansas holding on for a 69-68 win and moving on to the championship in the Battle 4 Atlantis.  Even though they lost, I think Wisconsin has shown they are MUCH better than what many expected this year.

-NC State followed up their near upset with Kansas with a fairly decisive win over Dayton in the Battle 4 Atlantis.  We learned from this game that NC State is probably better than what we thought, and Dayton isn’t quite as good.  At least not yet.  Dayton may be better once they’re back at full strength.

-UConn blasted Oregon 83-59.  UConn continues to look really good and Oregon continues to look like a team that is probably NIT-caliber at best.

-Iowa State needed overtime, but got by Villanova 81-79 and is now on the winning side of the bracket in the Phil Knight Invitational.  The Cyclones are unbeaten, are once again exceeding expectations, and if they can continue to win in this even they will REALLY be exceeding expectations!  Again!

-Seton Hall held off Memphis 70-69 in the ESPN Events Invitational in a game that was close all throughout.  They move on to the championship game, whereas Memphis drops their second game of the season and is still looking for their first notable win.

-Last, and DEFINELY not least, Washington went into Saint Mary’s and came out with an overtime 68-64 win.  Considering that it was a road game against a good team that is VERY tough to beat at home, this is arguably Washington’s biggest win in years.  Overnight they went from being what we thought was an also-ran to perhaps picking up the biggest win any Pac 12 team has managed to this point and looking like they could be one of the better teams in the league.  I guess our friend Rocco Miller had a good Thanksgiving!!

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:

-USC VS WISCONSIN (Battle 4 Atlantis).  Both of these teams lost overtime thrillers yesterday as USC took Tennessee to the wall and, despite the loss, looked as good as they have all season, and Wisconsin had a shot at the end of overtime to take down Kansas, but came up just short.  Both teams have shown they can play at a high level after not getting a whole lot of accolades coming into the season, and whoever wins this one today will likely get quite a bit of credit for it come March.

-SAN FRANCISCO AT DAVIDSON.  San Francisco already has some really good wins on their resume and have been a bit of a surprise this year. Davidson has some notable wins as well with their only loss being to Charleston.  It’s a good game between two teams that are looking to continue to build up their profiles.

-PORTLAND VS VILLANOVA (Phil Knight Invitational, Portland OR).  Nova has sputtered out of the gate and is continuing to sputter.  They need to play at a higher level if they want to safely make the NCAA Tournament.  They will also be challenged today by a Portland team that, while not super good, is still better than what most people realize and who stayed with North Carolina for pretty much the entire game yesterday.

-DUKE VS XAVIER (Phil Knight Legacy, Portland OR).  In Xavier’s two tests this year, they had a chance to beat Indiana and ended up pulling away from Florida in the final minutes yesterday.  They will be tested again today by Duke, who believe it or not is still looking for their first win of any sort of significance.  They fell to Kansas in a close game earlier this season, so they’ve shown they can play, but so far their best win was probably yesterday’s win against Oregon State, and it wasn’t exactly a clinic that they put on.

-NORTH CAROLINA VS IOWA STATE (Phil Knight Invitational, Portland OR).  Both teams are unbeaten.  Not much was expected out of Iowa State this year, but where have we heard that story before?  They knocked off Villanova in overtime yesterday, and get a shot at top ranked North Carolina who, while top ranked, has struggled in some games that you would expect a team that’s ranked that high to breeze through, and arguably doesn’t have a win this season yet as good as this one would be.

-IOWA VS CLEMSON (Emerald Coast Classic, Niceville FL).  Iowa has shown quite a bit of promise and they come into this both unbeaten and in the top 25.  Clemson has just one loss and has a chance today to really make a statement, put a good win on their resume, and basically shape the narrative people have of their team.  Are they an also-ran, or can they play with top level teams?

-KANSAS VS TENNESSEE (Battle 4 Atlantis, Nassau Bahamas).  Tennessee’s loss to Colorado earlier this season was a bit of a surprise, but they’ve played their way into the championship of this event, and if they can knock off Kansas today it would more than offset that loss and make a huge statement that this is still a top 15/protected seed caliber team.  Kansas had to sweat out both of their first games, but they managed to get it done and already have several really good wins on their resume.  This is a big resume boosting opportunity for both teams, and it’s likely one of many that they’ll both have this season.

