Under the Radar: Thanksgiving Edition

Posted on November 25, 2021 by David Griggs

HAPPY THANKSGIVING FROM HOOPS HD!!  On days like today, we all want to remember the things that are really important…and the things that are really truly important are college basketball games!!

We feature the Patriot League this week and talk about some of the big wins that Navy has pulled off, and how Colgate is also off to a good start.  After that we run through the other 21 UTR conferences and discuss the big start for Oakland, the big opportunities for teams like Loyola Chicago, Drake, Iona, and Belmont this week, teams that managed big wins in their exempt events, and teams that have struggled more than expected like New Mexico State, Missouri State, and Northern Iowa.  All that, and much more!!  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…

Posted in Podcasts, Under the Radar, Videocasts | Comments Off on Under the Radar: Thanksgiving Edition

News, Notes, and Highlighted Games: Thursday, Nov 25 (Thanksgiving Edition)

Posted on November 25, 2021 by David Griggs

NEWS AND NOTES:

-HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYBODY!!!  We hope you all have a good, fun, and safe holiday!  For those who can’t be with their families and want to be, or can’t avoid being with their families and don’t want to be, or who simply just don’t have any other plans for today…turn on the games, jump on Twitter, and interact with us!  We’ll be there!!  @HoopsHD

-Oregon has not looked good at all this year.  It’s not that losing to Houston is bad, but getting blown out the way that they did to fall to 3-3 is kind of bad.  I do think the Ducks will kick it into gear before the end of the year, but it hasn’t happened yet.

-UConn and Auburn played a double overtime thriller down in Atlantis with UConn finally pulling away for the 115-109 win.  It was just a high level, back and forth, well played game between two really good teams, and a really nice win for UConn’s resume.

-Seton Hall held on to beat a pretty bad California team in the Fort Meyers Tip-Off…but barely.  They really had to sweat out the 62-59 win and avoided what would have probably been a bad loss.

-Florida and Ohio State was another exciting game in the championship side of the Fort Meyers Classic.  It was a back and forth affair with the Gators winning at the buzzer 71-68

-Iowa State, who is not a team we thought would do anything this year, knocked off Xavier 82-70 yesterday and basically led from tip to buzzer.  Xavier was without some key players, but it was still a surprising result for the Cyclones, and while Xavier has the win against Ohio State, it raises the question as to whether they can play to that level away from home.

-Loyola Chicago and Michigan State came down to the wire in Atlantis with Michigan State making a game winning ally oop on their last possession of the game.  Loyola held a lead for much of the game, but just wasn’t holding it when time ran out.  While this certainly isn’t a damaging loss for the Ramblers, it was a missed opportunity and they only get so many of those due to playing in an Under the Radar conference.  Fortunately, even though they lost, they’ll have a couple more opportunities in this event including today against Auburn.

-Wisconsin knocked off Saint Mary’s to win the Maui Invitational 61-55, but both teams have really good runs in this event and are off to fantastic starts.  Whatever questions there were about these two teams have been answered.

-Florida State needed overtime at home to get past Boston University.  But, they avoided the near upset with an 81-80 win.

-George Mason has now lost four straight since their win at Maryland.  South Dakota State, who to be fair is good, knocked them off 80-76 in the Crossover Classic yesterday.  South Dakota State is now a respectable 6-2 on the year.

-There were a few good under the radar teams getting some wins yesterday with Vermont beating Appalachian State in the Gulf Coast Showcase to get to 5-2, and Murray State looking good on the year so far with a win against James Madison in the Naples Invitational to get to 5-1.   Middle Tennessee is also out to an unexpected 5-1 start after dominating Mercer in the Cancun Challenge yesterday.  Oakland knocked off Delaware in the Gulf Coast Showcase to continue to add wins to their resume, and Toledo is out to a 5-1 start with their win against Coastal Carolina in the Nassau Championship.

-Air Force win a Front Range thriller over Denver 66-65!!  WE AT HOOPS HD LOVE THE FRONT RANGE!!!

