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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