News, Notes, and Highlighted Games: Saturday, Jan 4th

NEWS AND NOTES

-Ohio State lost their second straight game as Wisconsin went into Columbus and pulled off a huge upset.  It was a game that Wisky really needed, and it makes you wonder what took them so long to play such a good game.

-Rutgers picked up their first road win of the year as they had no trouble with Nebraska.  Rutgers is now 11-3, and 2-1 in the Big Ten.

-Georgetown was blown out for the second straight game as Seton Hall pretty much ran over them.  Georgetown probably needs to be a little worried.  They overcame a lot when they lost so many key players and were able to keep winning, but they’ve had their doors blown off in their first two Big East games.

-Temple, who is a team I was kind of big on, was blown out of the gym by what looks to be a very average (at best) Tulsa team.

 

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES

-CREIGHTON AT BUTLER (Big East).  These have been two of the bigger surprise teams in the Big East, especially with Butler playing their way into the top ten.  Creighton has a good record, but a win like this would give them at protected seed caliber resume (at least for now).

-INDIANA AT MARYLAND (Big Ten).  Indiana could use a big road win to help solidify them as a tournament caliber team.  Maryland is 11-2 and high in the rankings, but still needs to hold serve in games like this if they want to end up as a protected seed.

-OKLAHOMA STATE AT TEXAS TECH (Big 12).  Texas Tech is continuing to improve as the season goes along.  Oklahoma State still has a ton of potential, but they don’t have any wins that really jump out at you just yet.  A win today would certainly change that.

-LSU AT TENNESSEE (SEC).  It’s early, but this game still has a very bubblicious feel to it, especially for Tennessee now that they are dealing with injuries.  Both teams could really use this one.

-WAKE FOREST AT PITTSBURGH (ACC).  Pitt still has a ton of work to do, but a win today gets them to 11-3.

-NC STATE AT CLEMSON (ACC).  NC State is off to a pretty good start, and this is a winnable conference road game, and road wins on the resume are a good thing.

-GEORGIA AT MEMPHIS.  Memphis is looking good enough to end up as a protected seed despite the loss of Wiseman.  Georgia is having a much better year than expected and this would be a huge road win for the Bulldogs if they’re able to pull it off.

-WYOMING AT COLORADO STATE (Mountain West) (Front Range).  We at Hoops HD Love the Front Range!!!

-KANSAS STATE AT OKLAHOMA (Big 12).  K State has been somewhat disappointing this year, but could still turn things around in a hurry if they’re able to string together some wins.  The Sooners are off to a pretty good 9-3 start and are looking to hold serve in their conference opener.

-FLORIDA STATE AT LOUISVILLE (ACC).  Both teams have had good OOC runs, but both could really use this win today in order to help make a solid case that they are protected seed caliber teams.  For Louisville, they’re coming off an overtime road loss to rival Kentucky, so a conference win over a ranked team is a good way to move on from that.

-VILLANOVA AT MARQUETTE (Big East).  Marquette is off to a decent start, and Nova is off to a much better start, especially in their last few games.  Nova only has one true road win right now, so a win today would help fill out their resume a little bit.

-MISSOURI AT KENTUCKY (SEC).  A winnable conference home game for a Kentucky team that seems to have things turned around.

-VIRGINIA TECH AT VIRGINIA (ACC).  It’s a rivalry game, and it features a Virginia Tech team that’s looked a lot better than expected, and a Virginia team that hasn’t looked quite as good.  Having said that, UVA still appears to be the superior team.

-IOWA AT PENN STATE (Big Ten).  A conference game between two ranked teams, and a huge resume building opportunity.  Both of these teams have done much better than expected this season and it’s been fun watching both of them improve as the season has gone along, so this will be an interesting one today.

-PROVODENCE AT DEPAUL (Big East).  Providence got off to a rough start, but has been on a tear in their last two games and should have a ton of momentum coming into this one.  DePaul had a fantastic OOC run, but lost their conference opener to Seton Hall and really needs a win today.  Starting off 0-2 in Big East play with both losses coming at home does kind of put them behind the 8 ball a little bit.

