We have seen some great in-season tournaments in the past (Battle 4 Atlantis, Maui Invitational, etc.), but the Players Era Festival has simply taken things to another level. Last year’s debut featured 8 teams, but this year there is an 18-team field featuring some of the best teams from the best conferences in the country. It is taking place this week in Las Vegas, and we could not be more excited to be there in person! HoopsHD is covering all the angles so you can look forward to an abundance of access in the days ahead. Jon Teitel commences our coverage from Sin City with an interview of Nikki Graves, whose son Nik plays for Creighton.
Your son Nik was born/raised in Durham: did he always want to attend Duke? No: he was always a Carolina fan growing up!
He began his college career at your alma mater (Charlotte): how much of an influence were you on his decision? I stayed out of the recruiting process. People wanted him to go there because I played there, but I wanted to let him make his own decision.
He played in 22 games as a freshman: how was he able to come in and contribute right from the start? He was well prepared after playing for his high school team. Coach Freddy Johnson did a phenomenal job of teaching him how to play the right way and be prepared for the game at the college level.
Last March he scored a career-high 32 PTS/4-8 3PM/10-11 FT in a 2-PT loss at East Carolina: was it just 1 of those scenarios where every shot he put up seemed to go in because he was “in the zone”? He did hit a lot of shots in that game, but what I remember the most is that his friend Bobby Pettiford played for ECU in the past, so it was kind of a big brother/little brother thing.
Last year he led his team with 17.5 PPG: what is his secret for being a great scorer? He just does what his team needs. He has always been a pass-first guard but Charlotte did not have the scoring pieces last year, so he had to adapt. If you asked him, he would say that he prefers not to shoot as much.
He was also #15 in the nation with 233 FTA: how much of his success is based on his ability to get to the FT line? A lot of it. He has always had a knack for being a smart player and has modeled his game after the great UNC PGs who he watched growing up (Raymond Felton, Kendall Marshall, etc.). He has a high basketball IQ and after seeing something just 1 time he can adapt it to his game.
Why did he decide to transfer last spring, and what made him choose Creighton? He wanted to play in the NCAA tourney, and while he loved his time in Charlotte, the coaching staff encouraged him to follow his dream. Creighton has a family atmosphere and a coach in Greg McDermott who would challenge him.
He got off to a great start with a team-high 15 PTS/5 AST/3 STL in his Creighton debut against South Dakota earlier this month: how does he balance his scoring with his passing with his defense? It just comes to him naturally. There are times that he should be more assertive, but he lets the game come to him. When he needs to turn it on, he can turn it on…and I think he needs to turn it on a little more for the team to be successful. Another key is that he never gets too high/too low.
You played basketball at Charlotte: who is the best athlete in the family? I would have to say me…but my kids might differ from that. My daughter McKenzie is a freshman basketball player at Charlotte, so the athletic gene runs in the family: we each played several different sports during high school.
He scored 13 PTS in a win over Iowa State during an exhibition game last month: any predictions for the rematch with the Cyclones this week? I am going with the Jays!
Posted inNews and Notes|TaggedCreighton, Nik Graves, Nikki Graves|Comments Off on All-Access at the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas: HoopsHD interviews Nikki Graves about her son Nik
-For our IN-SEASON TOURNAMENT page, which contains brackets, schedules, and viewing information – CLICK HERE
NEWS AND NOTES:
-Clemson held of Georgia in overtime 97-94 to win their half of the Charleston Classic. Both teams look like they are possible tournament teams, so this was a game that could prove to be important later on in terms of resumes, seeding, and selection. These early season games oftentimes get lost in the shuffle to the general fan, but they are oftentimes closely looked at by the committee March.
-Butler is worth paying attention to! They are 5-1 after their 80-73 win over Virginia yesterday and the only loss was a close one on the road to a pretty good SMU team. It has been a while since Butler was in any way relevant, but they may be pretty solid this year and could make some noise in the Big East.
-Xavier knocked off West Virginia 78-68 in Charleston to improve to 4-3 on the year. After a pitiful and unimpressive start to the season, Xavier played well in this event. They nearly beat Georgia and got a win over a WVU team that is at least semi-respectable.
-Northwestern is 5-1 after a 79-77 win over South Carolina and a decent overall showing in the Greenbrier Tip-Off.
