News, Notes, and Highlighted Games: Thursday, Feb 18th

Posted on February 18, 2021 by David Griggs

NEWS AND NOTES

CLICK HERE for our latest Under the Radar Video Podcast

-For Chad Sherwood’s UTR Game of the Day between Vermont and UMBC – CLICK HERE

-Loyola Chicago got a huge scare from Valpo, and it actually looked like Valpo had tied the game and forced overtime at the end of regulation, but a would-be rebound and put pack was waived off and a foul was called on the rebound.  The Ramblers survived 54-52 and should hang on to their national ranking and stay inside the bubble.

-Minnesota remains winless on the road.  They played well against Indiana yesterday and led for part of the game, but Indiana pulled away down the stretch and got a nice 82-72 win for themselves while not allowing Minnesota to pick up a win away from home.

-VCU and Richmond was close throughout before the Rams pulled away in the latter part of the game to pick up a big 68-56 win.  It was a rivalry game between two bubble teams, so this one really helps VCU.

 

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES

-HOUSTON AT WICHITA STATE (American).  Wichita State is outside the bubble and this is perhaps their last best chance of getting inside of it.  Houston is currently being projected as a #2 seed and is just looking to hold serve as we head toward the NCAA Tournament.

-IOWA AT WISCONSIN (Big Ten).  This is a resume building opportunity for both teams.  It would arguably be Iowa’s biggest win of the year since it’s on the road against a ranked team, and it would be one of Wisky’s bigger wins as well.

-OHIO STATE AT PENN STATE (Big Ten).  Ohio State is looking to lock up a #1 seed and not slip up before their big game against Michigan this weekend.  Penn State is just 7-10 on the year and despite having some big wins they probably need to at least get to above .500 for the committee to give them a serious look.

-JACKSONVILLE STATE AT BELMONT (Ohio Valley).  Belmont will have some merit for an at-large bid if they win out through the regular season, which they are certainly good enough to do.

-BYU AT PACIFIC (West Coast).  BYU is safely inside the bubble and could even get in on the first ballot if they hold serve and avoid losses to anyone other than Gonzaga the rest of the way.

-SAINT MARY’S AT GONZAGA (West Coast).  Gonzaga appears to be cruising to a #1 seed.  They likely won’t be challenged until the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament.

-ARIZONA AT UCLA (Pac 12).  UCLA has been struggling lately.  This is a home game against a decent opponent that is also a rival, which makes it a good opportunity for them to turn things back around.

-WINTHROP AT HIGH POINT (Big South).  Winthrop should get a serious look from the selection committee if they win out, but fail to win the conference tournament.

-SAN DIEGO STATE AT FRESNO STATE (Mountain West).  San Diego State is in the rankings and likely inside the bubble, but their resume is still pretty flimsy looking, so they really need to hold serve in games like this.

-STANFORD AT WASHINGTON (Pac 12).  Stanford is continuing to straddle the bubble, which means they need to hold serve against teams like Washington, who is arguably the worst non-UTR team, but is still good enough to compete with teams that completely overlook them.

-COLORADO AT OREGON (Pac 12).  Oregon is right on the bubble and could really use this win.  Colorado is inside the bubble, but has taken some steps back with some questionable losses and could really use this win.  Both teams should be coming into this with a sense of urgency.

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Under the Radar Game of the Day – Thursday, February 18

Posted on February 18, 2021 by Chad

Vermont at UMBC, 7:00 PM Eastern, ESPNU

The regular season title in the America East will be decided over the next two days as Vermont and UMBC will close out the regular season with a pair of games against one another in Baltimore.  The America East put together a last minute change to its regular season schedule, choosing to end play as of this coming Sunday in order to spread the conference tournament games out over three weekends, with preliminary round play involving teams seeded 3-9 scheduled to start on Friday, February 26, semifinals slated for March 6 and the championship game scheduled for March 13.  Vermont and UMBC have already clinched the top two spots and will host the semifinal games on March 6, but the next two days will determine which team would host the championship game should they both advance to it.  In the event either team sweeps this pair, they will be the top seed.  UMBC does hold the tiebreaker and will claim the top seed if the teams split.

Vermont enters today’s game at 9-3 overall, with all 12 games having come in conference play.  The Catamounts began only 2-3, but have come on strong lately, despite a pause mixed in due to COVID, to win 7 straight and move into a first place tie with UMBC.  In fact, they came out of their pause this past weekend and swept Stony Brook at home, giving the Catamounts a chance to shake off any rust prior to this week’s huge series.  Ryan Davis has been the key player so far this season for the Catamounts, averaging 18.9 points and 6.6 rebounds per game.   Also keep an eye on Stef Smith and Ben Shungu, both of whom are averaging double figures in scoring as well.  Free throw shooting is another key to the Catamounts’ attack, as their top six scorers are all shooting 74% or higher from the charity stripe, and the overall team average is over 76%.

