This week’s featured conference is the Big Sky who just had a dominant showing in their challenge against the Summit League and Northern Colorado in particular is looking really strong. Montana State, despite a rough start to the season, is also showing signs of being able to compete once Big Sky play starts.
We then run through the other 21 UTR conferences and discuss Quinnipiac’s good start out of the MAAC, how strong the Big West is shaping up to be, how conference play is underway in the Southland and how competitive that league is looking, and the fantastic starts that Yale, Buffalo, Miami OH, and McNeese are off to. And, as we do every week, we close with this week’s UTR Top Ten.
And for all you radio lovers, below is an audio only version of the show…
-Michigan continues to blow good teams completely out of the gym. By midway through the first half last they had complete control of Villanova and the rest of the game wasn’t even worth watching. The final score was 89-61.
-Clemson v BYU in the Jimmy V Classic was just an amazing game! Clemson scored the last 20+ points of the first half and appeared to be on cruise control. Then BYU came back, tied it, and got the lead late. It was then Clemson that scored on three key possessions late in the game to tie it and appeared to be sending it to OT before BYU hit a shot at the buzzer to win 67-64. WOW!! For Clemson, it was a missed opportunity to pick up what would have been their biggest win of the year so far. BYU is a possible protected seed and to beat them on a neutral floor would have give the Tigers a lot of weight.
-UConn and Florida was also a tight game in the second half of the Jimmy V Classic with UConn holding on for a 77-73 win. This is yet another big win on the season for the Huskies. Florida falls to a modest 5-4, but they’ve played a tough schedule, they appear to be getting better, and by the end of the year their resume and team will both likely to be solid.
-Illinois got a solid win on the road against a pretty formidable Ohio State team 88-80. The Illini are now 8-2 on the year with a solid conference road win. That’s pretty good!
-McNeese, after suffering a surprising loss to Incarnate Word last week, got a big road win at Rhode Island yesterday 66-64. It was Rhody’s first home loss of the year and they were a team that was at least showing signs of being able to make a run at the bubble. I think McNeese, at leaston the court, is a top 40 team in the country. The question is will their resume indicate that at the end of the year? The committee only seems to care what’s on a team’s resume, and oftentimes an Under the Radar team is much better than their resume indicates because of the opportunities (or lack thereof) that they had during the season, or because they had one or two bad games like what McNeese had against Incarnate Word and were just never able to offset it.
-Buffalo handed UMBC their first home loss and has improved to 9-1 on the year. It was an exciting 83-79 game where Buffalo was actually behind for a lot of it. The Bulls have started to play tougher opponents, and they still keep winning.
-Howard knocked off NC A&T 73-69 at Cameron Indoor Stadium last night. This is the second win of the year at Cameron for Howard!! There are top level teams in the ACC that don’t have two wins at Cameron over the last five years!! Howard has done it within a span of a couple weeks!!
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HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-NEW MEXICO AT VCU. Both teams have the potential to be good this year, but neither team has anything on their resume yet that would jump out at the committee. Both teams could really use this one. New Mexico has yet to win a road game and while VCU does have a decent win against Virginia Tech, that’s all they’ve got at this point.
-LIBERTY AT NC STATE. LIberty is a solid 6-2, but even with that solid record they’ve been a little more disappointing than what we were expecting. Before the season started this was the game we had circled as their chance to really make a statement. While NC State has also landed a little below expectations so far, the key part of that is “so far.” It’s still a team with a high ceiling that’s likely to win a lot of games, and getting a win on their floor will go a long way for Liberty if they’re able to pull it off.
-WISCONSIN AT NEBRASKA (Big Ten). This is a big game for several reasons. Nebraska is still perfect on the season, but they yet haven’t faced any teams that clearly look like tournament teams. Wisconsin has gone into a tailspin and needs to pull themselves out of it and a conference road win like this would be a good way to do that.
OTHER NOTABLE GAMES:
-Miami OH @ UNC Asheville – Miami’s schedule has been week and this is probably their toughest test of the year so far. A win keeps them perfect on the season
-Minnesota @ Purdue (Big Ten) – The Boilers are looking to bounce back after being beaten soundly in their last game.
-Western Kentucky @ Marshall – this is a good WKU team. This would be a solid road win for them and get them to 7-2 on the year
-UT Martin @ Southern Illinois – UT Martin is having a solid year at 7-2 and can pick up their 3rd true road win tonight. It won’t be easy. Southern Illinois is definitely formidable and they’re perfect at home so far
-Duquesne @ Boise State – Boise has been playing much better and they need to hold serve in this one
BUY GAMES:
-Norfolk State @ Baylor – Norfolk is probably the best team in the MEAC, but they’re way overmatched today -UAlbany @ Yale -Idaho @ Notre Dame -Colgate @ Saint Bonaventure -Delaware @ George Washington -Jackson State @ Houston -Arkansas Pine Bluff @ Tulsa -Lamar @ San Diego State -Hawaii Hilo (nonD1) @ Hawaii
-BROWN AT PROVIDENCE (Ocean State Tournament Championship!!!!). It is internationally beloved!! It is passionately followed around the world!! IT IS THE OCEAN STATE TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONSHIP!!!! Brown knocked off Bryant and Providence knocked off Rhode Island!! Tonight they face each other for all the glory!!!!!! North Carolina and Duke have very rich histories!! UCLA had a tremendous dynasty under Johnn Wooden!! But none of those programs ever managed to win the Ocean State Tournament!!!!