-The night ended early this morning with two unbeaten teams going at it in the SoCal Challenge as Fresno State knocked off Santa Clara 59-52.  Neither team has made an impression nationally yet, but both are worth keeping an eye one.

 

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:

-UCONN VS MICHIGAN STATE (Battle 4 Atlantis).  Both of these teams won in thrilling games yesterday.  Michigan State knocked off Loyola Chicago with an ally oop in the final seconds, and UConn needed two overtimes to get by Auburn.  Both teams have already managed some good early season wins, and both have the opportunity today build on it even more.

-DAYTON VS MIAMI FL (ESPN Events Invitational).  Miami is 3-1 and while they haven’t made any big national splash yet, they’ll get the chance to pick up some notable wins in this event.  Dayton is off to a terrible start at just 1-3, which includes some losses in buy games.  If they were to do well in this tournament it could turn things around, but that’s easier said than done.

-NORTH TEXAS VS KANSAS (ESPN Events Invitational).  North Texas is off to a respectable 2-1 start and they should be able to make some noise in CUSA this year, but this still appears to be a rather big mismatch.

-AUBURN VS LOYOLA CHICAGO (Battle 4 Atlantis).  This is an important event for Loyola Chicago because they need some notable wins on their resume.  They just missed a big chance yesterday, but the good news for them is that the loss didn’t deny them a chance from picking up what would be a big win today against a really good Auburn team.

-BAYLOR VS VCU (Battle 4 Atlantis).  VCU picked up a big win yesterday against Syracuse.  Even though it’s still early in the year, you get the sense that it was a win they really needed.  Baylor continues to look awesome and could end up winning this whole event, which would certainly sustain their top ten ranking.

-ALABAMA VS IONA (ESPN Events Invitational).  This is a rematch from an NCAA Tournament game a year ago.  We really liked this Alabama team coming into the year, and they’ve certainly lived up to it so far.  Iona is an Under the Radar team that we really like who also comes in unbeaten.  While the Gaels may be overmatched today, I think they’re still good enough to pick up some really good wins in this event and help their resume.

-UAB VS NEW MEXICO (Las Vegas Invitational).  Both teams come in 4-1, and UAB is an Under the Radar team that we think can land inside the bubble.

-MARYLAND VS RICHMOND (Bahamas Championship).  We really like both these teams, but both are also a little slow out of the gate.  Maryland has the loss to George Mason, and Richmond has missed some opportunities at notable wins at 3-2.  So, you kind of get the sense that this is big for both teams because both could use a notable win.

-ARIZONA STATE VS SYRACUSE (Battle 4 Atlantis).   Both teams are coming off losses, but both still have the chance to pick up some big wins in this event.

-BELMONT VS DRAKE (ESPN Events Invitational).  You kind of hate that these two got paired against each other.  They’re both really good Under the Radar teams, they’re both teams who we think can land inside the bubble, but in order to do that they both need big wins in this event.  So, this has a really pivotal feel to it because the winning team will get on the winning side of the bracket and have better chances at big wins in their final two games.

-USC VS SAINT JOSEPH’S (Wooden Legacy).  USC can get to 5-0 with a win.

-SAN FRANCISCO VS TOWSON (Las Vegas Invitational).  San Francisco is off to an impressive start and can get to 7-0 with a win.

-LOUISVILLE VS MISSISSIPPI STATE (Bahamas Championship).  Both teams are expected to be tournament teams.  Louisville is starting off a little slow with Chris Mack being suspended and having already lost a game to Furman, but this event is a chance to get it turned around.  Mississippi State is unbeaten, but this is their biggest test of the year up to this point.

-GEORGETOWN VS SAN DIEGO STATE (Wooden Legacy).  We like this San Diego State team and this event is a chance for them to pick up some big wins.

Posted in Daily Rundown, News and Notes | Comments Off on News, Notes, and Highlighted Games: Thursday, Nov 25 (Thanksgiving Edition)

News, Notes, and Highlighted Games: Wednesday, Nov 24th

Posted on November 24, 2021 by David Griggs

NEWS AND NOTES:

-In the feature game of the night between the two top ranked teams, Gonzaga opened up a big early lead, and held that lead for the entire game.  It felt like there was perhaps a five minute span at the beginning where Gonzaga was not up by 20, and that was it.

