News, Notes, and Highlighted Games: Thursday, Mar 5th

Posted on March 5, 2020 by David Griggs

CLICK HERE to view our CHAMPIONSHIP WEEK VIDEO NOTEBOOK: DAY 2, where we recap all of the conference tournament action from yesterday and preview all of tonight’s games

 

SURVIVAL BOARD UPDATE!!

Cal Poly (Big West): out with a loss at Long Beach AND a win by Cal State-Fullerton at UCSB.
Arkansas-Pine Bluff (SWAC): Despite being off tonight, the Golden Lions are out if Alabama A&M wins at home against Grambling.

 

NEWS AND NOTES

-For John Stalica’s UTR Game of the Day between Northern Colorado and Montana – CLICK HERE

-We thought Dayton would be tested at Rhode Island yesterday because of how well Rhody has played at home and how much they needed the win.  We were wrong.  Dayton absolutely crushed them.  Dayton may not have played a slew of ranked teams this season, but their Final Four chances are not remote.

-Florida State and Kansas both had scares last night, but both held on to win against teams that are outside the bubble.

-Villanova picked up a huge road win at Seton Hall, which pulls within a game of first place with just one game to go, and puts another huge win on their resume.  There isn’t anything unusual about this, but Villanova, Seton Hall, and Creighton have all helped out each others’ resumes by winning games on the road against each other.

-Auburn fell at home to Texas A&M.  If you haven’t been questioning if they should be a protected seed, then you should be questioning it now.

-Providence continues to roll as they knocked off a Xavier team (which had also been rolling) at home last night.  I think Providence is now inside the bubble.  If they aren’t, then they should be.

-LSU fell on the road to Arkansas.  They are still inside the bubble, but the value of their resume has dropped in the last couple of weeks.  Arkansas can still make the field, but they are going to need a strong finish in order to do it.

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES

-NEBRASKA AT MICHIGAN (Big Ten).  Michigan should be able to hold serve without too much trouble.  They are pretty much on cruise control right now as the season is winding down.

-ILLINOIS AT OHIO STATE (Big Ten).  I think both these teams are virtual locks for the top half of the bracket and are now just playing for seeding.  Illinois has won four straight, and Ohio State has won five out of six, so both are playing well right now.

-HOUSTON AT UCONN (American).  Barring a total surprise Houston should make the NCAA Tournament, but their resume has been slipping somewhat and this would be a really nice road win for them to pick up.

-STANFORD AT OREGON STATE (Pac 12).  Stanford is still on the outskirts of the bubble and really needs this win on the road to give them a chance.  The next game at Oregon is also really big.

-WICHITA STATE AT MEMPHIS (American).  Memphis will most likely need the automatic bid to reach the NCAA Tournament, but if they win out and win a few games in the conference tournament they should have a chance.  Wichita State is very close to the bubble and could really use this win to help keep them inside of it.

-WASHINGTON AT ARIZONA STATE (Pac 12).  Arizona State has lost two straight but is still in relatively good shape in regards to making the NCAA Tournament.  If they hold serve the rest of the way they should be okay.

-WASHINGTON STATE AT ARIZONA (Pac 12).  Arizona is safely inside the bubble and will almost assuredly land in the top half of the bracket if they hold serve the rest of the way.

-CALIFORNIA AT OREGON (Pac 12).  If Oregon can finish strong they should be able to lock up a protected seed.  This game tonight is very winnable.

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Under The Radar Game of the Day: Thursday, March 5th

Posted on March 5, 2020 by John Stalica

For Day 2 of our Championship Week video notebooks – CLICK HERE

Northern Colorado (20-9, 13-5) at Montana (18-11, 14-4) – 9:00 PM EST (WatchBigSky.com)

Tonight’s UTR Game of the Day takes us to Missoula, Montana for a pivotal matchup between two Big Sky Contenders – the Northern Colorado Bears sit a game out of first place as they hit the road to take on co-leader Montana. The bad news for Northern Colorado? They are coming off of a loss at home against co-leader Eastern Washington and have now been swept by the Eagles in the NoCoEWU Cup. However, UNC has already beaten Montana in their first meeting 74-66 on the strength of 22 points from Bodie Hume. After tonight, the Bears finish their season at Montana State; EWU will finish their season with home games against Idaho State and Weber State.

