Hoops HD

NEWS AND NOTES:

-Northwestern is now 6-2 on the year after winning their Big Ten opener at Maryland.  Maryland is hardly a world-beater, and after changing coaches last week probably doesn’t have a highly successful season ahead of them, but still…this Northwestern team is better than expected and worth keeping an eye on.

-Minnesota is also far better than expected this year.  They improved to 7-0 and picked up their second true road win of the season after knocking off a good Mississippi State team 81-76.

-Richmond won at Northern Iowa in a game that went from looking like a good opportunity for a big win back in November to a game that neither could afford to lose.  Both still have potential, but Northern Iowa may already be completely out of strikes, and Richmond needs to really play well the rest of the way to be on the board come March.

-Keep an eye on Belmont.  They beat Samford 85-73 on the road yesterday afternoon.  They have played in some tough games and have won a few of them, and while Samford isn’t expected to be great this year, they did have a good record coming into yesterday and it was their first home loss.

-Xavier picked up a really nice road win at Oklahoma State, which was their first true road win of the season.  They are sitting at 7-1 with some pretty good wins, and the only loss being to an Iowa State team that is MUCH better than expected this year.

-Kansas State got a nice win in Wichita against Wichita State.  It was not at the Round House (and I admit that I didn’t realize it wasn’t on Wichita’s campus until the game started, so I missed that in the write up yesterday), but it was still a good win away from home against a good team in front of a pro-Shockers crowd.

-Arizona State got a very surprising win at Oregon 69-67.  This prompts the question…WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH OREGON!!??

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:

-ILLINOIS AT IOWA (Big Ten).  Iowa is coming off their first loss of the season.  They’re still in reasonably good shape, but they could still really use a notable win.  Illinois has gotten off to a slower start that expected and could really use a win in a game like this too.  In short, both team could use the momentum of winning this game as much as they could use it on paper right now.

-NEW MEXICO STATE AT NEW MEXICO.  It’s Part Two of this annual home-and-home!  Hopefully the lights stay on this time.  New Mexico State may be strong by WAC standards this year, but they haven’t really shown (yet) that they are strong by inside-the-bubble standards.  Having said that, New Mexico is currently unbeaten at home, so this is a win they’d get some credit for if they can pull it off.

-Texas Southern @ Florida
-Alcorn State @ Houston

NEWS AND NOTES:

-It was a big day for Alabama yesterday!!  They knocked off one of the top teams in the country in a game that not many people were expecting them to win!!  Oh…and they did it in basketball too!!  Alabama held a lead over Gonzaga for pretty much the entire game, and it grew as high as 18 at one point in the second half.  While the Zags did fight back and get as close as 2, they could never get control of the game.  It wasn’t a true road game since it was in Seattle, but it was very much a pro-Zags crowd, so this is a monster win for the Crimson Tide.

-BYU bounced back from their loss at Utah Valley with a win at Missouri State.  I’m not declaring this to be the greatest win of all time, but it was a tough road win against a team that will likely win a lot of games at home this year.

-Tennessee got a very impressive 69-54 road win at Colorado.  We thought Tennessee was better than Colorado, but Colorado is typically VERY tough to beat at home, so this was a very impressive showing for the Vols.

-Memphis has now lost three straight after an impressive 5-0 start.  They fell 67-63 at Ole Miss.  Ole Miss is unbeaten at home.  It’s not easy to win there, but it is a game that you would expect a top 20 caliber team to be able to win.

-Iowa State got another hugely impressive win as they beat Creighton 64-58 in Omaha.  It was the first true road win for the Cyclones, and it was a big one.  This has got to be one of the biggest single year turnarounds in recent memory.

-USC handed Washington State their first home loss of the year in a hard fought 63-61 win.  This is a big win for the Trojans.  It may not make national headlines, but Wazzu has been really good at home this year.

-Louisville got a nice win on the road against NC State, which is a very nice bounce-back after losing to Michigan State.  Louisville has some good early season wins on their profile right now.

-Wake Forest is now 8-1 after not just beating Virginia Tech on the road, but beating them bad.  Wake is another team that has exploded onto our radar!

-Loyola Chicago got a nice road win at DePaul 68-64.  It’s not the kind of win that will carry them all the way inside the bubble, but it was still a good road win for the Ramblers.

-Colorado State looked really impressive in their 74-58 win against Saint Mary’s.  It was a home win, but it was a decisive win that came against a quality opponent, and a statement that Colorado State is for real.  Sooner or later the voters are going to recognize them and start ranking them.  They’ll probably be very high in the rankings by the time the year is over.

-Syracuse picked up a nice conference road win at Florida State after some early season struggles of their own.  The Noles still have a lot of potential, but they are reeling a little bit, especially this past week.