The Retrievers of UMBC are 9-3 in conference play and 13-4 overall this season.  Brandon Horvath leads the way with 14.3 points and 8.8 rebounds per game, followed closely by R.J. Eytle-Rock’s 13.5 points per game.  Also keep an eye out for Daniel Akin, who is averaging 7.7 points and 7.0 rebounds per game down low.  All three will need to have a strong game tonight, as the Retrievers will need to find a way to win at least one of two games against the red-hot Catamounts in order to claim the America East regular season crown and the chance to host the March 13 title game.

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Under the Radar: February 17th

Posted on February 17, 2021 by David Griggs

Tonight’s feature conference is the Patriot League, and we discuss how it’s really hard to evaluate those teams because everyone’s only opponents are the other two or three teams in their division, and we look at Colgate and discuss why they are ranked so high in the NET.

From there we run through the other 21 UTR conferences and discuss the tight race in the Southland, the near upset of Loyola Chicago in the Missouri Valley, what Belmont’s and Winthrop’s chances are of making the NCAA Tournament if they don’t win their conference tournaments, the chaos in the Northeast Conference, and 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…

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Happy Anniversary!: HoopsHD interviews Tim Carter about Devin Brown

Posted on February 17, 2021 by Jon Teitel

Devin Brown has always been a scoring machine: he became the all-time leading scorer in greater San Antonio high school history while a player at South San Antonio West Campus High School, then became the all-time leading scorer in UTSA history with 1922 career PTS. The 1999 conference Freshman of the Year was the first Roadrunner to have his number retired but he might be getting some more company in the future as Jhivvan Jackson is a game or 2 away from reaching 2500 career PTS and Keaton Wallace is a game or 2 away from reaching 2000 career PTS. Devin later spent a decade in pro basketball where he was the MVP of the D-League with Fayetteville in 2003 and an NBA champion with San Antonio in 2005. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Devin’s college coach Tim Carter about facing a #1 seed in the NCAA tourney and having a great scorer. Today marks the 20th anniversary of Devin recording the 1st triple-double in school history on 2/17/01.

Devin grew up in San Antonio: what made him choose UTSA? I think that his mother had a tremendous impact on him and as the primary person who convinced him to stay at home. I think he just wanted to play in front of his hometown friends/family.

In 1999 he was named conference ROY: how was he able to come in and contribute right from the start? There is an old saying that a dog will bite you as a puppy: even as a freshman he could flat-out score. We had a junior/senior-dominant team and he was just like the icing on the cake.

In the 1999 Southland tourney title game you had an 8-PT win over Texas State to clinch the title: what did it mean to you to win a title? It was the 1st time that I ever made the NCAA tourney as a head coach so it was the high point of my career. It was tremendous for Devin as well.

In the 1999 NCAA tourney he scored 11 PTS in a loss to #1 seed UConn: could you tell at the time that the Huskies were good enough to win it all? It was a pretty close game throughout most of the 1st half. Then they did something that all great teams do: they went on a run and were a superb team with stars like Rip Hamilton.

In February of 2001 he became the 1st player in school history to record a triple-double with 33 PTS/11 REB/11 AST vs. Louisiana-Monroe: where does that rank among the best all-around performances that you have ever seen? I have been around a lot of really good players but I was not surprised that he did that. The only surprise to me is that it took him 3 years to do it! We always knew that he was capable of doing that if he could share the ball.

He graduated as the school’s all-time scoring leader with 1922 PTS: did you realize at the time how prolific a player he was? He was so dominant in high school, graduating as the all-time leading scorer in school history. I did think that someone would break it: I do radio for the team and they have a pair of great seniors in Jhivvan Jackson/Keaton Wallace who score 20-25 PPG and have stayed here for 4 years.

He was the 1st Roadrunner to ever have his jersey retired: where does that rank among the highlights of his career? I am sure that it was huge. I worked really hard to get his # retired because I felt that he deserved it. I was surprised that we did not do it sooner because I pushed and pushed so hard for it.

He was not selected in the 2002 NBA draft but became 2003 D-League MVP with the Fayetteville Patriots: did you have any doubt that he would end up in the NBA eventually? I knew that he could score and the NBA gives people like that a good look. If he went to a loaded team then he might not have stuck, but if he found a team that could use him I could see him being a productive player.

In 2005 he won the NBA Finals with the Spurs: what did it mean to him to win a title for his hometown team? It had to have been 1 of the highlights of his entire career.

When people look back on his career, how do you think that he should be remembered the most? As a guy who helped get UTSA to a certain level; nobody won more games than Devin’s teams did and he played a major role in that accomplishment.

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News, Notes, and Highlighted Games: Wednesday, Feb 17th

Posted on February 17, 2021 by David Griggs

NEWS AND NOTES

-For Chad Sherwood’s UTR Game of the Day – CLICK HERE

-Illinois jumped out to a big lead early against Northwestern and then almost gave it all back, but held on for the 73-66 win, which should keep them in the top five and within reach of a #2 seed.