-Wisconsin had an amazing first half against Houston in the Maui Invitational, and led by 20 at the break.  Houston had an amazing comeback in the second half, but could not come all the way back.  Wisky held on for a 65-63 win, and it’s a big one for the Badgers.

-Cincinnati was not a team we were all that excited about at all coming into the season.  But, that was before they blew out Illinois on Monday, and nearly beat Arkansas on Tuesday.  The lead seesawed back and forth and was probably the most exciting game of the evening.  Arkansas held on to win 73-67, and they definitely showed that they are worthy of their ranking, but Cincinnati showed on back to back nights that they can play with (and even beat) top 25 teams.

-Saint Mary’s is perhaps another surprise team this year.  They remain unbeaten, and have knocked off Notre Dame and Oregon in the last two days to add two really good wins to their resume.

-Buffalo is a team we were big on, and the Cancun Challenge was a chance for them to pick up a few decent (at least) wins away from home.  They couldn’t get it done against Stephen F Austin yesterday, and that loss is a setback.  SFA, to be fair, looked pretty good!  They are a team that we’re starting to watch for our Under the Radar show.

-George Mason has now lost three straight after their big win at Maryland, and in yesterday’s loss to a pretty bad Nevada team, they did not mess around!  88-69 was the final.  The good that beating Maryland did for Mason’s resume has now been pretty much cancelled out by the three losses since then.

-Virginia put Providence to sleep and won 58-40.  This was a Providence team that had looked good coming into this one and a Virginia team that had…well…not.  I’d say UVA is back in step now.

-Washington knocked off a pretty good South Dakota State team 87-76 yesterday in the Crossover Classic.  Now, if you don’t follow Under the Radar, that may not impress you, but South Dakota State is good, and Washington was a team we had virtually no expectations for.  They’re off to a much better start than expected and are worth paying attention to.

 

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:

-LOYOLA CHICAGO VS MICHIGAN STATE (Battle 4 Atlantis).  Loyola Chicago is a team that we feel can land inside the bubble, but in order to do that they need multiple wins, and this event, and today’s game in particular, is a chance for them to do that.  This is a hugely important opportunity for them.

-HOUSTON VS OREGON (Maui Invitational).  Oregon has dropped two games now to West Coast Conference teams, and were beaten handily in both of them.  Still, they’re in good shape and should have a good year.  Houston fell behind big to Wisconsin, and although they battled back they couldn’t battle all the way back.  This is a good game between two quality opponents on a neutral floor and would be a resume boost for whoever pulls it off.

-UCONN VS AUBURN (Battle 4 Atlantis).  Both teams are ranked, both have looked good this season, and both can pick up some big resume building wins today and throughout the rest of the event.

-DENVER AT AIR FORCE (Front Range).  WE AT HOOPS HD LOVE THE FRONT RANGE!!!  Air Force can actually get to 5-1 with a win.

-VCU VS SYRACUSE (Battle 4 Atlantis).  It’s a big early season game between two teams that have potential, but that have also had setbacks early in the year.  VCU with injuries, and Syracuse with a loss to Colgate

-WISCONSIN VS SAINT MARY’S (Maui Invitational).  This is perhaps the match-up many were expecting to see today, but just not on the side of the bracket we are seeing it on!  Both teams had big wins yesterday with Wisconsin jumping out ahead of Houston and holding on to win, and Saint Mary’s knocking off Oregon for their second big win in a row.

-SETON HALL VS CALIFONRIA (Fort Meyers Tip-Off).  Seton Hall is coming off a close loss to Ohio State, but they’re still positioned to have a big season and shouldn’t have too much trouble with a Cal team that will likely struggle this year.

-XAVIER VS IOWA STATE (NIT Preseason Tip-Off).  Xavier has looked good this season, and this event is a chance for them to pick up some notable wins away from home.  We weren’t expecting much out of Iowa State at all, but they are 4-0.  They also haven’t been tested like they will be tonight, though.