-Quinnipiac went into Pittsburgh and won 83-75 in a road buy game upest. Pitt is terrible. They haven’t looked good all year. Having said that, Quinnipiac may be better than expect ed and could really end up making some noise in the MAAC this year. This is a good win for them.
-McNeese handed George Washington their first loss of the season down in the Cayman Islands. McNeese had a huge lead built up and GW made a run late, but couldn’t come all the way back and the Cowboys won 92-86. I think GW is a dark horse A10 team that can make a run at the bubble despite their loss in this one, so this is a really good win and a statement win for a McNeese team that lost so much of their team from a year ago.
-UT Martin, who I had been really big on since they racked up a couple of big road wins, lost rather decisively to Southern Miss down in Pensecola, who I have not been big on at all. The final score was 70-60, but at no point did it feel like Southern Miss was not in control of this game.
-Utah State remains unbeaten after blowing Davidson off the floor 94-60 and winning their half of the Charleston Classic. Utah State is off to a great start and is making a case that they belong inside the bubble. They’ve certainly looked better than anyone else from the Mountain West so far.
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HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-LIBERTY VS VERMONT (ESPN Events Invitational). Liberty is perhaps the top Under the Radar team this year and it’s important that they do well in this event and rack up some notable wins away from home. Vermont is off to a slow start, but it starting to play better and is still expected to be the best team in the America East, so this is a nice matchup between two solid UTR teams and a good opportunity for both of them.
-CREIGHTON VS BAYLOR (Players Era Invitational). Both teams are exptected to have big years, but neither has any really big wins yet (although Baylor did beat Washington). This event is a chance for both of them to change that and a win today would be a huge statement for whichever team pulls it off.
-SETON HALL VS NC STATE (Maui Invitaitonal). Seton Hall is unbeaten, but they are also untested and I’m still not buying into them until they can win a big game. Today is their chance to do that. I like this NC State team a lot and think they may bulldoze their way through this event.
-SAINT JOHNS VS IOWA STATE (Players Era Invitational). The expectations for both of these teams is huge this year. Based on where they are ranked many feel they can both end up as protected seeds. Having said that, neither team has done anything to build up their profiles yet, so this game and this whole event are a chance for them to get that started.
-OREGON VS AUBURN (Players Era Invitational). Auburn gave Houston a battle the other week, but they are still looking for their first notable win. For that matter, so is Oregon, who comes in unbeaten, but also untested. This is a chance for both these teams to pick up their first notable wins and favorably position themselves in the event.
-YALE VS AKRON (Paradise Jam). These are the two best teams in the event and it’s good that they’ll end up facing each other in the final. Both are good, and both have outside shots at making a run at the bubble, so that makes today’s game potentially very important.
-GONZAGA VS ALABAMA (Players Era Invitational). Perhaps the most intriguing game of the day. Both teams are highly ranked and both teams have been tested already. These are two teams that may not just be competing for protected seeds, but could be battling it out for #1 seeds.
-SAN DIEGO STATE VS MICHIGAN (Players Era Invitational) – San Diego State is coming off an upset loss to Troy and needs to bounce back. If they can play well in this event, no one will even remember or care about the loss to Troy. Michigan is unbeaten and they’ve been in some big games, but have also struggled just a little bit more than expected. Having said that, this event is a chance for them to really build up their profile and cement their high ranking.
-ARIZONA STATE VS TEXAS (Maui Invitational). Arizona State was not a team I was big on, but they do have a really nice win against Hawaii. Texas’s only loss was to Duke, and there is no shame in that. This event is a chance for both of these teams to pick up some notable early season wins.
-HAWAII PACIFIC (nonD1) AT HAWAII. It’s the game of the day!!!!!! Can Hawaii Pacific pick up their second win against a good D1 team??? We will be glued to the TV tonight!!
