News, Notes, and Highlighted Games: Saturday, Jan 11th

Posted on January 11, 2020 by David Griggs

-Iowa bounced back from their two game losing streak in spectacular fashion last night as they totally blew Maryland out of the gym.  Maryland is now 0-3 in true road games, which will be an anchor on their resume if it continues.

-BAYLOR AT KANSAS (Big 12) (***Spotlight Game***).  Simply put, these are two top for teams, and this is a #1 seed caliber game.  If Baylor picks this one up on the road then they probably have a legit argument for the overall #1 seed.  This one should be fun!

-GEORGIA AT AUBURN (SEC).  Georgia is coming off a loss to Kentucky, but they’ve had a good year so far and have been playing well lately.  Auburn has beaten a lot of decent teams, but no really great teams yet, so Georgia may make this more interesting than people think despite Auburn’s high ranking.

-OHIO STATE AT INDIANA (Big Ten).  Both teams have kind of been slumping lately, and both could really use this win.  It has a pivotal feel to it despite the fact that it’s still early January.

-ALABAMA AT KENTUCKY (SEC).  I really like how Alabama has been playing, but still think they’re overmatched in this one today against a Kentucky team that’s been playing really well and who is at home.  If Alabama does win this, they will make a huge splash onto the national stage.

-RUTGERS AT ILLINOIS (Big Ten).  Both teams have been playing really well and both are putting together tournament caliber resumes.  Rutgers has been a bit of a home court hero, so if they can pick this one up on the road things will REALLY be moving forward for them.

-DEPAUL AT SAINT JOHN’S (Big East).  Both teams have some really good wins on their resumes, but both have slumped since conference play began and both really need to win this game.

-CINCINNATI AT UCF (American).  Right now both are on the outside looking in and need to string together a bunch of wins just to get themselves solidly into the conversation.

-TULANE AT TEMPLE (American).  Temple has some big wins and still has a path to landing inside the bubble, but they need to hold serve in games like this and pick up a few more big wins before the end.

-UMASS AT DAYTON (Atlantic Ten).  Dayton is a protected seed caliber team, and should end up there so long as they hold serve in games like this the rest of the way.

-LOUISVILLE AT NOTRE DAME (ACC).  This game may not seem like much, but Louisville has just one true road win this season and it’s important that they take advantage of what looks to be a very winnable road game.

-OKLAHOMA STATE AT TCU (Big 12).  TCU’s conference schedule hasn’t exactly been front loaded, but a win today does get them to 3-0 in the Big 12.  Oklahoma State has been somewhat disappointing this season and could use a win in a game like this to help get things turned around.

-SMU AT EAST CAROLINA (American).  SMU’s schedule has been soft, and East Carolina certainly won’t change that, but a win does get them to 13-2 and add another road win to their resume.

-RHODE ISLAND AT VCU (Atlantic Ten).  VCU has a good team, but their resume is a little flimsy so they don’t have a large margin for error.  Every game will have a bit of a sense of urgency to it the rest of the way.

-CREIGHTON AT XAVIER (Big East).  This is a big game for both teams.  Creighton is pretty good, but they could use some more big road wins.  Xavier’s best win is still probably the road win at TCU, which isn’t even a team that’s clearly in the field, so they need some big wins between now and the end.

-NC STATE AT VIRGINIA TECH (ACC).  Right now this looks like two teams that are in the discussion, but two teams that still have a lot of work to do.

-WISCONSIN AT PENN STATE (Big Ten).  Wisky has been playing a lot better, but still has some work to do to offset their early season struggles.  Penn State is having a fantastic year and can keep that momentum going with a win today.

-GONZAGA AT LMU (West Coast).  The Zags blew through their last opponent and it should be more of the same today.

-SYRACUSE AT VIRGINIA (ACC).  This game suddenly has a bit of urgency to it for Virginia, who is coming off a loss at Boston College and who has a bit of a stale resume right now.  They need to hold serve at home against a Syracuse team that doesn’t appear to be anywhere close to the bubble.

-MARQUETTE AT SETON HALL (Big East).  Both teams have been playing really well lately, particularly Seton Hall, and this is another resume building opportunity for both teams.

-HOUSTON AT TULSA (American).  Houston is playing a lot better, and is now an impressive 12-3 on the season.  This is another winnable road game for the Cougars.