Montana comes into today’s game having won seven of their last eight games; one of those games was a 92-82 victory against EWU that gave the Grizzlies a season sweep of the Eagles. A win tonight and either one more loss or a Montana victory in their season finale against Southern Utah would give the Grizzlies a share of the Big Sky title and subsequent #1 seed in the conference tournament. In their last outing, Sayeed Pridgett had 24 points to lead the Grizzlies to a 79-71 victory at Sacramento State.

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Championship Week Video Notebook Day 2

Posted on March 5, 2020 by Chad

It was Day 2 of the 13 day week we all know and love as Championship Week!  Tonight, the HoopsHD Panel takes a look at an exciting day of action in the Mountain West, Northeast and Ohio Valley conferences.  We update the Survival Board, take a look at one of the great moments in HoopsHD Championship Week history, and a whole lot more!

For those that prefer audio only, check this out:

Thursday’s action:

ATLANTIC SUN SEMIFINALS

BIG SOUTH QUARTERFINALS

HORIZON LEAGUE QUARTERFINALS

MOUNTAIN WEST QUARTERFINALS

OHIO VALLEY QUARTERFINALS

PATRIOT LEAGUE QUARTERFINALS

MISSOURI VALLEY FIRST ROUND

WEST COAST FIRST ROUND

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News, Notes, and Highlighted Games: Wednesday, Mar 4th

Posted on March 4, 2020 by David Griggs

CLICK HERE to view our CHAMPIONSHIP WEEK VIDEO NOTEBOOK where we recap all of the conference tournament action from yesterday and preview all of tonight’s games  

NEWS AND NOTES

-For John Stalica’s UTR Game of the Day between Cal State Northridge and UC Irvine – CLICK HERE

-Kentucky had what appeared to be a comfortable lead all throughout the first half at home against Tennessee, but the Vols kept the game within arms length, then came back to make it close, then got the lead, and then got control late and pulled off the huge upset.  It still isn’t enough to get Tennessee all the way into the bubble, but it does give them some momentum as we wind the season down and head into the conference tournament.  Kentucky should still end up as a protected seed so long as they finish strong.

-Rutgers coasted against Maryland and even led by as much as 20 in the game.  Their problem is that they have so few wins away from home.  The season finale at Purdue is huge for them because they need that road win.

-Purdue picked up a very impressive win against Iowa, and now it suddenly looks like they have a manageable path to the NCAA Tournament if they can beat previously mentioned Rutgers in their last game and then add another win or two in the conference tournament.

-Michigan State has now won two straight road games against ranked teams, and is suddenly looking very dangerous.  They fell behind huge to Penn State, but dominated the second half and ended up picking up the 79-71 win.

-Mississippi State went into South Carolina needing to win….and did not win.  They are now outside the bubble with a lot of work to do and are running out of time to do it.

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES

-XAVIER AT PROVIDENCE (Big East).  Both of these teams have been playing well lately, and both appear to be inside the bubble as of right now.  Whoever wins tonight will obviously be even safer.

-TEXAS A&M AT AUBURN (SEC).  Auburn still has a good chance of ending up as a protected seed so long as they win out and pick up one or two more in the SEC Tournament.  They shouldn’t have too much trouble holding serve tonight.

-FLORIDA AT GEORGIA (SEC).  Florida appears to be relatively safely inside the bubble barring a collapse the rest of the way.  This should be a winnable road game for the Gators.

-LSU AT ARKANSAS (SEC).  LSU is inside the bubble and will likely remain there.  Arkansas appears to be on the outside looking in and will need a strong finish just to make the field.  A win tonight would be nice for LSU, and is pretty much required for the Razorbacks.

-MINNESOTA AT INDIANA (Big Ten).  Indiana should be able to make the field if they hold serve the rest of the way.  That would include beating a Minnesota team tonight that has some big wins, but has also been really bad away from home.