OTHER NOTABLE GAMES:
-Rhode Island vs Towson (ESPN Events Invitational) – Rhody is 4-1 with a notable win at Yale. A strong showing in this tournament could really boost their profile
-Tennessee vs Rutgers (Players Era Festival) – Rutgers is coming off a loss to Central Connecticut, and while it was their only loss of the season it does not bode well for the future. Tennessee should be able to rack up some notable wins in this event
-Belmont vs Saint Francis (Coconut Hoops) – Belmont can stay unbeaten
-VMI vs Buffalo (Fort Myers Tip-Off) – Buffalo can remain unbeaten on the year and VMI is a dark horse SoCon team that can pick up some notable wins in this event
-Notre Dame vs Kansas (Players Era Invitational) – I’m not all that big on the Irish and think they are way overmatched in this one, but they have the chance to prove me incredibly wrong
-Temple vs UC San Diego (ESPN Events Invitational) – both teams are off to solid starts, and UCSD is actually 4-0 on the year, so the game is worth watching
-USC vs Boise State (Maui Invitaitonal) – USC is unbeaten and Boise State is unbeaten against D1 opponents. The Broncos have actually looked better since their season opening loss to Hawaii Pacific and a strong showing in this tournament would be a nice way to bounce back
-Middle Tennessee vs George Washington (Cayman Islands Classic) – both teams were in exciting games yesterday as GW came from behind to nearly beat McNeese, but couldn’t quite complete the comeback and Middle Tennessee won a close one against Murray State. If GW has any hope at making a run at the bubble they need to pick up wins in this event
-Syracuse @ Houston (Players Era Inviational) – Syracuse is unbeaten, but also untested and they may get blown into the sun this afternoon.
-Ohio U vs George Mason (Sunshine Slam) – George Mason is looking to remain unbeaten
-New Orleans @ Mississippi State – Mississippi State may be tested in this one
-Murray State vs McNeese (Cayman Islands Classic) – McNeese had a really nice win yesterday against George Washington. If they want to make a run at the bubble they basically need to blow thorough their schedule, and that inlcudes winning the games in this event
-LMU vs FAU (Sunshine Slam) – LMU can get to 7-0 on the season
-UNLV vs Maryland (Players Era Invitational) – I’m not all that excited about either one of these teams, but UNLV did pick up a solid win at Memphis and Maryland is a respectable 4-1 with a win at Marquette
-For our IN-SEASON TOURNAMENT page, which contains brackets, schedules, and viewing information – CLICK HERE
NEWS AND NOTES:
-In a game that I am ashamed of myself for not mentioning yesterday, Maryland Eastern Shore defeated Binghamton 63-52 in the Queen City Classic at the Koessler Athletic Center at Canisius College! Very few people were there! Among the people who were not there were announcers! But there was a video stream of the game and it was glorious!!
-Providence handed Penn State their first loss 77-65. It was Penn State’s first real test and they did not pass it.
-San Francisco is now 5-1 on the year after picking up a 77-65 win at Minnesota. It’s the first win away from home for the Dons, but they have held serve since the loss to Memphis and they need to do well in their upcoming in-season tournament to start building up their resume.
-Northern Colorado picked up a nice overtime win in Portland against what appears to be a pretty good Portland team. Northern Colorado is now 4-1 on the year and is looking like one of the stronger teams in the Big Sky.
-Northern Iowa picked up their first true road win of the year and remains unbeaten on the season, and it was a good one as they needed overtime to get by UC Irvine 70-69. This was just a really good game to watch, and it’s probably somewhat important. It shows that Northern Iowa can beat good teams on the road, and I also thought that it showed that despite the slow start for the Eaters, they are getting better.
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HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-CLEMSON VS GEORGIA (Charleston Classic). The rivalry resumes! Just not in its normal setting. Georgia barely survived Xavier on Friday night, and Clemson got here after a close win against West Virginia. It’s an opportunity to collect another notable early season win away from home and to take home a piece of hardware.
-VIRGINIA VS BUTLER (Greenbrier Tip-Off). Virginia got here after beating Northwestern in an exciting game and Butler got past South Carolina. Both teams have good overall records, but a win today would make each team’s resume look a lot better early on. Not much was expected of Butler this year, but their only loss so far was a close game at SMU, so a win today would be a great start to their season.
-WEST VIRGINIA VS XAVIER (Charleston Classic). Xavier has had a pitiful start to the season, but they’re coming off what was clearly their best game of the year when they nearly upset Georgia and a win today would look really good on their resume and perhaps change the tone and expecations for the rest of the year. West Virginia was knocked off by Clemson and is trying to pick up their first win away from home.
-MCNEESE VS GEORGE WASHINGTON (Cayman Islands Classic). GW is still unbeaten on the year and will be in solid shape for landing inside the bubble if they can sweep through this event. McNeese isn’t quite as good as they were a year ago, but they are still one of the better Under the Radar teams and this event is a chance for them to build up their resume and their metrics. Another reason this is big is because both these teams have limited opportunities at notable wins throughout the year.
