NEWS AND NOTES:
–For the latest HOOPS HD REPORT – CLICK HERE
-For John Stalica’s UTR Game of the Day – CLICK HERE
-Virginia’s game against Northern Iowa was cancelled yesterday following the senseless shooting deaths of three members of the football team that occurred on a class bus trip back from Washington DC. I never know what I’m supposed to say on a website like this when something like that happens. Our good friend Joby Fortson (who runs our JNG Rankings) is a UVA alum and understandably feels a strong connection with that program. Our thoughts, prayers, and sympathies are with the families, the students, the friends, the teammates, and everyone who has been impacted by this senseless tragedy.
I know that everything else seems unimportant by comparison, but…
-TCU had struggled in their first two games, but still got the wins and I think we were all waiting for them to just kind of snap out of it. Well, they didn’t, and last night they lost at home to Northwestern State 64-63. It’s a surprisingly sluggish start for a team that went to a Sweet Sixteen a year ago and returned basically everybody. Teams are often sluggish in November, but typically not teams like TCU who returned all their top players from a team that was really good the year before. I do think they’ll get it going, but they’ve got A LOT of work to do.
-Maine knocked off Boston College 69-64 and handed BC their first loss of the season. BC isn’t expected to do much, but Maine was picked to pretty much be at the bottom of the America East and has a recent history of struggling to get past the opening round of the America East Tournament, so for them to get a win like this is big for their program!
-Villanova really had to sweat it out against Delaware State, who is one of the worst teams in all of D1, but held on for a 60-50 win after trailing for much of the game.
-Stetson is now 2-0 on the year after knocking off South Florida 68-67. Two games, both on the road, both against teams from multi-bid leagues, and both wins. Not a bad start for the Hatters!!
-Hofstra is now 3-0 after beating George Washington 85-80. None of their wins have been spectacular, but they’ve all at least been decent. This follows a win against a pretty good Iona team, so we need to start keeping our eyes on the Pride.
-Florida Atlantic went in to Florida and got the 76-74 win. I think Florida will improve as the year goes on, but I also think FAU will make more noise than expected in Conference USA.
-Troy knocked off Florida State 79-72. Florida State, Louisville, and Boston College are ACC teams that have looked absolutely pathetic this year. All with losses in home buy games, and Louisville and FSU are still looking for their first wins.
-Last but not least…how about the Southland this year!!! SELA gets a win at Wyoming, Northwestern State has knocked off TCU, and TAMU Commerce, who is a transtional team, had an exciting overtime win at Air Force last night. That’s three road wins against non-UTR teams!! Not bad at all!!
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-NORTHWESTERN AT GEORGETOWN (Gavitt Tipoff Games). Both teams come in having won their first two games, but this is the first real test for both of them. Coppin State did take Georgetown to overtime, but that was more of a quiz they almost failed than an actual test.
-KENTUCKY VS MICHIGAN STATE (Champions Classic, Indianapolis IN). Michigan State showed me a lot against Gonzaga. They didn’t win the game, but they sure as hell had a chance to, and they are an outstanding defensive team. Kentucky has looked good, but hasn’t played anybody that’s looked all that good yet. That will change tonight.
-RICE AT MIDDLE TENNESSEE (Conference USA). It’s odd to see a conference game this early, I believe this counts in the standings. Middle Tennessee is a potential dark horse in this league this year.
-VANDERBILT AT TEMPLE. Temple is coming off a big win agains Villanova and looking to build on that momentum. They lost their opener to Wagner, but are still good enough to end up having a really big year. Vandy is still looking for their first win.
-COLGATE AT SYRACUSE. I know this seems like a strange game to highlight, but I really like this Colgate team, and feel that Syracuse is struggling this year. I’m not going to go so far as to predict an upset, but I’m not ruling it out as a possibility either, and if Colgate does win it then their early season resume will certainly go up in value.
-MARQUETTE AT PURDUE (Gavitt Tipoff Games). Like most Gavitt match-ups, both tams are unbeaten, but both are also untested. We were big on this Purdue team coming into the year, and they should have the advantage at home. We weren’t expecting much out of Marquette, but a win tonight would change our perception of them.
-SAN DIEGO STATE AT STANFORD. It’s never easy to win on the road, but if San Diego State is good enough to earn a protected seed, then this is the kind of road game they should be able to routinely win.
-MONTANA STATE AT OREGON. Montana State is the Big Sky favorite and has looked pretty good in their first two games this year (despite losing one of them). Oregon started off in the Top 25, but was blown out of the gym by UC Irvine last week and looking to rebound. The alarms will really be going off if they lose a second straight game at home to an (albeit good) Under the Radar team.
-MEMPHIS AT SAINT LOUIS. Both these teams are good. Both feel they are good enough to make the NCAA Tournament. Both need good wins in order to get there. This is a chance for a good win. Memphis is very talented, but can they play together on the road? This is perhaps the game I’m most excited for tonight.
-DUKE VS KANSAS (Legends Classic, Indianapolis IN). This is a showcase game between two teams that were in the Final Four last year. Both are likely to end up as protected seeds again this year, and this is simply a big early season resume building opportunity. More of a litmus test than a must win. It will help the winner, but not really set back the loser.
-DAYTON AT UNLV. Dayton clearly looks to be the better team, but it’s still a bit of a challenging road game for the Flyers. They’re in the top 25. Many feel they can get a protected seed. This is the kind of games that a team of that caliber is expected to win. It’s not easy to win, but it’s not easy to get a protected seed and stay in the top 25 either.
OTHER NOTABLE GAMES:
-Appalachian State @ Louisville – App State is unbeaten and looking for their first road win
-Buffalo @ Connecticut – it’s a buy game, but Buffalo at least has a little bit of a pulse
-Washington State @ Prairie View A&M (Pac-12/SWAC Legacy) – The SWAC has surprisingly held their own in this event, and PVAM is looking to remain unbeaten
-Bowling Green @ Wright State – Bowling Green is 2-0
-Bucknell @ Saint Peter’s – Bucknell is 2-0
-James Madison @ Howard – JMU is 3-0 and is looking for their second road win
-New Hampshire @ Fordham – New Hampshire is 2-0
-Penn @ Drexel (Sort of Big 5) – Drexel is 1-0
-Binghamton @ Maryland – buy game, but both are unbeaten
-Chattanooga @ Ole Miss – Ole Miss looking to remain unbeaten
-Saint Bonaventure @ South Dakota State – I really like this South Dakota State team and if they can hold serve in games like this they can rack up a big record and land near the bubble
-New Mexico @ SMU – New Mexico is 2-0, but this is their first road game
-Alabama @ South Alabama – South Alabama is jacked for this one, but it should still be a very winnable road game for the Tide
-LMU @ UC Irvine – UCI is looking to remain unbeaten after their big win at Oregon
-Vermont @ USC – USC needs to bounce back after losing to FGCU
BUY GAMES:
-Stonehill @ Providence
-Winthrop @ Auburn
-Morgan State @ Akron
-Central Connecticut @ Saint John’s
-Morehead State @ West Virginia
-Utah Valley @ Wake Forest
-Florida A&M @ Miami FL
-SC Upstate @ Clemson
-Indianapolis (nonD1) @ Western Kentucky
-UNC Wilmington @ Oklahoma
-SIU Edwardsville @ Missouri – Mizzou is 3-0
-Fairfield @ Xavier
-Green Bay @ Wisconsin
-FIU @ NC State
-Alabama State @ San Jose State
-Bushnell (nonD1) @ Oregon State
