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!

Posted in CBB | 1 Comment

Hoops HD Staff Bracket (David Dorman): Nov 22nd

Posted on November 22, 2021 by David Griggs

For today’s News, Notes, and Highlighted Games – CLICK HERE

Today’s Staff Bracket was put together by David Dorman!  His notes are posted below.

This does not take into account any games played on or after Monday, Nov 22nd

-My at-large field came down to 8 spots for 15 teams.

The last 8 teams that got in were: Oregon, Marquette, Notre Dame, San Diego State, Michigan State, LSU, and the very last two in were Maryland and San Francisco

-The seven that just missed in my bracket were: UCF, Cincinnati, Georgia Tech, Syracuse, Washington State, Mississippi State, and Saint Mary’s

What stood out?
-Seton Hall on the #3 line? Yes, the Pirates earned the spot with the victory over Michigan in Ann Arbor.  That is the best true road win of the season so far

-Marquette was not in my bracket last week but with the very solid showing in the Charleston Classic they moved in.  Yes they got blown out by the Bonnies in the title game but the Bonnies are a legit top 20 team

-Michigan State (10 seed) and North Carolina (11 seed) will have plenty of opportunities to better their seed but for now this is where they sit.  As of today they both lost their big opportunities

-The Big Ten got 8 bids and the SEC got 7 bids

-The American got 2 bids (Memphis and Houston) but were very close to four bids (UCF and Cincinnati).  This conference will be wild to track all year long

-Watch out for the West Coast Conference this year and how many bids they receive.  Today they have three (Gonzaga, BYU, and San Francisco) and Saint Mary’s was right on the cut line and could have been the last team in.  Will the WCC get four teams in the bracket this year?

-I was very high on the Missouri Valley coming into the season.  In my bracket today they only have one team in (Loyola Chicago).  Can Drake and Missouri State go on a run and get The Valley more than one team in?

-The Atlantic Ten seems to be down this year with one great team (Saint Bonaventure) and not much else.  Will anyone push for a second bid for the A-10?

Enjoy the great games and tournaments this Thanksgiving Week as many teams have their chance to make an early statement!!

Posted in Bracketology | Comments Off on Hoops HD Staff Bracket (David Dorman): Nov 22nd

News, Notes, and Highlighted Games: Monday, Nov 22

Posted on November 22, 2021 by David Griggs

NEWS AND NOTES:

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

-I say this multiple times every November, but it is definitely true.  NOVEMBER IS THE BUSIEST MONTH OF THE SEASON!!  It’s not even close.  March is the most climactic month of the season, but November is the busiest.  If you really love college hoops, you can gorge on it in November.  That’s why sometimes it takes a little longer to get the daily write-up posted.

-Arizona isn’t in the rankings, but they are about to be.  They are off to about as good of a start as any team could be off to, and last night they blew it open against Michigan for an 80-62 win.  If you weren’t a believer in the Wildcats, then you probably should be now.

-Villanova lost their second close game to a top six team as they fell to Purdue 80-74.  This is a game where Nova actually had a lead for a lot of it, but Purdue kept it close, and got control of it at the end.  This was a really well played game by both teams, and while Nova has two early season losses, losing at UCLA in overtime and to Purdue in a close game hardly even constitutes a setback.  They can still have a monster year, and they’ve got ample opportunities at big wins.  As for Purdue, they had a great weekend!  They beat two ranked teams away from home!

-Tennessee got an impressive 89-72 win over North Carolina in the third place game of the Hall of Fame Tip-Off.  The fact that it was a third place game means nothing.  All the committee will treat it as is a neutral floor game between two (presumably) good teams.

-Saint Bonaventure had sleepwalked through some of their early buy games, but they were wide awake yesterday.  They blew it open against Marquette 70-54 in the Charleston Classic.  This was a Marquette team that had been playing really well prior to that game.

-Utah State picked up a nice win against Oklahoma in the Myrtle Beach Invitational.  Utah State will have more chances at quality wins than what under the radar teams get later on in the season, but not as many as most power conference teams, so it’s important for their resume that they get them now.

-Furman, who won at Louisville and nearly won at Belmont, had a somewhat damaging home loss to Navy yesterday 77-66.  Or…what it??  This Navy team has now won at Virginia and at Furman, and their only losses are at Virginia Tech and at Louisville.  So…as preposterous as this may seem…Navy has an outstanding resume just a couple of weeks in!

-West Virginia knocked off Clemson in the Charleston Classic to pick up another nice neutral floor win and move head coach Bob Huggins to 4th on the all time wins list for college coaches.  WVU, once again, has a good team.

-Colorado State pretty much led Creighton tip to buzzer in their 95-81 win in the Paradise Jam.  This is a really good Colorado State team who should be cracking the rankings soon, and who should be high in the rankings before the year is over.

-Missouri got a nice win over SMU in the Jacksonville Classic.  I don’t know yet if this is a good win for Missouri (who is noticeably better than when Kansas City ran them over) or a really bad loss  for SMU.

 

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:

-VERMONT VS OAKLAND (Gulf Coast Showcase).  These are two really good UTR teams with an outside shot at landing inside the bubble.  Oakland already has a nice win against Oklahoma State and while Vermont doesn’t have the big win on their resume yet, they do have what will probably turn out to be a decent win at Northern Iowa, and their only loss was at Maryland.