-UTAH STATE VS DAVIDSON (Charleston Classic). Both teams are unbeaten, which is a bit of a surprise for Davidson, and both could use wins in games like this to help build up their resumes. They both have a few mentionable wins, but this would probably be the biggest win for either team up to this point.
OTHER NOTABLE GAMES:
-Norfolk State @ @Wyoming – Norfolk State is the MEAC favorites and they’re off to a pretty good 4-1 start, and Wyoming looks like they may be better than expected and could make some noise in the MWC.
-UT Martin vs Southern Miss – UT Martin barely avoided the upset to Prairie View yesterday, but held on to win 69-68. A win today gets them to 5-1 overall with four of those wins coming away from home
-South Carolina vs Northwestern (Greenbrier Tip-Off) – Not much was expected from either team coming into the year, but both have solid 4-1 records, both battled against pretty good teams on Friday in this event, and both could really benefit from a notable early season win away from home
-Yale vs Charleston (Paradise Jam) – this should be a winnable game for Yale, and while it’s not the top 50 level opponent that could really help their resume, it would be another win away from home and perhaps set them up against a stronger team in the championship game
-Murray State vs Middle Tennessee (Cayman Islands Classic) – a pretty good regional match-up between two solid Under the Radar teams! It’s just that the matchup is occurring outside the region and in the Cayman Islands
-Akron vs Evansville (Paradise Jam) – Akron just handed Iona their first loss of the year and will move on to the finals with a win today
BUY GAMES AND GAMES THAT MIGHT AS WELL BE:
-Arkansas Pine Bluff @ Miami OH -Delaware State @ Miami FL -Alcorn State @ Oklahoma -West Georgia @ Georgia Tech -Howard @ Duke -Quinnipiac @ Pittsburgh -Bryant @ UConn
HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel will spend the upcoming months covering several Georgetown basketball home games, with (hopefully) a very special reward coming in March. He was in attendance Saturday afternoon for the Hoyas’ game at Capital 1 Arena and prepared this photo essay about their matchup against Wagner.
I had the most delicious pregame meal of the month by far: chicken parmesan/ziti/Caesar salad/tiramisu from Carmine’s! Let’s tip it off:
The last time that Georgetown coach Ed Cooley started 5-0 was 4 years ago when he was coach at Providence. He finished that year by making the Sweet 16 and going 27-6…so fingers crossed:
Wagner entered today 0-4, Coach Dwan McMillan’s tallest player stands just 6’7”, and they are in the middle of a school-record 7-game road trip to start the season. It is simply asking too much of them to give an undefeated Big East team a serious challenge, and Georgetown controlled the 1st half as expected. After not playing in his team’s win over Clemson last Saturday, SO SG Kayvaun Mulready seemed happy to get back onto the court with a layup, an old-fashioned 3-PT play, and a dunk, then focused on his defense in the 2nd half to finish with 3 STL:
In contrast to Mulready’s inside game, his fellow sophomore Isaiah Abraham decided to do his own damage from behind the arc. I was a little nervous since he was only 1-8 from 3-PT land so far this month, but he proved me wrong by knocking down both of his attempts from behind the arc en route to a career-high 12 PTS without a single turnover:
The Hoyas took a 22-PT lead late in the half and coasted into halftime with a 44-27 lead. The Seahawks could have waved the white flag during the final 20 minutes, but Maryland native Jaden Baker gave his hometown fans a reason to stick around. He made several layups and a pair of threes to finish with a game-high 22 PTS, which is even more impressive considering that he had scored exactly 22 combined PTS during the 1st 4 games of his Wagner career:
Georgetown’s defense allowed a whopping 48 PTS in the 2nd half, but at least their offense responded with 48 PTS to balance it out. PG Malik Mack had arguably his best all-around game of the season with 18 PTS/4-7 3PM/5 AST/0 TO despite playing just 29 minutes:
The breakout star was his tall teammate Julius Halaifonua. The 7-footer from New Zealand knew that he would have a lot of pressure to perform after the news earlier this week that fellow 7-footer Vince Iwuchukwu was undergoing a medical procedure that would keep him out until after the new year. However, non-orange Julius did not miss a beat in the low post with a series of layups/spins/head fakes/finger rolls while scoring a career-high 16 PTS, grabbing a career-high 9 REB, and not committing a single turnover as the Hoyas improved to 5-0 with a 92-75 victory:
In the postgame press conference, I did not get to talk to Coach McMillan because his team had to hustle back to Staten Island. I noticed that Abraham now has 13 wins in his 14 career games with his only loss coming to Dayton last November 27th, so I asked him what the key was to being a winner and whether it would feel extra-special to beat Dayton this November 27th. He did not take the bait on the 2nd part but confirmed that the key the the 1st part was preparation. His team prepares every day at practice, so he just tries to bring it every day and compete at the highest level. Coach Cooley chimed in and mentioned a game they had played against Brazil in the GLOBL JAM last August. He started Isaiah without any advance notice, watched him turn the ball over 5 timed during the 1st 6 possessions…and thought that he might be playing for the other team(!). It takes a lot of time/effort to make progress, so to see Isaiah’s growth/development from then to now has been great:
That is a wrap for now, but I am getting on a plane to Vegas tomorrow so check back on Monday for some all-access coverage from the Players Era Festival, aka the greatest in-season tourney in college basketball history!
