Hoops HD

NEWS AND NOTES

-Two big games in the Big Ten yesterday.  First Rutgers took down Illinois, which was their second notable win of the year and I think helps solidify them as a top 25 team.  In the preseason I picked Rutgers as one of my Final Four teams.  While that may have been a bit of a stretch, I really do think they are protected seeded caliber team and are capable of making a Final Four with a more experienced team that can win away from home.  They weren’t away from home yesterday, but they can play and beat top 25 teams and they can play and win away from home.

-Michigan State can win away from home, but didn’t yesterday.  Northwestern, who had looked rather unimpressive on the year coming into yesterday, pretty much had a lead from tip to buzzer and knocked off Sparty without really having to sweat to do it.  Talk about a team that has come out of nowhere, but suddenly Northwestern is 4-1 on the year with a huge conference win under their belts.

-It was an incredible day in the Big East as well with two overtime games and another that was own on a last second shot.  Xavier knocked off Marquette in a very exciting game that was close all throughout.  Adam Kunkel, who just became eligible via the NCAA’s blanket eligibility for transfers, was the hero with 22pts in just 17 minutes of play, and 3 of those points came at the buzzer after Marquette had converted a 4pt play on the previous possession to tie the game.

-Creighton needed overtime to get by UConn in another game that seesawed back and forth, but they held on for the road win.  UConn may feel liked they were just kicked in the gut, but this is clearly a tournament caliber team and I”ll be shocked if they don’t end up getting the wins they need to get to go dancing in March.

-Providence picked up a big road win against Seton Hall in overtime.  The Friars were a little disappointing in their MTE at the beginning of the season, but have been playing well lately.

-Texas held on to beat a really good Oklahoma State team 77-74.  They trailed for a good portion of the game, but were never out of it and got yet another nice win on their resume.  Texas has all the earmarks of a protected seed this year.

-Minnesota had a bloated record coming into yesterday, but they had pretty much gone to the bakery and loaded up on cupcakes in order to get it.  They looked really good against Saint Louis yesterday and got what was their biggest statement win of the year.  Minney is now 7-1 on the season.

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES

-VERMONT AT UMASS LOWELL (America East).  This isn’t a game that we would normally highlight, but we like this Vermont team and this is their first chance to get on the court this season.

-SAINT JOSEPH’S AT TENNESSEE.  I almost put this down with the buy games.  Tennessee is a probable protected seed and Saint Joe’s is winless and would probably have some trouble even winning a home buy game this year.

-BELMONT AT EVANSVILLE.  Belmont continues to fly way under the national radar, but a win tonight will get them to 8-1 on the season and give them their third true road win.

-CHARLESTON AT GEORGIA STATE (Colonial).  Georgia State is another UTR team that’s flying below the sight line of the nation, but a win tonight gets them to 6-1 on the year.  With wins against Georgia Tech and Mercer they are worth paying attention to.

-SOUTHERN ILLINOIS AT BUTLER.  Butler has looked good at the times they’ve been on the court, but they are just 1-2 coming into this game and are in a bit of an urgent situation here.  Southern Illinois is unbeaten, but hasn’t lifted any really heavy weight yet so this is an opportunity for them to pick up a big win as well.

-TULSA AT MEMPHIS (American).  Memphis has gotten off to a slow start and needs to pick up their speed kinda quickly if they want any chance of finishing inside the bubble.

-LITTLE ROCK AT MISSOURI STATE.  An interesting UTR game between a Little Rock team that we think can be a Sun Belt frontrunner and a Missouri State who comes into this one at 2-0 and will be somewhat tested tonight.

-NEW MEXICO ST BOISE STATE (Mountain West).  Boise State certainly got our attention with their win against BYU.  They don’t look to be as good as San Diego State, but they certainly look like a tournament caliber team.  They host a New Mexico team that is coming into this one at 3-0 in what is by far their biggest test of the year up to this point.