-SAINT JOHN’S AT BUTLER (Big East).  Butler is a virtual lock for the NCAA Tournament.  If they lose their two remaining games and then drop their first conference tournament game they may be sweating a little bit, but only a little bit.  Still, it would be in their best interest to hold serve and pick this one up against the Johnnies tonight.

-TCU AT KANSAS (Big 12).  Kansas is currently being projected as the #1 overall seed and will likely remain that way so long as they keep holding serve.

-VILLANOVA AT SETON HALL (Big East).  Both of these teams are likely protected seeds, so this is a showcase game between two teams that are playing to try to end up on the #2 line.

-DAYTON AT RHODE ISLAND (Atlantic Ten).  Dayton has been dominant this season, but this will perhaps be their toughest road game and it’s a good late season test to see how they play against a good team in a hostile environment.  Rhody is outside the bubble and really needs a win like this in order to make a strong case for themselves.

-FLORIDA STATE AT NOTRE DAME (ACC).  Florida State still has a shot at a first place finish and will get at least a share of it if they win out.  They’re also likely to end up as a protected seed so long as they hold serve.  Notre Dame’s NCAA hopes are still barely flickering.  They need to win tonight in order to have any sort of a chance.

-VIRGINIA AT MIAMI FL (ACC).  Virginia has won six in a row, and as crazy as this sounds actually has a chance at finishing in first place in the ACC if everything falls right.  They’re a virtual lock for the tournament and can pick up another winnable road game tonight.

-NORTHWESTERN AT WISCONSIN (Big Ten).  Wisconsin survived a close on this past weekend and has now won six in a row and is looking very dangerous as we head into March.  They shouldn’t have too much trouble extending that out to seven wins tonight.

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Under The Radar Game of the Day: Wednesday, March 4th

Posted on March 4, 2020 by John Stalica

For Day 1 of Hoops HD’s Championship Week coverage – CLICK HERE

Cal State-Northridge (13-17, 8-6) at UC-Irvine (21-10, 13-2) – 10:00 PM EST (ESPN3)

Tonight’s UTR Game of the Day takes us to the West Coast and Orange County in California where the Anteaters of UC-Irvine host the Matadors of Cal State-Northridge. Irvine comes into tonight’s game on a six game winning streak and have avenged their only two losses in conference play with wins against Long Beach State and UC-Santa Barbara. Collin Welp has averaged 13.0 points a game and 5.9 rebounds a game for the Anteaters.

While UC-Irvine has long since clinched the regular season championship and subsequent #1 seed in the Big West, CSUN is one of three teams tied for second place in the conference right now; they are tied with UC-Davis and UC-Santa Barbara at 8-6 in conference play at the moment. The Matadors have the toughest schedule of the three teams; they also have a home game against Hawai’i for their regular season finale (UC-Davis plays Hawai’i and at UC-Riverside; UCSB hosts both Cal State-Fullerton and Cal Poly) in addition to tonight’s game. Lamine Diane is one of the nation’s top scorers with a whopping 25.5 points a game; he also averages 10.1 rebounds a game as well.

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Championship Week Video Notebook: Day 1

Posted on March 4, 2020 by David Griggs

WELCOME SELECTION COMMITTEE MEMBERS!!  We are here to tell you what you should be doing!!  It is our pleasure to provide this service!!

CLICK HERE to view the Survival Board, which lays out which teams are locked in, which teams are under consideration, and which ones are still competing for auto-bids

Tonight we review the first day of conference tournament action.  All the chalk held in the Atlantic Sun, Big South, Horizon League, and Patriot League Tourneys, but we saw a lot of close games.  We also preview tomorrow’s action as the Ohio Valley, Mountain West, and NEC tip off.

For those that prefer audio only:

NORTHEAST CONFERENCE QUARETERFINALS

MOUNTAIN WEST OPENING ROUND

 

OHIO VALLEY OPENING ROUND

Ohio Valley

OTHER SURVIVAL BOARD GAMES

-RICE AT SOUTHERN MISS (Conference USA).  Southern miss will be mathematically eliminated from making the conference tournament if they lose.

-SAM HOUSTON STATE AT TAMUCC (Southland).  TAMUCC will be mathematically eliminated from the conference tournament if they lose and both McNeese and Northwestern State win.

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