-WEST VIRGINIA AT KANSAS (Big 12).  A huge conference opener between two ranked teams.  West Virginia just knocked off a really tough Ohio State team in Cleveland, and if they can win this one today they should really shoot up the rankings.  It’s possible that both teams end up as protected seeds, and Kansas is gunning for a #1 seed.

-OLE MISS AT WICHITA STATE.  Wichita State is in the rankings, and has just one loss, and is looking to hold serve against a decent Ole Miss team.  As for the Rebels, a win like this would really boost their resume and they’d suddenly look like a solid tournament caliber team.

-CINCINNATI AT TULANE (American).  Cincinnati is playing a lot better, and they are coming off a decisive home win against UConn.  They need this one on the road against Tulane because they need to continue to string together wins.

-EAST TENNESSEE STATE AT FURMAN (SoCon).  Both of these teams are really good, and both have a shot at landing inside the bubble and earning an at-large bid if they can run away from the SoCon.  With ETSU being the road team, it would be a particularly big win for them.

-AUBURN AT MISSISSIPPI STATE (SEC).  Auburn is unbeaten and they’ve beaten a lot of decent teams, but no really good ones.  Mississippi State isn’t exactly “really good” but it is a quality road test for the Tigers.

-OREGON AT UTAH (Pac 12).  Oregon is coming off a road loss to Colorado and has another tough assignment tonight against a Utah team that doesn’t always play well, but is certainly capable of playing well in big games.

-SAN DIEGO AT SANTA CLARA (West Coast).  Santa Clara’s schedule has been a pastry cart, so they still have a ton to prove, but this is another winnable game which will get them to 14-2.

-ALABAMA AT FLORIDA (SEC).  Alabama has won five of their last six games, and is playing a lot better than what most people realize.  As big as people were on Florida at the beginning of the year, if the Tide can go on the road and win this one they’ll have a better overall resume than Florida at this point.

-GEORGIA TECH AT NORTH CAROLINA (ACC).  UNC is still dealing with injuries, but they have to take care of business in this one, which is a winnable game despite the injuries.

-IOWA STATE AT TCU (Big 12).  Iowa State needs to wash the taste out of their mouths from that huge upset loss to FAMU, and a conference road win is a good way to do it.  It’s much easier said than done, though.  Most were picking TCU to be toward the bottom of the conference, but they are 9-3 and are coming off a blowout win against what appeared to be a pretty good George Mason team.

-TEXAS A&M AT ARKANSAS (SEC).  A win for Arkansas gets them to 12-1 on the season.  A lot of their OOC schedule was weak, but they just got a big win at Indiana and are definitely worth paying attention to.

-UNC GREENSBORO AT WOFFORD (SoCon).  UNCG is one of the three teams that we think has a chance of landing inside the bubble come March.  Of course, in order to do it, they need to be able to win on the road at Wofford, which is much easier said than done.

-STEPHEN F AUSTIN AT NEW ORLEANS (Southland).  If SFA wins out, I think they will be inside the bubble regardless of what happens in the Southland Tournament.

-DUKE AT MIAMI FL (ACC).  Duke is ranked #2, and is arguably the best team in the country, but they’ll have a tough road test against a Miami team that’s been playing really well and should be way up for this one.

-TEXAS AT BAYLOR (Big 12).  People are down on this Texas team, and I know their blowout loss to Providence was a bit of a head-scratcher, but they’ve only lost one other game.  Baylor has been fantastic this year, but if Texas can go on the road and win this one it should land them in the top 25.

-BRADLEY AT NORTHERN IOWA (Missouri Valley).  Northern Iowa was fantastic OOC, and probably earned themselves a mulligan or two as they headed in to conference play.  Well, they’ve already used one of those mulligans, and need to bounce back from their loss to Illinois State earlier this week.

-LMU AT BYU (West Coast.  BYU’s resume is looking pretty good, but they still need to hold serve at home tonight.

-SMU AT VANDERBILT.  SMU is an impressive 10-2 on the season, but they don’t have a lot of huge wins that jump out at you, so they really need to pick up this road win against a Vanderbilt team that appears to be below NIT caliber.