-VILLANOVA AT MICHIGAN – Villanova has won seven straight since losing their opener to BYU in a game where they played really well. Tonight’s game is a test that’s on a whole other level. They’re playing a true road game against a team that is arguably the best in the country.
-CLEMSON VS BYU (Jimmy V Classic). Clemson is a solid 7-2 and BYU is an outstanding 7-1. This should be a fun matchup watching Clemson’s tough defense go up against a team like BYU, and if the Tigers could somehow pull off the win it would give their resume a huge boost.
-MCNEESE AT RHODE ISLAND. McNeese is one of the top UTR programs who is coming off a somewhat surprising loss to Incarnate Word and looking to bounce back. Rhode Island is also looking to bounce back from a loss to their rivals Providence. In short, these are two good teams who could really use this win.
-ILLINOIS AT OHIO STATE (Big Ten). I haven’t paid that much attention to Ohio State and it was rather easy to dismiss them after they lost to Pittsburgh, but they did just get a nice road win at Northwestern to improve to 7-1. They will really be tested tonight against an Illinois team that’s good, but who could also really use a conference road win like this on their profile.
-FLORIDA VS CONNECTICUT (Jimmy V Classic). Florida has gotten off to a bit of a slow start at 5-3, but the ceiling for them is still very high and if they were to pick up a win like this it would completely change the perception of the team. UConn is 8-1 and has some really strong wins already. This would be another one if they’re able to pull it off.
OTHER HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-Buffalo @ UMBC – these are two solid UTR teams. Buffalo is coming off their first loss of the year to a solid Saint Bonaventure team and will be challenged again today by UMBC who is unbeaten at home.
-Columbia @ Stony Brook – Columbia is a surprising 9-1 on the year and Stony Brook is unbeaten at home
-Penn State @ Indiana (Big Ten) – Penn State has a bloated record against a weak schedule and Indiana appears to be slumping some. Both teams could use this win today
-USC @ San Diego – USC should be able to hold serve and pick up their second true road win of the year
BUY GAMES/CRAP GAMES:
-UMES @ Virginia -NC Central @ Kentucky -Little Rock @ West Virginia -Morgan State @ Depaul -South Dakota @ Wyoming -Dartmouth @ Colorado State -Northern Arizona @ Arizona State -Dominican (nonD1) @ California
We recap a busy and exciting week of action that saw Iowa State blow out top ranked Purdue on the road. It was the largest margin of victory against a #1 team in the history of the AP Poll, so Iowa State has catapulted themselves up the rankings. Duke also had a big road win at Michigan State and Michigan continues to cruise. We discuss how strong the Big 12 and Big Ten have looked, how some of the teams in the SEC appear to be struggling, and how the ACC has emerged to be much stronger than it was a year ago. We discuss all that, and more!
And for all you radio lovers, below is an audio only version of the show…
-North Carolina pulled away from Georgetown yesterday for an 81-61 win, SMU got a nice 93-80 OT win against Texas A&M, Saint Mary’s picked up their first road win of the year at Davidson, San Francisco did win against Mississippi State (in Tupelo) but still has a lot of work to do, and Stanford was upset by UNLV at home.
-Tonight, Southern visits Texas.
I DID IT!!! I did an entire Hoops HD Rundown in just two sentences!!!!!!
We will be recording the HoopsHD Report tonight. That will objectively be better college basketball content than any of the other actual games that are taking place tonight.
-At halftime of the Iowa State v Purdue game I was thinking that Iowa State had just played a fantastic first half. Little did I know what was coming next. This is something that’s rarely ever said, but the top ranked team was boat-raced off of their own home court. The final score was 81-58 in, but it felt like an even more dominant win than that for the Cyclones. When factoring in margin of victory this may be one of the most impressive single game performances I can remember in the last several years.
-Duke picked up a hugely impressive road win by knocking off 7th ranked Michigan State 66-60. This was going on at the same time as the Iowa State v Purdue game. It’s rare that you see two likely protected seeds lose at home on the same day, much less at the exact same time.
-I can’t say I’m a fan of Arizona’s new court, but their team looked incredible. They blew out the Auburn Tigers 97-68 and will probably slide into the #1 spot when the polls come out Monday.