-WASHINGTON VS NEVADA (Crossover Classic).  We had no expectations whatsoever for Washington this season, but they actually haven’t looked all that bad.  They’re 4-2 with wins against George Mason and South Dakota State in the last two days, both of whom are good teams.

-BAYLOR VS ARIZONA STATE (Battle 4 Atlantis).  Arizona State isn’t expected to do much this season and is likely way overmatched in this game…and perhaps this entire event.

-OHIO STATE VS FLORIDA (Fort Meyers Tip-Off).  Ohio State has just one loss at Xavier, and I guess that knocked them out of the rankings.  They won’t be unranked for long, though, as their resume is already starting to look impressive and they can add to it again tonight.  Florida already has a nice win of their own against Florida State, so both of these teams have already past some big early tests.

-STEPHEN F AUSTIN VS SAINT LOUIS (Cancun Challenge).  SFA knocked off a pretty good Buffalo team last night, and while we were quick to write off Saint Louis due to their injuries they are coming into this one at 5-1, so this is perhaps a sneaky good game.

-MEMPHIS VS VIRGINIA TECH (NIT Preseason Tip-Off).  Both teams are good, both are unbeaten, and both have the chance to add a nice early quality win to their resume tonight.

-GEORGE MASON VS SOUTH DAKOTA STATE (Crossover Classic).  George Mason hasn’t done much of anything since they won at Maryland.  This event was a chance for them to really build on that.  This was also something South Dakota State needed to do well in if they wanted to make a case they belonged inside the bubble, but they’ve had some setbacks as well.  This game is a chance for the winning team to leave here with at least a little bit more quality on their resume.

-TEXAS A&M VS NOTRE DAME (Maui Invitational).  Notre Dame has played well in this event, but all they’ve got to show for it now is a D2 win over Chaminade, which does nothing for them.  This is the chance for them to leave with at least one decent win on their resume, and it’s a chance for Texas A&M to leave with one more.

-SANTA CLARA VS FRESNO STATE (SoCal Challenge).  It’s a late tip, but it’s worth staying up for!  Both teams are unbeaten, both have looked kinda good, and both are trying to build their resumes

BUY GAMES AND OTHER GAMES WORTH MENTIONING:

-Vermont vs Appalachian State (Gulf Coast Showcase) – two pretty decent UTR teams
-Washington College (nonD1) @ Navy
-James Madison vs Murray State (Naples Invitational) – both teams have just one loss, and JMU needs to land inside the bubble to make the NCAAs
-Middle Tennessee vs Mercer (Cancun Challenge) – a win for Middle Tennessee gets them to a nice 5-1 start
-Western Illinois @ Eastern Michigan – WIU has been one of the surprise UTR teams this year, and can get to 5-1 with a win
-Nicholls vs Utah Valley ( SoCal Challenge) – Nicholls has a notable win already, Utah Valley can get to 5-1
-Toledo vs Coastal Carolina (Nassau Championship) – Toledo can get to 5-1
-George Washington vs Missouri State (Naples Invitational) – I still think Missouri State can end up having a big year, but they’ve struggled early
-Buffalo vs Illinois State (Cancun Challenge) – Buffalo is another UTR team that we think can have a monster year, but that’s also off to a bit of a sluggish start
-Tarleton @ Michigan
-UMass Lowell @ UMass – UMass Lowell can get to 5-1 with their third road win
-Boston U vs Florida State (Jacksonville Classic)
-Princeton at Monmouth – Princeton has looked good early on, and Monmouth has just one loss, so this is at least worth keeping an eye on
-Oakland vs Delaware (Gulf Coast Showcase) – Oakland is actually putting together a decent resume with a win over Oklahoma State and the only two losses coming to West Virginia and Alabama
-New Mexico Highlands (nonD1) @ New Mexico State
-East Tennessee State vs Kent State (Naples Invitational
-Houston Baptist @ Oklahoma
-Sam Houston @ SMU
-CA Baptist @ Texas – CA Baptist is unbeaten
-Texas Southern @ BYU
-Butler vs Chaminade (Maui Invitational)
-Vanderbilt at Pittsburgh – Vandy can get to 4-1 and pick up their first road win
-Jacksonville @ Minnesota
-Pepperdine vs TCU (SoCal Challenge)