-DUQUESNE AT GEORGE WASHINGTON (Atlantic Ten).  A win gets Duquesne to 14-2 and gives them another road win, but all they’ve really done is gobble up cupcakes and they’ll need to take down some decent teams before the end of the season if they want the committee to take them seriously.

-NORTHERN IOWA AT MISSOURI STATE (Missouri Valley).  Northern Iowa is squarely on our bubble, and if they can keep winning they will probably land inside the bubble and get a bid.  They need to play better than they have in their first few conference games, though.

-VMI AT EAST TENNESSEE STATE (SoCon).  ETSU’s chances of landing inside the bubble are probably less than fifty percent, but I think they do have a chance if they can run through the rest of their conference schedule.

-CLEMSON AT NORTH CAROLINA (ACC).  Both teams are way outside the bubble right now, and there is a very good chance that neither team gets close to it, but as bad as North Carolina has looked this may be Clemson’s chance to finally pick up their first road win against the Tarheels!

-TEXAS TECH AT WEST VIRGINIA (Big 12).  If you like defense, then this may be the game for you!  Both teams have played well tis season, particularly West Virginia, but both still have work to do, particularly Texas Tech.  This is a win that would look really good on either team’s resume.

-AIR FORCE AT NEW MEXICO (Mountain West).  New Mexico’s chances are small at best, but they do have a chance.  A win today gets them to 15-3 overall.

-WASHINGTON STATE AT STANFORD (Pac 12).  Stanford is coming off a nice win against Washington and should be able to hold serve in this one tonight.

-ARKANSAS AT OLE MISS (SEC).  Arkansas has played well this year, but it hasn’t been against the toughest of schedules.  A road win in a game like this would help shore things up a little bit for them.

-SAINT LOUIS AT RICHMOND (Atlantic Ten).  Both teams have played well at times.  Both have resumes that are decent, but not quite good enough yet, and both could really use this win.

-UNC GREENSBORO AT FURMAN (SoCon).  These are two of the better teams in the SoCon, and while both have just outside shots to land inside the bubble, it’s not entirely impossible.  A win today would certainly help things.

-WAKE FOREST AT DUKE (ACC).  Duke shouldn’t have too much trouble winning this one and remaining on a solid pace to land on the #1 line.

-MISSISSIPPI STATE AT LSU (SEC).  LSU has been playing well, but is also in a position where their can really benefit from winning big games.  Mississippi State has been a bit disappointing this year and needs to win more than just one game like this in order to get things turned around.

-WASHINGTON AT CALIFORNIA (Pac 12).  Washington is in a bit of a tailspin.  If they fail to win at California, the plane may just crash.

-OKLAHOMA AT IOWA STATE (Big 12).  The Sooners have been playing really well lately and have a somewhat winnable road game against an Iowa State team that’s been struggling.  A win for Oklahoma will get them to 12-3 on the season, and seemingly on a path to land in the top half of the bracket.

-KANSAS STATE AT TEXAS (Big 12).  Texas is in a bit of a slump.  They don’t need to win this game as much as it is that they can’t really afford to lose it.

-NEVADA AT UTAH STATE (Mountain West).  I hesitated to even write this one up given how much Utah State has been struggling.  Their margin for error is down to zero.  They pretty much need to win out.

-SANTA CLARA AT SAINT MARY’S (West Coast).  This is a big one.  Santa Clara comes in at 14-3, but doesn’t really have any wins of note.  If they get this one on the road then it changes the complexion of their entire resume and season.  SMC is having a big year and is coming off a big overtime win against a pretty good BYU team.

-FLORIDA AT MISSOURI (SEC).  Florida has been disappointing this year, but they still have time to turn it around.  They can’t afford to lose this one on the road, though.

-PORTLAND AT BYU (West Coast).  BYU has had some crushing losses, but is still in good shape over all.  They will stay that way so long as they can hold serve in games like this.

-BOISE STATE AT SAN DIEGO STATE (Mountain West).  San Diego State is unbeaten, ranked in the top ten, on pace to get a protected seed, and perhaps even end up as a #1 seed.  They shouldn’t have too much trouble tonight.

-USC AT UCLA (Pac 12).  USC has a good record and some decent wins, but they still have work to do.  A slip up on the road against UCLA would hurt them both on and off paper.

-ARIZONA STATE AT OREGON.  Oregon needed overtime to get past Arizona the other night, but shouldn’t have as tough of a time tonight.  They’re still high in the rankings and on pace to end up as a protected seed.