-ARIZONA STATE AT ARIZONA (Pac 12).  It’s the first edition of this heated rivalry, and both teams could really use this win.  While both have played decently well, they still have a lot of room to improve their resumes, so this game means as much on paper as it does off paper.

-PEPPERDINE AT GONZAGA (West Coast).  Gonzaga is ranked #1, and will likely stay that way after today.

-SAN DIEGO STATE AT UTAH STATE (Mountain West).  An argument could be made that this is San Diego State’s toughest remaining game, and if they win this one they have a somewhat realistic shot of running the table.  Utah State is coming off a really bad looking loss to UNLV and needs to rebound, so they should enter this game with a huge sense of urgency.  They need a good win on their resume, and they’re running out of opportunities.

-SAINT MARY’S AT PACIFIC (West Coast).  This is a winnable road game for an SMC team that should land inside the bubble.

 

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News, Notes, and Highlighted Games: Friday, Jan 3rd

NEWS AND NOTES

-For our latest Under the Radar Video Podcast – CLICK HERE

-For John Stalica’s UTR Game of the Day, which is a big one between Kent State and Bowling Green – CLICK HERE

-For Jon Teitel’s interview with Stu Jackson where they discuss, among other things, the career of David Stern – CLICK HERE

-Colorado knocked off #4 Oregon last night, and has now won five straight.  Oregon is the second ranked team that they’ve beaten in that stretch, so I’d say the Buffs are alive and well!  This was one of the tougher games remaining on Oregon’s schedule, and while a loss certainly doesn’t sink them, it does hurt their chances of ending up as a #1 seed.  Then again, virtually any loss does that, so…

-In other Pac 12 news, UCLA, after looking like they weren’t good enough to finish in the top half of the Big West for most of the season, went into Washington and picked up a very surprising upset win over the Huskies.  Washington started things off with a win against Baylor, who is now ranked in the top ten, but ever since then they haven’t done much of anything other than buy games.  They do have a decent win at Hawaii in the Diamondhead Classic, other than that and Baylor they have just one other win against a team with a winning record.  I still like this team and think that they’ll get the wins that they need before it’s over, but this was a head-scratcher.

-Stephen F Austin and Liberty both won, and both have clear paths to winning out until the NCAA Tournament.

 

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES

-WISCONSIN AT OHIO STATE (Big Ten).  Ohio State is looking to bounce back from a somewhat disappointing loss to West Virginia last week.  This is a winnable conference home game against a Wisconsin team that has underachieved for the most part, but that’s also won three straight, and beaten Tennessee in that stretch.

-UCF AT HOUSTON (American).  Houston may finally be waking up.  They still have a lot of work to do, but the path for them to have a really big season and land in the top half of the NCAA Tournament bracket is still there.  This is a decent but not great UCF team, and it’s important that they take care of business at home.

-RUTGERS AT NEBRASKA (Big Ten).  Rutgers has shown us something this year, but in order to be taken seriously as a tournament team they need to win on the road.  If they can’t beat Nebraska on the road, then I’m inclined to think of them as nothing more than a home court hero, which I guess is a lot better than what they’ve been in recent years.

-GEORGETOWN AT SETON HALL (Big East).  Georgetown really got their noses bloodied in their conference opener against Providence, and the lack of depth after losing so many key players may be catching up to them.  Seton Hall got a really nice road win at DePaul and is looking to get to 2-0 in Big East play and keep a lot of their momentum going.

-KENT STATE AT BOWLING GREEN (MAC).  These are two of the better teams in the MAC, and if Kent State is going to make any sort of a run at landing inside the bubble, then they need to win this one tonight.

-TEMPLE AT TULSA (American).  I still think this Temple team has a ton of potential, and this is a chance for them to pick up a conference road win against a fairly decent Tulsa team (at least profile wise) if they’re able to hold serve.