-Louisiana Tech picked up a really nice road win at Santa Clara.  They are a really good UTR team that still has a long way to go to land inside the bubble, but a big road win like this will certainly help.

-UAB continues to roll.  They improved to 7-2 yesterday with a really nice road win at Saint Louis, which was the first home loss of the year for the Billikens.

-Murray State is another UTR team that is emerging. They improved to 7-1 on the season after beating Middle Tennessee team that came into the game with just one loss.

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:

-NORTHWESTERN AT MARYLAND (Big Ten).  Mark Turgeon has left Maryland, and they welcome in new Interim Head Coach Danny Manning!!  HE IS BACK!!  Northwestern is a respectable 5-2 and Maryland is doing okay at 5-3, but neither team has done anything big yet.

GEORGETOWN AT SOUTH CAROLINA.  The Gamecocks have shown some signs of life early on and can improve to 6-2 on the year with a win today.

-MINNESOTA AT MISSISSIPPI STATE.  Both teams come into this one with good records, but it’s also one of the bigger tests that either team has had so far, so we should be able to learn a little something about both of them.  We weren’t expecting Minney to do much this year, but they are unbeaten at 6-0 and will really have our attention if they can get this one.

-RICHMOND AT NORTHERN IOWA.  Both teams have been very disappointing this year.  I suppose it’s possible for them to turn things around, but this now feels like a game that neither team can lose more than it does a game that would be a big one to win.

-BELMONT AT SAMFORD.  Belmont is off to a really good early start and already has some notable wins.  Samford hasn’t really been tested yet, but they are 6-1 on the year, so Belmont better not overlook them.

-NORTH CAROLINA AT GEORGIA TECH (ACC).  It’s a winnable road game for the Tarheels, but it may not be easy.  We were quick to write up Georgia Tech when they lost their opener to Miami OH, but Miami OH has gone on to be a bit of a surprise this year, and GA Tech’s only other loss was a close one to Wisconsin, so it wouldn’t shock me if UNC struggled in this one.

-ARIZONA AT OREGON STATE (Pac 12).  This is a very winnable road game for Arizona.  They should remain unbeaten, pick up their first true road win, and win their conference opener.

-CHATTANOOOGA AT LIPSCOMB.  This could be a bit of a tough road game for a Chattanooga team that’s off to a 6-1 start.  Lipscomb isn’t likely to lose to many at home, so if the committee is paying attention they should give the Mocs some credit for this if they’re able to pull it off.

-XAVIER AT OKLAHOMA STATE.  It’s a tough road test for a Xavier team who’s looked good this year, and who’s only loss is to a pretty good Iowa State team.

-CALIFORNIA AT UTAH (Pac 12).  It’s a conference game, but it could end up seeming like more of a buy game.  Having said that, Cal did win their conference opener the other night, but it was at home against Oregon State.

-KANSAS STATE AT WICHITA STATE.  Wichita State is 6-1 and probably deserves a lot more attention than what they’re getting.  They should be able to hold serve against K State tonight.

-ARIZONA STATE AT OREGON.  This is a winnable conferene game for an Oregon team that has struggled a little more than we thought they would so far, but who still has a very high ceiling.

-OHIO STATE AT PENN STATE (Big Ten).  It’s the conference opener for Ohio State, and it should be a winnable game despite it being a road game.

BUY GAMES:

-Bethune Cookman @ UCF
-Saint Thomas @ Drake
-Bryant @ Cincinnati
-Fordham @ Saint John’s (this may not technically be a buy game, but it might as well be)

NEWS AND NOTES:

-Purdue held a lead against Iowa for pretty much the entire game.  The final score was 77-70, but you never got the sense that Purdue wasn’t in control

-Furman was down to Charleston by double digits for what seemed like the entire second half, and Charleston was playing a fantastic game.  Somehow Furman made it close, then tied it, then forced overtime, and then won in overtime.  The Paladins improve to 6-2 and with the win against Louisville their resume looks really solid.

-Virginia struggled against what looks to be a lowly Pitt team.  With 10 seconds to go, Pitt was up by 4.  Then there was a UVA made 3, a 5 second violation by Pitt, and another wild shot by UVA that went down with less than a second to go, and the Hoos escaped with the 57-56 win.

HIGLIGHTED GAMES:

-ALABAMA VS GONZAGA (Battle in Seattle) (***Spotlight Game***).  It’s yet another match-up between two top ten teams that involves Gonzaga.  Alabama has won some big games this year, and tonight has a chance to win one that suggests that not only should they be a protected seed, but that they are on par with #1 seeds.  As for Gonzaga, it would be yet another win against a highly ranked team to add to their already super impressive resume.

