News, Notes, and Highlighted Games: Tuesday, Jan 12th

Posted on January 12, 2021 by David Griggs

CLICK HERE for the most recent Hoops HD Report

NEWS, NOTES, AND HIGHLIGHTED GAMES

-We normally don’t discuss it here outside of Joby’s rankings, but I do like college football.  There are a lot of things I dislike about it like how the College Football “Playoff” is an invitational that systematically excludes over half of the membership, and I don’t think teams should play more than four games without a bye week to help keep players healthy and teams closer to full strength, and I’m not particularly a fan of Alabama’s team.  But…they did win another championship, and we kind of are witnessing a historically good program that we haven’t seen probably since the days of Nebraska in the 1990s.  So, a Hoops HD congrats and a tip of the cap to them.

Now, back to hoops!!

-UConn held on to win against a DePaul team that gave them all kinds of fits, but that also fell apart in the latter part of the game.

-WISCONSIN AT MICHIGAN (Big Ten).  These are two Big Ten heavyweights that are ranked in the top ten and in strong contention for protected seeds.  Michigan comes into the game unbeaten, but this may be their biggest test of the year so far despite the fact that they’re at home.

-TENNESSEE AT VANDERBILT (SEC).  The Vols are ranked in the top ten, are cruising, and shouldn’t have too much trouble with their in-state foes tonight.

-DUKE AT VIRGINIA TECH (ACC).  Interesting match-up.  VA Tech has a really good profile, but people aren’t entirely sold on them yet.  Duke has a pitiful profile, but they’re still getting ranked in the top 25 and people still seem to like them.  Something’s gotta give!!

-OLE MISS AT FLORIDA (SEC).  You get the sense that both these teams still need to do some heavy lifting in order to be in the discussion come March.

-TCU AT OKLAHOMA (Big 12).  TCU is off to a good enough start to where you don’t want to overlook them, but Oklahoma is off to a slightly better start and is probably being under-appreciated right now.

-KANSAS AT OK.LAHOMA STATE (Big 12).  Kansas is fighting for a spot on the #1 line, and although this isn’t an easy road game to win, it’s one you need to be able to win if you want a #1 seed.  Oklahoma State looks like a solid tournament caliber team, but again they’ll need to get a waiver first.

-SYRACUSE AT NORTH CAROLINA (ACC).  I get the feeling that both teams need to have a sense of urgency about this game.  Neither team is in trouble, but both of them still have work to do and could use a win tonight.

-PROVIDENCE AT MARQUETTE (Big East).  Providence has looked good on the court this season, but a series of crazy heartbreaking losses has kept their profile from looking as good as it could be.  Marquette is the nation’s most schizophrenic team.  You don’t know if they’re going to beat a top ten team, which they’ve done twice, or lose to a team that most likely won’t be anywhere near the NCAA Tournament.  They need some stability and a win tonight could help with that.

-ALABAMA AT KENTUCKY (SEC).  Alabama has had a hell of a year and probably belongs in the top 25.  Kentucky got off to an anemic start, but played their best game of the season by far against Florida their last time out, and if they win tonight they’ll have the momentum going their way.

-UC RIVERSIDE AT USC.  This is a buy game, but UCR has an really good story for this season on how much improved they are, and USC is an almost assured tournament team that also probably belongs in the top 25.

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The Hoops HD Report: January 11th

Posted on January 11, 2021 by David Griggs

Tonight we begin in the Pac 12, which is a conference we feel is underrated as a whole, but particularly when it comes to UCLA and USC.  We think the league could get as many as five teams into the NCAA Tournament.  We look at the Big Twelve and how they’ve got three teams that are battling for #1 seeds in Baylor, Texas, and Kansas.  The Big Ten has ten teams in the top 50 of the NET and continues to be a gauntlet.  Northwestern has tapered off and Rutgers has had a rough week as well, but Iowa, Wisconsin, and Michigan are all hovering around the top ten.  The Mountain West has four teams that are having good years in San Diego State, Boise State, Colorado State, and Utah State.  Kentucky is starting to hit their stride and is playing better after a rough start to the season.  We discuss all that, and more…

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

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Under The Radar Game of the Day – Monday, January 11th (and other News and Notes)

Posted on January 11, 2021 by John Stalica

Texas Southern (2-5, 0-0) at Prairie View A&M (1-4, 0-0) – 8:00 PM EST

While the eyes of most of the nation will be on the big Pachuca-FC Juarez BBVA MX football match tonight, the UTR Game of the Day will feature a pair of SWAC contenders as the Tigers of Texas Southern visit the Prairie View A&M Panthers. The highlight of Texas Southern’s season so far has been a 76-74 victory at Wyoming where the Tigers came back from 21 points down in the second half to win in overtime. Michael Weathers led the Tigers with 21 points in that game.