-OKLAHOMA VS SETON HALL (ESPN Events Invitational, Kissimmee FL).  Both teams come into this with just one loss, both have some decent wins on their resumes (especially after yesterday), and both have the chance to pick up another one today (at least for now).

-CONNECTICUT VS ALABAMA (Phil Knight Invitational).  Both are ranked in the top 20, both are unbeaten, both have shown they can beat good teams already, and both are perhaps better than their current ranking.  It wouldn’t shock me to see them both end up as protected seeds, so this game is a big resume boosting opportunity.

-BUTLER VS NC STATE (Battle 4 Atlantis, Nassau Bahamas).  NC State has played well in this event, and can get out of it with two pretty good wins and a loss to Kansas that, quite frankly, won’t hurt them at all.  The Wolfpack may be on the road to a higher level of success this year than what we initially thought.

-PURDUE VS GONZAGA (Phil Knight Legacy, Portland OR).  Both teams are in the rankings and both have high expectations this year.  Many thing Gonzaga is once again a Final Four caliber team and many think Purdue can contend for a protected seed.

-OREGON VS MICHIGAN STATE (Phil Knight Invitational, Portland OR).  Both teams are coming off losses to high caliber teams, but Michigan State already has some big wins and can easily shore themselves up with a win today.  Oregon hasn’t gotten their motor started yet this year and needs a win in a game like this both to get a good win on paper, but also to give themselves some confidence and momentum.

OTHER NOTABLE GAMES:

-Siena vs Ole Miss (ESPN Events Invitational) – Ole Miss is off to a 5-0 start and can pick up some decent (albeit not great) wins away from home in this event
-Texas A&M @ DePaul – TAMU has been sluggish for most of the season and should have a sense of urgency coming in to today.  They need not lose this one!
-Quinnipiac vs Stephen F Austin – Quinnipiac is unbeaten so far this season, but will be tested a little more strongly in this event than they have up until now
-Loyola Chicago @ Harvard – Harvard with a chance to get to 5-1
-Louisiana Tech @ Samford – Samford is unbeaten on the year, but should get a little bit of a test today
-BYU vs Dayton (Battle 4 Atlantis) – it’s the 7th place game, neither team has looked all that good this season, and both just need to avoid going 0-3 while getting something of note on their resume
-TAMUCC vs UTEP – We’ll note it because it is a likely Southland frontrunner against a UTEP team that only has one loss
-Saint Bonaventure @ Notre Dame – Notre Dame hasn’t looked all that impressive, but they have managed to win all their games
-Nebraska vs Memphis (ESPN Events Invitational) – It’s still early, but both teams are starting to fall behind the pack and could use a win today to help keep up
-North Texas vs San Jose State (Baha Mar Hoops) – Neither team has any huge wins of note, but both come into this with just one loss
-Oregon State vs Florida (Phil Knight Legacy) – Both teams have some catching up to do, and today’s game has a pivotal feel to it
-UV Irvine vs Nicholls (Las Vegas Classic) –  UC Irvine has looked really strong so far, and Nicholls, while off to a slow start, could e a Southland frontrunner.
-Hofstra vs Middle Tennessee (Northern Classic) – Hofstra’s only loss was at Saint Mary’s, and they can continue to build up their resume by doing well in this event
-Tulsa @ Oklahoma State – Oklahoma State needs to start stringing together wins soon
-Sacramento State vs Hawaii (North Shore Classic) – Both teams have shown some promise early on and could prove to be good UTR teams.  This is one we have our eyes on
-Grambling vs UTSA (San Antonio Shootout) – Grambling had the big win against Colorado earlier, and UTSA has just one loss
-West Virginia vs Portland State (Phil Knight Legacy) – It’s important that West Virginia holds serve in this one
-San Diego vs New Mexico State (Las Vegas Classic) – both teams have just one loss, and it’s New Mexico State’s first game since their game at New Mexico was cancelled
-California vs TCU (Emerald Coast Classic) – TCU should be able to hold serve and improve to 4-1

BUY GAMES:

-Coastal Georgia (nonD1) @ James Madison
-Jackson State @ Indiana
-Coppin State @ Maryland
-Fairfield @ Towson – Towson is good and can/should remain unbeaten
-UMES @ Virginia
-Jacksonville State @ New Mexico – New Mexico is still unbeaten
-Lafayette @ Penn State
-Charleston Southern vs Virginia Tech
-Lindenwood @ Illinois

NEWS AND NOTES:

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYBODY!!!!  On days like today, it is important to remember the things that are really important!  And the thing that is most important of all is COLLEGE BASKETBALL!!  I hope everyone is able to enjoy the day.  If you’re someone that finds holidays like this almost impossible to enjoy, then turn on college hoops and tweet at us.  We’ll be watching/following all the action.

