Hoops HD

PUPPET OBSERVATONS/RANTS:

-There are certain things that all NCAA athletes in all sports in all three divisions must abide by in order to play.  One is that they have to take a physical before they can be declared initially eligible.  Another is that they are subject to random drug testing, which sounds just like what it is, but is actually even worse.  The NCAA can basically just show up and require any athlete on any team to suddenly give a urine sample so they can test for any drugs they want that are on the banned substance list.  Several of the drugs on that list include recreational drugs as well as performance enhancing drugs.  Someone from the NCAA actually observes these tests.  In other words, they make the guy or girl being tested strip down in front of them and pee right in front of them.  Talk about invasive!!  But, no one complains because I guess they feel that drug use is a rampant problem that could shut down all of college sports as we know it.

Now, why do I say this??  Well, it seems odd to me that no one complains about how it’s unnecessary or an over reach to players to take physicals or random drug tests, but yet they seem to think requiring them to get a COVID vaccine would just be a step too far.  Even though other vaccines such as the MMR are required (at least I think they are.  I believe players must apply for a special status waiver if they do not have a vaccine record), certain people have decided the COVID vaccine is a much bigger deal.  We’ve got 30 games today that are cancelled, but are simply choosing not to take a measure that would greatly reduce (or even eliminate) this problem.

So, while the damn games are being cancelled, the good news is that recreational drug use is under control!!!  I guess we feel that’s a much bigger threat to the health of the sport since we allow far more invasive measures to combat that issue than we would ever allow for an actual pandemic.  Good job NCAA and members!!  The decision to not address an actual problem like the COVID pandemic as aggressively as they are addressing a much lesser problem like recreational drug use, and not taking measures toward COVID that are nowhere near as invasive or extensive as the ones they take toward drug testing is beyond stupid!!  ANY PUPPET KNOWS THAT!!!

NEWS AND NOTES:

-I’ll begin with something that most people probably missed.  William & Mary’s win over Hofstra will probably be the biggest upset of the year in regards to how far apart the two teams are in the NET.  At the time I’m writing this, Hofstra’s NET is 95, and they had won seven out of eight, which included wins over Arkansas and Monmouth.  William & Mary is 345th in the NET and yesterday was their first win of the season against a D1 opponent.  Those rankings reflect where the two teams are AFTER the game.  Prior to that, they were even further apart.  This also absolutely KILLS Hofstra’s resume, which up until yesterday was starting to look pretty good!

-Michigan State had to sweat a little bit with High Point and actually trailed at the half, but got control in the second half for an 81-68 win.  Perhaps a little rust after some Christmas cheer for the Spartans.

-Auburn had no trouble with LSU at home for a 70-55 win.  A win would have been big for LSU, but a loss hardly hurts them.  Auburn is ranked 11th.  Losing a road game like that is hardly a demerit.

-Tennessee was short handed, but still hung in at Alabama and had a chance to win in the final minute, but couldn’t pull it off.  It was a big win for the Tide, perhaps more so off paper than on.  They had been looking a little sluggish lately and a big win at home in a conference game against a ranked team could get their motor started again.

-Seton Hall gave Providence  battle on the road, but the Friars held on for a 70-65 win, which puts them at a very impressive 12-1 on the year, and should enable them to continue to climb the rankings.

-Wisconsin really had to sweat out an Illinois State team that hadn’t had that good of a year, and who I believe was dealing with a depleted roster.  The Badgers did escape with the 89-85 win, though.

-Utah State could have really used a road win at Air Force yesterday, but they couldn’t get it done and fell 49-47 in a game that was an absolute rock fight.

-DePaul lost their conference opener to Butler 63-59.  It was a road game, and those are never easy to win, but it was a bit of a surprise considering DePaul had gone 9-1 in OOC play coming in to yesterday.

-Arkansas seems to be going in the wrong direction.  They fell at Mississippi State yesterday 81-68 and just didn’t look like a top 25 team.  Then again, like a lot of teams they were shorthanded.  That is really unfortunate but at least we don’t have to worry about recreational drug use!!