-TEXAS A&M VS WISCONSIN (Maui Invitational).  TAMU is a potential dark horse this year, and if they can make some noise in this tournament they could end up being more than just a dark horse.  Wisky is a likely NCAA Tournament caliber team as well.

-BROWN VS COLORADO (Paradise Jam).  Brown could make some noise in the Ivy League this year, and has actually looked good early on.  Colorado is a likely tournament team that’s trying to add some neutral floor wins to their resume.

-BUTLER VS HOUSTON (Maui Invitational).  Butler has had some great teams in recent years.  This year they have looked a little less than great so far, but a strong showing in this tournament can completely turn that around.  Houston, once again, looks like they can be a protected seed.

-CREIGHTON VS SOUTHERN ILLINOIS (Paradise Jam).  Both teams are coming off losses, but both have the chance to pick up what should be at least a notable neutral floor win today, and get an even better chance in their third game.  The selection committee doesn’t care that it’s in the loser’s bracket.  To them it’s the same as any neutral floor game.

-OHIO STATE VS SETON HALL (For Meyer’s TipOff).  Really good early season match-up from a Seton Hall team that’s off to a good 3-0 start, and an Ohio State team that, while coming off of a loss, still has the make up of a top ten caliber team.

-ILLINOIS VS CINCINNATI (Hall of Fame Classic).  This is the first real test for Cincinnati who is off to a 3-0 start.  Illinois is high in the rankings and will likely remain there for most of the season.

-HOFSTRA AT RICHMOND.  Hofstra’s record is just 1-3, but considering that they took Arkansas to overtime and lost by just 2 at Maryland, I think Hofstra will still end up having a big year.  Richmond is coming off a tough loss to Drake and is looking to rebound from that.

-BELMONT AT LSU.  We think this Belmont team is really good, and if they can get some notable wins early on they can play their way inside the bubble.  Well, this is a chance for them to pick up a notable win early on.

-ARKANSAS VS KANSAS STATE (Hall of Fame Classic).  Arkansas is in the rankings, and Kansas State is off to a 2-0 start.  This will easily be their biggest test of the season up to this point, though.

-WYOMING AT GRAND CANYON.  We weren’t overly excited about either of these teams, but both have looked good early on, and both are coming in 3-0, so it’s a game worth keeping an eye on.

-GEORGE MASON VS WASHINGTON (Crossover Classic).  This is a much better than expected (at least by me) George Mason team that already has a big win at Maryland and who can pick up some more wins away from home in this event.

-PROVIDENCE VS NORTHWESTERN (Roman Legends Classic).  Both teams are coming into this one unbeaten and Providence already has a notable win on their resume.

-SAINT MARY’S VS NOTRE DAME (Maui Invitational).  I don’t think we are to the point of being all in on either team, but both do come into this without a loss (and perhaps without a test), and this event is their test.  It’s also an opportunity to add notable wins to their resume, so it’s worth staying up for.

BUY GAMES AND OTHER GAMES WORTH MENTIONING:

-Toledo vs Charlotte (Nassau Championship) – Two UTR teams that are off to good starts
-Kent State vs James Madison (Naples Invitational) – JMU can get to 5-0 with a win
-Akron vs Fordham (Gulf Coast Showcase) – very liberal use of the word “Showcase” but we do like this Akron team
-East Tennessee State vs Murray State (Naples Invitatioanl) – two decent UTR teams
-Cornell @ Penn State – Cornell can get to 5-0 with a win and pick up their 3rd road win
-Albany @ Kentucky
-Western Illinois @ Northern Kentucky – The Leathernecks are off to a 3-1 start with a win at Nebraska and can pick up their second road win today
-Lafayette @ Rutgers
-Nevada @ South Dakota State – SD State is a really good UTR team
-Charleston Southern @ Georgia Tech
-Virginia vs Georgia (Roman Legends Classic) – Winnable neutral floor game for UVA
-Mount Saint Mary’s @ Ohio U – I still think this Ohio U team can play their way into the bubble
-UCLA vs Bellarmine (Good Sam Empire Classic)
-Colorado State vs Northeastern (Paradise Jam) – a win for Colorado State keeps them unbeaten
-California vs Florida (Fort Meyers TipOff) – winnable neutral floor game for Florida
-Missouri vs Florida State (Jacksonville Classic) – Neither team is in the rankings, but I don’t think Florida State will be out of them for long.
-Western Michigan @ Iowa – a win for Iowa gets them to 5-0
-The Citadel @ Duke – Citadel did win big at Pitt, but this is a much taller order
-Oregon vs Chaminade (Maui Invitational)
-Winthrop @ Washington State – Wazzu can get to 5-0
-UC Riverside @ UTEP – two fairly decent UTR teams
-Morgan State @ San Francisco – The Dons can get to 6-0, but all games have been at home
-TCU vs Santa Clara (SoCal Challenge) – both teams unbeaten
-Gonzaga vs Central Michigan (Good Sam Empire Classic) – a likely huge mismatch
-Dixie State @ USC
-Pepperdine vs Fresno State (SoCal Challenge) – Fresno can get to 4-0

Posted in Daily Rundown, News and Notes | 1 Comment