Hoops HD

-Duke, Drake, and Stanford are playing home buy games tonight.  That is literally all there is.  So, take the night off and do some Christmas shopping…

As for last night…

-UC Irvine gave USC all they wanted and then some.  They actually had a lead for much of the game, and with less than a minute to go it was still within reach, but they just couldn’t pull it out.  This is the kind of win that can make the difference of whether or not an under the radar team can land inside the bubble, so you follow those teams like we do you hate to see them come up just short of a big opportunity, but the Eaters still have a good team and should win a lot of games this year.

-Belmont basically led Chattanooga from tip to Buzzer and is now 9-3 on the year.  I think they’ll land inside the bubble if they’re able to blow through the OVC, which they should.

-Nicholls came very close to shocking Wisconsin.  Wisky actually had to come back to win the game, and barely held on 71-68.

-Utah State picked up a nice win at Weber State in a Beehive rivalry game.  It was the first true road win for Utah State, and it’s one that they should get a fair amount of credit for because it’s not easy to win at Weber.

-New Mexico State was down by close to 20 on the road at Washington State, but battled back in the second half, and got it closer, and then got back in it, and then tied it, and then won it.  It was a VERY impressive statement that they could go from being dominated on the road against a very respectable Wazzu team, but make adjustments and come back to win.  This New Mexico State team is potentially dangerous if they can play up to their ceiling.

NEWS AND NOTES:

-Apologies for the brief hiatus.  We didn’t have a write up yesterday.  I was in jail for something stupid, and Chad Sherwood was not able to get me out!!  Maybe if I had a better lawyer, we’d have had a write up yesterday!!!

-We’ve been dogging Memphis all year for being a talented team that doesn’t play well together.  Yesterday, they played unbelievably well together!  They beat Alabama 92-78, and truth be told they dominated the game even more than the score indicated.  I don’t know what switch was flipped, but if they can sustain that and play like that the rest of the year, look out!!

-Furman stayed with North Carolina for a half, but only a half.  UNC got control in the second half and ended up with a 74-61 win.

-Monmouth now has seven true road wins, including one at Cincinnati.  This is a good team, and I really hope the committee is watching.  They won at Yale yesterday 69-60, which admittedly isn’t the same as winning at Gonzaga, but it’s still a lot harder than winning a home buy game, and a 7-2 road record should get anyone’s attention.

-Creighton had been looking fantastic, and Arizona State had been looking pitiful.  So, naturally Arizona State got the 58-57 win on the road at Creighton.  The Sun Devils have now won three straight after a rather abysmal 2-6 start.  Perhaps they’ve turned the corner.

-Oregon State lost at home to UC Davis, and is now just 1-9 on the year.  They have NOT turned the corner!

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:

-CHATTANOOGA AT BELMONT.  These are two really good UTR teams that have a shot at landing inside the bubble, which makes this a hugely important game.  Belmont has some notable wins already, and Chattanooga comes in with an impressive 9-1 record.

-UCF AT TEMPLE (American).  UCF has a respectable 6-2 record and although they still have a lot of work to do, if they were to string together some wins they could play their way into the picture.

-MARSHALL AT OHIO U.  Both teams are on the outside of the bubble right now, and chances are that’s where both will end up, but both are good and if they could rampage through the rest of their seasons they could end up on the board.

-SOUTH DAKTOA STATE AT MISSOURI STATE.  These are two UTR teams that are pretty good, but that have also underachieved a little bit this year.

-MIDDLE TENNESSEE AT OLE MISS.  Middle Tennessee’s schedule has not been a gauntlet, but they’re still 8-2 and much better than what many of us expected this year.  Ole Miss is a modest 6-3 and needs to string together some wins to get themselves into the picture, but that happening is not out of the question.

-UC IRVINE AT USC.  It’s a buy game, but UC Irvine is one of the better teams in the Big West, so they may be able to compete with this USC team.  Having said that, USC is having a fantastic year and is deservedly ranked in the top ten.

-UTAH STATE AT WEBER STATE (Beehive).  Weber State has a bloated record and is likely the best team in the Big Sky, but this would easily be their biggest win of the year if they’re able to pull it off.  It’s not the easiest road game for Utah State, but this is the kind of game you expect tournament caliber teams to be able to win.

-NEW MEXICO STATE AT WASHINGTON STATE.  New Mexico State is a very strong UTR team that could really use a win like this on their resume.  Wazzu has had a nice year so far, but still has some work to do.  This is one that I’m looking forward to.

BUY GAMES:

-Howard @ Georgetown
-Tennessee Wesleyan (nonD1) @ Murray State
-Nicholls @ Wisconsin
-Morehead State @ Xavier
-Northern Colorado @ Arizona
-Portland @ Oregon – Oregon better watch out in this one
-Lipscomb @ Florida State
-Alabama State @ UCLA

-We will be recording the Hoops HD Report tonight, and I’ll have my personal bracket projection posted some time this afternoon.  Be on the lookout for both of those.

-Purdue followed up their loss at Rutgers with a near loss to NC State.  The game was on a neutral floor, so it was kind of surprising to see Purdue trail for most of the game.  They did manage an 82-72 win in overtime, and while losing to NC State on a neutral floor is hardly the kind of loss that sinks your season, it is the kind of loss that indicates that a team may not be a #1 seed caliber team like we believe Purdue to be.

-The Villanova vs Baylor game may have been the worst game that i’ve ever seen between two teams that were really good.  And…both teams are really good.  You just wouldn’t have known that by watching the first half.  I’ll give credit to Baylor.  Their defense is ridiculously good.  And, they did beat a really good Villanova team without even having to sweat 57-36.   Going back to last season Baylor has won 15 straight, and 37 of their last 39.  Of all those wins, I only count eight that you would consider to be buy games.  They are on a ridiculous run!

-Florida has hit a skid.  They’ve now lost three of their last four, one of those was to Texas Southern in a blowout, and yesterday they fell to a Maryland team 70-68 that hadn’t been playing well at all.  The Gators need to pull themselves out of the tailspin they’re in.

-Florida’s rivals to the North are also having issues.  Florida State fell to South Carolina 66-65 and are now just 5-4 on the season.

-Let’s keep the underachievements rolling!!  Oregon!!  They… have underachieved.  They fell at Stanford last night 72-69 and are now just 5-5 on the year.  They have the time and talent to get things turned around, but to date have not looked anything like the team we thought they would.

-Seton Hall held of Rutgers 77-63 in a game that was close most of the way, but that Seton Hall opened up at the end.  I pretty good week for Seton Hall who beat Texas earlier in the week.  Now they need to get some wins away from home.

As for tonight’s games, it has been a long time since so few games of meaning were played..

-CLEVELAND STATE AT OKLAHOMA STATE.  This game would be a little bit more important if only Oklahoma State were eligible for the postseason.  Cleveland State will be one of the frontrunners in the Horizon League, and with a 6-2 record I suppose a big win like this could catch the attention of the committee.

-RHODE ISLAND AT MILWAUKEE.  It’s some low hanging fruit for Rhody.  It should be an easy road win for them.