UNC-Asheville (8-4, 5-4 D1) at UNC-Wilmington (8-3) – 2:00 PM ET (FloHoops)
Both teams may be in the same state, but over 300 miles of Interstate 40 separate these schools that are part of the University of North Carolina system. UNC-Asheville heads east today to take on the host UNC-Wilmington Seahawks. Asheville is on a 5-game winning streak, but only two of those opponents (Western Carolina and North Florida) are D1 opponents. Toyaz Solomon had 24 points for the Bulldogs in their win over North Florida; it was their second win of the season against the Ospreys.
UNC-Wilmington comes into today with a 6-1 record at home; their only loss at home was to a Colgate team that has underperformed in the nonconference portion of their season to date. The Seahawks come into today on a winning note; Donovan Newby led UNC-W with 21 points in their win against Florida Gulf Coast.
-Cincinnati picked up their biggest win over the year, and it was one they really needed, as they held off Dayton 66-59. Cincinnati’s defense kept Dayton from doing anything at all for the first 15 minutes of the game, and then kept them from doing very little the rest of the way. Dayton did cut a 17pt second half lead down to 4, but couldn’t come all the way back.
-Saint John’s picked up their first true road win of the season as they held off Providence 72-70. The Jonnies are now 10-2 overall and are in pretty good shape where they stand.
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HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-DUKE AT GEORGIA TECH (ACC). This should be a winnable conference road game for the Blue Devils.
-MARQUETTE AT XAVIER (Big East). Xavier put up a fight against UConn in their overtime loss earlier this week, so this could be a tougher game for Marquette than what they’re expecting, especially since it is a road game. Still, Marquette is looking like a solid protected seed and Xavier is looking like an NIT team.
-UCONN AT BUTLER (Big East). It’s never easy to win on the road, and Butler has shown signs of being halfway decent at times, but having said that UConn has looked like a solid protected seed and Butler has looked like an NIT team.
-SMU AT BOSTON COLLEGE (ACC). SMU is a very respectable 9-2, but is still in search of their first true road game. This is the kind of road game that an NCAA Tournament team should be expected to win.
-SYRACUSE VS MARYLAND (Game in Brooklyn NY). Syracuse is a former Big East team that’s now in the ACC and they’re taking on Maryland, who is a former ACC team that is now in the Big Ten. Maryland has a decent profile and should be able to hold serve in this one.
-MISSISSIPPI STATE AT MEMPHIS. I think both of these teams are being undervalued somewhat. Memphis is in the rankings and they’ve they’ve played a tough schedule, much of it was away from home, and they’ve done very well against it and should probably be ranked a little higher. Mississippi State is an impressive 10-1, but this is probably their hardest game of the year so far and the fans in Memphis should be up for this one. They have a lot to be excited about.
-WAKE FOREST AT CLEMSON (ACC). Wake has a decent overall record and a nice win against Michigan, so they are at least within reach of the bubble. It’s not easy to win at Clemson, but if they do pull it off it would give them a big boost.
-UCLA VS NORTH CAROLINA (CBS Sports Classic, Game in New York NY). North Carolina has a 6-5 record against a very tough schedule, so they’re by no means sunk, but they do need to start winning games. UCLA is a very impressive 10-1 with impressive wins over Oregon and Arizona, so they are battle tested. This is a resume boosting opportunity for both of these teams.
-VILLANOVA AT CREIGHTON (Big East). Both these teams are outside the bubble, and while both have some good things on their resume, both still have work to do (obviously) and both could really use a win today.
-WASHINGTON STATE VS NORTHERN IOWA (Game in Las Vegas). Wazzu is coming off a loss to their rivals Washington, but I really like how they’ve played this year. I also like how Nortthern Iowa is starting to play, and feel that this is a really compelling game today.
-DEPAUL AT NORTHWESTERN. DePaul is not nearly as bad as what we have seen, but they still have a long way to go before we start declaring them a tournament caliber team. Northwestern has a decent profile with some decent wins, but they still have work to do and they need to hold serve in this one today. It’s always kinda fun when these two play each other.
-PURDUE VS AUBURN (Game in Birmingham, AL). Auburn has been as impressive as any team in the country, so while Purdue is ranked in the top 20, and very deserving of that ranking, and has been tested and won some big games, you still get the sense that they are overmatched in this one. Auburn is just that good.
-COLORADO STATE AT NEVADA (Mountain West). Nevada is sitting at 8-3 and needs to string together a lot of wins and hold serve against teams that are outside the bubble in order to end up on the right side of the cut line come Selection Sunday.
-OHIO STATE VS KENTUCKY (CBS Sports Classic, Game in New York NY). Ohio State has some decent wins and looks like they’re currently on pace to be on the right side of the cut line. Kentucky has some amazing wins and looks like they’re on pace to end up on the #1 line.
-UTAH AT IOWA. Both teams have solid records, but both are also lacking in notable wins and both could really use this one today. Iowa is in decent shape with wins over Washington State and Northwestern, but it would still make their resume look better if they were able to pick this one up.