-For our IN-SEASON TOURNAMENT page, which contains brackets, schedules, and viewing information – CLICK HERE
NEWS AND NOTES:
-The showcase game of the day was pretty much over before it started. Purdue blew Texas Tech out of the gym 86-56 to win the Baha Mar Championship. This event saw three great games prior to the championship game, and then the championship game put everyone to sleep. Purdue is ranked #1 and after blowing out a legit top 15 team the way that they did, they clearly deserve that ranking.
-The third place game was amazing!!! Memphis had been struggling this season, but played well against Purdue despite the loss. Wake had come up just short against both Michigan and Texas Tech and needed a big win of their own. In a close game, Memphis hit what appeared to be a game winning shot with less than 2 seconds to go and went ahead 68-66. Then Wake Forest ran what can best be described as a Bryce Drew type of play and nailed a game winning three-pointer as time expired. Memphis is now just 1-4 on the year and Wake finally won a close game.
-Wisconsin v BYU was another top 25 matchup, and it was another blowout. BYU blew Wisky off of the horrendously painted court in Salt Lake City 98-70. This is a BYU team that fell behind early to UConn, but then came back and nealry won, and then just blew Wisconsin off the court. I’d say their ceiling is high.
-Virginia got a battle from Northwestern, but hung on to win 83-78 in the Greenbrier Tip Off. I think I’m more impressed with Northwestern after watching this than I am discouraged about Virginia. I don’t necessarily think Northwestern is a top 25 caliber team, but I don’t think they’ll be the doormats of the Big Ten either.
-Akron blew what we thought was a pretty good Iona team off the floor 96-75 in the Paradise Jam. The Zips only have one loss and if they can win this event they will certainly have our attention.
-Central Connecticut now has true road wins over Boston College and Rutgers. They actually pulled away from Rutgers late in the game yesterday to win 67-54 and improve to 3-2 overall on the season. Not much was expected of CCSU this year even by NEC standards, but they’ve put together a fairly solid profile by anyone’s standards!
-Clemson held on to beat West Virginia 70-67 in the Charleston Classic to pick up their first big win of the year.
-Prior to yesterday, Xavier had looked like a team that would struggle to finish in the top half of the Horizon League, but they nearly upset Georgia in the Charleston Classic. They actually had a lead in the final seconds before Georgia hit a shot to put them ahead, and then had a chance to in it at the buzzer, but couldn’t get it to fall. Georgia held on 78-77, but Xavier still wins the award for most improved team in a 7 day period. John Stalica’s Musketeers may have some life in them this season after all!
-Nebraska is unbeaten and worth paying attention to! They knocked off Kansas State in Kansas City in an 86-85 thriller to win the Hall of Fame classic. Nebraska’s early season resume is pretty respectable with several notable wins away from home.
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HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-PROVIDENCE AT PENN STATE. Penn State is unbeaten, but also untested. Even though they’ve won two games on the road the wins were against New Haven and La Salle. Providence isn’t particularly good, but they’re better than anyone Penn State has played so far.
-NORTHERN IOWA AT UC IRVINE. Northern Iowa is unbeaten on the year so far, but this is by far their toughest test. UC Irvine is good and is still expected to be a Big West frontrunner, but they have lost two games and so far haven’t looked quite as strong as they did a year ago. Having said that, a win today would be a big statement.