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Under The Radar Game of the Day: Friday, January 3rd

For the latest edition of the Hoops HD Under The Radar podcast – CLICK HERE

For Jon Teitel’s interview with Stu Jackson – CLICK HERE

Kent State (10-3, 0-0) at Bowling Green (9-4, 0-0) – 9:00 PM EST (CBS Sports Network)

Today’s UTR Game of the Day takes us to northwest Ohio where the hometown Bowling Green Falcons will host the Kent State Golden Flashes in a matchup of two leading contenders in the MAC. The Falcons got off to a decent start that included a runner-up finish in the Paradise Jame that included a win against Cincinnati before losing to the eventual tournament champion Nevada. Justin Turner (19.4 PPG) returned to the Falcons’ lineup after missing six games due to a hamstring injury in an 81-68 victory over Hartford in their last outing.

Kent State got a nice win at Wright State back in November, although they haven’t had a win nearly as significant since that point. They are 2-2 in their last four games, although losses against UC-Irvine (on a neutral court at UTEP) and at Mississippi State are certainly understandable. Danny Pippen averages 14.4 points a game and 6.3 rebounds a game for the Golden Flashes.

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Under The Radar: January 2nd

Chad, David, and John are back for the first UTR show of the new year, and of the new decade!  Be sure and check out our UTR All Decade Team toward the end of the show!!

We have two feature conferences this week.  First is the MEAC where Florida A&M pulled off one of the biggest upsets in the last fifteen years (in terms of difference in rankings and point spreads).  After that, we look at the Ivy League and the great runs that Harvard and Yale have been on, and how Brown’s big win against Rhode Island gave them the Ocean State Tournament Championship!!

From there, we run through the other 20 UTR conferences and discuss the solid start that East Tennessee State, UNC Greensboro, and Furman are off to, Northern Iowa’s upset loss to Illinois State, and the chances that SFA and Liberty have of winning out.  And, as always, we close with this week’s UTR Top Ten.

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

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Memories of David Stern: HoopsHD interviews former NBA Executive VP of Basketball Operations Stu Jackson

We were all sad to learn that former NBA commissioner David Stern passed away yesterday at age 77. 1 former college player/coach who had a special connection to the commish was Stu Jackson: after playing at Oregon in the 1970s and coaching at Wisconsin in the 1990s he joined the NBA’s front office and had the opportunity to work with Stern for several years. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Mr. Jackson a few years ago about his former job with Stern and his current job as the Executive Associate Commissioner for Big East Men’s Basketball.

In the 1975 NIT as a player at Oregon you had a 1-PT loss to eventual champion Princeton: how close did you come to pulling out the win? Judging by the score we were pretty close! Back then the NIT truly was a prestigious tourney because there were only 32 teams who made the NCAA tourney. Princeton coach Pete Carril had a team featuring Armond Hill, who was an All-American.

You later worked for Rick Pitino as head recruiting coordinator at Providence and assistant coach of the Knicks: what made Pitino such a great coach, and what was the most important thing that you ever learned from him? I credit Rick with teaching me my craft. He gave me the tools and understanding of how to coach a basketball team. As great a coach as he was back then, he was generous in his ability to delegate to his staff. Those of us who worked for him really learned from him because he allowed us to share in the preparation of games and let us take responsibility for the team. He is 1 of the brightest individuals I have ever been around. The thing that people do not always recognize is his ability to innovate and try new things. He was 1 of the 1st coaches to understand the value of making 3-PT shots. He understood the math that showed it was advantageous to take threes if you could make enough of them. His best attribute is that he is a great motivator of young men.

In the 1987 NCAA tourney Billy Donovan had 25 PTS/7 AST in a 3-PT OT win over Austin Peay: how were you able to overcome a 10-PT deficit with 6 minutes left in regulation? I remember Rick’s talk to the team at halftime. We were heavily favored but not playing particularly well and Rick was very vocal. The stroke of genius is that he went after Billy just as he would go after anyone on the team. He was fair with every player but was upset with the entire team. The effort and execution was there in the 2nd half and we eventually prevailed. I almost got fired during that game due to a mistake about keeping track of statistics such as individual fouls. Steve Wright committed his 4th foul in the 2nd half…but I thought it was just his 3rd. Rick turned to me and said, “If you have a job tomorrow it will be a miracle!” Thank god we went on to win the game.

