Hoops HD

NEWS AND NOTES

-For the UTR Game of the Day between UMBC and Saint Francis U – CLICK HERE

-The biggest news of the day happened early on with the San Francisco Dons knocking off #4 Virginia in the Homelight Classic.  In about a 48 hour period USF lost their opener to UMass Lowell, rebounded with a hard fought win against Towson, and then closed things off with a win against a top four team.  Talk about a drastic turnaround!!   They also own the biggest win of the year in the WCC so far at least as far as the rankings are concerned.  Gonzaga did knock off Kansas, but Virginia was ranked ahead of Kansas!

-Pepperdine looked like they were going to knock off UCLA, but the game ended up going into three overtimes before the Bruins finally put away the Wave.  I believe this would have collectively made the WCC 3-0 against top 25 teams had Pepperdine been able to pull it off.

-Another near upset was Ohio U who went into Illinois and took them to the wall.  The lead seesawed back and forth and Ohio U actually went ahead with less than 10 seconds to go after hitting a go ahead (and what was at the time a possible game winning) shot.  Illinois then went the length to score with just 2 seconds to go and managed to hold on.  It goes without saying that this would have been a monster win for Ohio.  This is the kind of win that gets teams like them into the NCAA Tournament without needing to win the conference tournament.  But still, the future is VERY bright for the Bobcats and they are definitely worth keeping an eye on this season.

-West Virginia had to overcome a second half deficit to beat a really good Western Kentucky team in the championship game of the Bad Boy Mowers Crossover Classic (can we shorten the name of this event, please?  I mean, that’s a lot of words to put on a t-shirt, or trophy, or banner).  Despite the loss, WKU did very well for themselves picking up what will likely be two big wins against Northern Iowa and Memphis.  I’m sold that they are a tournament caliber team and it wouldn’t shock me to see them in the top 25 before the end of the year.

-Louisville and Seton Hall was another great game that was close all throughout.  It came down to the finals seconds and Louisville was able to hold on for a 71-70 win.

-Saint Mary’s had no trouble with South Dakota State.  This was the complete opposite of what I was expecting.  It’s a really nice OOC win for the Gaels, and a bit of a setback for a South Dakota State team that we thought was a tournament caliber team, but that needed OOC wins to back that up and to avoid needing to win the conference tournament in order to get there.

-VCU is another team that has greatly exceeded expectations so far.  They played very well out in the Bad Boy Mowers Crossover Classic and picked up another nice win yesterday against Memphis.  Their only loss was to West Virginia, so they are off to a pretty solid start.

-Xavier sweated out another win against a UTR team that came down to the final seconds.  They seesawed back and forth with Toledo, but held on for a 76-73 win to remain undefeated.

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES

-UMASS LOWELL VS ILLINOIS STATE (Columbus, OH).  With UMass Lowell being 1-0 with a win over San Francisco, who just knocked off Virginia, we will put the spotlight on them!  We will keep it on them as long as they keep winning!  I don’t know how long that will be, but for now the spotlight is theirs!

-LSU AT SAINT LOUIS.  I’m really looking forward to this one as we think both are likely NCAA Tournament teams, and it’s the first real test for either of them this season.  OOC wins will likely to be harder to come by this year than in most years so it’s a good opportunity for both teams.

-DREXEL AT PITTSBURGH.  It’s the season opener for a Drexel team that we think can win the Colonial, and it looks to be a winnable road game against a Pitt team that lost their opener against Saint Francis U.

-SOUTH CAROLINA VS LIBERTY (Hall of Fame Classic).  This is the season opener for South Carolina, who I think can be a darkhorse this year, and they take on a Liberty team that’s off to a decent 1-1 start with a win against Mississippi State and a loss to Purdue.

-RHODE ISLAND VS SOUTH FLORIDA (Mohegan Sun).  Rhody is off to an 0-2 start, but they played well in both games and I think there is more reason for optimism than concern.  South Florida won their opener but faces a much bigger challenge today.

-LITTLE ROCK VS WESTERN KENTUCKY (Louisville, KY).  WKU is off to a very impressive 2-1 start with the only loss being to West Virginia in the championship game of their MTE.  What they might also be is tired as this is their four game in four days, and they’re traveling from two timezones away in order to play it.  Little Rock was a team I was high on this year, and I still think they could have a big year, but they struggled in their first two games and lost to a good UNC Greensboro team on Friday  This is another early season game against a good opponent.  As for WKU, a win might land them in the top 25, or at least get them close to it.