UNDER THE RADAR

-CHARLESTON AT WILLIAM & MARY.  These are two of the better teams in the Colonial, and the winner of this game will have a huge leg up on a first place finish even though it’s early.

 

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Under The Radar Game of the Day: Friday, January 10th (and other News, Notes, and Games)

Posted on January 10, 2020 by John Stalica

For last night’s season premier of the Hoops HD Bracket Rundown – CLICK HERE

For Jon Teitel’s latest installment of Still Hangin’ With the Hoyas – CLICK HERE

Penn (7-5, 0-1) at Princeton (5-8, 1-0) – 5:00 PM EST (ESPNU)

Today’s UTR Game of the Day features the signature rivalry of the Ivy League in basketball – the Princeton Tigers play host to the Penn Quakers. Princeton won the first game between both teams 78-64 last Saturday; Ryan Schweiger led the way with a career-high 27 points on 10-of-16 shooting in the Tigers’ win. Princeton started the season slowly with 7 losses in their first 8 games, but lately are on a string of four wins in their last five games.

Penn had a better start to their season that was highlighted by a win at Providence in November followed by a third place finish in the Wooden Legacy in Anaheim. They had wins against Central Florida and Long Beach State sandwiched around a loss against nationally ranked Arizona. The Quakers have only played three games after finals – one was a non-D1 win at home against Widener and another was a win at Howard before their league-opening loss at home against Princeton. AJ Brodeur leads Penn with 15.3 points a game and 8.6 rebounds a game.

 

OTHER NEWS, NOTES, AND GAMES

-Oregon trailed for much of the game, and needed overtime to get past Arizona, but they did hold on for the win.  This was a game that could have completely changed the complexion of Arizona’s profile had they won it.  The Wildcats still have work to do, but the silver lining as that they are playing at a very high level right now.

-Wichita State kept Memphis at arms length for pretty much the entire game, and picked up yet another impressive win.  The Shockers are ranked 23rd, and should probably be ranked even higher.

-Stanford got a nice road win against a Washington team that had been playing well, but that may be entering a bit of a spiral.  Quade Green, who was their starting point guard, will not be available for the rest of the regular season.

-Last, and certainly not least, Saint Mary’s got a big overtime win against BYU.  BYU has played well and has some big wins on their resume, but I also think they’re leading the nation in close losses to good teams.

-MARYLAND AT IOWA (Big Ten).  Maryland is looking like a protected seed, and although Iowa has had their ups and downs they’re still looking like a solid NCAA Tournament team.  Both teams would benefit from a win tonight.

-BUTLER AT PROVIDENCE (Big East).  Providence got off to a very slow start, but in their last four games they’ve looked amazing.  Butler has just one loss on the season and has looked like a protected seed caliber team, but as well as Providence has been playing this won’t be an easy road game for them.

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Hoops HD Bracket Rundown: January 9th

Posted on January 10, 2020 by David Griggs

The bracket and show was recorded at 10pm, est on Thursday, January 9th and reflects games that ended prior to that time.  All games that ended afterward, particularly the Oregon v Arizona game, were not considered

The Hoops HD panel is back for the first Bracket Rundown show of the season.  They build a seedlist line by line and discuss and debate each team as they go.  The discussions include how high Auburn should be because, while they are undefeated, they haven’t beaten anyone that’s solidly in the field, where should Texas Tech should be because they do have a big win against Louisville, but have done little else, who the #1 seeds should be, and as we get down to the bubble there is a ton of discussion over who the final teams should be.

Below is a the bracket from the seedlist that we built, but don’t look at it until you’ve watched the show!!  Note: BYU’s placement does technically violate a bracketing rule by potentially matching the Cougars up with a conference opponent, Gonzaga, in the second round.  However, we allowed this matchup to remain rather than moving BYU up two seed lines — which was the only other option.  Also, check out that First Four matchup in the Midwest Region in the 11 line, Hoosier fans!