In 1989 you were named head coach of the Knicks: did you feel you were ready to become the then 2nd-youngest head coach in NBA history at age 33? Fortunately I was young enough that I did not know any better. I felt very confident in my ability to transition from assistant coach to head coach in terms of all the technical aspects, but I do not know if anyone is ready to coach an NBA team at age 33: ignorance is bliss.

You fell behind 2-0 in the 1st round of the 1990 NBA playoffs to Boston, then won 3 straight games to win the series: how were you able to bounce back after giving up a playoff-record 157 PTS to Boston in Game 2? The only way we bounced back was through a stroke of luck. We got our doors blown off in the 2nd half of Game 2 but fortunately we had 2 days before Game 3. We took the 1st day to exhale and get ourselves together mentally and get some rest, and on the 2nd day we had 1 of our best practices of the year. We were able to put the loss behind us and focus on trying to win the next game after Larry Bird missed a 3-PT shot that would have won it. It gave us some confidence going into Game 4, which we won, and then we had Game 5 in Boston. History was not on our side: the Knicks had not won a playoff game in Boston in decades. It was probably 100 degrees inside the old Garden and we played a great defensive game. We were a much younger team than the Celtics and were able to wear them down.

In the 1994 NCAA tourney as coach at Wisconsin, Michael Finley/Rashard Griffith each scored 22 PTS in an 8-PT win over Cincinnati: how big a deal was it to win the school’s 1st tourney game since 1947? Just getting to the tourney was a huge accomplishment, much less winning a game against Coach Bob Huggins. Our team was extremely focused in our preparation and we really excelled defensively. We were not known for basketball back then so at some level we helped put the program on the map.

In July of 1994 you were the very 1st person hired by the Vancouver Grizzlies after the franchise was formed and then spent the next 6 years as president/GM: what is it like to start a team from scratch, and what was the hardest part? I took the job because I was intrigued by the enormous challenge. It is 1 thing to start a franchise, much less to do it in a foreign city that did not know a lot about the NBA. We had to integrate the team into the community and educate everyone so that we could sell the NBA-mandated minimum level of 10,000 tickets. We went through the expansion draft and the regular draft and it was a heck of an accomplishment thanks to a lot of people.

In June of 2007 you became Executive VP of Basketball Operations for the NBA: how did you like the job, and what was it like working with Commissioner David Stern? I became a Senior VP in 2000 before being promoted in 2007. I have been very lucky to work with some people who are the best in the game of basketball like Pitino and Stern. David was an unbelievably great leader and marketer of the game. He had an intuitive sense of what the game was about and a vision for how he wanted it to look. My staff and I were able to help shape the game that you see today, and most of that was due to David’s vision.

In 2014 you were hired by the Big East to be senior associate commissioner for men’s basketball: why did you take the job, and what do you think of the conference? I took the job for 2 reasons. I took some time off after leaving the NBA to just look at the landscape and decide what I wanted to do. I had a few different options but the Big East appealed to me because I wanted to work with its commissioner (Val Ackerman) who I had known for many years. It made sense for me personally and professionally, especially after they moved their offices to NYC. I saw 10 teams under a new structure in a development stage back then but we have good players and great coaches/rivalries with basketball-only schools. I think we are 1 of the strongest leagues in the country, which is a credit to our players/coaches.

What do you hope to do in the future? Right now I am totally immersed in making sure the Big East maintains its status as 1 of the best in the country so I do not want to look too far ahead.

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News, Notes, and Highlighted Games: Thursday, Jan 2nd

NEWS AND NOTES

-For Jon Teitel’s All Conference Players of 2019 – CLICK HERE for Part 1, and CLICK HERE for Part 2

-For John Stalica’s UTR Game of the Day between Georgia State and Appalachian State – CLICK HERE

-San Diego State and Wichita State both picked up conference wins yesterday, but in both cases it was a little closer than expected.  Both teams were facing unspectacular opponents, and neither won by single digits.

-Utah State was run off the court by a UNLV team that still doesn’t have an overall winning record.  They have won their last three games, and may be starting to finally pick up some momentum, but it was a rather shockingly bad loss for a Utah State team that, when you look at them, has only won three games against teams with winning records, and one of those was against Montana State.  Barely.