-TEMPLE VS RHODE ISLAND (Game in Springfield MA). A win for Rhody gets them to a very respectable 11-1 on the year.
-KANSAS STATE AT WICHITA STATE. Both teams have work to do, but both look like they may be good enough to get the wins they need between now and the end. It’s a fun in-state match-up and a nice opportunity for both teams.
-OREGON VS STANFORD (San Jose Tip-Off). Oregon has had a fantastic season so far and is looking like they may be on pace for a protected seed. This used to be an old Pac 12 match-up. I suppose now it is a defacto Big Ten/ACC Challenge game, which is very weird to say.
-CALIFORNIA VS SAN DIEGO STATE (San Jose Tip-Off). Cal is having a decent year, but San Diego State is once again looking like a solid tournament caliber team and they should be able to hold serve in this one.
BUY GAMES (and other games of note):
-North Florida @ Florida -Princeton @ Rutgers – both teams are outside the bubble and need to start stringing together wins in order to reach it -Penn State @ Drexel – not the easiest road game for Penn State, and this would be their first road win of the season, but it’s a game a tourney caliber team would be expected to win -Chattanooga @ Indiana – the Hoosiers better be on upset alert -Niagara @ Saint Bonaventure -Sam Houston @ Pittsburgh -Lamar @ Texas Tech -TAMUCC @ Houston -Florida Atlantic @ Michigan State – Michigan State should roll in this one -High Point @ Southern Illinois – High Point is 11-2 overall, but is still lookin for their first true road win -UT Arlington @ Liberty -Canisius @ Bradley – Bradley can improve to 10-2 with a win -NC A&T @ Arkansas -UC Irvine @ Duquesne – UC Irvine is a long way from home, but this should be a winnable game for them -Austin Peay @ Vanderbilt -Furman @ Harvard – Furman can improve to 12-1 and pick up their 4th true road win -Coastal Carolina @ Arkansas State -Bellarmine @ Colorado -Air Force @ Boise State (Mountain West) – it’s a conference game, but it may as well be a buy game -Central Michigan @ Arizona -Arizona State vs UMass (Game in Springfield) – Arizona State should roll in this one -Queens @ Ole Miss -Drake @ Green Bay – Drake can get to 11-0 with a win -Montana @ San Francisco – San Francisco needs to bounce back from a tough loss at Bradley -Jacksonville @ UCF -Bucknell @ Gonzaga -UC San Diego @ San Diego – I think UCSD is inside the bubble right now and hey can add another true road win to what is an already very impressive profile
Today’s write-up is short. UC Irvine came from behind to win at Belmont last night, and that was really the only game of note. Today isn’t all that busy either.
-SAINT JOHN’S AT PROVIDENCE (Big East). Saint John’s has a respectable 9-2 record, but they’ve done virtually nothing away from home and this is their first true road game of the season, so a win adds something to their resume that they don’t yet have.
-CINCINNATI VS DAYTON. This game is in Cincinnati, but it’s not on campus and will be a split crowd as the two teams are less than an hour apart. Both are in the rankings, but Dayton has totally outperformed Cincinnati up to this point. Cincinnati’s OOC schedule has been weak, and while they are coming off a win against their rivals Xavier, it was a game where they struggled to beat a team at home that doesn’t appear to be anywhere near the field. As for Dayton, it’s a chance to pick up another notable win and make a good resume look even better.
I want to make sure everyone knows what they are looking at. This IS NOT an attempt to guess what I think the actual bracket will look like on Selection Sunday, nor is it an attempt to speculate what the actual committee would do if today were Selection Sunday. This is my own personal bracket, and it is based entirely on CURRENT MERIT. This is not a reflection on how good I believe the teams actually are, but rather a ranking of how hard I think it has been for them to win the games that they have won. If you asked me who my pick to win it all would be, my answer would be Houston. Houston is not even in this bracket. They have not done anything yet. I think they will, but until they actually do, I will not be selecting them.
-Below the bracket are some of my comments. Below that are some comments from the rest of the Hoops HD Staff. If they disagree with ANYTHING I have done, then THEY ARE WRONG!!!
OTHERS CONSIDERED: LSU, Texas, Northwestern, Houston, San Francisco, Creighton, Nevada, Saint John’s, Georgetown, SMU, UCF, Penn State, Butler, Cincinnati, Texas Tech, Iowa, Arizona, Bradley, Saint Bonaventure
COMMENTS FROM DAVID:
-Only bracketing geeks will appreciate this, but this was very hard to put together. You can see all of the teams that needed to be moved given the (parenthesis) next to them which indicates their original seed. I like to avoid conference match-ups prior to the Sweet Sixteen if possible.
-There are six protected seeds from the SEC, and three SEC teams on the #1 line. While I’m not trying to guess the actual committee’s final bracket, it would not shock me at all if that ended up happening in the final bracket.
-UC San Diego and Drake are Under the Radar teams that are well inside the bubble. When I look at their profiles, they’ve certainly earned it. UC Irvine also just made the cut as an at-large and is placed in the First Four.