Posted in Daily Rundown, News and Notes | Tagged | Comments Off on News, Notes, and Highlighted Games: Wednesday, Nov 24th

News, Notes, and Highlighted Games: Tuesday, Nov 23

Posted on November 23, 2021 by David Griggs

For the most recent HOOPS HD REPORT, which was recorded last night – CLICK HERE

-For Jon Teitel’s coverage of the Roman Main Event – CLICK HERE

NEWS AND NOTES:

-The biggest surprise of the day, and arguably the entire year up to this point, was Cincinnati’s blowout win against Illinois.  Cincinnati winning would have been somewhat of a surprise in and of itself, but Cincinnati falling behind 23-8, and then outscoring them by 35 from that point on while Illinois was back at full strength was absolutely stupefying.  Cincinnati goes on to play another highly ranked team tonight in Arkansas and they gotta be feeling pretty good about themselves.

-Seton Hall and Ohio State was an absolute thriller down in Fort Myers.  Ohio State led most of the way, but Seton Hall kept it close and tied it with a breakaway steel in the final seconds.  But..after that Ohio State hit a three to win 79-76.  These are two good teams that will probably finish higher in the rankings than they are right now, and it was a big win for Ohio State.

-Saint Mary’s got a nice win against Notre Dame in the Maui Invitational.  I think both these teams are better than what was forecasted in the preseason, and that this is a win that SMC will end up getting a lot of credit for by the end of the year.  Both teams will have other opportunities to get notable wins throughout this event.

-In the Gulf Coast Showcase, Oakland knocked off a Vermont team 63-61 that’s under the radar, but who will also probably win a lot of games this year.  Oakland has a long way to go to land inside the bubble, and has lost a game or two that they needed to win, but they also have a win at Oklahoma State, so we are definitely watching them.

-Neither Tulane or Drexel will likely be on the board come March, but yesterday in the Bahamas at the Nassau Championship they started their game in one ballroom, the roof started leaking so they had to move to another, and the place they moved to was too small for the cameras.  Tulane got the 90-87 win in overtime after a very rare college basketball rain delay.

-Colorado beat Brown….but BARELY.  Brown was in a position to win, but just couldn’t hold on and they fell 54-52.  Brown falls to 2-3, but two of their losses were close games to North Carolina and Colorado.

-Fordham blew out Akron in the Gulf Coast Showcase 63-43, and is showing signs of life!

-It was fun seeing old Valley rivals Creighton and Southern Illinois go at it again in the Paradise Jam, and it was fitting that it seesawed back and forth and came down to the wire.  Creighton ended up with the 66-64 win to improve to 5-1.  The Salukis fall to 2-3, but they’ve shown some promise and with a lot of season left to go they could still end up having a big year.  They REALLY could have used this one though!

-Lafayette got their first win of the season!  At Rutgers!  53-51.  Rutgers will have plenty of opportunities to make up for this, but this was NOT a good loss for them.

-Richmond got a nice 81-68 win against Hofstra.  I still think the Spiders can play their way inside of the bubble.

-Colorado State was down by as much as 20 to Northeastern in the Paradise Jam, but came from behind to get the 71-61 win and remain unbeaten on the year.

-LSU blew out what we think is a pretty good Belmont team 96-66.  Belmont will likely win a lot of games this year, but so far they’ve missed every opportunity they’ve had to get an early notable win.  In this particular case, they missed it BADLY!

-Wyoming got a nice win at Grand Canyon.  The Cowboys weren’t really on our radar, but they are now, and they’ll stay there until they give us a reason to ignore them.  They’re 4-0 on the year, they handed Grand Canyon their first loss of the year, and they did it on the road.  Considering GCU rarely loses at home, and may not lose at home for the rest of the season, that was a big win!