Prairie View played their first three games of the season in a multi-team event at Louisville where they lost to Little Rock and beat Evansville before losing to the hometown Louisville Cardinals and subsequently had to pause for COVID-19 reasons. They resumed in late December with losses at Washington State and at TCU, but this will be the first home game for the Panthers this season. Cam Mack leads the Panthers with 15 points per game so far.

OTHER NEWS, NOTES, AND HIGHLIGHTED GAMES

-Minnesota has been great at home and bad on the road and yesterday was no different.  Iowa won 86-71 in a game where the Hawkeyes really didn’t even need to sweat.

-Maryland got a huge road win against Illinois.  This raises two questions…Is Maryland better than we thought, and is Illinois not quite as good as we thought?

-Providence v Xavier was the craziest game of the day.  With about 7 minutes to go, Xavier had a 5 point lead.  Providence went on a frenetic 14-2 run to build a 7 point lead in the final minute.  So, of course, after a Xavier 3, a Providence TO, a Xavier bucket and another Providence TO, Xavier ended up winning on a last second shot!  A great win for the Musketeers as they continue to add to an already pretty good resume.

-Winthrop is still unbeaten after their win against Gardner Webb.

-TEMPLE AT SMU (American).  Shouldn’t be too tough of a test for SMU.  They’ve got to finish strong if they want to make the field, but I think they’re good enough to do it.

-UCONN AT DEPAUL (Big East).  UConn has cracked the rankings and has a winnable conference road game tonight where they should be able to hold serve.

-COLORADO AT UTAH (Pac 12).  This is a decent Utah team, but probably a better Colorado team.  If Colorado wants to be securely inside the bubble this is the kind of road game they need to be able to win.

-LOYOLA CHICAGO AT INDIANA STATE (Missouri Valley).  Loyola Chicago is a team to pay attention to.  The focus is on Drake, but Loyola also has a chance of making some noise in March.

-BOISE STATE AT WYOMING (Mountain West).  Wyoming seems to be improving, and this won’t be a cakewalk for Boise State, but it is a game that the Broncos should be able to pull off.

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HoopsHD Staff Bracket – January 11, 2021

Posted on January 11, 2021 by Chad

For the first time this season, Chad takes a crack at the Staff Bracket.  Below you will see his projected bracket through all games played on Sunday, January 10, 2021 followed by his notes.  Below that, other HoopsHD staff members have a chance to tear these choices apart.

CHAD’S COMMENTS

– I dislike doing brackets until every team has played at least ten games.  In a normal season, that would be right about now.  This year — that could still be weeks away!  David and John insisted that a do a bracket this week, however, so here it is.

– Yes, I have a team on the 2 seed line that, at least heading into the day on Monday January 11, is not in the Top 25 of either poll.  But why not?  This season has been crazy already and UCLA right now is playing as well as anyone other than Gonzaga.  So I put them on the 2 line and you will all just have to live with it!

– One reason that I hate doing brackets with such little data is that it is hard to rate teams that have won most of their games but have not beaten a great team yet.  I think Louisville is a prime example of that, and they sit on my 4 line more because of their 8-1 record than anything else.  They have honestly not passed the eye test for me quite yet, but their resume is second best in the ACC (behind Clemson!).

– I have Drake, Toledo and Winthrop all “inside the bubble”, meaning that I have these three projected auto-bid winners rated higher than the last of my at-large teams.  For Drake and Winthrop, I just cannot argue with undefeated records.  In Toledo’s case, I just think their resume is  better than teams that have good metrics but lack any true quality wins.

– My last four teams in, in order, were Florida State, Arkansas, Colorado State and Stanford.  My top four teams out, also in order, were Marquette, Florida, Providence and Northwestern.  All 8 of these teams either have quality wins but too many losses at this point, or bloated records without any quality wins.  Actually, that can probably be said for more than half the teams that I gave at-large bids to.

– I had a huge board of teams that I considered below my first four out.  They included Syracuse, TCU, NC State, St Bonaventure, Richmond, Tulsa, Wichita State, Santa Clara, SMU, Georgia Tech, Mississippi State, VCU, Bowling Green, Missouri State, UAB, Loyola-Chicago and Kentucky.