-TULSA VS TCU (Hall of Fame Classic).  Some of us at Hoops HD (not me) think TCU could be a dark horse.  We should learn a little something about them today.

-VIRGINIA TECH VS VILLANOVA (Mohegan Sun).  Neither team has lost yet, but Nova has played against top 25 caliber competition, whereas VA Tech has…well…not.

-NOTRE DAME AT MICHIGAN STATE.  It’s the season opener for Notre Dame, and they are playing an absolute gauntlet OOC schedule.  They normally go to the bakery and load up on cupcakes, but not this year!  Michigan State won their opener, but may be tested a little more today.

-EASTERN WASHINGTON AT WASHINGTON STATE.  Eastern Washington is the preseason favorite to win the Big Sky, and it wouldn’t shock me at all if they went on the road and beat Wazzu.

-VMI AT PENN STATE.  VMI is 1-0, it is Penn State’s first game.

-ARMY VS BUFFALO (Mohegan Sun).  Both teams unbeaten.

-TEXAS STATE AT TAMUCC.  Both teams unbeaten

-LMU AT MINNESOTA – Both teams 1-0

-NORTH TEXAS AT ARKANSAS.  Both teams 1-0

-NICHOLLS AT SANTA CLARA.  Both teams 2-0

BUY GAMES

-Belmont vs Queens (nondiv1) (Paradise Jam).  Bemlont can get to 3-0, but Queens have given some teams some fits so far
-North Dakota State @ Nebraska
-Coppin State @ Duke
-SC Upstate @ Furman
-Texas Southern @ Oklahoma State
-Louisiana @ Baylor
-Montana @ USC
-Utah Valley @ BYU

NEWS AND NOTES

For the UTR Game of the Day between UNC Wilmington and UNC Asheville – CLICK HERE

-Gonzaga lived up to their #1 ranking by basically leading Kansas from tip to buzzer yesterday.  Kansas did close it up in the second half, but only for a few minutes (literally).  By the end of the game Gonzaga had blown it open and was on cruise control.

-Villanova also picked up an impressive win against a really good Arizona State team, so their resume looks about as good as it possibly could right out of the gate.  And, they get some hardware to go along with it as they win the 2K Empire Classic.

-Boston College knocked off Rhode Island in the 3rd place game of the 2K Empire Classic.  I must say that I was impressed with all four of these teams.  It’s been a long time since BC impressed anyone, but they gave Villanova all they wanted in the first game and beat what looks to be a better than expected Rhode Island team in the second game.  Rhody, despite being 0-2, can still take some things away from this and we may see more wins from them than what most of us were expecting this year.

-Xavier survived a scare from Bradley, but managed to hold on to win after Bradley missed what would have been a game tying freethrow on the front end of a 1-and-1.

-Western Kentucky looked good and picked up another notable win by knocking off Memphis 75-69.  I think WKU belongs in the top 25.  They may not get into the next poll, but I bet we see them in there before the end of the season.  They face West Virginia today, and if they can win that one they will almost assuredly move right into the rankings.

-Northern Iowa desperately needed a bounce back win yesterday against Saint Mary’s, and didn’t get it.  Neither of Northern Iowa’s losses are potentially damaging, but they are two missed opportunities for a team that isn’t likely to have too many more chances at committee-impressing-caliber-wins the rest of the way.

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES

-GONZAGA VS AUBURN (Fort Myers Tip-Off).  Gonzaga is ranked #1 and they totally looked the part yesterday against Kansas in a game they won without really even having to sweat.  Auburn picked up a win in their opener against Saint Joseph’s, but it was slightly less impressive.  Gonzaga should coast today.  For Auburn it’s a chance to see what they can do against the top ranked team with so many new players.

-VIRGINIA VS SAN FRANCISCO (HomeLight Classic).  San Francisco is a program that has improved over the past few years.  Virginia is a Final Four contender.

-OHIO AT ILLINOIS.  This is a buy game, but since I think Ohio is one of the better teams in the MAC we will go ahead and highlight it.  At the very least they are much stronger than Illinois’ first two opponents.