-SAINT JOSEPH’S AT VILLANOVA (Big Five).  It’s the Holy War!!!  this may be more of a Holy Massacre than a war.  Nova is a Final Four caliber team and Joe’s  is…well…not.

-MEMPHIS AT OLE MISS.  Memphis has a talented team, but they’ve still struggled in their last few games.  Ole Miss is off to a respectable 5-2 start and is unbeaten at home, so this will be a bit of a road challenge for Memphis, who is still looking for their first true road win.

-CLEMSON AT MIAMI FL (ACC).  Both teams have a lot of work to do if they want to end up on the right side of the cut line.

-OAKLAND AT IUPUI (Horizon League).  If Oakland can run away from the HL, they have a great chance of landing inside the bubble.

-NEBRASKA AT INDIANA (Big Ten).  Indiana is coming off a close loss at Syracuse, but they’ve shown signs of having potential this year.  They need to take care of business in this one.

-MARQUETTE AT WISCONSIN.  This is a big rivalry between two teams that are off to really good starts, and will almost assuredly be in the top half of the bracket come March.  It’s Marquette’s first true road game, so we should learn something about them.

-SAN DIEGO STATE AT MICHIGAN.  Neither team is off to the kind of start they probably wanted to be off to, but both are still good and both have potential.  This would be a big win that both teams could really use.

-TENNESSEE AT COLORADO.  This is the first true road game for Tennessee, and it’s not an easy one.  Colorado may not be as good as Tennessee on equal terms, but they are very tough to beat on their home floor, so it’s a game Tennessee should get quite a bit of credit for if they can get it done.

-RHODE ISLAND AT PROVIDENCE.  This game is a war!  It is a BITTER rivalry that probably doesn’t make the splash on the national radar that a lot of other rivalries do, but is every bit as intense.  This year it means quite a bit on paper as well as off paper.  Rhody is 6-2 and is looking for a signature win, and Providence is 7-1 and unbeaten at home.

-LOUISVILLE AT NC STATE (ACC).  Both teams are off to a good start and Louisville picked up some nice wins in their MTE, but this is just their second true road game of the year, and winning at NC State isn’t easy.

-WAKE FOREST AT VIRGINIA TECH (ACC).  Both teams have good records, but both could use some notable wins.

-BYU AT MISSOURI STATE.  This is a tough road test for a BYU team that’s looking to rebound from their upset loss at Utah Valley early in the week.  Missouri State is a team we were really high on coming into the year, but that hasn’t really shown us much yet.  Still, with a showcase game at home against a ranked opponent they may be way up for this one.

-ARMY AT AIR FORCE.  AFA hasn’t played the toughest of schedules, but they are 6-1 coming into this one.

-LOYOLA CHICAGO AT DEPAUL.  Loyola Chicago missed some opportunities to get some big wins in their MTE, but they didn’t come away completely empty handed and they got the chance to pick up a notable win today.  DePaul is currently 6-0 with all their wins coming at home, but they haven’t had a really big statement win yet either.  In short, this is a crosstown match-up between two teams who both have something to prove.

-CAMPBELL AT VCU.  This is a buy game, but with Campbell being 6-1 with the only loss coming at Duke in a game where they really competed, we are gonna highlight it!

-SAINT MARY’S AT COLORADO STATE.  This is a HUGELY important game between two teams that will likely make the NCAA Tournament.  Saint Mary’s is coming off a huge win at Utah State (that Aggies fans probably feel was a bit controversial), so they have shown they can win on the road.  Colorado State is unbeaten on the season and while they’ve been tested a little bit, this may be their toughest game of the year to date.  So…it’s a big one.

-PENN AT TEMPLE (Big Five).  If it weren’t a Big Five game, we wouldn’t be mentioning it.

-SYRACUSE AT FLORIDA STATE (ACC).  Florida State is licking their wounds a little bit after getting beaten rather badly by Syracuse, and Syracuse has to be feeling good after just beating Indiana.  The Orange still has a ton of work to do, though.  This is their first road game of the year, and it’s not an easy one against an FSU team that is looking to rebound.

-BUFFALO AT SAINT BONAVENTURE (Big Four).  The Bonnies have fallen out of the rankings after losing to Northern Iowa, and they actually struggled a little bit with Coppin State the other night.  This one won’t be easy either as it is against a Big Four rival, and Buffalo is a team that’s really good and trying to pick up a big statement/resume building win of their own.

-TOLEDO AT MICHIGAN STATE.  It’s a buy game, but Toledo is off to a 6-1 start and can probably at least compete with the Spartans.  At the very least Michigan State does not want to overlook them.