-Missouri lost their second straight game, and this one was a little more inexplicable as it came against a weaker Georgia team.  Mizzou isn’t in any trouble of missing The Dance, but their chances of ending up as a protected seed are thinning out.

-Arkansas picked up another really big win as they knocked off Florida 75-64.  The Razorbacks have had a hell of a week and have gone from being outside the bubble to looking like they belong in the top half of the bracket.

-Saint John’s picked up another nice win as they knocked off Xavier 93-84.  Xavier did make some runs at them, but the Johnnies pretty much controlled the game from tip to buzzer.  Saint John’s has now won seven of eight whereas Xavier has lost two straight since coming back from shutdown.

 

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES

-SYRACUSE AT LOUISVILLE (ACC).  Louisville hasn’t played in over two weeks and could be rusty.  They are relatively safe so long as they don’t go into a tailspin, and can actually improve their resume quite a bit if they’re able to finish strong.  Syracuse continues to hover around outside the bubble and needs a strong finish just to get on the right side of it.  A win tonight would be a big step in the right direction.

-RICHMOND AT VCU (Atlantic Ten).  This is a rivalry game between two teams that are right on the bubble and really need this win.  It should be a fun one tonight!

-NEBRASKA AT MARYLAND (Big Ten).  This is a winnable game for a Maryland team that has played a tough, front loaded schedule and has put together a solid resume, but just needs more overall wins to help secure it.

-ARIZONA STATE AT USC (Pac 12).  USC is in first place in the Pac 12, appears to be the best overall team, and at 17-3 on the year is within reach of a protected seed.  Arizona State has been a bit of a disappointment this year and the Trojans should be able to hold serve.

-VALPARAISO AT LOYOLA CHICAGO (Missouri Valley).  Loyola Chicago should land inside the bubble so long as they are able to win out through the regular season, which they are certainly good enough to do.

-KANSAS AT KANSAS STATE (Big 12).  After slumping a little in January, Kansas seems to have turned things around and can (and should) pick up their fourth straight win tonight.

-DRAKE AT NORTHERN IOWA (Missouri Valley).  Drake should be inside the bubble if they win out through the regular season.  This should be a winnable game against their in-state rivals tonight.

-DEPAUL AT SETON HALL (Big East).  I really like how Seton Hall has been playing lately and they’re good enough to continue to put together wins and continue to push themselves further and further inside the bubble.

-SOUTH CAROLINA AT TENNESSEE (SEC).  Tennessee has been slumping a little bit, at least by protected seed standards, but their next four games are all very winnable so they should be able to turn things around down the stretch.  If they hold serve the rest of the way they’ll end up a protected seed.

-MINNESOTA AT INDIANA (Big Ten).  Minnesota has been atrocious on the road, and without at least one road win it wouldn’t shock me if the committee didn’t select them at all despite how many big home wins are on their resume.  Indiana is coming off a blowout loss to Ohio State and looking to bounce back, which they should be able to do since they’re the home team and Minnesota isn’t.

-UTAH STATE AT BOISE STATE (Mountain West).  Boise State is still inside the bubble, but in their last four games they dropped two to Nevada and nearly dropped another to UNLV, so they haven’t been playing as well lately.  Utah State is actually the current first place team, but it’s by less than a game.  If one of these two comes up with a sweep they will likely end up being the first place finisher.  Utah State is also on the bubble, so these games are extremely important.

-NORTHEASTERN AT NORTH CAROLINA.  Buy game

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Under the Radar Game of the Day – Wednesday, February 17

Posted on February 17, 2021 by Chad

UNC-Greensboro at VMI, 7:00 PM Eastern, espn+

The Under the Radar Game of the Day returns to the Southern Conference tonight as the conference-leadings Spartans of UNC-Greensboro head to Lexington, Virginia to take on the Keydets of VMI.  UNCG has been red hot, winning 9 of their last 10 games to take a huge 2 game lead in the loss column of the SoCon standings with just a handful of games left in the regular season.  Isaiah Miller continues to lead the way for the Spartans who are now 15-6 overall and 1o-3 in conference play.  Miller is averaging 18.4 points, 6.6 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game.  He had his second best scoring game of the season so far the first time these two teams met, scoring 25 points in a 76-59 win in Greensboro.

VMI has put together a solid season so far, sitting at 11-10 overall and 6-6 in SoCon play.  If the Keydets can remain in this position, they will at least avoid one of the two first-round games in the SoCon tournament.  Four players are averaging double figures for the high-scoring Keydets, led by Greg Parham’s 18.3.  Also keep an eye on Jake Stephens who is second in scoring (14.6) and leads the team in rebounding (7.4).  If the Keydets can find a way to slow down UNCG’s Miller and score at their normal high-level, do not be shocked if this game ends up being a lot closer than expected.

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