-WESTERN KENTUCKY AT WEST VIRGINIA.  WKU already has two really nice wins on the year against Northern Iowa and Memphis, and probably belongs in the Top 25 whether they can win this game or not.  WVU has also looked good in their first two games, so what we got is a good game between two good teams that already have a couple of good wins.  It’s probably a bigger deal for WKU than for WVU since they get fewer chances in conference play to impress the committee, but either way both teams will be in good shape after this tournament.

-KANSAS VS SAINT JOSPEH’S (For Myers Tip-Off).  The Jayhawks shouldn’t have too much trouble rebounding from their loss to Gonzaga yesterday.

-BOISE STATE AT HOUSTON.  Boise State could make some noise in the Mountain West this year, but we aren’t expecting them to be a big player on the national scene.  Having said that, a win today could totally change that opinion.  This Houston team is ranked in the top 20 and could end up in the top 10 by the end of the season.

-UCLA VS PEPPERDINE (San Diego, CA).  UCLA is looking to bounce back from their loss to San Diego State, and while they should get this one it may not be as easy as some think.  Pepperdine is good enough to beat the Bruins if they overlook them.

-SETON HALL AT LOUISVILLE.  This is a fun early season match-up between two likely tournament teams.  It’s a low risk/high reward game.  The winner gets a good win for their resume, and the loser doesn’t really suffer much of a setback.

-UTAH STATE AT NORTHERN IOWA (Bad Boy Mowers Crossover Classic).  Both teams come into this game 0-2 and both really need this win.  Both teams have the potential to have big seasons, but starting off 0-3 means they’ll have a steeper up hill climb the rest of the way.

-SOUTH DAKOTA STATE VS SAINT MARY’S (Bad Boy Mowers Crossover Classic).  These are two teams that look like they have NCAA Tournament potential, but in order to get there they need to win games like this one today.  Since the opportunities are somewhat limited SMC, and very limited for South Dakota State, this game does have a feeling of importance to it.

-UC IRVINE AT SAN DIEGO STATE.  It’s more or less a buy game, and UC Irvine did not look impressive in their opener, but they should improve and be able to make sone noise once they get into Big West play.  San Diego State isn’t in the Top 25 right now, but they likely will be before long.

-UNC GREENSBORO VS LITTLE ROCK (Wade Houston Tip-Off Classic).  Little Rock struggled in their first game, but they did get the win.  I think these are two really good UTR teams, and it will be fun seeing them go against one another.

-VCU VS MEMPHIS (Bad Boy Mowers Crossover Classic).  VCU wasn’t expected to do much this year, but they’ve looked decent in this tournament, and if they can get a win against Memphis they’ll be on a much better path than what we thought they’d be on (at least for now).  That’s easier said than done, though.  While Memphis lost yesterday, it was to a really good Western Kentucky team, and based on what we’ve seen so far they look like an NCAA Tournament caliber team.

-COLORAD AT KANSAS STATE.  This is an early winnable road game for Colorado

-ABILENE CHRISTIAN VS AUSTIN PEAY (Gulf Coast Showcase).  Both teams are unbeaten

-GEORGE MASON VS BELMONT (Paradise Jam).  Both teams are unbeaten.

-NAVY AT MARYLAND.  Both teams 1-0.

-FRESNO STATE AT PACIFIC.  Both teams 1-0

REVERSE BUY GAME

-New Mexico State @ Arizona Christian (nondiv1) – I can’t think of a time when a div1 team, much less what looks to be an NCAA Tournament caliber div1 team, went on the road to play an NAIA team.  But…this is the COVID world we now live in!

BUY GAMES

-Toledo @ Xavier – Xavier can improve to 3-0 with a win
-Northwest U (nondiv1) @ Oregon State
-Sam Houston State @ Texas Tech
-Lamar @ Tulane
-Bryant @ Syracuse
-UC Davis @ Santa Clara
-Toccoa Falls (nondiv1) @ Georgia State – HOW WAS THIS NOT THE UTR GAME OF THE DAY!!!??
-Southern @ Iowa
Grambling @ Arizona
-North Florida @ NC State
-Morehead State vs Richmond – game in Lexington, KY
-Fairleigh Dickinson @ Rutgers
-Valparaiso @ Vanderbilt
-Longwood @ Wake Forest
-Eastern Illinois @ Marquette
-Mercer @ Georgia Tech – Mercer is 1-0 and GA Tech is looking to bounce back from their season opening loss
-Hartford @ UConn
-Arkansas Pine Bluff @ Wisconsin