Hoops HD

NEWS AND NOTES

-For John Stalica’s UTR Game of the Day – CLICK HERE

-Number One went down!  Again!  Kansas was behind Villanova for most of the game, but it was close.  In the end, the Jayhawks missed a game winning opportunity in the final seconds and Nova held on for the upset and for their biggest win of the season.  This is the 5th time a #1 team has lost this year, which means Gonzaga will likely be the 6th #1 team of the season when the rankings come out on Monday.  Chances are Gonzaga will remain ranked #1 for much longer than anyone else has.  No one remaining on the Zags’s schedule is currently in the rankings.

-Ohio State knocked off Kentucky yesterday in another good game between top ten teams.  Kentucky does appear to be improving, particularly when it comes to shooting the ball, but they came up short against a very good Ohio State team, which was their second straight loss.  Kentucky’s next game is against Louisville.  In the past we’ve seen them struggle, then play well and win that game, and then be on solid ground the rest of the season.  Once again, that will be a big one next week for Kentucky.

-Colorado got a huge win in an overtime thriller against Dayton, which is hands down the biggest win of the season for the Buffs so far.  Dayton has lost two games this year, and both were overtime thrillers.  As good as the Flyers are, they still haven’t beaten a team that looks like they will decisively be inside the bubble, which could end up hurting them when it comes to seeding later on.

-Saint John’s knocked off Arizona in the Al Attles Hall of Fame Classic in what was one of the more surprising results of the day (especially with Mustapha Heron not playing).  The Johnnies jumped out to a big first half lead and were able to hold on as Arizona made a run at them, but couldn’t get the win.

-Butler picked up yet another impressive win as they knocked off Purdue in a game where they really never had to sweat.  Butler is ranked in the teens, and will likely continue to rise in the polls.

-San Diego State improved to 12-0 after absolutely blowing Utah off the court.  This is the same Utah team that just beat Kentucky a few nights ago.  San Diego State is DAMN good!

-Indiana held on to beat Notre Dame and improve to 11-1.  They did blow a big lead in this game, but what’s important is that they held on to win, and it was a win that was (mostly) away from home.

-Wichita State is now 10-1 after their home win against a really good VCU team.  People forgot about the Shockers last year.  Well, they are back!  Here’s the thing.  They finished last season 14-4 with all four of those losses being by ten points or less.  Two were against ranked teams.  So, they’re really 24-5 in their last 29 games, yet people STILL seem to be overlooking them because of how poor they were at the beginning of last season.  I would advise not overlooking them anymore!!

-Illinois continues to be a Jekyll and Hyde story.  Some nights they look great and beat ranked teams.  Other nights they lose to teams like Missouri, who have struggled all year long.

-Providence blew Texas off the floor.  It was a complete 180 from everything the Friars have done this season up until yesterday!  I guess the same can be said for the Longhorns, only their 180 was good to bad instead of bad to good.  Is this a sign that Providence may actually turn out to be the team we thought they were after all?

-Utah State picked up a really nice win against Florida in the Orange Bowl Classic.  They really needed this for their resume.  Florida, on the other hand, continues to show signs of being really good, but never consistently looking really good.

-Minnesota got a really nice road win against Oklahoma State.  The Gophers are a modest 6-5, but they’ve also won three of their last four and knocked off Ohio State and Oklahoma State during that stretch.

-Saint Louis is another team that’s quietly flying under the radar, but that people need to sit up and look at.  They picked up a road win at Kansas State yesterday, which improved them to 10-2, gave them their first true road win, and their third win away from home.

-Creighton picked up a really big road win at Arizona State yesterday, which is probably their signature win of the season.  The Bluejays are now 10-2 and you have to start paying attention to them.

-USC knocked off LSU in a close game to improve to 10-2 on the season.  They are a team that’s kind of flying under the radar as well.

-Iowa blew a 15-point 2nd half lead against Cincinnati, but came back to hold off the Bearcats in a neutral-court game in Chicago. The Hawkeyes continue to look like a potential noisemaker in the Big 10. Cincinnati has a lot of work to do in the American this year if they want to get back to the NCAA Tournament this year.

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES

-SOUTH CAROLINA AT VIRGINIA.  South Carolina has looked good at times this season, and is actually 2-0 in true road games.  Virginia has just one loss, but has struggled offensively this year.  UVA should hold serve and get the win, but it may be more competitive than what some are expecting.

-NEW MEXICO STATE AT MISSISSIPPI STATE.  New Mexico State still can’t get healthy.  If they can, then they will be a force to be reckoned with, but today will most likely end up looking like another buy game.

-HOUSTON VS PORTLAND (Diamond Head Classic).  This tournament is a chance for Houston to finally break out onto the national scene.  Granted, today’s game won’t end up looking all that impressive, but if they can win the even then their resume should improve.