-George Mason has dropped two straight to two not so good teams since their win at Maryland.  They fell to Washington 77-74 in the Crossover Classic last night.

 

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:

-GONZAGA VS UCLA (Good Sam Empire Classic) (***Spotlight Game***).  It’s the top two teams in the rankings.  It’s a rematch from one of the best Final Four games every played.  It’s two potential #1 seeds.  It’s a fantastic showcase.  It’s also the fourth game of the season that has featured two top six teams!

-TEXAS A&M VS BUTLER (Maui Invitational).  Both are coming off losses, but both have the chance to bounce back today and pick up what (I think) will be a notable win.

-WISCONSIN VS HOUSTON (Maui Invitational).  This is a huge test for Wisconsin.  Houston seems to have once again established themselves as a top 20 caliber team, and perhaps they’re even better than that, so this would be a huge statement win for Wisky if they can pull it off.  The problem is…pulling it off is much easier said than done.

-ILLINOIS VS KANSAS STATE (Hall of Fame Classic).  Illinois got absolutely blasted into the sun by Cincinnati yesterday, and now suddenly has two early losses against teams that they were almost assuredly expecting to beat.  They need to bounce back today against a K State team that’s looking to pick up a notable win for themselves.

-GEORGE MASON VS NEVADA (Crossover Classic).  Since winning at Maryland, George Mason has lost back to back games to teams that…shall we say…are subpar.  They need to pull themselves out of that tailspin and avoid losing a third straight game like that today.

-WOFFORD AT SOUTH CAROLINA.  This might be a deceptively good game.  Wofford comes in at 4-1, and South Carolina is 3-1 with a pretty nice win against UAB in their last game.

-VIRGINIA VS PROVIDENCE (Legends Classic).  I think Virginia will kick it in to gear sometime after Thanksgiving.  They usually do.  But, it’s not Thanksgiving quite yet, and they have struggled.  Two very contrasting styles which will make this fun to watch on the court.  Two likely NCAA Tournament teams means that it’s a chance for both of them to pick up a notable win.

-OREGON VS SAINT MARY’S (Maui Invitational).  Oregon basically walked into this game by beating Chaminade, and Saint Mary’s picked up a really nice win against Notre Dame, which should help them out later on.  Oregon was blown out by BYU in their only real test of the season so far (to be fair, it was the first of many tests to come), so they could kind of use a win here to start getting their resume built.  SMC could remain unbeaten and add another notable win to their profile as well.

-EAST TENNESSEE STATE AT MISSOURI STATE (Naples Invitational).  Missouri State lost their season opener, which was a setback right out of the gate, but they’re still a good team that could play their way close to the bubble.  Maybe even on it.  Maybe even inside of it.  They need these wins away from home, though.

-CINCINNATI VS ARKANSAS (Hall of Fame Classic).  Cincinnati’s blowout win over Illinois last night was one of the bigger surprises of the season, and if they win tonight you have to start thinking of them as a top 25 caliber team.  It won’t be easy, though.  Arkasnas is in the rankings, is a potential protected seed, and it’s a chance for them to pick up what could turn out to be a notable win away from home of their own.

-SOUTH DAKOTA STATE VS WASHINGTON (Crossover Classic).  I was kind of surprised to see Washington beat George Mason last night, but they have actually not looked all that bad in most of their games so far.  South Dakota State is another Under the Radar team that we really like who needs to do well in this event in order to make their case.