-Cleveland State @ Kent State – Kent State is off to a solid start and can get to 6-1 with a win today
-Duquesne vs Northeastern (Akron OH) – Duquesne can pick up a win away from home and improve to 5-1 on the year
-UT Martin vs Prairie View (Pensecola Invitational) – UT Martin is off to a great start and already has some big wins. They should be able to pick up another win away from home today.
-UC Santa Barbara @ Nevada – Nevada has struggled this year and UCSB looks like they’ll be one of the better teams in the Big West. This is a winnable road games for the Gouchos
-San Francisco vs Minnesota (Sioux Falls SD) – San Francisco’s only loss on the year was to Memphis. They’re a good team that can make the NCAA Tournament and should be able to beat Minnesota at the Pentagon today who is…well…not good.
-High Point vs Incarnate Word (Boardwalk Battle) – a win for High Point gets them to 6-1 with a very favorable schedule throughout the entire rest of the season
Northern Colorado @ Portland – both teams with just one loss
-Wagner @ Georgetown -Long Island @ Illinois -Central Michigan @ Marquette -NC Central @ Dayton -Nicholls @ Oklahoma State -Gardner Webb @ Richmond -Coppin State @ VCU -UC Merced (nonD1) @ Saint Mary’s
-For our IN-SEASON TOURNAMENT page, which contains brackets, schedules, and viewing information – CLICK HERE
NEWS AND NOTES:
-Troy came into yesterday’s game at USC after a double-overtime win at San Diego State. Last night they went into USC. Once again, the game was tied at the half. Once again, the game was tied at the end of regulation. Once again, the game went into a second overtime…and then to a third overtime. Troy had a key player foul out, but still jumped out to a lead in the 3rd overtime after trailing for most of the game. In the final seconds with a 2pt lead they came up with a big defensive stop, threw the ball down the court, but in a frantic desperation USC came up with the loose ball, got up a crazy contested shot that just beat the buzzer….and hit it. It may be one of the most exciting regular season basketball games I’ve ever seen. As for Troy, I hate that an Under the Radar team that has limited opportunities at notable wins was unable to finish this one off. It would have looked really good on their profile and begun to establish them as a possible at-large caliber team. But having said that, they have shown on this road trip that they can play!! They are poised for a big season!
-Memphis battled against Purdue and was right in there late in the game when a Memphis player threw himself to the ground as if he’d been pepper-sprayed in the face, and then got up and started yelling (I suppose to try and draw a technical foul?). After review, he himself was assessed a technical foul and Purdue got control of the game after that and went on to win 80-71.
-Wake Forest once again battled against a highly ranked team on a neutral floor, but once again came up just short. They took Michigan to overtime in Detroit and last night they took Texas Tech down to the final seconds before losing 84-83. It’s been a frustrating start of missed opportunities for Wake, but they’ve also shown that they can play at a high level and that they are good enough to take advantage of future opportunities. Their game against Memphis tonight is very important for both teams.
-Utah suffered their first loss of the season as they fell 92-85 in a home buy game to Cal Poly. I note this only to say that it wasn’t really that big of a surprise.
-Arizona State, who I have openly been very critical of, picked up a really big win last night at Hawaii 83-76. They have shut me up for now. Hawaii is a good team, Arizona State just beat them on the road, and is now 4-1 on the season.
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HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-WISCONSIN VS BYU (Bad Boy Mowers Series) – The game is in Salt Lake, so the crowd should hugely favor BYU. The Cougars don’t have any wins yet that are as big as this one would be, but they’ve shown they can play at a really high level with their near win against UConn. Wisconsin has blown through four buy games and this is their first real test.
-VIRGINIA VS NORTHWESTERN (Greenbrier Tip-Off). Both teams come in 4-0, but this is the first real big test for either one of them and their first chance to add a high caliber win to their resumes.
-IONA VS AKRON (Paradise Jam). This one will likely be fun. Both are solid Under the Radar teams and both have limited opportunities to build up a solid resume, so this event is a huge opportunity for both of them. To take full advantage of it both of them will need this win today.
-LOUISVILLE AT CINCINNATI. This game isn’t on campus, but it will still be a crowd that is very partial toward Cincinnati. It’s fun to see that they have restarted this series. Louisville already has a big win against Kentucky and this is their first real test away from home. Cincinnati also has a notable win against Dayton, but this will be a much tougher test today.
