Hoops HD

NEWS AND NOTES:

-For John Stalica’s latest Staff Bracket – CLICK HERE

-Illinois led for most of the game at Northwestern last night, but the Wildcats were able to force overtime and then get the 70-66 win in OT. It’s will give the Wildcats a bit of a boost and make Illinois wait a little bit longer to get their first true road win.

-West Virginia and Georgetown were close for much of the game, but the Mountaineers got control in the second half and picked up the 73-60 win. Both of these teams are having better seasons than we expected, and while Georgetown didn’t get the win, they showed they can be competitive in games that aren’t just home buy games.

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HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:

-KANSAS STATE AT SAINT JOHN’S. The Johnnies are a perfect 5-0 at home, but this is a tougher test than what most of them have been (although they have beaten New Mexico at home). K State is a respectable 6-2 on the season, but this is their first true road game and would be their biggest win to date if they can pull it off.

-CLEMSON AT MIAMI FL (ACC). Clemson is coming off the big home win against Kentucky, whereas Miami is coming off a home loss to Arkansas that they kind of blew. Miami has shown no signs of life this season despite having what appear to be talented players and good coaching. A win like this might give them a much needed jumpstart, but it won’t be easy despite being at home. Clemson is good! Having said that, this would be the first true road win of the year for the Tigers if they can pull it off.

-PRINCETON AT FURMAN. This is a VERY tough road test for a Princeton team that got off to a slow start, but that’s coming off a really nice win at Saint Joe’s and still has the opportunities they need to land back inside the bubble. Furman is 8-1 on the year with the only loss coming at Kansas, and is perfect at home.

-RUTGERS AT OHIO STATE (Big Ten). Both teams have potential, and both have shown that potential, but both have also dropped a game or two that they should’ve/could’ve won. This is the conference opener for both, and it will be a nice win for whichever team picks it up, especially if it’s Rutgers since they’re the road team.

-NEBRASKA AT MICHIGAN STATE (Big Ten). Nebraska has been very impressive this year and has exceeded all expectations (at least all of mine). They’re looking like a solid tournament team and already and already have a really strong road win at Creighton. Michigan State is also tough and is also looking like they’ll be solidly in the NCAA field. This is a conference opener and a resume boosting opportunity for both.

-PROVIDENCE AT RHODE ISLAND. This is a very bitter rivalry, and the storyline leading into this one is great since both teams have looked really strong this year. Rhode Island is a perfect 8-0, but has had a limited number of actual tests. Providence is 6-3 and just snapped a three game losing streak with a very impressive win over BYU. Both teams will be up for this one. It is important both on and off paper.

-WISCONSIN AT MARQUETTE. It’s a big time rivalry game between two highly ranked teams!! It’s Wisconsin’s first road game, and it will be a tough one. Marquette is looking to bounce back from a loss at Iowa State, and the fans will be jacked way up for this one.

-PITTSBURGH AT VIRGINIA TECH (ACC). Pitt was blown to bits in their last game against Mississippi State, but they should be able to bounce back in this one and pick up a conference road game.

-GEORGIA TECH AT NORTH CAROLINA (ACC). UNC is a very modest 4-4 on the year, but it’s not too discouraging since they’ve played such a tough schedule. A conference home game against Georgia Tech feels like some low hanging fruit that they should have no problems gathering.

-IOWA AT MICHIGAN (Big Ten). Both teams are 7-1 and Michigan has really been on a roll. Iowa has some decent wins, but this would be their biggest of the year so far if they were somehow able to pull it off.

-EAST CAROLINA AT SOUTH CAROLINA. ECU is off to a modest 7-2 start and this is their first true road game. They probably won’t end up getting near the bubble, but they’ll at least have our attention if they’re able to pick up this road win and improve to 8-2.

-VIRGINIA AT SMU (ACC). Virginia has struggled this year. SMU has been decent, but still has work to do and needs to hold serve in this one.

-MIDDLE TENNESSEE AT BELMONT. Two really good UTR teams in a crosstown rivalry. Both are 7-2, and while making a run at the bubble would be a long shot for either one, I wouldn’t say it’s completely out of the question yet.

-FLORIDA STATE AT NC STATE (ACC). Both of these teams have shown potential, but both still have a lot of work to do and both could use this one today.

-STANFORD AT CALIFORNIA (ACC). Both of these teams have shown potential, but both still have a lot of work to do and both could use this one today.

-UNLV AT CREIGHTON. Creighton just had the big win over Kansas. They need to regroup and make sure their feet are back on the ground and that they don’t blow it against a decent (but far from great) UNLV team.

-WASHINGTON STATE AT BOISE STATE. Wazzu is 7-2 and while not all those wins have been great, they are well positioned. They’re also coming off a road win at Nevada, which is their strongest of the season, and if they can pick this one up today I think we’ll have to start thinking of them as a possible tournament caliber team. Boise is a modest 5-2 and has some pretty high expectations. They also still have a lot of work to do.