BUY GAMES AND OTHER GAMES WORTH MENTIONING:

-Evansville vs Vermont (Gulf Coast Showcase) – I still think this Vermont team can make quite a bit of noise this year
-James Madison vs Wright State (Naples Invitaitonal) – JMU has a nice win against George Mason, but is coming off a loss to Kent State.  They won’t play in the CAA Tourney, so they need the auto-bid to make the field
-Akron vs Appalachian State (Gulf Coast Showcase) – two UTR teams that aren’t likely to make it inside the bubble, but that could still have big years
-Georgia vs Northwestern (Roman Legends Classic) – Northwestern is 4-1 with a chance to get to 5-1, but I’m still not a full believer
-Rice vs Oakland (Gulf Coast Showcase) – Oakland has some nice wins already, but they’ve also dropped a few that.  Still, they could end up having a big year
-Stephen F Austin vs Buffalo (Cancun Challenge) – I really like this Buffalo team and think they can finish inside the bubble
-Defiance (nonD1) @ Miami OH – Miami OH can get to 5-0
-Lipscomb @ Tennessee Tech – a win for Lipscomb gets them to 5-1, and is their second road win
-Louisiana @ Marshall – both teams 3-1
-Jackson State @ Indiana
-UNC Asheville @ North Carolina
-Rhode Island vs FGCU – interesting road game for 4-1 Rhody, who is looking for their first road win
-Kennesaw State @ Wake Forest
-Omaha @ Texas Tech
-Illinois State vs Saint Louis (CanCun Challenge) – SLU is beat up with injuries, but they are also a respectable 4-1 right now
-NC A&T @ Stanford
-Notre Dame vs Chaminade (nonD1) (Maui Invitational)

Posted in Daily Rundown, News and Notes | Comments Off on News, Notes, and Highlighted Games: Tuesday, Nov 23

The Hoops HD Report: November 22nd

Posted on November 22, 2021 by David Griggs

It’s the busiest week of the year in college basketball.  The Hoops HD panel looks back at all the action from the past week, including Purdue’s big win against Villanova, the struggles of the Big Ten, the early strength of the Big East, Saint Bonaventure and Colorado State still being undefeated, and all of the upcoming MTEs…

And for all you radio lovers, below is an audio only version of the show…

Posted in Hoops HD Report, Podcasts, Videocasts | Tagged | 1 Comment

All-access at the Roman Main Event: Day 2 Recap

Posted on November 22, 2021 by Jon Teitel

The Roman Main Event has quickly become 1 of the best 4-team early-season basketball tournaments in the nation, putting itself right up there with other events such as the Hall of Fame Tip-Off Classic and the Jimmy V Classic. This year’s edition features a fearsome foursome of Arizona/Michigan/UNLV/Wichita State. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel is on the scene in Vegas this weekend trying to bring you as much access as possible. He concludes his coverage with a review of Sunday night’s doubleheader:



After having MUCH better luck at the poker table Sunday afternoon than the previous day I grabbed some dinner and walked over to the arena. The Bengals-Raiders game was ending around the same time so there were a ton of fans of both teams walking up and down the Strip. I walked down to the court to meet Arizona legend Jason Gardner on the bench during warmups: he is soft-spoken and super-nice! We reminisced about the 2001 NCAA title game in Minneapolis (my time at the Metrodome that night remains 1 of the saddest sporting results of my life) and I restrained myself from requesting an unprofessional selfie.



I am unsure when Vegas became the capital of the sports world but they are in the middle of 1 heck of a stretch: Blue Jackets-Golden Knights and a world welterweight title fight on Saturday, Bengals-Raiders yesterday, Roman Main Event all weekend, with the Maui Invitational starting today and UCLA-Gonzaga hoops tomorrow night! The only time that Juwan Howard played against Arizona was on December 29, 1993: the good news is that he led the Wolverines with 18 PTS:

The bad news is that Khalid Reeves scored a career-high 40 PTS as #12 Arizona blew out #7 Michigan in Tucson by the score of 119-95:



Speaking of Michigan basketball from the 1990s, you just knew that we would see 1 of these jerseys this weekend:



The upper bowl remained empty all evening and there were not a lot of Wichita ST-UNLV fans who showed up for the 1st game of the doubleheader but atmosphere was still pretty electric. Most tourney champs get a trophy but the winner of this 1 will get a championship belt because it is in Vegas. Let’s get ready to…tip it off!