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

-Yesterday was, as is every day during Feast Week, a busy day.

-In the afternoon session of the Battle 4 Atlantis, we saw NC State take Kansas to the wall before Kansas won 80-74in what was a very impressive showing for the Wolfpack.  They didn’t get the win, but didn’t exactly get boat-raced out of the place either and were actually in a position to win until about the final minutes.  Perhaps NC State is better than we thought.

The second game between Dayton and Wisconsin was close, the defense was tough, and the offense was…offensive.  Wisconsin held on to win 43-42.  Dayton had a chance to win in the final seconds, but couldn’t get a good shot up.  This comes as no surprise, as both teams struggled to get good shots up for the entire game.  On paper, though, a win is a win, and Wisconsin is starting to build a resume and show that they were perhaps undervalued in the preseason.

USC knocked off BYU 82-76 and has now won four straight since losing their season opener.  Perhaps they have now woken up.  We’ll see what they do in their next two games of this event.

-Out in Maui, Arkansas came from behind to force overtime against San Diego State, and then picked up the 78-74 in in the third place game.  San Diego State won’t lose too many more this season, but it is a little disappointing that they weren’t able to pick up one really big win against a top 25 caliber team on a neutral floor.  The conference they play in is good, and it will certainly enable them to build a good resume, but it won’t give them as many chances at high caliber wins as the SEC typically does.

In the championship game, Arizona held on to beat Creighton 81-79.  Creighton made a late run at it, and even though they didn’t win, I think they’ve shown that they are very much capable of earning a protected seed and the win they picked up against Arkansas in the semifinals may end up being one of their best of the year.

Ohio State picked up a nice win in the 5th place game against a pretty good Texas Tech team, so it wasn’t a bad event for the Buckeyes either.

-Down in the Cancun Challenge, Auburn vs Northwestern was challenging to watch.  It was also a little surprising that a Northwestern team we weren’t expecting much out of could play with, and almost beat an Auburn team, but like the Dayton vs Wisky game it was a defensive battle, and like the Dayton v Wisky game, the final score was 43-42 with Auburn holding on for the win.

-Western Kentucky got a really nice win against Tulane down in the Cayman Islands.  We were big on this Tulane team, and we still are in terms of thinking they can have a really good season overall, but they had two chances to get notable wins in this event and came up short on both.  As for WKU, this is a neutral floor win that will look nice on their resume.  Now they just need to consistently hold serve in the games they’re supposed to win.

-Nevada is off to an impressive 6-1 start with some notable wins on their resume.  They beat a pretty good Akron team 62-58 in the Cayman Islands.  Akron likely won’t be an at-large team, but they are good enough to win a lot of games and I think this is a win that Nevada will end up getting quite a bit of credit for come March.

-Charleston picked up another really good win as they held off Kent State at home 74-72.  This game had a feel of being between two teams who were good enough to receive at-large bids to the NCAA Tournament, but had limited opportunities at the kinds of statement wins that impress the committee, which is what made this game so important.  The one thing about Charleston is that almost all of their notable wins have come on their home floor, so when they start to play on the road they’ll need to hold serve in order to keep their resume shored up.

-Kansas State beat LSU 61-59 in an absolutely wild finish where it looked as though LSU had tied the game to force overtime, but the basket was then waived off and suddenly K State was the Cayman Islands Classic Champs!  We were not big on K State coming onto this season.  Like, not AT ALL!  But they’re now 6-0 on the year with some notable wins on their resume, so they now have our attention.

-Mississippi State remains unbeaten after knocking off Utah 52-49 in the Fort Meyers Tip-Off.

