Hoops HD

NEWS AND NOTES:

-It took Villanova until halftime against Syracuse to wake up, but they dominated the second half and got the 67-53 win in the second game of the Jimmy V Classic

-In the first game of the Jimmy V Classic, neither team really woke up at any point.  It was an absolute slowdown rock fight between Tennessee and Texas Tech.  The Red Raiders got the 57-52 win in overtime, and the fact that it was kind of a sloppy game actually doesn’t matter at all.  This was a HUGE neutral floor win for Texas Tech.  Prior to this their only wins had been in home buy games against teams that weren’t even good by UTR standards.

-Furman and Winthrop seesawed back and forth, and it actually came down to the final couple of possessions before the game was decided, but Winthrop got the win.  It’s not easy to win at Winthrop.  But…it’s not easy to land inside the bubble either.  To do it, you have to win games that aren’t easy to win.  So, this will set Furman back.  I don’t want to have to say that Hoops HD Host Chad Sherwood was right about how I was overvaluing Furman, so…I won’t!!

-James Madison got an exciting win against Virginia.  It was a rare showcase home game for JMU, they led for most of the game, and they got a feel-good win.  The problem is that JMU’s only way into the NCAA Tournament will be with an at-large bid, and although they’re good, and although they have a home win against Virginia…Virginia is shaping up to be the kind of team that struggles to win road games.  They’ve actually yet to do it and are just 6-4 overall this season.  Not to rain on JMU’s parade because I actually am pulling for them, but this will probably be a win that they don’t end up getting a lot of credit for if UVA doesn’t turn their season around.

-Belmont picked up another really nice win as they took down Saint Louis on the road 64-59.  What is noteworthy about this game is just how flat Belmont came out.  They fell behind by 12 early, but then woke up, made some adjustments, and came back to win against a good team, on the road, that they were trailing.  SLU has been hit with injuries, but they’re still having a good year and this is a game that Belmont should get some credit for winning.

-Butler won at Oklahoma in overtime 66-62 in a result that really surprised me.  Butler really hadn’t looked all that good this season, and didn’t look all that good in the first half of this game.  They fought back on the road against a pretty good Oklahoma team and got the win.  Perhaps this will end up being a momentum builder for Butler.

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:

-UCONN AT WEST VIRGINIA.  UConn looks to be the better team so far, but this is a tough road game against a WVU team that’s also very good and that’s currently unbeaten at home.  It’s a resume building opportunity for both of them.

-INDIANA AT WISCONSIN (Big Ten).  Indiana has a bit of a bloated record, but they haven’t played in a game like this.  This would be a HUGE statement win for the Hoosiers, but it’s much easier said than done.  Wisky has already racked up some notable wins, and won’t be easy to beat on their floor.

-BUFFALO AT WESTERN KENTUCKY.  These are two good UTR teams that have missed some early opportunities, but could still end up having really big years in their conference, which potentially makes this game a chance for a notable win for both teams.

-UTAH AT TCU.  Both teams have bloated records, but both could really use some notable wins to go along with the wins they’ve bought at the pastry cart so far.

-DAYTON AT SMU.  This Dayton team is really on a roll.  It’s a night and day difference from how they looked in their first three games.  SMU is a team that could potentially finish near the bubble, and who is unbeaten at home, so while this wouldn’t be a protected-seed caliber win, it would still be a very nice win for the Flyers.  For that matter, this wouldn’t be a bad win at all for SMU either.

-MICHIGAN STATE AT MINNESOTA (Big Ten).  One of these teams is unbeaten, and it isn’t the Spartans.  Granted, Michigan State is much more tested, but Minney did win at Mississippi State their last time out, and if they can win tonight it would be a big time statement even though they are at home.

-UTAH STATE AT BYU (Beehive).  Just last week BYU lost on the road to Utah Valley in a tense atmosphere.  They’ll be in another very tense atmosphere tonight, only it will be with them instead of agains them.  This isn’t as venomous as the Utah rivalry, but it still highly intense, and Utah State is a good team that’s looking for a signature win to indicate they belong solidly inside the bubble.  Winning at BYU would certainly check that box.

-AIR FORCE AT MONTANA.  Air Force has not played the toughest of schedules, but they are 7-1 and can pick up their second true road win tonight.  Montana is unbeaten at home, and is typically tough to beat at home, so this won’t be a cakewalk by any means.

-MARQUETTE AT KANSAS STATE.  Marquette has a couple of nice wins against Illinois and West Virginia and can add another one to their resume tonight.  K State is also looking to give their resume a bit of a boost, so it’s a good opportunity for both teams.

-UTAH VALLEY AT SOUTHERN UTAH (Beehive).  Another Beehive game!!  WE AT HOOPS HD LOVE THE BEEHIVE!!!!

-CORNELL AT VIRGINIA TECH.  This is clearly a buy game, and Cornell really hasn’t been tested yet, but they come into this game with just one loss and with three true road wins.  So…this is a chance for them to make a statement.  It’s easier said than done, but the chance is there.

-DRAKE AT OMAHA.  Drake is a good team, but they’ve also used up quite a few strikes and basically needs to put together a long string of wins.

-WYOMING AT ARIZONA.  I’m lookin forward to this one.  Wyoming is unbeaten and while some of their wins have been decent, this is by far their biggest test of the season.  A loss really won’t hurt them because Arizona is a likely protected seed, and losing a road game to a protected seed is by no means a setback.  But, it’s a chance for us to see what the Cowboys can do against a really solid team in a really tough environment.

-WEBER STATE AT WASHINGTON STATE.  Another great game that probably isn’t going to get as much attention as it should.  Weber State is unbeaten, and Wazzu is a respectable 6-2.  Their last loss was at home to a very good USC team, who they played well against and had a chance to beat.  So…we’ve got an under the radar team that’s unbeaten and who could make a run at the bubble, and a dark horse team that could make quite a bit of noise in the Pac 12.

-FRESNO STATE AT SAN FRANCISCO.  Another good game between two teams with very good records, and that have been a little tested up to this point.  This is a bit of a bigger test for them tonight.

BUY GAMES (and others that might as well be):

-Ball State @ Xavier
-North Florida @ Florida – Gators looking to bounce back from the loss to Texas Southern
-Wagner @ Penn State – this may actually be a winnable game for Wagner
-Loyola MD @ Saint Bonaventure
-Lipscomb @ Miami FL – could turn out to be competitive
-Eastern Washington @ Colorado
-Towson @ Ohio State
-Cal State Fullerton @ San Diego State

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)