NEWS AND NOTES
Tons of thrilling games yesterday!
-Oregon needed overtime, but they did pick up a huge road win against a Michigan team that struggled in the first half, fought back in the second half to force overtime and had a shot to win the game in the final seconds, but just couldn’t get it done. Michigan has had a rough week with three straight losses.
-Gonzaga also picked up a monster road win, and is once again looking like a top five caliber team. They went into Arizona, and although the final score was close, they led for double digits for most of the second half and you never really felt like they were in any danger of losing the game.
-Memphis and Tennessee played each other in a rock fight of a game, which was a little surprising considering the offensive weapons that both teams have. Memphis picked up a huge road win that’s got to feel good both on and off paper, especially when you consider that Memphis is still without one of their best players. The Tigers are definitely a force to be reckoned with.
-Rutgers seemed like they were up by 20 at the tip. They just blew Seton Hall off the floor. Seton Hall was without Myles Powell for the second half, but by then the game was pretty much over anyway. At 8-3 with a blowout win over a good Seton Hall team on their resume, it is time to put Rutgers squarely on the radar. Along with DePaul. WHAT THE HELL WORLD ARE WE LIVING IN!!??
-Xavier played sluggishly again yesterday, at least by top 25 standards. They trailed Wake Forest for most of the game, and while they did fight back and give themselves a chance to win it, they came up short. Xavier has yet to look anywhere close to as good as their ranking, and although they have a respectable 9-2 record, they haven’t beaten anyone that you could say looks like a solid NIT team, much less an NCAA team.
-Mississippi State picked up a big neutral floor win against Kansas State, which gives their resume some much needed help.
-Georgetown has lost scholarship players in the last couple of weeks, but somehow continues to win games. They didn’t blow Syracuse off the floor yesterday, but they did pretty much control the entire game and held on to beat their old Classic Big East rivals.
-Arkansas blew out a Tulsa team that entered the game with an 8-2 record. Arkansas hasn’t played the toughest of schedules, but they’ve looked good enough to where they are worth paying attention to.
-After praising Buffalo for their road win at DePaul, and saying they were looking like a solid team again, the Bulls were blown out by a rather mediocre Army team yesterday. When I say mediocre, I mean by Patriot League standards. Not the best showing for the Bulls.
-Alabama is just 4-5, but they are playing much better now than they were about a month ago. They didn’t get the win against a really good Penn State team, but they were right in there. If they keep improving they’ll pick up some notable wins in SEC play, and perhaps play their way into the picture.
-Wichita State knocked off Oklahoma to improve to 9-1 on the year. I really like this Shockers team, and although they’re not getting a lot of love from the national media just yet, I think that they will crack the rankings sooner or later.
-New Mexico improved to 10-2 on the season with a win over their arch rivals New Mexico State. They don’t really have any quality wins over solid NCAA Tournament caliber teams yet, but they will get a few chances before the end.
-Liberty picked up a nice road win against Vanderbilt. Liberty is both good and unbeaten, but their schedule so far has been really weak. Truth be told, I didn’t think they’d have as much trouble with Vandy as they did. But, they did get the win.
-Stephen F Austin didn’t put UL Monroe away until the final couple of minutes. For a while it looked like they were going to lose this one at home, which would have pretty much offset the big win against Duke in the eyes of the selection committee.
-BYU needed to have a big week, and they absolutely did. They knocked off Utah State yesterday, and this followed up wins against Nevada and UNLV. Suddenly BYU’s resume (and team) are looking really good.
-Last, and DEFINITELY least, is Cincinnati’s loss to Colgate. We’ve felt all year that Colgate was a likely Patriot League frontrunner, and that Cincinnati has been less than impressive all season long, so the idea that Colgate would go in there and beat them isn’t all that astounding. What Cincinnati did after Colgate tied the game IS astounding!! It is utterly stupidly astounding. I am not a good enough wordsmith to explain just how mind-numbingly stupefying it was, so I’ll just post the video HERE
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES
-NC STATE AT UNC GREENSBORO. This is actually a really tough road test for NC State, and a chance for UNCG to pick up another notable win and take a big step toward landing inside the bubble. UNCG already has the win at Georgetown and probably actually looks a little better than NC State right now.
