Hoops HD

NEWS AND NOTES

-For the UTR Game of the Day between Bowling Green vs Appalachian State, who is off to a HOT HOT HOT 2-0 start right now – CLICK HERE

-It is a busy day here at Hoops HD!  We will have our first Merit Rankings of the season posted shortly.  Also, from those merit rankings, we create a seedlist, and from the seedlist, we build a bracket.  It will look ridiculous because it’s so early, but that doesn’t stop us from doing it!  We will also be recording Under the Radar tonight to recap the first week of the season.

-Yesterday was the fifth day of the season, and it was the third time we saw a game where a top ten team lost to an unranked opponent.  Richmond took complete control of the second half in their game against Kentucky and ended up winning rather handily.  The result of this game should not be a surprise.  Richmond is a really good team that finished the season really strong last year, and who runs one of the more disciplined offenses in the country.  It’s also worth noting that this is not a slap at Kentucky.  We are used to seeing Kentucky running at 100mph, but what everyone seems to forget is that Kentucky NEVER starts off going 100mph.  It isn’t until their 9th or 10th game that they really get going.  Every Thanksgiving we hear people talking about how Kentucky is overrated and doesn’t have it this year.  This is actually normal.  By the 9th or 10th game, Kentucky will most likely be playing like a top ten team.

-San Francisco followed up their big upset win against Virginia with a loss to Rhode Island.  To be fair, this is a Rhody team that’s looked impressive this year, so this was not going to be an easy game to win, but it’s probably the kind of game they needed to win if the Dons wanted to sustain their national relevance.

-Houston looked incredibly impressive against Texas Tech and basically controlled the entire game.  In looking at Houston’s schedule, you have a hard time finding a game on it that you think they’ll have a difficult time winning, especially after seeing what they did yesterday.

-Michigan had to really sweat against Oakland, but they ended up getting the win in overtime and remain unbeaten.

-A shoutout to Seattle U, who was a team in the WAC that we didn’t expect much of anything out of, but is off to a noticeably good 3-0 start.

-Alabama A&M, who never seems to beat anybody, opened their season with a road win at Samford.  I don’t know when the last time was they won a road game, but they don’t win many, so a big shout out to them.  We’d like to see that program be able to build itself up.

-Murray State gave up 95pts to Greenville, who isn’t a D1 team, but still won by 78pts.  The final score was 173-95.  Unreal!

-New Mexico State had some trouble with Arizona Christian, who is a highly ranked NAIA team.  This was a fascinating game to watch because it was played at Arizona Christian, and it came down to the final seconds.  The 6pt margin is due to freethrows in the final seconds of the game.  The lead seesawed back and forth and really wasn’t decided until the final seconds.

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES

-TEXAS VS DAVIDSON (Maui Invitational).  Both teams come into this game without a loss, but they’ve really only played buy games up to this point.  This event is a chance to try and add some meat to their resume.

-INDIANA VS PROVIDENCE (Maui Invitational).  This is the first real test for two teams who’s fans have rather high expectations for them this year.  For Providence those expectations are there because of how good they looked down the stretch last season.  For Indiana those expectations are there because…well…they’re Indiana.

-LITTLE ROCK VS DUQUESNE (Wade Houston Tip-Off Classic).  Most people won’t be too excited for this game, but Little Rock is a team that we think will be a frontrunner in the Sun Belt, and Duquesne is a team that we think will be a dark horse in the Atlantic Ten, so we are looking forward to it.

-SAINT JOHN’S VS BOSTON COLLEGE (Mohegan Sun).  BC is off to an impressive start and this is another winnable game for them today.  The Johnnies are 2-0, but this is by far their biggest test of the year so far and it will be interesting to see what they can do.  I can’t believe I’m saying this, but BC is playing the Johnnies, and there is definitely a reason to watch the game!!

-STANFORD AT ALABAMA.  We think both these teams are potential tournament teams.  It’s the season opener for Stanford and the first big test for Alabama.

-NORTH CAROLINA VS UNLV (Asheville, NC).  UNC shouldn’t have too much trouble picking up a win away from home (sort of), and improving to 2-0.

-AUBURN AT UCF.  Both these teams are in rebuilding mode and are looking to collect some early season wins.

-GEORGIA STATE AT MERCER.  How about this game!!  Both teams are unbeaten at 2-0, and both have managed wins against Georgia Tech.  We thought Georgia State would be good this year, but Mercer is a bit of a surprise.

-SEATTLE U VS CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE (Las Vegas).  A win gets Seattle to 4-0.

-EASTERN KENTUCKY AT XAVIER.  It’s a buy game, but both teams are unbeaten and Xavier has struggled in home buy games this year.

-LMU AT MINNESOTA.  Minney is trying to improve to 3-0 on the season.