The intensity was evident early on with players from both teams diving for loose balls left and right. Equally intense was the Michigan fan sitting near me with a calf tattoo of the “Block M”. He told me that he got it in Alabama after Tom Brady’s final college game, when the Wolverines beat the Tide 35-34 in the 2000 Orange Bowl thanks to Ryan Pflugner missing an extra point in OT:



Michigan kept it close for the 1st 10 minutes thanks to Eli Brooks getting into the lane for some layups/runners and Hunter Dickinson being active in the paint on both offense/defense. However, the Wolverines did not make a single 3-PT shot in the 1st half so Arizona was able to build an 8-PT lead by halftime. If you are in Tucson and need a beer, I cannot recommend the bar featured on this t-shirt highly enough:



On offense it was a total team effort: Bennedict Mathurin/Azuolas Tubelis making lots of layups and Dalen Terry converting threes/dunks and then getting pumped up by his teammates (followed by him staring down an entire section of Michigan fans sitting right behind the basket):



The defensive star was Kerr Kriisa: his outside shot was not falling for most of the weekend (3-18 3PM) but he took multiple charges in the paint and was loving every second of it:



Christian Koloko was getting it done on both ends with a couple of baby hook shots:

He also had a huge block on Dickinson that got the Arizona fans out of their seats:



However, he must have been doing something wrong because he received some…spirited instructions from Lloyd after he came out of the game:



The 2nd half was even worse for the Wolverines: Dickinson made a layup/runner in the lane but also had an easy layup attempt that somehow spun out and seemed to signal that it was just not his night. The Wildcats did not get much scoring from their bench but they did not need it because of the strength of their starters. Mathurin made a pair of threes when he was open behind the arc and when he was not open he would drive inside for a runner/floater.



Terry had a pair of breakaway dunks that allowed him to tie his career-high with 13 PTS and he kept sneering at the opposing fans in the stands all night long. The star of the weekend was Koloko, who just kept dunking all over Michigan in the 2nd stanza to finish with a career-high 22 PTS as the Wildcats won it 80-62. My most vivid memory of him during the past 2 years was when he missed a pair of potential game-winning free throws against Oregon in February of 2020…but now it has been replaced with him making 6-6 FTs on Sunday while thoroughly outplaying Dickinson on both ends of the court:



As the buzzer sounded and the players celebrated on the court I decided to walk down and get some photos of the action. I saw Mathurin saying hi to someone in the stands:



Terry showing off the championship belt:



& Lloyd telling everyone back in Tucson to BTFD!:



At the postgame press conference I asked Koloko about his improvement at the line from his freshman year when he only made 7-20. He said that he has been working on his FTs and his goal this year is to be above 80%. He knows that he will get fouled a lot so he knows that he needs to make them:



I wanted to see if Coach Lloyd even remembered what it was like to lose a regular season game (since he has now won 31 in a row as a head/assistant coach dating back to February of 2020!). He pondered things while in his t-shirt (since his gameday gear was soaking wet after his players drenched him with water bottles in the locker room) and said that he is just keeping it simple. He learned from a great mentor in Gonzaga coach Mark Few and is just trying to get his guys ready to compete:



I decided to see what Brooks thought about facing the tallest team in the nation. He said they have a really good inside presence and big men who are active and concluded that, “We need to get back in the lab and solve some problems”:



I wisely refused to see if Coach Howard recalled his 1993 loss to Arizona and just focused on his philosophy when his team is missing 3-PT shot after 3-PT shot. His opinion is that when his guys have open shots he wants them to let it fly because, “Sometimes they do not go in but I encourage my guys to keep shooting”:



I made it through halftime of Game 2 (which turned out to be quite exciting with Wichita State beating UNLV 74-73) and decided to call it a wrap after almost tripping over a trio of tubas in the tunnel:



My only regret is that I did not stay longer for even more basketball in Vegas, as I missed the Maui Invitational quarterfinals at the Michelob Ultra Arena today and will miss the game of the year (Gonzaga-UCLA) tomorrow at the T-Mobile Arena. Oh well, you will not hear me complaining about a Wildcat win so enjoy all the hoops this week and have a happy Thanksgiving!

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