BUY GAMES (or games that might as well be)

-Morehead State @ Clemson
-Wofford @ Texas A&M
-Bryant @ UMass – Bryant is 6-2 and has played well this year
-SC State @ Furman
-Gardner Webb @ Florida State
-Prairie View A&M @ Washington State
-Arkansas Pine Bluff @ Baylor
-Longwood @ Virginia Tech
-Northwestern State @ Gonzaga
-Texas Southern @ BYU

NEWS AND NOTES

-Once again, against a highly ranked team, Gonzaga pretty much had a comfortable lead from tip to buzzer as they knocked off Iowa 99-88.  Having to shut down for COVID seemed to do nothing to slow down the Zags.

-It was a different story for Louisville.  They were blown off the floor by Wisconsin 85-48 in their first game back after a shutdown.  Wisky jumped out to a big lead right out of the gate, and continued to slowly build that lead as the game went on.

-Florida State lost a shocker at home to UCF, which is their first loss of the season.  The Noles had looked really good up until yesterday, and it was just the second win (albeit in three games) for a UCF team that we thought would be closer to the bottom of the American than the top.

-Kentucky entered yesterday with just one win, and left the same way as they fell to North Carolina.  The game was close for the first 30 or so minutes, but the Tarheels opened it up toward the end and ended up with a 75-63 win.

-Indiana picked up another nice win as they knocked off Butler yesterday in the Crossroads Classic.

-Western Kentucky picked up a big win at Alabama 73-71 and continues to build a very good resume for a UTR team.  They are starting to look like a team that can make the NCAA Tournament without having to win their conference tournament.

-Winthrop remains unbeaten after a very impressive win over Furman yesterday.  Winthrop is also looking like a UTR team that may not need to win their conference tournament to go dancing this March.

-Stanford handed Arizona their first loss of the year to pick up one of their bigger wins of the season.

-Last but not least, Ohio State bounced back from their loss earlier this week with a nice win against UCLA

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES

-CREIGHTON AT UCONN (Big East).  UConn has played just three games this year, but they appear to have the pieces of being really good and today they have a chance to demonstrate that in their conference opener.  Creighton has played well this season, but is coming off a loss to Marquette and is trying to pick up their first really good resume win while avoiding dropping to 0-2 in Big East play.

-ILLINOIS AT RUTGERS (Big Ten).  A Big Ten showdown between two top 20 teams that have already managed to win some big games.  Illinois has two losses, but they’ve played a really tough schedule and both were to highly ranked teams.  Rutgers is unbeaten, but hasn’t been tested as hard as Illinois, so it should be a fun one today.

-OKLAHOMA STATE AT TEXAS (Big 12).  Both teams look like solid tournament teams, but Okie State still needs to win their waiver in order to get there.  Texas appears to have their best team since Shaka Smart’s arrival and is knocking on the door of a top ten ranking.  It should be a fun one today.

-MARQUETTE AT XAVIER (Big East).  Xavier is unbeaten with some nice wins, but Marquette has some even better than nice wins against the likes of Creighton and Wisconsin.  Like a lot of Big East games, this one should be a war.

-YOUNGSTOWN STATE AT NORTHERN KENTUCKY (Horizon League).   Youngstown State comes in at 3-0 and we think they can make some noise in the HL this year, but they also really haven’t been tested yet.

-PROVIDENCE AT SETON HALL (Big East).  Both teams have looked good, and both have the potential and likelihood to have a big year.  Having said that, both teams’ resumes could use some building and today’s game is a chance to do that.

-GEORGETOWN AT SAINT JOHN’S (Big East).  I’m not sure if either team will end up inside the bubble, and both have had their struggles early on, but both have also shown signs of life as well.

-MICHIGAN STATE AT NORTHWESTERN (BIG TEN).  Sparty is unbeaten, they look good, and they shouldn’t have too much trouble picking up this conference road win and staying high in the rankings.