-WEST VIRGINIA VS CLEMSON (Charleston Classic). West Virginia does have a win against Pittsburgh, but based on how things have gone it’s probably not a win that they’re going to get a whole lot of credit for. Neither team has any real big wins yet, so this game tonight and this whole event is a chance for them to pick some up.
-WAKE FOREST VS MEMPHIS (Baha Mar Championship). Both teams battled yesterday against highly ranked teams, and if both can play like that the rest of the way then both are going to be fine. Having said that, this is a game that both of them could really use. It’s the third place game, but it has a bigger sense of energy to it than the championship game does. Wake has nearly beaten Michigan and Texas Tech, but came up short both times and is still looking for their first notable win. Memphis has struggled against a tough schedule and didn’t look good at all in their last game prior to this event, but hung in with Purdue for most of the game last night and could really use a win like this.
-TEXAS TECH VS PURDUE (Baha Mar Championship). This is why we love these events!! Its’ two top fifteen teams that otherwise probably wouldn’t be playing each other. And, not only are they playing each other, they’re playing in a fun and unique setting!! This is just one thing that makes these events so great!! As far as what it means on paper, it’s a chance at a high caliber resume building win for both teams.
-KANSAS STATE VS NEBRASKA (Hall of Fame Classic). Both teams are unbeaten, both had nice wins yesterday, and both are going after what may be their biggest win of the season so far. Nebraska also has a nice win against Oklahoma, so to get a third neutral floor win against a notable team would be a great start to the season for the Huskers.
OTHER NOTABLE GAMES:
-Utah State vs Tulane (Charleston Classic) – Utah State is off to a solid 4-0 start and can build up their resume by picking up some solid wins away from home in this event
-South Carolina vs Butler (Greenbrier Tip-Off). South Carolina is 4-0 and Butler comes in at 3-1, but neither team has any real wins of note yet
-Davidson vs Boston College (Charleston Classic) – Davidson is unbeaten, but also (for the most part) untested, although they did win at Charlotte. It’s fair to say that Davidson will still be untested after today
-Mississippi State vs New Mexico (Hall of Fame Classic) – both teams are coming off of a loss and both are still looking for their first real notable win this season.
-Saint Thomas vs Northern Colorado (Portland Invitational) – two solid UTR teams and Northern Colorado is looking to stay unbeaten
-South Alabama @ UAB – South Alabama is out to an impressive 6-0 start and two of those wins were true road games. UAB has had an up-and-down year, but they blew out High Point in their last game so this will be a challenge for South Alabama
-Austin Peay @ Tulsa – Tulsa nearly upset Kansas State in their last game and is worth keeping an eye on for now
-Stephen F Austin @ Pepperdine – SFA has looked really good so far and this looks like a winnable road game for them. They can improve to 5-1 if they can get it done
-UC Davis @ Colorado – this one might be fun to watch. UC Davis is off to a really good start and Colorado, while unbeaten, is also untested.
-Arkansas State @ SMU – this is a buy game, but Arkansas State is a pretty decent team so SMU better not overlook them.
-Xavier vs Georgia (Charleston Classic) – it’s a renewal of the biggest rivalry in all of sports!! And, it looks to be a huge mismatch!! Georgia is unbeaten and has a semi-decent win over Georgia Tech, but this event is a chance for them to add some real solid pieces to their profile assuming they win tonight
-New Orleans @ Fresno State – New Orleans has picked up some notable wins already and this looks to be another winnable road game for them
-BUY GAMES AND GAMES THAT MIGHT AS WELL BE:
-Green Bay vs Yale (Paradise Jam) -Georgia Southern @ Florida State -Detroit Mercy @ Michigan State -Central Connecticut @ Rutgers -Niagara @ Duke -Merrimack @ Florida -Loyola MD @ Kentucky -Jackson State @ Arkansas -Omaha @ LSU -Evansville vs Oregon State (Paradise Jam) -Manahattan vs Texas A&M – TAMU is off to a rough start -PFW @ Saint Louis -Denver @ Colorado State (Front Range) – Colorado State can get to 5-0 -Samford @ New Mexico State -Louisiana @ Santa Clara -Grambling @ California Baptist -Seattle U @ Stanford -Sacramento State @ California