-Louisville needed a big win yesterday, and got it.  They came from behind and played a fantastic second half to knock off a Wake Forest team that came in at 11-1 and had been one of the bigger surprises of the season.

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:

-If I counted correctly, 30 games have been cancelled or postponed today.  That includes what would have been a top ten match-up between Arizona and UCLA, and several others that would have made this list.  More will probably be cancelled as the day goes on.  But, at least we’ve got the impending threat of recreational drug use under control!!

-MICHIGAN AT UCF.  This is a tough road game for a Michigan team that was expected to be a lot better than what they have been.  UCF, on the other hand, is a very respectable 8-2 2 and if they can get a notable win like this they will be worth paying attention to.

-ROBERT MORRIS AT OAKLAND (Horizon League).  If Oakland wants to land inside the bubble then they need to blow through the Horizon League.

-SAINT JOSEPH’S AT RICHMOND (Atlantic Ten).  After a bit of a sluggish start, Richmond has won six in a row and they shouldn’t have too much trouble making it seven tonight.  If they can get through conference play without stubbing their toes too many times (and basically any loss would constitute stubbing their toes) then they should be inside the bubble come March.

-EAST TENNESSEE STATE AT CHATTANOOGA (SoCon).  Chattanooga has a very narrow path to landing inside the bubble.  They basically need to blow through the SoCon, which won’t be easy.

-UTEP AT UAB (Conference USA).  UAB is 10-3 and although they missed a couple of opportunities to really elevate their resume, they should be okay if they can dominate CUSA.

-SEMO AT MURRAY STATE (Ohio Valley).  If Murray State wants to land inside the bubble they cannot lose to anyone other than Belmont, and they better beat Belmont at least once.

-UTAH AT OREGON STATE (Pac 12).  Utah has some ground to make up.  Winning at Oregon State is hardly impressive, but it is at least a conference road win.

BUY GAMES:

-Maine @ Rutgers
-Brown @ Maryland

A HOLIDAY MESSAGE FROM THE PUPPET:

For all of you who enjoyed the Holidays, I’m glad you did!  It’s been a crappy year and everyone deserves some enjoyment.  For those of you who endured the Holidays, congrats!!  you made it!!  The Holidays are great for a lot of people, but also awful for a lot of people.  It can be a sad reminder of something (or someone) that you’ve lost, or it can be a constant reminder of something that seemingly everyone else seems to have, but that you don’t.  Social media is full of images of people who seem to be having a blast, and if you’re not having a blast, that can suck.  Or, it could just mean that it’s always a time where the work and stress that goes into it always surpasses the enjoyment that comes out of it.  In short, please know that while it’s normal for people to love The Holidays, it’s also normal for people to not like them at all.  I can definitely relate to both experiences.

And to make things worse this year…HALF OF THE DIAMOND HEAD CLASSIC GAMES ON CHRISTMAS DAY WERE CANCELLED!!!!  That TOTALLY ruined Christmas for me!!!

NEWS AND NOTES:

-Our regularly podcasting, Bracketing, and Posting schedule has been somewhat disrupted due to the Holidays.  We should have a new bracket on Thursday (from me), perhaps a mid-week podcast some time in the next couple of days, and then back to our regular routine next week with the Hoops HD Report on Monday, Under the Radar on Thursday, and our first Bracket Rundown Podcast on Thursday.

-It has been an incredibly uneventful couple of days, and today is another snoozer with just three total games on the schedule, and only one that features two D1 teams (Brown @ Syracuse).  Things should start to pick back up tomorrow (highlighted games listed below).  But with that being said…

-More and more games are being cancelled or postponed due to COVID protocol, and common sense tells us all that those cancellations were increase before they decrease.  Many teams were given time off during the holidays, and with players, coaches, and support staff traveling it could result in a spike in infection rates over the next few weeks.  Conferences are kind of figuring it all out as they go, which means their policies and protocols are changing from day to day.

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES (for Tuesday, Dec 28):

-At the time I’m writing this, seven games have been either cancelled or postponed.  By the time you read this, it will probably be more than that.

