-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
-Gonzaga jumped out to about a 19-2 lead on Kentucky and at no point was this game close. The Zags beat them down 94-59 in a game that was less competitive than most buy games we see. Kentucky falls to 5-4 and still has no wins other than home buy games on the season.
-East Tennessee State pulled away from a pretty good South Alabama team and beat them handily 91-65. ETSU clearly looks like the best team in the SoCon so far, and I’ve noticed that they have a tendency to blow games open about midway through the second half.
-Quinnipiac got a shockingly dominant win at IONA in the MAAC opener for both teams. They were our preseason pick to win the league, and they looked like the favorites last night winning 89-68 on the road.
-Xavier held on to beat Cincinnati 79-74 in a game that was competitive throughout. After a very slugglish start to the season, Xavier continues to show signs of improvement. Cincinnati is a team that shoots a lot of 3s, which is rather unfortunate for them considering they’re a team that also misses a lot of 3s.
-TCU, who is a team I had been praising, lost at home to Notre Dame, who is a team I had been criticizing. It was a tense and hard fought overtime 87-85 road win for the Irish and while they still have work to do they may be showing signs of getting better.
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HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-IOWA STATE AT PURDUE. Both teams are in the top ten, both are unbeaten, and both have won big games to earn those high rankings. This is a showcase game between two teams that appear to be on pace to end up as protected seeds, and perhaps even contend for #1 seeds.
-DUKE AT MICHIGAN STATE. You can pretty much repeat exactly what is written above. I think I will!! Both teams are in the top ten, both are unbeaten, and both have won big games to earn those high rankings. This is a showcase game between two teams that appear to be on pace to end up as protected seeds, and perhaps even contend for #1 seeds.
-DAYTON VS VIRGINIA (Charlotte NC). Virginia just blew Texas’s doors off. If they play like that the rest of the way they may not lose another game all season. Dayton is off to a solid 7-2 start with some decent wins. This would be their biggest win of the year if they’re able to pull it off, and I think it would make a statement to the committee.
-BOISE STATE AT BUTLER. I’m highlighting this because the more I think about it, the more important I realize this game is. Boise State is 5-3 and still trying to shake off that opening loss to Hawaii Pacific. A big road win in a game like this would give them some much needed equity. Butler is 7-1 with some big wins and the only loss being on the road to SMU. Not many people are talking about them yet, but they look to be a tournament caliber team, or at least a team that could play their way into the discussion. Both teams can really use this win today.
-SAINT BONAVENTURE AT BUFFALO (Big Four). I don’t remember the last time I’ve been this excited for a Big Four game!!! Buffalo is unbeaten. While I admit they’ve been far better than I thought they’d be, I’m still not a full believer. I did say on our last podcast that if they win this one today that I’d start to believe. The Bonnies are 8-1 with the only loss being against North Carolina, and while they don’t have any really good wins they have at least a smattering of decent ones. This would probably be one of their better wins of the season up to this point. And, it’s a Big Four rivalry game!! So this one should be fun! I hope Buffalo’s arena is packed and that it’s a great atmosphere! It may be their biggest home game since Nate Oates was there.
-LOUISVILLE VS INDIANA (Indianapolis IN). This is a big day for the Hoosiers in the city of Indianapolis! While the football game against Ohio State is where most of the attention is, the basketball game against Louisville is also no small thing. Both teams are in the rankings, both are coming off losses, and both could use a notable bounce back win, especially Indiana who’s win against Marquette isn’t looking as good as we thought at the time and who is also coming off a damaging loss to Minnesota.
-GEORGE MASON AT VIRGINIA TECH. George Mason is good. George Mason is unbeaten. But George Mason’s schedule has been nothing short of awful. This is their first test of the season and it’s one that GMU sort of has to win if they want to be taken seriously. VA Tech is a respectable 7-2 and has a few decent wins, but they still have some work to do.
-WILLIAM & MARY AT GEORGE WASHINGTON. This is a strange game to highlight, but if nothing else I just think it’s going to be a really fun game. I still think GW can make a ton of noise in the A10 and perhaps even make a run at the bubble despite some early slipups, but they’ll have to play better than they’ve been playing to do it. Still, they’re a very respectable 7-2 on the year. Bill & Mary comes in at 8-2 and has three true road wins already, and is just a ton of fun to watch. They can shoot and they go deep into their bench. I’m not picking Bill & Mary to win this one, but it wouldn’t shock me at all if it happened.
-ILLINOIS VS TENNESSEE (Nashville TN). Both teams are in the rankings, both have some notable wins, but both have a few missed opportunities as well. Still, both these teams are good enough to end up as protected seeds and this is a chance to really boost up their resumes. It should be a fun one.
-SANTA CLARA AT NEW MEXICO. This is a tough road test for Santa Clara, but like I always say, teams need to win games that are tough to win in order to make the NCAA Tournament. If Santa Clara is as good as I think they are they should be able to win this game. We shall see.
-AUBURN AT ARIZONA. This is a massively tough road test for the Auburn Tigers, and they’re probably in over their heads. Arizona has looked like a Final Four team. One could argue that winning a game like this is harder than winning a game in the Final Four (at least if you take out how hard it is to get to the Final Four). When you’re playing a team in the Final Four, it’s not a true road game! Still, it’s a great game for the Tigers to play. Arizona already has multiple massive wins this season, particularly the win at UConn, and can remain on pace to get a #1 seed.