-SAN FRANCISCO VS GRAND CANYON (Las Vegas).  Chances are neither of these teams will end up inside the bubble, but it’s still a really fun match-up between a GCU team who’s only loss was by 1 to Arizona State, and a San Francisco team that’s managed a win over Virginia and some other good moments as well.

-SAINT LOUIS AT MINNESOTA.  Saint Louis has a few good wins already and is good enough to pick up another road win today against a Minnesota team with a bloated record, but who also really hasn’t been tested.

-COLORADO AT WASHINGTON (Pac 12).  Colorado is a potential tournament team and Washington is…well…not.  It’s a winnable conference road game for the Buffs.

BUY GAMES (or games that might as well be)

-Robert Morris @ Marshall
-Oral Roberts @ Arkansas
-Chicago State @ Drake
-Alcorn State @ Houston
-Delaware State @ Georgia Tech

NEWS AND NOTES

-West Virginia held on to beat Iowa State, but it was shockingly difficult.  Iowa State had just one win coming into this one and really hadn’t looked good at all, but late in the game they had the lead and were in a position to win it.

-BYU got what was hands down their biggest win of the year as they handed San Diego State their first loss of the season.  This is the kind of win that elevates a team’s entire profile.  If BYU ends up solidly in the bubble, this win will have a lot to do with why.

-Davidson got a much needed win against Rhode Island in what felt like a really pivotal game for both teams.  Both had played well at times this season, but didn’t have the wins or the record to show for it.  It’s possible that both will be in the discussion at the end of the year, but getting the win yesterday was important.

-Richmond jumped out to a huge lead against Loyola Chicago, and then did something that they almost never do, and that’s give up the lead.  Loyola fought back and was in a position to win the game in the final minute, but just couldn’t get all the way over the hump.  Richmond improves to 6-1 and gets a nice bounce back road win after falling so hard to West Virginia.

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES

-BUTLER VS INDIANA (Crossroads Classic).  Indiana has had way more ups than downs this year, and so far they have the looks of an NCAA Tournament team.  This is just Butler’s third game and while they competed with Villanova earlier in the week they weren’t able to stay with them the whole way.  They could really use a big win on their resume, and beating a Crossroads rival would make it that much better.

-IOWA VS GONZAGA (Sioux Falls, SD).  I think it’s safe to say that this is the highest ranked match-up in the history of the state of South Dakota!!  Gonzaga is back in action after having to shut down, and their first game is a doozy.  Both teams are ranked in the top 3, both are probable protected seeds, potential #1 seeds, and potential Final Four teams, so it should be a fun one!

-LOUISVILLE AT WISCONSIN (ACC/Big Ten Challenge).  This game had to be postponed due to COVID, but thankfully it was able to be rescheduled.  Wisky’s only loss was to Milwaukee at the buzzer and they’re coming off a nice win against Loyola Chicago, but this would be the biggest win on their resume so far if they’re able to pull it off.  The same is true for Louisville, who has a couple of good wins against Seton Hall and Western Kentucky, but none as big as this would likely be.

-UNC GREENSBORO AT ELON.  UNCG is a team we expected a lot out of this year, but they’ve struggled so far and may be running out of strikes as far as getting inside the bubble goes.  Elon has gotten off to a nice 3-0 start and looks to extend that today.

-NORTH CAROLINA VS KENTUCKY (CBS Sports Classic).  UNC is improved, but still has some work to do.  Kentucky’s only win was a home buy game in their season opener, so they’ve got more than just a little work to do.

-WESTERN KENTUCKY AT ALABAMA.  This one actually has big tournament implications because both are fighting for spots inside the bubble.  WKU has a few nice wins already, but their opportunities will be limited once conference play starts so adding another one would be invaluable.  Alabama has wins against Providence and a pretty good Furman team, so they’re in decent shape out of the gate, but it’s always good to add another win like this one to the resume.