Posted inBracketology, News and Notes|Comments Off on Hoops HD Staff Bracket (From The Puppet) – Dec 19th
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 Wednesday night at Capital 1 Arena and prepared this photo essay about the Hoyas’ matchup against Creighton. If you would like to check out his prior coverage, please go to:
My 1st Big East game of the season = hot pregame meal: Chick-fil-A nuggets/mac and cheese/brownie/chocolate chip cookie. How do you know it is the holidays (besides the student section being mostly empty)? I received a seat upgrade that put me about 20 rows behind the Georgetown bench, so now you get more photo/less essay! I do not know the last time that Creighton 7’1″ C Ryan Kalkbrenner was ever NOT the tallest guy in the room…but he is in 2nd place tonight thanks to 7’2″ CBS Sports Network color commentator/former Georgetown C Roy Hibbert sitting courtside:
Let’s tip it off:
The good news for Greg McDermott is that he became the winningest coach in Creighton history last month…but the bad news is that any game he wins the rest of this season will be without 1 of his leading scorers in Pop Isaacs, who is done for the year due to hip surgery:
3-time-defending conference DPOY Kalkbrenner showed another side of his game tonight with a pair of open threes from the top of the key in the 1st half:
Steven Ashworth matched his taller teammate with 2 long-range shots of his own, but also made a pull-up jumper and a finger roll to help pick up the offensive slack in Pop’s absence:
The other surprising star was FR F Jackson McAndrew. My nephew saw him play in person last year when McAndrew was named Minnesota High School POY, and he did not disappoint with a pair of threes, a tip-in, and a nice scoop shot to exceed his season average of 8.2 PPG during the 1st 20 minutes:
This is usually the part of the show where Georgetown falls apart, as Coach Ed Cooley only won 2 Big East games last year (by a combined 4 PTS):
Even worse, his starting PG (Malik Mack) was a late scratch due to a lower-body injury. However, that allowed 6’7” FR Caleb Williams to make his 1st-ever college start, and he exceeded expectations with a team-high 5 REB in the 1st half:
I did not have any expectations regarding Louisville transfer Curtis Williams Jr., who scored exactly 8 PTS during his 1st 10 games at Georgetown…but after seeing him come off the bench to make a fadeaway jumper and a couple of threes I concluded that he might be the best “C. Williams” on the roster!
I expected that FR big man Thomas Sorber would get schooled by the bigger/older Kalkbrenner…but he more than held his own with a pair of layups and a dunk to help his team build a 34-28 halftime lead:
Ashworth kept knocking down threes in the 2nd half but it would not be enough. Hoyas G Jayden Epps was coming off of a 27-PT performance last Saturday in a win at Syracuse and kept it going with several more trifectas as he finished with a team-high 21 PTS/5-6 3PM:
However, the star of the night was his teammate Micah Peavy, who helped put the game out of reach with a couple of steals-leading-to-dunks to cap a 17-3 run that extended the lead to 56-38. He dominated every aspect of the game from start to finish, ending up with a startling stat line that has only been matched by a handful of players in D-1 history (20 PTS/8 REB/8 AST/7 STL/1 BLK):
Georgetown cruised to an 81-57 victory for their 1st win over a top-75 KenPom conference opponent since…beating Creighton by 25 PTS during Kalkbrenner’s freshman year in the 2021 Big East tourney title game at Madison Square Garden. In the postgame press conference I asked Coach McDermott whether playing without Pop is as simple as “next man up” or if he is still tinkering with his offense/defense. He admitted that they are still searching for a solution because they do not have the luxury of multiple ballhandlers (such as Georgetown having both Epps/Peavy to fall bock on after Mack got hurt). It puts a lot of pressure on Ashworth to be the PG so he needs his wings to step up:
I wondered if Epps felt like every 3-PT shot that he takes is going in after making an scorching 9-12 during his past 2 games. As you can see below his face told most of the answer(!), but he said that he feels that way all the time no matter his shooting percentage because he knows how much time he has put into improving his long-range shooting (he was at 30 3P% during his 1st 2 seasons):
Coach Cooley made a point of complimenting Epps’ preparation during the past 2 weeks, which is why he wants him to play more off the ball:
That is a wrap for now but check back later this month as we wrap up 2024 when Coppin State visits DC on 12/28.
Lipscomb (7-4, 6-4 D1) at Middle Tennessee (8-3, 6-3 D1) – 7:30 PM ET (ESPN+)
Tonight’s UTR Game of the Day heads down I-24 from Nashville to nearby Murfreesboro for a matchup between the Lipscomb Bisons and the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders. Lipscomb comes into tonight having won 4 straight games (5 overall) against D1 opponents; the most notable game in the bunch was an 80-62 victory at Chattanooga. Jacob Ognacevic is averaging 17.6 points a game and 7.3 rebounds for the Bisons.
The Blue Raiders have won two of their last three games against D1 competition; their best win was a 76-69 victory against a floundering UAB team. MTSU’s only three losses this year are all against teams from the Missouri Valley – Bradley, Belmont and Murray State. Essam Mostafa averages 13.3 points a game and 8.7 boards a game for the Blue Raiders.