– I know I said I couldn’t resist putting undefeated teams inside the bubble, but that did not apply to Siena.  Drake and Winthrop played non-conference schedules.  Siena is 4-0 with only conference foes to date.  That puts the Saints in the field, but way down on the 15 line.

– Missing entirely from this field is a very good Western Kentucky team that pulled what seems to be an annual tradition of losing inexplicable games in mid-January the past two weeks.  The Hilltoppers chances for an at-large bid are pretty much gone at this point.  Also missing is New Mexico State.  I honestly believe the Aggies have the most talent of any WAC team, but right now their record against D1 teams is 0-1.  If they can finally get back on the floor and start winning, I expect the to be in the field.

COMMENTS FROM STAFF MEMBERS

FROM DAVID:

-I’m so grateful that Chad clarified who his last four teams in the field were in his write up!  None of us would have been able to figure that out by just looking at who was in his First Four!

-I don’t think I’d have UCLA as high as a #2 seed, but I do agree that they should be high on the seedlist.  The team has been playing really well, amassed quite a few decent wins, and is unbeaten in conference.  I don’t know if I’d say they belong in the top ten, but how the hell are they not in the the top 25 (at the time I’m writing this)?

-Virginia Tech on the #7 line is interesting.  The team has a really good resume, but doesn’t always look as good on the court as they do on paper.  Nevertheless, the merit is there for them to be in the protected seeded range.

-Boise State made it into Chad’s top half of the bracket!!  I think they look like a solid tournament team, but I guess Chad likes them even more!

-It’s too early to ding Minnesota too much for not having won anything away from home, but no matter how long their list of big home wins ends up being, they need to do SOMETHING on the road to get into the field at all, much less end up as high as the #6 line.

-Last, but not least, West Virginia v Marshall in the Round of 64!!  WAHOO!!!!!

FROM JOHN:

– The Puppet already touched on UCLA, but I’d add that the 2-line is where they could  end up at the end of the year, but right now a 4 or 5 sounds about right. The win at Arizona and at home against Colorado is good, but a 2 should have beaten either Ohio State on a neutral floor or San Diego State away from home.

– West Virginia is going to bear watching as the season progresses without Oscar Tshiebwe; they did get a come-from-behind win at Oklahoma State last Monday but then blew a golden opportunity to get a win against Texas at home.

– Teams like Duke and Michigan State are stuck on auto-pilot in the #10 line, and even then might be getting more of a reputational benefit of the doubt at this point. And yet Pitt snuck in the field on the 12 line. Wins at Syracuse, Northwestern and Miami do help to take the stink off of a home loss against STFU, but have they completely recovered from the damage of the Stallings era?

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Under The Radar Game of the Day: Sunday, January 10th (and other News and Notes)

Posted on January 10, 2021 by John Stalica

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

For Jon Teitel’s weekly NCAA Bracket Projection where he guesses the Selection Committee – CLICK HERE

UMBC (8-2, 4-1) at New Hampshire (4-4, 3-2) – 12:00 PM EST (ESPN3)

Today’s UTR Game of the Day is a noon matinee between a pair of America East contenders with the UMBC Retrievers visiting the New Hampshire Wildcats. In yesterday’s game between the two teams, UMBC won their fifth straight road game 69-54 with LJ Owens hitting 4-of-6 3-pointers and a game-high 117 points. Only a head-scratching loss to bottom-feeder Binghamton is keeping UMBC from a perfect league record thus far.

Prior to yesterday, New Hampshire had started off league play with a sweep of the Hartford Hawks. Their last series on the road was a split at Maine, and after today will hit the road again to take on league leader Stony Brook. Jayden Martinez is averaging just under 14 points a game for the Wildcats.

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News, Notes, and Highlighted Games: Sunday, Jan 11th

Posted on January 10, 2021 by David Griggs

NEWS AND NOTES

-Texas and West Virginia was probably the most exciting game of the day.  It was a close battle between two really good teams that was won by Texas on a last second shot.  Beating teams in the top half of the bracket on the road is something that protected seeds need to be able to do.  Beating protected seeds on the road is something that #1 seeds need to be able to do.  I think we saw Texas do that today, and they definitely putting together the kind of resume that could get them a #1 seed.  TEXAS IS NOW A BASKETBALL SCHOOL!!!