-JAMES MADISON AT PENN.  James Madison can get to 10-2 on the year, which still makes them a long shot (at best) for landing inside the bubble.  They basically need to win out in order to get there.

-CONNECTICUT AT XAVIER (Big East).  Hugely important game in the Big East.  Both teams have played well, both already have notable wins, and both are off to 1-1 starts in the Big East.  Xavier has been unbelievably good at home this year, so this would be a big win for the Huskies if they could pull it off.

-CARVER BIBLE COLLEGE AT JACKSONVILLE STATE.  Carver Bible College is looking to make history!!  This could be their first D1 win!!

-EASTERN MICHIGAN AT OHIO U (MAC).  Ohio U’s got a very narrow path to landing inside the bubble, and it basically involves blowing through the MAC Conference.

-FRESNO STATE AT BOISE STATE (Mountain West).  I think both teams are outside the bubble, but that both are also within reach of it, which makes this an important game for both of them.  This would be a really nice road win for Fresno State, who only has one up to this point.  It’s also the conference opener for both teams, so…

BUY GAMES:

-Alabama State @ Texas Tech
-North Alabama @ Gonzaga
-Northwestern State @ Baylor
-LSU Alexandria (nonD1) @ North Texas
-Incarnate Word @ Texas
-Lehigh @ Maryland
-Academy of Art (nonD1) @ San Francisco
-Yale @ Saint Mary’s

NEWS AND NOTES:

-Duke had a little more trouble than expected with Virginia Tech, but held on to win 76-65.  VA Tech is at a very modest 8-5 right now, but if they can play the rest of the way like they did yesterday they should win quite a few games in the ACC.

-Tennessee jumped out to a big lead against Arizona, and the Wildcats battled back to make it a game.  Tennessee held on for the win and Arizona suffered their first loss, but it was still a very impressive showing for Arizona to battle back like they did.

-Auburn didn’t have too much trouble with Murray State.  This is a Murray State team that we currently have inside the bubble, and a loss to a team like Auburn isn’t going to set them back at all.

-Wyoming dropped one to Stanford that they really could have used in the Diamond Head Classic.  It isn’t just that they didn’t beat Stanford, but that their remaining games will be on the losers’ side of the bracket, which denies them chances to put better wins on their resume.  It was close throughout the entire game, but Stanford had a lead throughout most of it and was ahead when the clock struck 0:00.

-Monmouth suffered a rather costly loss at home to Hofstra 77-71.  Monmouth had been inside the bubble, and may still be, but this is the kind of game that tournament caliber teams need to be able to win.  Hofstra has gone on a bit of a roll.  They’ve won seven of their last eight, and in their last two games have knocked off Arkansas and Monmouth away from home.

-Boise State picked up a nice road win at Washington State 58-52.  Wazzu, who was a team that we thought would be a dark horse, has hit a bit of a skid.  They’ve now lost four of their last six.

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:

-LIBERTY VS STANFORD (Diamond Head Classic).  Both teams won close games yesterday, and both still have a lot of work to do if they want to end up on the committee’s board this March.

-FRESNO STATE AT WEBER STATE.  Fresno State has lost all three of their road games, and right now that’s the biggest difference between them being on the radar as opposed to off of it.  Weber State has lost three straight (all against good teams), but this would still be a good road win for Fresno because once Weber gets into Big Sky play they aren’t likely to lose too many more at home.

-NORTHERN IOWA VS WYOMING (Diamond Head Classic).  Wyoming let one slip away yesterday against Stanford that they really could have used.  They basically need to hold serve the rest of the way in the Diamond Head and win their next two games.

-BUTLER AT SAINT JOHN’S (Big East).  Both teams have some decent stuff on their profiles, but both still have work to do and both could use this one today.

-GEORGE MASON AT WISCONSIN.  This should be a rather easy home win for Wisconsin.  They’re in the rankings, they’ve been good at home, and they should be able to hold serve.

-BYU VS VANDERBILT (Diamond Head Classic).  BYU appears to be the strongest team in this event, and shouldn’t have too much trouble getting the win today and advancing to the Championship game.  Having said that, Vandy hasn’t looked all that good this season, but they’ve played well in their last two games.