-OKLAHOMA STATE AT HOUSTON. Both of these teams have respectable records, but both need to add a lot of meat to their resumes. Houston, despite being 6-2, still hasn’t played up to what I think their ceiling can be. It’s early, but this game still has a bit of a pivotal feel to it for both teams.
-PURDUE AT NEBRASKA (Big Ten). Purdue has been playing really well lately, and this looks like a very winnable conference road game for the Boilers.
-SOUTH CAROLINA AT CLEMSON. This is a rivalry game, and both teams do have potential, but neither have really shown it yet. Both have a lot of work to do before now and the end of they want to end up inside the bubble.
-OHIO STATE AT MINNESOTA (Big Ten). Ohio State has answered the bell every time they have taken the floor, and look to be getting better as the season progresses. If they can win this one there is a good chance they’ll be ranked #1 tomorrow.
-MISSOURI STATE AT VCU. Missouri State is good enough to make some noise in the Missouri Valley, but probably not good enough to beat a very good VCU team on the road.
BUY GAMES (and equivalent games)
-Gardner Webb @ Virginia Tech
-Milligan (nondiv1) @ East Tennessee State
-Sacred Heart @ UCF
-Wofford @ North Carolina
-Cleveland State @ Bowling Green
-Long Beach State @ USC
Bracket Projection – Hoops HD Staff Bracket
This week, it is staff member John Stalica’s turn to do the weekly staff bracket. This is not an ultimate projection of what the bracket will be (as that is the expertise of our colleague Jon Teitel), but rather a checkpoint of where we stand through games of Sunday the 15th of December. And here is the bracket:
First Four Out: Xavier, Utah State, LSU, Seton Hall
COMMENTS FROM JOHN
– Once again, there is no clear cut team for the #1 overall slot. I was set to put Ohio State in that spot after what they did to Cincinnati, Villanova, North Carolina and Penn State. Losing at Minnesota stings, but it’s very odd that home teams are a perfect 13-0 in the B1G so far this season.
– Gonzaga is once again looking like a team that will be seeded #1 in the West Region. The Bulldogs have beaten two of the top teams in the Pac-12 all on the road and also beat Oregon down in Atlantis last month. If they finish noncon play without any further slipups, there’s a very good chance of Gonzaga running the table the remainder of the season.
– Memphis is also showing that they can win games of significance without James Wiseman. Winning at Tennessee is not only good for the profile, it’s a big boost for the fanbase that hasn’t had a team this solid since the days of Calipari (even if the NCAA insists on a “Vacant” entry or two in the record books.
– There is a team from the Keystone State that is a protected seed this week not named Villanova. Penn State has shown that they can win games of significance both home and away, and beating Maryland had to be a feather in their cap. The Nittany Lions are now ranked in the Top 25 for the first time since the 1990s.
– Northern Iowa is a team that can potentially get above the First Four later on in the season. Their best wins are against South Carolina down in Cancun and at Colorado. Their only loss is against West Virginia, and it’s possible they could have an at-large case depending on whether or not they’re able to win the regular season crown in the Missouri Valley.
COMMENTS FROM THE STAFF
FROM DAVID -I agree that it is tough to pick the overall #1, but I also think that Stalica got it right in Kansas. A rarity! He did something right! Kansas played Duke in their first game and turned it over about once a minute, which is bad. But, they still nearly won the game despite not playing well, and they haven’t lost since. They also have a really nice win against Dayton (more on them in a second), and a profile that looks pretty good.
I’m also really impressed with what Gonzaga has done, and agree that they should be on the #1 line. I could see putting them even a little higher up than 4th on the seedlist.
I like Dayton a lot more than Stalica. I know that their profile shows no wins over ranked teams, so if you’re going strictly off of merit one could argue that the #5 line is where they belong. But, this is a team that’s only loss to Kansas is in overtime, and that has blown everyone else they have played off of the floor. I think they are easily one of the best 15 teams in the country, and perhaps even one of the 10 best teams in the country. I’d have them as a protected seed.
Rutgers makes the field!! An argument can definitely be made. I’d like to see them win at least one game away from home, though.
I like Penn State, but not THAT much!!! Sheesh Stalica!!
Something I don’t understand. Butler has one loss, by one point, at Baylor, who Stalica has up on the #2 line. He has Butler down on the #5 line. How does a team that loses by just a point on the road, IN THEIR ONLY LOSS, MIND YOU!, end up seeded three lines below the team that barely beat them?