-Kansas really had to sweat out Oklahoma, but barely held on at home for the 63-59 win.  The Sooners have lost three of their last four, but those losses include a 2pt loss to Texas Tech, a 4pt loss at Kansas, and a loss at Baylor, so writing them off because of the “slump” they’re in right now may be a extraordinarily bad miscalculation.

-Ohio State got an impressive win at Rutgers to pull themselves out of a bit of a tailspin, and sending Rutgers into an even bigger tailspin with four losses in their last five games.

-NC State fell at home to Miami FL in a game where it looked like the Wolfpack should be able to hold serve.  Now you kind of scratch your head when you look at their resume.

-After a fantastic couple of weeks, Alabama really had to sweat yesterday, but pulled off the win against rival Auburn 94-90.

-Winthrop remains unbeaten after their win at Gardner Webb.  I want to keep pointing that out because I don’t think they are on peoples’ radars like they should be.  The two will play again today due to the Big South’s COVID scheduling format.

-Stanford vs Washington State was close for a while, but Stanford ended up pulling away for the somewhat decisive 75-60 win.  Wazzu is definitely improving as a program, and I don’t want to overlook that because that is something worth noting, but they aren’t quite to the level of being a tournament caliber team despite a bloated OOC record amassed in buy games.

-Kentucky blasted Florida.  In a typical season, Kentucky starts off at a medium pace, then slowly gains speed, and then by around Christmas they’re running full throttle.  It may have taken a little longer this year what with the weird scheduling and all, but Kentucky appears to be hitting their stride.

-If you’re not paying attention to USC, you should be.  They won at Arizona State last night to pick up another road win and improve to 8-2 on the year.  If you’re paying attention to Arizona State, then maybe you should stop.

-Western Kentucky fell to Louisiana Tech in a close one 63-58.  It is their second loss in three games, which blows a really big hole in their chances of landing inside the bubble.  At this point they’d pretty much need to win out in order to be in a position to not have to win the conference tournament.

-Santa Clara took down Saint Mary’s on the road in a thriller.  Santa Clara’s 7-2 record may jump out at you, and the win at Saint Mary’s gives their resume even a little more pop, but they still have a lot of work to do before we can consider them a solid tournament team.  Still, a great year for the Broncos so far!

-Last, but DEFINITELY not least…UCLA got a big win at Arizona to improve to 9-2 on the season and 5-0 in Pac 12 play.  UCLA seems to always hide in the bushes.  I’m not sure how!  They are 9-2 on the year, they’re unbeaten in a power conference, they’ve actually won 16 of their last 19 going back to last season, and…oh yeah…THEY’RE UCLA!!  Yet, people don’t seem to think about them as being a force this year.  To do all that and still not be on the radar means they must be using one hell of a cloaking device!! (Oh, and Mick Cronin is now 3-0 against Sean Miller since becoming head coach at UCLA.)

 

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES

-PROVIDENCE AT XAVIER (Big East).  Both teams have been hot and cold this year.  Providence looked good in their last game where they narrowly lost to Creighton and has some nice wins, but also has some head scratching losses.  A road win against Xavier would help stabilize their resume.  Xavier has lost two of their last three games and is looking to swing some momentum back their way.

-MINNESOTA AT IOWA (Big Ten).  Minney just looks like one of those teams that’s nearly impossible to beat when they’re at home, and nearly impossible to lose to when they’re on the road.  Minnesota won the first meeting this year in overtime so Iowa will be looking to bounce back.

-CINCINNATI AT WICHITA STATE (American).  Wichita State is trying to scratch together the kind of resume that can land them inside the bubble.  They lost their last game to Houston, but were really competitive and had looked good in the games that led into that.  They need to hold serve today if they want to keep within reach of making the field. Cincinnati finally showed a pulse with a much-needed road win at SMU, so the Shockers better not take this game for granted.

-NOTRE DAME AT VIRGINIA TECH (ACC).  Virginia Tech continues to hold serve and keep themselves in the rankings after some big early season wins.  That’s what they need to do again tonight.

-INDIANA AT NEBRASKA (Big Ten).  Indiana still has a lot of work to do, and that would include taking advantage of winnable games like this one.  They barely lost to a really good Wisconsin team their last time out so there is reason for optimism.

-MARYLAND AT ILLINOIS (Big Ten).  Illinois hasn’t looked like a #1 seed caliber team like we thought they might prior to the season, but they’ve definitely looked like a solid protected-seed caliber team and they should be able to hold serve tonight.

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