 

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES

-STEPHEN F AUSTIN AT SELA (Southland).  If SFA runs the table in the Southland, which they are clearly good enough to do, they should be in the NCAA Tournament whether they win the conference tournament or not.

-MINNESOTA AT PURDUE (Big Ten).  Both teams have shown signs of being good this year, but both have also had their share of pitfalls and still have work to do.  I think both are capable of being better than what they’e shown us so far.  It’s early, but this game does have somewhat of a pivotal feel to it.

-SAINT LOUIS AT DUQUESNE (Atlantic Ten).  Duquesne’s pastry cart of a schedule is starting to catch up to them.  After a 10-0 start to the season, they’ve dropped two straight to teams that, quite frankly, aren’t very good. If they want any chance at all, they need a strong showing in the Atlantic Ten, and that means winning games like this.  SLU also has a bloated record at 11-2, but they’re somewhat lacking in the area of quality wins, so a road win like this would certainly help them out.

-SAINT JOSEPH’S AT RICHMOND (Atlantic Ten).  Richmond is looking to bounce back from two straight losses.  A loss tonight would be rather catastrophic.

-FORDHAM AT VCU (Atlantic Ten).  VCU needs to keep stringing together wins now that they’re in conference play, and shouldn’t have too much trouble doing that tonight.

-RHODE ISLAND AT BROWN.  An interesting crosstown OOC game for Rhody before they begin conference play.  A win, which should happen,  gets them to 9-3 on the season and 2-2 in true road games.

-WILLIAM & MARY AT HOFSTRA (Colonial).  Hofstra is one of the better teams in the CAA and is 7-1 in their last eight games.  I can see that streak continuing for quite some time.

-ILLINOIS AT MICHIGAN STATE (Big Ten).  Illinois has shown signs of life at times, and signs of being catatonic at others.  To a degree, I guess the same could be said for Michigan State, although Michigan State is being held to protected seed standards whereas Illinois is being held to just regular standards.  The Spartans should get this one at home, but one never seems to know with these two.

-DAYTON AT LA SALLE (Atlantic Ten).  This is a winnable road game for a Dayton team that is good enough to run the table in the Atlantic Ten and end up having an argument for a protected seed.  Having said that, La Salle is 9-3 and having a much better year than many expected them to have.

-OREGON STATE AT UTAH (Pac 12).  Both teams have good records, and Utah has a really solid win against Kentucky, but both have also dropped games that NCAA Tournament caliber teams just shouldn’t be losing.  It’s the conference opener, and I think both teams could potentially be dark horses in the Pac 12, so I’ll definitely be keeping an eye on this one.

-OREGON AT COLORADO (Pac 12).  These are two of the better teams in the Pac 12.  Oregon is good enough to contend for a #1 seed, and Colorado is good enough to likely land in the top half of the bracket.  This will be a really tough road test for the Ducks, and a chance at a resume building win for both teams.

-GONZAGA AT PORTLAND (West Coast).  Gonzaga should cruise through this game, and through most of the rest of their schedule.

-UCLA AT WASHINGTON (Pac 12).  This isn’t a buy game, but it could end up looking like one considering how poorly UCLA has been playing, and how well Washington has been playing.

-USC AT WASHINGTON STATE (Pac 12).  I think USC has a really good chance at making the NCAA Tournament, and if that’s true then this is the kind of road game that they are expected to be able to win.  Wazzu isn’t good, but at 9-4 they’re better than what we’re used to seeing them at, so it won’t be a complete cakewalk.

-CALIFORNIA AT STANFORD (Pac 12).  Stanford was run off the court by Kansas in their last game, but the chance to beat their rival at home (who is nowhere near as good as they are on the court) is a good way to wash that taste out of their mouths.

-SAINT MARY’S AT SAN FRANCISCO (West Coast).  It’s an exciting night of hoops in the Bay Area with two sets of rivals going at it!  SMC is clearly the superior team, but it’s never easy to win on the road.  This will at least look decent on their resume given that it’s a conference game and a road game, and that San Francisco is rather respectable at 11-4 overall.

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