-XAVIER AT TCU.  This is a big game for both teams.  Both have good records, but both are lacking in notable wins.  This is a resume building opportunity for two teams that need to build up their resumes.

-BALL STATE VS WASHINGTON (Diamond Head Classic).  Ball State has looked good at times, but is likely way overmatched today against a really strong Washington team.

-UTEP AT HAWAI’I (Diamond Head Classic).  UTEP has shown signs of improvement, but they are still looking for their first win away from home.  Both teams will have to beat a team like Washington or Houston in order to make an impression on the committee.

BUY GAMES (and equivalencies)

-Purdue Fort Wayne @ Iowa State
-Lafayette @ Rutgers
-New Hampshire @ UConn
-Marshall @ Northern Iowa
-Houston Baptist @ New Mexico
-Duquesne vs UAB – Saint Pete Shootout
-Richmond vs Radford – DC Holiday Hoops Fest
-Prairie View A&M @ Seton Hall
-The Citadel @ NC State

NEWS AND NOTES

-Georgia held on to beat SMU in a double overtime thriller.  It was just SMU’s second loss of the season, and Georgia is now looking a lot better than they were back in November.

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES

-OHIO STATE VS KENTUCKY (CBS Sports Classic) (***Spotlight Game***).  Kentucky is coming off a somewhat surprising loss to Utah and is looking to bounce back.  Ohio State recently suffered their first loss of the season, but both are high in the rankings, both are likely to continue to improve as the season goes on, and if both are gunning for the #1 line then this is the kind of win that can really help get them there.  It should be a fun one.

-KANSAS AT VILLANOVA.  Kansas has won nine straight since losing their season opener, and has another tough test today.  Nova has held serve this season, but other than Mississippi State they really don’t have any notable wins.  That can change today if they can knock off Kansas.

-FLORIDA STATE  VS SOUTH FLORIDA (Orange Bowl Classic).  Florida State already has an impressive resume, and this is a very winnable neutral site game for them.

INDIANA VS NOTRE DAME (Crossroads Classic).  Indiana is 10-1, but the vast majority of their games have been buy games.  Notre Dame is a respectable 8-3, but really doesn’t have much in the way of quality wins either.  Both teams need to build up their resumes, and winning this would be a step in the right direction.

-VCU AT WICHITA STATE.  Both teams are good, both teams will probably end up in the rankings at some point, and a win today would be big for whoever manages to pull it off.

-WEST VIRGINIA AT YOUNGSTOWN STATE.  Kind of an odd road game for WVU, but it’s also a very winnable one.

-RIDER AT TEMPLE.  It’s a buy game, but Rider is a very respectable 7-2 and a signature win like this would put them on the radar, so Temple better not overlook them.

-ILLINOIS VS MISSOURI (Game in Saint Louis).  It’s the Braggin’ Rights Game!!  Some years this game is much more nationally relevant than others.  This year, Illinois has put together some nice wins, whereas Mizzou still looks like they’re trying to get it together, but sometimes a strong showing or a win in a game like this can give one (or both) of these teams a lot of momentum.

-WESTERN KENTUCKY AT RHODE ISLAND.  WKU still has a talented team, but they’ve suffered some injuries that have really set them back.  Rhody has played well enough to where I think they can get on the committee’s radar if they can string together some wins.

-UCF AT OKLAHOMA.  Both teams have bloated records, but both are also heavy on the cupcakes and light on the meat when it comes to quality wins up to this point.  The Sooners do have some decent wins against the likes of Minnesota and Oregon State, but they’ve also lost two straight and are looking to bounce back from that.

-TEXAS AT PROVIDENCE.  Texas hasn’t always looked great, but they have at times, and they’ve been good enough to put together an 9-1 overall record.  This is another winnable road game for the Longhorns against a Providence team that continues to struggle on the season.

-WRIGHT STATE AT TOLEDO.  Both teams are kind of a longshot at landing inside the bubble, but both also have really good records and are looking like they’ll both do well in their conferences, so it should be a fun UTR match-up.

-PURDUE VS BUTLER (Crossroads Classic).  Purdue has been a little inconsistent this year, but having said that there have been times where they’ve looked REALLY good.  Butler has just one loss, and it was by just one point against a very good Baylor team, so Purdue will need to be at the top of their game to pull this one out.  Both teams have looked like NCAA Tournament teams so far, so this is a resume building opportunity.

-UTAH STATE VS FLORIDA (Orange Bowl Classic).  This is a resume building opportunity between two good teams that, while good, probably could have and should have played better up to this point.

-DUQUESNE VS AUSTIN PEAY (St. Pete Shootout).  A win for Duquesne keeps them unbeaten on the season.

-WYOMING AT DENVER (Front Range).  Both of these teams are terrible, but we at Hoops HD Love the Front Range!!!