-Louisville had no issues with all against Indiana. The final score was 87-78, but Louisville jumped out to a 16-0 lead to start things off and at absolutely no point did it feel like the Cardinals were not in control of this one.
-Illinois got their biggest win of the year as they knocked off Tennessee 75-62 in Nashville. The Illinis were able to pull away in the second half and pick up one of their biggest wins so far.
-Saint John’s got a little bit more of a battle than I was expecting from Ole Miss, but still held on to win 63-58. I get the sense that the Johnnies are going to be one of those teams that gets a lot better over the winter break.
-Washington, after nearly upsetting UCLA a few nights ago, went on the road and got a hugely important and very much needed win against USC 84-76. It’s the first loss of the year for the Trojans, and a signature conference road win for the Huskies.
-Providence beat rivals Rhode Island rather handily 90-71 in the Ocean State Rivalry. This was probably the best the Friars have looked so far this season.
-Boise State went on the road to Butler and got a win that they really needed. Butler had looked pretty good this season going into yesterday’s game, but the Broncos picked up the 77-68 win.
-Saint Bonaventure handed Buffalo their first loss of the season as they went on the road and beat their Big Four rivals 77-69. I had not been a believer in Buffalo. I said that I would start to believe if they won this game. They didn’t win the game, but I will absolutely admit that I was wrong about them. This is a good Bulls team, at least by Under the Radar standards. They are certainly not the worst team in the MAC like I thought they’d be.
-I was also wrong about Seton Hall. They are far from the worst team in the Big East. Their 78-67 in at Kansas State isn’t that great on the surface because K State is…well…terrible, but to be 9-1 on the year and to have the overall resume that they do is pretty impressive for the Pirates.
-George Mason fell at Virginia Tech 73-62 for their first loss of the year. It was also probably their first real test of the year. I’m still not a believe in George Mason despite the bloated record.
-Memphis, who has been a disappointment for most of the season, did pick up a nice home win against Baylor yesterday 78-71 to even out their season record at 4-4. They still have a ton of work to do, but have also now won three straight and appear to be turning themselves around.
-Colorado suffered their first loss in an exciting battle against Front Range rivals Colorado State 81-76. Still, it’s a better than expected start to the season for the Buffs.
-Santa Clara is a team I had been praising!! They had a chance yesterday at a statement win at New Mexico. Santa Clara did not win. They did not win by a lot. New Mexico totally dominated the game 98-71. I know it’s hard to win at New Mexico, but this was a chance for us to see if Santa Clara was good enough to win a game that was hard to win. Well…they came up 27pts short.
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HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-MISSOURI VS KANSAS (Kansas City MO). The Border War resumes!!! Mizzou is 8-1, but they have absolutely no good wins to speak of. Kansas has had several tests and has looked better all year, but in rivalry games like this you sometimes don’t know what’s going to happen.
-TEXAS TECH VS LSU (Fort Worth TX). Texas Tech looks to be the better team, but they don’t have any notable wins away from home yet and this would be their biggest win of the year so far if they’re able to pull it off. LSU is perfect on the season, but this is their toughest test so far. Both teams need to do more to build up their profiles and a win today is a chance to do that.
-GEORGETOWN AT NORTH CAROLINA. The Hoyas are much improved, but I don’t know that they’re so much improved that they’re capable of beating the Tarheels in Chapel Hill. Having said that, if they somehow do win this, then they’ll be worthy of top 25 consideration.
-CREIGHTON AT NEBRASKA. Creighton has struggled this year, but has managed to win their last two. Nebraska is perfect on the season and they’ve managed some decent wins. They should be able to hold serve at home today against their in-state rivals
-SMU VS TEXAS A&M (Arlington TX). Both teams are good, both are potential NCAA Tournament teams, but both have room to improve and both could really use this win today.
-NORTH TEXAS AT TCU. This is a pretty good North Texas team that TCU does not want to overlook, especially since they are looking to bounce back from a somewhat surprising loss to Notre Dame earlier in the week.
OTHER NOTABLE GAMES:
-Saint Mary’s @ Davidson – this is the first true road game of the season for the Gaels, and while it won’t be easy it is one that they should be able to win
-Utah State @ Charlotte – Utah State is having a solid year, but they still don’t have a true road win yet. This should be one that they’re able to get
-San Francisco vs Mississippi State (Tupelo MS) – both these teams need to start stringing together wins in order to get on the committee’s radar
-Towson @ UCF -Towson has some nice wins so far, but they still don’t have a true road win and they’ll need a win like this in order to get the attention of the committee. UCF is a very respectable 7-1 so far.
-Belmont @ Middle Tennessee – Belmont takes the short trip down to Murfressboro. A win will get them to 9-1 on the year and be their third true road win of the season
BUY GAMES:
-UTSA @ Alabama -UIC @ Yale -Central Michigan @ Saint Louis -UNLV @ Stanford -North Florida @ Gonzaga