-UNLV also remains unbeaten after beating Minnesota in the SoCal Challenge.  UNLV doesn’t have any wins that blow you away, but they haven’t all been home buy games either.

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:

-WISCONSIN VS KANSAS (Battle 4 Atlantis, Nassau Bahamas).  After winning one of the biggest rock fights of the season against Dayton, Wisconsin moves on to face a Kansas team that didn’t exactly cruise past NC State in their game either.  Wisconsin really has a chance to make a statement today if they can pull off the win.

-NORTH CAROLINA VS PORTLAND (Phil Knight Invitational, Portland OR).  This appears to be a huge mismatch.  Portland may be better than expected, but they’re not so much better that it’s likely they can compete with the top ranked team in the nation.

-TENNESSEE VS USC (Battle 4 Atlantis, Nassau Bahamas).  USC might finally be awake after sleepwalking through their first couple of games of the season.  A win against Tennessee today would change the entire complexion and perception of their team this year.  Tennessee absolutely ran away from Butler yesterday and can move back up in the rankings if they continue to do well in this event.

-IOWA STATE VS VILLANOVA (Phil Knight Invitational, Portland OR).  Iowa State is unbeaten, but hasn’t really been tested yet.  Villanova has not impressed so far this season, but a strong showing in this event could jumpstart both their season and their profile after getting off to a bit of a sluggish start.

-DAYTON VS NC STATE (Battle 4 Atlantis, Nassau Bahamas).  Both teams lost close games yesterday, and Dayton is certainly missing one of their key players, but both teams also have the potential to end up having a big year.  This game has a kind of pivotal feel to it even though it’s early in the season.

-FLORIDA VS XAVIER (Phil Knight Legacy, Portland OR).  This will be Xavier’s first test (sort of) away from home and they are still looking for their first real notable win.  Florida is off to a slow start and has actually dropped some home buy games.  Doing well in this even can turn their season around.  In short, this is a game between two teams that have been a little slow out of the starting gate.

-MEMPHIS VS SETON HALL (ESPN Events, Kissimmee FL).  Both teams have potential, but so far neither team has much of a resume and this game is perhaps a chance for them to build on it.  Memphis did win at Vanderbilt who may end up being better than expected, but another win away from home would certainly help.

-CONNECTICUT VS OREGON (Phil Knight Invitational, Portland OR).  Oregon had high expectations for the year, but are off to a rather unspectacular 2-2 start.  Having said that, this event is a great opportunity for them to right the ship.  It’s also a good opportunity for UConn as well, who is can add some early season notable wins to their resume.

-PURDUE VS WEST VIRGINIA (Phil Knight Legacy, Portland OR).  We weren’t expecting that much out of West Virginia, but they haven’t lost yet this season and have the chance to make some statements in this event.  This is a resume building opportunity for Purdue as well, who has managed a home win against Marquette, but other than that has been untested up to this point.

-ALABAMA VS MICHIGAN STATE (Phil Knight Invitational, Portland OR).  Michigan State has been outstanding this year, and can continue to establish themselves early as a team that deserves to be highly ranked.  We’ve got high expectations for Bama as well, but this is by far their biggest test of the season so far.

-WASHINGTON VS SAINT MARY’S (Wooden Legacy).  Washington comes in at 4-1 and can really catapult themselves forward today if they can some how pick up a win.  Saint Mary’s is unbeaten on the season, and probably very undervalued as well.  If they can do well in this event hopefully the voters start taking notice.  I’m pretty sure the selection committee already has.

OTHER NOTABLE GAMES:

-Ole Miss vs Stanford (ESPN Events) – Ole Miss is unbeaten on the year
-Duke vs Oregon State (Phil Knight Legacy) – this is perhaps a bigger mismatch than many 1v16 games we see in the Round of 64
-Nebraska vs Oklahoma (ESPN Events) – it’s Big Red vs Big Red!  Both teams have just one loss, and Oklahoma could be an NCAA Tournament team once they start firing on all cylinders.
-Butler vs BYU (Battle 4 Atlantis) – in the race to the bubble, both these teams appear to be falling behind the pack and need a win today just to keep up
-Portland State vs Gonzaga (Phil Knight Legacy) – there are a lot of good games in the Phil Knight events.  This is not one of them