OTHER NOTABLE GAMES:
-Rhode Island @ Providence – The Ocean State Rivalry!!! Rhody is off to a solid 7-2 start and so far looks like they are on a path that could lead them to the NCAA Tournament. The key part of that phrase is “so far.” There is a long way to go. Not only is this a rivalry game, but it’s the kind of game a tournament caliber team needs to be able to win on the road.
-Southern Miss @ Miami FL – Miami has looked good so far and can improve to 8-2 with a win today
-Old Dominion @ Richmond – I like this Richmond team and a win today gets them to 9-1
-Utah Valley @ Bowling Green – these are two solid UTR teams and this is a fun matchup. Utah Valley is still looking for their first true road win.
-Ohio State @ Northwestern – Ohio State is off to a solid 6-1 start, but they will be tested today against a solid Northwestern team. Most conference road games are tests
-Marquette @ Wisconsin – it’s a rivalry game, but both teams have underperformed. Marquette has underperformed to the point of not even looking like an NIT team. Still, sometimes a win in a rivalry team can jumpstart a team’s season.
-Missouri State @ Tulsa – Tulsa is having a good year and should be able to improve to 8-1 with a win today
-Rutgers @ Michigan (Big Ten) – Michigan is looking like the best team in the country and will likely continue cruising today
-Fresno State @ Arkansas – Arkansas is coming off a big win against Louisville, and while Fresno State is having a pretty good year that’s a lot better than most thought they’d have, they’re probably overmatched today
-Iowa @ Maryland (Big Ten) – both teams have shown potential, but both still have work to do and both could use this one today
-UNC Wilmington @ Louisiana – this is a very winnable road game for UNCW and they’re worth keeping an eye on. This gets them to 9-1 on the season
-Evansville @ Western Kentucky – I still think WKU could end up having a really big year. A win today gets them to 6-2 and one of those losses was an absolute battle against Vanderbilt
-Akron @ Tulane – I like this Akron team, but they need to win a true road game. Tulane is a solid 6-2 on the year, so it will be a test for the Zips
-Seton Hall @ Kansas State – It’s starting to dawn on me that Seton Hall may not be going away. They’re 8-1, and while they don’t have any great wins they do have some really good ones, and given how bad K State is looked this is a chance for them to pick up their first true road win of the season, which makes them look even better.
-Baylor @ Memphis – Before the season you’d think this would be one to highlight, but given how Memphis has played this is simply a somewhat challenging but winnable road game for Baylor. And, that’s really all there is to say about it.
-Colorado @ Colorado State (Front Range) – Colorado is looking to remain unbeaten on the year and pick up their first road win of the season. Colorado State is a respectable 6-2, but they haven’t looked as good as Colorado throughout those games
-Pacific @ California – Pacific is a respectable 7-2 and Cal is having a much better year than any of us expected, so this is a surprisingly noteworthy game!
-Washington @ USC (Big Ten) – Washington played well against UCLA earlier in the week, but came up short of getting what would have been a big win. They’ve got another tough test today, and it’s on the road. USC is still perfect on the season at 8-0.
-Oregon @ UCLA (Big Ten) – UCLA has struggled a little more this season than what most people probably expected, but it is still early, they did just get a nice win at Washington, and they’re back home for what should be a winnable conference road game today
-Wake Forest vs West Virginia (Charleston WV) – Wake has impressed me a few times this season, but their last game against Oklahoma was not one of those times. They still need a signature win, and while this wouldn’t be a great win it would probably be their best one to date
-California Baptist @ Utah – Cal Baptist has lost two straight and has another tough test today. Utah is a modest 6-3 and better not overlook the Lancers in this one
-Penn vs Villanova (Big Five Classic) – it’s the championship game!! And Nova is looking to improve to a very respectable 7-1 on the year.
-Oklahoma State @ Grand Canyon – GCU hasn’t had a bad year, but they haven’t been as good as we expected either. Still, it’s never an easy place for a team to go and win, and while Oklahoma State is a perfect 8-0 this is their first true road game and it’s not an easy one
-Florida State @ Houston – Florida State has been decent at times. Houston has been good, but not as good as they will likely be by the end of the year. Still, this is one the Cougars should win
-Ole Miss @ Saint John’s – The Johnnies are a modest 4-3 but are still very well positioned and should be able to hold serve in this one against a decent-but-not-great Ole Miss team
-Wichita State @ Northern Iowa – I still really like this UNI team even though their schedule hasn’t been the toughest. This should be (another) winnable home game for them, which would improve them to 8-1 on the year
-Oklahoma @ Arizona State – both teams have shown potential, and Arizona State has looked a lot better than expected so far, but both still have work to do
BUY GAMES/CRAP GAMES:
-Maine @ Miami OH -UNC Asheville @ NC State -Coppin State @ Liberty -Dartmouth @ Wyoming -Chicago State @ Illinois State -South Dakota @ Northern Colorado – a win for NOCO gets them to 9-1 -UC San Diego @ Long Beach State (Big West) – UCSD should cruise -Cal State Fullerton @ Hawaii (Big West) – Hawaii should cruise