-USC AT WASHINGTON STATE.  I am VERY excited for this one!!  USC is off to a 7-0 start and has looked really good this year.  Wazzu is a team that we thought could be a dark horse, and with a 7-1 start with some decent wins they’ve given us reason to be optimistic.  This is a big test for them, and a showcase game at home, so it should be a fun one!

-VANDERBILT AT SMU.  As much as we’ve ragged on Vandy, they are 5-1 and have a road win.  They haven’t won a game like this, but if they can pull it off, they’ll have our attention.

-UAB AT SAINT LOUIS.  A big game between a UAB team that we feel is really good and has a shot at landing inside the bubble, and a Saint Louis team that we felt would be impacted by injuries, but is still off to a really good start at 7-1.

-OLD DOMINION AT GEORGE MASON.  I don’t know what to say about this one other than that George Mason needs to pull themselves out of the tailspin they’ve been in.

-MIDDLE TENNESSEE AT MURRAY STATE.  It’s two under the radar teams, but both only have one loss.

-PORTLAND STATE AT WEBER STATE (Big Sky).  Weber is undefeated, and as long as they stay that way we will keep highlighting them.  Their next four are against Washington State, Utah State, BYU, and Fresno State so if they can win a few of those they will have made a really big statement.

-IOWA STATE AT CREIGHTON.  Iowa State has been one of the biggest surprises of the year.  They are unbeaten and in the rankings with some big wins.  This is their first true road game, though, and it won’t be easy.  Creighton is also quite good, and is particularly strong at home.

-UNLV AT SAN FRANCISCO.  We really like this San Francisco team and they’ve got a winnable game tonight to improve to 9-0.

BUY GAMES

-Nyack @ Seton Hall
-Yale @ Auburn
-Northern Illinois @ Dayton
-Gardner Webb @ East Carolina
-William & Mary @ Davidson
-Saint Francis U @ Ohio U
-Little Rock @ Arkansas
-Grambling @ UConn
-McNeese @ Wyoming
-Arkanas Pine Bluff @ Baylor
-Cal State Northridge @ Fresno State
-Mississippi Valley State @ Grand Canyon

-TCU had a somewhat impressive win against Oral Roberts last night.  At least…I think.  ORU is just 4-4, and I kind of thought we would’ve seen more out of them than what we’ve seen, so maybe this will turn out to be just a so-so win after all, but TCU is 6-1 on the year.

-Oakland really had to sweat at UIC, which was a bit of a surprise, but they picked up the 81-77 win.

-Belmont blasted Lipscomb 94-65.  Belmont winning wasn’t a surprise, but the margin of victory sure was.  Belmont had some missed opportunities in November, but they took advantage of a few opportunities as well.  If they can thunder through the rest of the season they should end up at least on the bubble, and perhaps even inside of it.

-The game of the night, both on paper and on the court, was Saint Mary’s getting another really good win on their resume as they held off Utah State 60-58.  Utah State won’t lose too many at home this year, so this looks really good on SMC’s profile.

-NOTRE DAME AT BOSTON COLLEGE (ACC).  Neither team is off to a great start, but neither team has buried themselves either.  It has the feeling of being a ‘momentum’ game more than anything else.

-KANSAS AT SAINT JOHN’S.  The Johnnies have shown some promise this year and have just one loss on the season, but they haven’t been tested yet like they will be tonight.  Even though it’s a home game, it’s still going to be a very hard game to win.  As for Kansas, it’s never easy to win on the road, but protected seeds need to be able to win road games like this.  Otherwise…they aren’t really protected seeds.

-CHARLESTON AT FURMAN.  Two really good UTR teams, and I still think Furman can finish inside the bubble if they really play well throughout the rest of the year.

-RIDER AT IONA (Metro Atlantic).  We have to start thinking of Iona as a tournament caliber team.  If they can hold serve throughout conference play, they should be inside the bubble.

-RUTGERS AT ILLINOIS (Big Ten).  Illinois has had some struggles early, but I think they’re good enough to be way up the seedlist by the end of the year.  They should be able to hold serve tonight.

-PITTSBURGH AT VIRGINIA (ACC).  This is a conference game that may end up looking like a buy game by the time it’s over.

-IOWA AT PURDUE (Big Ten).  Purdue will be the top ranked team in the nation next week if they can hold on.  Iowa is no slouch.  They haven’t had as big of a test as what they’ll face tonight (and may not for the rest of the year.  I mean…it just doesn’t get any tougher than playing a team like Purdue on the road), but they do come in at 7-0.

-UTRGV AT TEXAS – buy game

-BRYANT AT HOUSTON – buy game

-BETHESDA (nonD1) AT UC IRVINE – buy game