And for all you radio lovers, below is an audio only version of the show…

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Still Hanging with the Hoyas: Part 6

Posted on January 9, 2020 by Jon Teitel

HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel will spend the upcoming months covering several Georgetown basketball home games, with a very special reward coming in March. You can find Parts 1-5 at:

https://hoopshd.com/2019/11/09/still-hanging-with-the-hoyas-part-1
https://hoopshd.com/2019/11/20/still-hanging-with-the-hoyas-part-2
https://hoopshd.com/2019/12/15/still-hanging-with-the-hoyas-part-3
https://hoopshd.com/2019/12/20/still-hanging-with-the-hoyas-part-4
https://hoopshd.com/2019/12/29/still-hanging-with-the-hoyas-part-5

He continues his series with Part 6 featuring the Hoyas’ matchup last night against St. John’s:

A new and improved pregame meal this time around: chicken parmigiana/ziti/salad and an apple pastry! I was delighted to see former Georgetown coach John Thompson on the sideline for the 1st time all season after overcoming some medical issues: stay well Coach!

Let’s huddle up and get it going:

The Red Storm played like the Red Death early on: 8 TO in the 1st 10 minutes allowed the Hoyas to open up a 25-9 lead, and it only got worse from there. St. John’s only made 2-14 threes in the 1st half while Hoyas SR G Jagan Mosely outshot the entire team by himself with a trio of trifectas, the last of which gave his team a ridiculous 45-16 scoreboard advantage after only 16 minutes of action:

His backcourt mate Mac McClung had 1 of the best 1st half performances of his career: a wintry blizzard of layups and threes gave him 16 PTS in 16 minutes to match his opponent’s scoring total, and he finished the opening stanza with a whopping 21 PTS as his team kept pouring it on to enter halftime with a 53-26 lead:

Georgetown coach Patrick Ewing had a rough week with road losses at Providence/Seton Hall by double-digits so he needed this 1 rather badly:

The only damper on an otherwise near-perfect 20 minutes was seeing SR C Omer Yurtseven get poked in the right eye just 6 minutes into the game, followed by the big man holding a towel to his face while walking to the locker room. Fortunately, he returned a few minutes later with a bandaged cut over his eye, then had the trainer clean some blood off his uniform, and he still scored 6 PTS in 12 minutes before heading back to the locker room with the rest of his squad:

My personal highlight was when the ball bounced out of bounds and I passed it back to the ref: no photo available!

St. John’s coach Mike Anderson must have given a great halftime speech because even though he benched 2 of his starters (Josh Roberts/Julian Champagnie) the rest of his guys came out swinging and went on an 11-0 run to start the 2nd half, causing Ewing to call a quick timeout and…discuss the situation with his players:

It was basically a 2-man show for the Red Storm in the 2nd half as LJ Figueroa/Rasheem Dunn combined for 25 PTS/7 REB/4 STL…but it was nowhere near enough:

The surprising 2nd half scoring star for the Hoyas was JR wing Jamorko Pickett: the only player on either team to play each of the final 20 minutes, he scored 10 of his 18 total PTS in the 2nd half on a REB/putback, a pair of layups, a long corner jump shot, and a pair of FTs:

Georgetown attempted 18 more FTs then St. John’s, had 10 more AST/7 more BLK, and dominated from start to finish in its 87-66 victory.

I did not have a chance to get a word in edgewise during Coach Anderson’s postgame press conference (thank you New York-based media members!) but got to ask Coach Ewing how his team was able to get out to a 53-26 halftime lead after being outscored by a combined 95-47(!) during the 1st half of their previous 2 conference games. He pondered his response, then smiled and said that it was due to “home cooking”. He mentioned that his team played 2 poor games on the road so he spent the past few days talking to them about not digging themselves into a deep hole. He was still concerned about his team’s 12 turnovers in the 2nd half tonight and believes that they still have to finish games if they want to win games:

That’s all for now, check back in the weeks ahead for Part 7.

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News, Notes, and Highlighted Games: Thursday, Jan 9th

Posted on January 9, 2020 by David Griggs

NEWS AND NOTES

-CLICK HERE for our latest Under the Radar Video Podcast

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

-The biggest surprise, and probably the most cataclysmic result from last night was a game that probably almost no one saw, and that was TAMUCC’s 73-72 win at Stephen F Austin.  SFA has the road win against Duke, and seemed positioned to run the table in the Southland and land inside the bubble.  Last night’s lost to a TAMUCC team that is outside the top 300 in nearly every metric was something they could have absolutely done without.  The win at Duke is still massive, but if they had one strike then they used it last night.

-Georgetown flipped some sort of switch after really struggling in their last two games, and blew Saint John’s off the court in an 87-66 route.