-TEXAS STATE AT MISSISSIPPI STATE.  This is a buy game, but Texas State can improve to 3-0 with a win and Mississippi State is still looking for their first win.

-IONA AT SETON HALL.  It’s a buy game, but it is Rick Pitino’s debut at Iona, and Seton Hall is looking to rebound from their loss at Louisville and pick up their first win.

-PACIFIC AT NEVADA.  Both teams unbeaten.

BUY GAMES

-SELA @ LSU
-TAMUCC @ SMU
-Kansas City @ Kansas State
-Nicholls @ California
-Texas Southern @ Wyoming
-Long Beach State @ UCLA

NEWS AND NOTES

-Schedules continue to change from day to day.  The most exciting game yesterday was a game that we didn’t even know about until the day before, and that was Virginia Tech pulling off an overtime upset win over Villanova.  VA Tech should be applauded for their toughness as much as anything.  They hung with Nova the whole game.  Every time it looked like Nova was about to get control, VA Tech made some big plays to get back into it, and after the game went into overtime after VA Tech appeared to have it in hand, they again remained poised, made big plays and got the win.  I was far more impressed with VA Tech than I was discouraged with Villanova.  I still think the Wildcats will be in the mix to win it all at the end of the year.

-Saint Louis held off a late comeback attempt by LSU to pick up their second win of the year.  The Billikens look like they’ll be a solid frontrunner in the Atlantic Ten this season.

-South Carolina was a team I was big on coming into the season, and yesterday they were totally blasted by Liberty.  Liberty had already lost a game (albeit not against a pushover), so it was a little surprising to see them just take South Carolina apart like that.  The Flames could once again have a really strong squad this year.

-UMass Lowell, who opened things up with a win over San Francisco, followed that up with an 82-72 loss to Illinois State yesterday.

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES

-UMASS LOWELL AT OHIO STATE.  This is a buy game, but because UMass Lowell has the win over San Francisco we will go ahead and highlight it.

-RICHMOND AT KENTUCKY.  We are used to seeing Kentucky go at 100mph, but they start off at about 50mph and work their way up to that.  People seem to forget that and freak out when they struggle or lose games early in the season year after year after year even though it happens year after year after year.  Richmond is a really good team that returns a lot of starters and is difficult to defend.  It wouldn’t shock me at all if they want in to Rupp Arena and picked up the win, which would be a huge resume building win for the Spiders if they were able to pull it off.

-SOUTH CAROLINA VS TULSA (Hall of Fame Classic).  I was big on South Carolina this year, and they could still end up having a good season, but they’re going to have to play better than they did against Liberty yesterday.  Both teams are still searching for their first win of the season.

-LIBERTY VS TCU (Hall of Fame Classic).  I don’t know how much we will be hearing from either team at the end of the year, but Liberty is coming in with a nice win against South Carolina, and TCU is 2-0.

HOFSTRA AT RUTGERS.  This is a buy game, but Hofstra appears to be the favorites to win the Colonial, so it’ll be interesting to see what they can do against a Rutgers team that is in the top 25 and comes into the game unbeaten.

-TEXAS TECH VS HOUSTON (Southwest Showcase).  Both these teams are ranked in the top 20, and both have the potential to go deep into the NCAA Tournament, so it will be fun watching the two of them go at it early.

-SAN FRANCISCO AT RHODE ISLAND (Mohegan Sun).  Rhody has looked good early in the season despite being just 1-2, and San Francisco is coming off their huge win against Villanova and is looking to keep that momentum going with another notable win early on.  Both of these teams have been fun to watch so far, so it should be fun watching them play each other.

-BAYLOR VS WASHINGTON (Las Vegas, NV).  Baylor is the second ranked team in the nation and Washington looks like a team that’s going to struggle to get itself rebuild this year.  Of course that whole narrative changes if the Huskies can pull off the upset.

-SOUTH FLORIDA VS VIRGINIA TECH (Mohegan Sun).  Virginia Tech has blasted themselves onto the national scene with a huge upset win over Villanova.  Tonight’s game, which is definitely winnable, will improve them to 3-0

-WINTHROP AT UNC GREENSBORO.  It’s the best team in the Big South (we think) taking on one of the best teams in the SoCon and a team that may be good enough to make the NCAA Tournament without needing to win the conference tournament (we think).

-LIPSCOMB AT TULANE.  Both teams 1-0

-SEATTLE VS AIR FORCE (Las Vegas, NV).  Both teams unbeaten

BUY GAMES

-Arkansas Pine Bluff @ Iowa State
-Florida A&M @ Georgia
-Mount Saint Mary’s @ Maryland
-New Orleans @ Texas A&M
-Houston Baptist @ Arizona State
-North Dakota State @ Creighton
-Oakland @ Michigan
-North Florida @ Miami FL
-Prairie View @ Louisville
-New Mexico State @ Arizona Christian – REVERSE BUY GAME