-We are now to a point to where games are being cancelled on a regular and daily basis. So, when reading the daily write-ups, you don’ t know for sure which games will actually end up being played.
NEWS AND NOTES:
-Baylor had to sweat a little more than expected, but they still got control in the second half and picked up their first true road win of the season knocking off Oregon 78-70.
-G0nzaga got a bit of a battle from Texas Tech, but was in control down the stretch for the 69-55 win. That’s another win against a ranked team for the Zags.
-Both Alabama and Kansas got battles in home buy games, but managed to hold on to win. It was a particularly impressive performance by Stephen F. Austin against Kansas.
-Saint Louis gave Auburn all kinds of fits, but the Tigers pulled it out in the end 74-70 for their second road win of the year.
-Providence picked up a HUGE road win at UConn. Suddenly the Friars are 11-1 on the year with a true road win at UConn in their Big East opener. They should be landing in the top 25 soon.
-Marquette had their chances to get what could have been a signature road win at Xavier, but the Musketeers got a career night from Dwon Odom and MU missed a golden opportunity (no pun intended). Xavier now faces games at Villanova and at home against UConn – wins in either or both of those games would make them a serious contender for the Big East.
-The good news for Cincinnati is that they beat a team on short notice that advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament last season. The bad news is that the team (Ashland) was in the NCAA Division II Tournament – this was because Texas Southern could not play due to their own COVID-19 issues.
-North Carolina and Kentucky ended up matched up against each other because their originally scheduled opponents had to shut down. It looked as though North Carolina was also shut down. Kentucky ran them off the court 98-69.
-Arkansas fell at home (even though it was technically in Little Rock, not Fayetteville) to Hofstra in a game that was a huge surprise. Hofstra had looked decent at times by Under the Radar standards, but nowhere near up to the task of beating a top 25 team on the road. So this was easily the surprise of the day. Even bigger when you consider that Hofstra had travel issues and just arrived in Little Rock the day of the game
-Saint John’s was in good shape, but they lost to Pitt yesterday 59-57. This season, losing to Pitt is like losing a buy game. Without Julian Champagnie in the Johnnies’ lineup (COVID protocols), the Johnnies are capable of losing to almost anyone. That’s how bad they are.
-Look out for TCU. They are now 9-1 after winning at Georgetown yesterday. It was their first true road win of the year, and while their schedule hasn’t been a gauntlet and none of their wins scream “NCAA Tournament” yet, it was still a nice win for the Horned Frogs against a Georgetown team that had been playing better.
-Indiana is now 9-2 after knocking off Notre Dame yesterday in Indianapolis. The Hoosiers haven’t played a challenging schedule, but they haven’t screwed up too badly against the schedule they’ve played. So..we’re watching. For now.
-Louisville was without a key player due to COVID protocol at Western Kentucky yesterday. With a national audience watching on CBS, the Hilltoppers basically jumped out to a 10 point lead in the first minute of the game and seemingly held it the rest of the way. The final score was 82-72 for WKU. Louisville doesn’t need to be panicking yet, but they do need to have a sense of urgency right now.
-Utah fell at Missouri 83-75 yesterday. Perhaps Utah DOES need to be panicking.
-West Virginia trailed UAB for most of the game, but put it together late in the second half, got control, and got the 65-59 win. It’s a nice road win for the Mountaineers that they should get quite a bit of credit for. UAB likely won’t lose too many the rest of the way.
-Dayton has the three big wins from their exempt tournament, but still doesn’t have a true road win. They fell 76-68 to a decent, but not great, Ole Miss team yesterday and are now a so-so 7-5 on the year.
-San Francisco suffered their first loss of the year in a 49-48 defensive rock fight at Grand Canyon. It IS NOT easy to beat the Lopes on the road. But, then again, it’s not easy to make the NCAA Tournament either, and to do it a team must win games that aren’t easy to win. This would have been really big for the Dons because of how good GCU is at home. They’ll have some other chances, though.
-Murray State got a big win against Chattanooga. They were at home, so it isn’t that earth shattering, but they improve t 10-1 on the year with a road win at Memphis. They are shaping up to be a team that can land inside the bubble.
-Iowa played their best game of the year as they blew a pretty good Utah State team off the floor 94-75.
-Notable games that were cancelled or postponed were Iona vs Seton Hall, DePaul @ Northwestern, UCF @ Florida State, and Tennessee @ Memphis.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-AIR FORCE AT ARKANSAS STATE. Air Force is a long way from landing inside the bubble, but they are 7-2 on the season and this is a winnable road game for them.
-CHARLESTON VS RHODE ISLAND (DC Holiday Hoops Fest). Both teams have a lot of work to do, and Charleston is probably out of strikes and pretty much has to win out, but it’s still an intriguing match-up.
-TEXAS VS STANFORD (Pac-12 Coast to Coast Challenge). Stanford is a modest 6-3 and can really take a big step forward if they’re able to pull off a win today. Texas is in good shape at 7-2 and can add another notable neutral floor win to their resume.
-COASTAL CAROLINA AT MIDDLE TENNESSEE. Both are long shots (at best) for landing inside the bubble, but both are UTR teams that come into this game with respectable records.
-SMU AT NEW MEXICO. This would be a solid road win for an SMU team that’s outside the bubble, but that has played well and can get themselves in the picture if they can string together some notable wins.
-OLD DOMINION AT RICHMOND. This is an old Colonial rivalry. Richmond has been kind of disappointing this year and needs to hold serve today.
-KANSAS STATE AT NEBRASKA. K State has what could turn into a solid profile. This is simply the kind of road game NCAA Tournament teams are expected to win.
-SAN FRANCISCO AT ARIZONA STATE. San Francisco has an impressive 10-1 record, but the majority of their wins have been against kind of a fluff schedule. This is their first true road game of the season and just getting that first true road win should make their resume look better.
BUY GAMES:
-SELA @ Iowa State
-Colgate @ Monmouth – Monmouth can land inside the bubble if they hold serve and blow through the rest of their schedule
-UT Arlington @ Oklahoma