-Alabama bounced back from their overtime loss at Florida and blew Mississippi State off the court.  I say this at least twice a week, but Alabama is playing really well right now.

-North Carolina lost again.  This time it was at home to Pittsburgh.  I’m now questioning whether or not the Tarheels will even make the NIT.

-East Tennessee State picked up a really nice road win at UNCG in a game that was close all throughout.  If they want to land inside the bubble, then that is the kind of game that they’ll need on their resume.

-Seton Hall picked up a big road win at Xavier in a game that they basically led from tip to buzzer.  Every time Xavier threw a punch or made a run at them, Seton Hall absorbed it and made big plays to get back control of the game.  The Hall stumbled a little bit early in the season, but they are playing really well right now.

-Illinois got a big win at Wisconsin in a game that went back and forth.  It is a huge road win for the Illini, and really boosts the quality of their resume.

 

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES

-PURDUE AT MICHIGAN (Big Ten).  Purdue is in a tailspin and based on how they played in their last game they are showing no signs of coming out of it.  Michigan continues to look good and should be able to hold serve in this one.

-MEMPHIS AT WICHITA STATE (American).  These are perhaps the two best teams in the American.  Both are on pace to land in the top half of the bracket and could even end up as a protected seed if one of them is able to run away from the rest of the conference.  Today would be a really big resume building win for whoever pulls it off.

-MINNESOTA AT MICHIGAN STATE (Big Ten).  Minney got off to a really rough start and although they’ve been playing well lately, they still have some ground to make up before you can start classifying them as a solid tournament team.  Michigan State got off to a somewhat slow start as well, although they got off to a slow start by top five standards, not by mere NCAA Tournament standards.  They have really been playing well in the last few weeks and should be able keep that streak going tonight.

-ARIZONA AT OREGON (Pac 12).  Arizona’s resume could still use a lot of work.  A win tonight would basically solve all of their problems and completely boost the value of their tournament profile through the roof.  Having said that, it will be much easier said than done.  Oregon is a legitimate top ten team and they are not easy to beat at home.

-WASHINGTON AT STANFORD (Pac 12).  Both teams are having solid seasons, and this is a resume building opportunity for both of them tonight that both of them could really use.

-GONZAGA AT SAN DIEGO (West Coast).  The Zags are the top ranked team, they’re good enough to win out, and if they do they should get a #1 seed.  Having said that, they have struggled in their first few conference games, so they need to come out of that funk.

-ARIZONA STATE AT OREGON STATE (Pac 12).  This is a very bubblicious game with Oregon State coming off a huge win at Colorado but still having work to do and Arizona State who…well…still has work to do.

-SANTA CLARA AT SAN FRANCISCO (West Coast).  Santa Clara has a bloated record, but has obtained it against a weak schedule.  If they want to show that they are a tournament caliber team then this is the kind of road game that they should be expected to win.

-BYU AT SAINT MARY’S (West Coast).  Both of these teams have solid resumes and have looked like tournament caliber teams, but both have room to improve, which makes this a really big game.

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Under The Radar Game of the Day: Thursday, January 9th

Posted on January 9, 2020 by John Stalica

For last night’s Hoops HD Under The Radar Podcast – CLICK HERE

Montana (7-8, 3-1) at Eastern Washington (9-5, 2-1) – 9:05 PM EST (WatchBigSky.com)

Today’s UTR Game of the Day takes us to Cheney, Washington where the hometown Eagles of Eastern Washington will take on perennial Big Sky favorite Montana. The Eagles started off conference play with a split against Idaho State/Weber State, although they got the reverse split with a win at Weber State followed by a loss at Idaho State. EWU won their home opener against Portland State, but had to hold on for dear life after nearly blowing a 10-point lead with 2 minutes to play. Eastern Washington is led by a trio of players that include Jacob Davison (17.6 PPG), Kim Aiken (16.4 PPG) and Mason Peatling (15.4 PPG).

Montana struggled to a 4-7 record out of conference, but they looked more like the Grizzlies of recent years by jumping out to a 3-0 record in conference with home wins against Northern Arizona and Sacramento State before a road win at Southern Utah. Northern Colorado beat Montana in their last game – the Bears blew open the game in the 2nd half after a 45-45 tie at the under-12 timeout despite a 30-point performance from Montana’s Kendal Manuel.

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