-STANFORD VS SAN DIEGO (Hall of Fame Al Attles Classic).  Stanford is off to a very surprising and very impressive 10-1 start.  They’ve got another winnable game away form home today against San Diego.

-UCLA VS NORTH CAROLINA (CBS Sports Classic).  “Classic” just doesn’t seem like the right word for this game this year.  UCLA is in complete rebuilding mode, and North Carolina is dealing with injuries and at just 6-5 has struggled for most of the season.

-BELMONT VS ALABAMA (Rocket City Classic).  In order for Belmont to get anywhere close to the bubble they pretty much need to win out.  Alabama is a very modest 5-5, but they’ve won three of their last four with the only loss being a very close game to Penn State, so Nate Oates has this team playing a lot better.

-STEPHEN F AUSTIN AT MCNEESE (Southland).  The story for SFA is pretty straightforward.  If they win out, I think they will be inside the bubble.

-MINNESOTA AT OKLAHOMA STATE.  Minney has improved as the season has gone on, but they still have a ways to go.  You also get the sense that Oklahoma State really hasn’t played up to their potential either.  Both teams could really use a win in a game like this right about now.

-DAYTON VS COLORADO (Chicago Legends).  This is an interestingly named event.  Neither team is really from Chicago, and neither program is all that legendary.  Having said that, Dayton’s team has looked amazing this year, and this is a chance for them to add to their resume by knocking off a likely tournament caliber team away from home.  Colorado is good, but their biggest win is still the neutral floor win over Arizona State (which is kind of funny since they are both in the same conference), and a win like this could really boost their resume as well.

-SAN DIEGO STATE VS UTAH (Hall of Fame Classic).  Discounting what Utah did in Myrtle Beach earlier this year, they’ve actually looked pretty good and are coming off a really good win against Kentucky.  San Diego State is one of the few remaining unbeatens, so this one should be a really good match-up.  It’s two teams that have looked good, but who could also improve their resumes with a win today.

-SAINT LOUIS VS KANSAS STATE (Wildcat Classic).  Saint Louis’s record is pretty solid at 9-2, but they still need some big wins on their resume if they want the committee to notice them.  K State has been somewhat of a disappointment this year and needs to string together some wins to get back on track.

-ARKANSAS VS VALPARAISO (game in Little Rock, AR).  Arkansas can improve to 10-1 on the year.  They haven’t really beaten any solid tournament caliber teams yet, but they are off to a pretty good start.

-OREGON STATE AT TEXAS A&M.  This is a winnable road game for a 9-1 Oregon State team that hasn’t really been challenged yet, but could still turn out to be a dark horse in the Pac Twelve.

-CREIGHTON AT ARIZONA STATE.  Both teams have decent records, but both still need to build up their resumes.  This is a big game for both teams because it’s important on paper, but it’s also two teams that could really benefit from building up some momentum as well.

-NORTHWESTERN AT DEPAUL.  DePaul can improve to a very strong 12-1 with a win, not to mention earn some bragging rights against their crosstown foe.

-CINCINNATI VS IOWA (Chicago Legends).  Cincinnati is coming off their biggest win of the year against Tennessee, which was also by far the best game they’ve played this year.  Iowa is playing well after some early season struggles as well, so this should be a really interesting game.

-LSU VS USC (Hall of Fame Classic).  Both teams have good records, but both are also lacking when it comes to quality wins, so this is a resume building opportunity for two teams that, quite frankly, need to build up their resumes.

-SAINT JOHN’S VS ARIZONA (Hall of Fame Attles Classic).  Saint John’s has a good record at 10-2, but they don’t have any wins that are anywhere close to as good as this one would be.  Arizona is also 10-2 and in the rankings, and is just looking to hold serve.

-NEVADA VS SAINT MARY’S (Hall of Fame Al Attles Classic).  Nevada still doesn’t look quite like a tournament team, but they have improved as the season has progressed.  Saint Mary’s is coming off a huge blowout win against Arizona State, so they should have a ton of momentum built up coming into this one.

BUY GAMES (and equivalencies)

-Presbyterian @ Michigan
-Samford @ Georgetown
-Jackson State @ Memphis
-Jacksonville State @ Tennessee
-UTRGV @ Texas Tech
-Coppin State @ Miami FL
-SELA @ Ole Miss
-VMI @ Virginia Tech
-Cleveland State @ East Tennessee State
-UMBC @ George Mason
-Eastern Washington @ Gonzaga – EWU is a likely Big Sky frontrunner, but they’re way overmatched today.
-UC Davis @ San Francisco
-Southern New Orleans (nondiv1) @ Louisiana Tech
-Lehigh @ Auburn
-Eastern Michigan @ Michigan State
-Northern Kentucky @ UNC Greensboro – to be fair, this is potentially a really good UTR game
-Hampton @ Kent State
-Weber State @ BYU
-Texas Southern @ Oregon