-PURDUE VS NOTRE DAME (Crossroads Classic).  Purdue is looking really good all of a sudden with a 5-2 record and a win against Ohio State.  Notre Dame has had their struggles, but they did beat Kentucky and played both Ohio State and Duke reasonably close, so they’re capable of winning this if Purdue overlooks them.

-OLE MISS AT DAYTON.  Ole Miss is unbeaten but also untested.  Dayton’s only loss was a close one to a really good SMU team, but they need some meat on their resume as well.

-CHATTANOOGA AT UAB.  Both teams are untested, but both are also unbeaten, so both will be tested today.  This is one that I certainly have circled as an Under the Radar Showcase.

-PORTLAND AT OREGON.  Portland is off to a really good 5-1 start, but they haven’t had to lift as much weight as they’re going to need to lift today in order to get the win.

-BAYLOR AT KANSAS STATE (Big 12).  Baylor is back in action for just the second time in December, and shouldn’t have too much trouble getting the road win in their conference opener.

-FURMAN AT WINTHROP.  Another great UTR game between two rivals who are poised to have big years.  Furman is 5-2 and while they don’t have any huge wins, they did play Cincinnati and Alabama close in their two losses and still have a shot at landing inside the bubble, although their margin for error is small.  Winthrop is unbeaten with some decent wins of their own, but this would probably be their biggest of the season so far if they’re able to pull it off.

-UCLA VS OHIO STATE (CBS Sports Classic).  This is good game between a UCLA team that I think is being undervalued right now, and an Ohio State team who’s looking to bounce back from their first loss of the season and pick up what would be one of their better wins.

-UC SANTA BARBARA AT PEPPERDINE.  This is an intriguing regional match-up between a UCSB team that we think will be a Big West front runner and a Pepperdine team that’s played pretty well this year.

-BUFFALO AT SYRACUSE.  Buffalo should be able to make some noise in the MAC, but Syracuse should be able to make some noise on a national scale.  Their only loss on the season was at Rutgers in a game where they played pretty well, and they are just looking to hold serve tonight.

-ARIZONA AT STANFORD (Pac 12).  Stanford is a modest 3-2 right now, but I still like their team and think they’re capable of having a big season and landing well inside the bubble.  Arizona is unbeaten, but also mostly untested, so it’ll be interesting to see what they do on the road tonight.

-CINCINNATI AT GEORGIA.  Cincinnati has been up and down this year, but their record is mostly down.  While they played well against Xavier and Tennessee, they didn’t win either game, and are coming off a loss to what appears to be a mediocre South Florida team.  Georgia is unbeaten against a very weak schedule, so I won’t really be a believer in them until they…well…win a game like the one they’re playing today.

-COLORADO STATE AT SAINT MARY’S.  Colorado State is a a team that we like out of the Missouri Valley, but early on they’ve had trouble getting onto the court.  This is just their third game of the season, but it’s also a big test and a huge opportunity against a 7-1 Saint Mary’s team that we thought would be rebuilding, but that’s looked really good so far.

-SAINT JOSEPH’S AT VILLANOVA (Big Five).  I almost put this down with the buy games because of how big of a mismatch it is, but it is a rivalry game, their is a lot of heat between the two teams, and it certainly isn’t a buy game.

-UCF AT FLORIDA STATE.  This should be a winnable home game for the Seminoles who are 4-0 on the season and once again look to be good enough to earn a protected seed.

BUY GAMES (or games that might as well be)

-Kansas City is playing Kansas Christian today.  Twice.  So…that’s different.

-James Madison @ East Carolina
-Hofstra @ Saint Bonaventure
-Grambling @ Tulane
-Jacksonsville @ Miami FL
-Campbell @ NC State
-NJIT @ Temple – first game for both teams
-Houston Baptist @ Oklahoma
-Coppin State @ Virginia Tech
-Gardner Webb @ Duke