-BUTLER AT HOUSTON. The storyline to this game is interesting. Butler is a potential darkhorse who comes in at 7-1 with notable wins over Northwestern and Mississippi State. Houston is believed to be a National Title contender, but who hasn’t gotten any wins of note yet and is actually looking to bounce back from losing two of their last three.

-LA SALLE VS SAINT JOSEPH’S (Big 5 Classic). This will not count in the Atlantic 10 standings because it’s part of the Big 5 Classic and not a scheduled conference game. I still want to think Joe’s can have a big year, but they keep coming up short when presented with opportunities. La Salle isn’t someone who I expected a lot out of, but they are a respectable 6-3 and can pick up a notable win this evening.

-SAINT MARY’S AT UTAH. I’m really big on this Saint Mary’s team and think they’ve been undervalued somewhat. Having said that, this is their first true road game and it is perhaps their biggest test of the season so far. And now having said that, while Utah is a perfect 6-0 at home, those were all buy games. This would be the most notable win of the year for the Utes so far if they can pull it off.

-COLORADO STATE AT COLORADO (Front Range). Colorado is off to a much better than expected start, but they still have a ton of work to do. A win in this one would certainly feel good and give them another momentum boost. Colorado State is a modest 5-3, but has nothing on their resume that’s as good as this win would be.

-NEW MEXICO STATE AT NEW MEXICO. This appears to be a mismatch. New Mexico has a nice win against UCLA and is well positioned to make a run at the NCAA Tournament, whereas New Mexico State is just 3-5 and seemingly in store for a very long year. But, this is a bitter rivalry and sometimes very strange things happen.

-NEVADA AT LMU. This is the first true road game for Nevada, and a good way for them to bounce back from the loss to Washington State earlier this week.

-KENTUCKY VS GONZAGA (Battle In Seattle). Both teams are in the top ten, and both have earned those rankings with some very big wins. Kentucky is coming off a tough loss at Clemson, and while this will be another tough environment, it’s not the same as actually going to Gonzaga’s campus. Having said that, Gonzaga is a legit Final Four caliber team. Playing them anywhere isn’t going to be easy. This will be a likely high quad-1 win for whichever team pulls it off, and it should be a blast to watch.

BUY GAMES (and other games of note):

-Boston College @ Wake Forest (ACC) – both have shown signs of life, but both still have a lot of work to do
-South Florida @ Loyola Chicago – a win for Loyola Chicago gets them to 8-0
-Southern Utah @ Arizona – Southern Utah is an impressive 8-2, but they’re likely way overmatched today
-Lehigh @ Dayton
-UTSA @ Arkansas
-Buffalo @ Saint Bonaventure – a win for the Bonnies gets them to 9-1
-Idaho @ Oregon State
-USC @ Washington (Big Ten) – both teams lost their conference openers and need to bounce back today
-East Tennessee State @ Wichita State – a win gets the Shockers to 8-1
-Mississippi Valley State @ Liberty
-Alcorn State @ Oklahoma
-Lindenwood @ Ole Miss
-Life Pacific (nonD1) @ Grand Canyon
-Utah Tech @ Utah State (Bee Hive)
-San Diego @ San Diego State – this is a rivalry, but only sort of. The Azetcs should roll.

NEWS AND NOTES:

For our latest UNDER THE RADAR VIDEO PODCAST – CLICK HERE

-For John Stalica’s UTR Game of the Day, which today is a special one – CLICK HERE

-Penn State beat Purdue 81-70 and at no point in that game were really having to sweat. The margin was actually a lot more than that for most of the second half. Purdue has now lost both of their true road games on the season so far, and they weren’t even remotely competitive in either game.

-Drake had to make some plays late in the game, but they managed the 66-60 win at Valpo in their conference opener, which keeps them undbeaten on the year.

-TCU bounced back from a stretch where they had lost 3 out of 4 and knocked off Xavier at home 76-72. TCU led for most of the game, but it was close all throughout and actually tied with less than a minute to go before TCU pulled it out. Xavier falls to 7-2 and is still in search of a marquee win.

-San Francisco absolutely dominated Saint Louis last night, especially in the second half. The final score was 78-61, but there were times the lead was much more than that. Coming into the year we were big on both of these teams. San Francisco has lived up to it, and Saint Louis clearly has not. SLU has barely looked like an NIT team so far.

-An Under the Radar note, a really nice win for UC San Diego who went into UC Santa Barbara and beat the Gouchos on the road 82-66. That improves UCSD to 7-2 on the year, and one of those losses came in the final seconds against San Diego State, so they are a team to keep an eye one.

-UC Irvine, who is also in the Big West, remains unbeaten after pulling away from Cal State Bakersfield late and securing an 82-66 win. UC Irvine strikes me as a solid top 40ish level team. If you’ve been watching Under the Radar, which is linked above, you already knew that.

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HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:

-GEORGETOWN AT WEST VIRGINIA. Georgetown is off to a 7-1 start, which is much better than what they’ve been in recent years, but this is their first real test of the season. West Virginia has looked much stronger than expected at 5-2 and has a really nice win against Gonzaga on their resume.

-NORTH TEXAS AT HIGH POINT. High Point is a strong UTR team and isn’t going to be easy to beat at home. North Texas is coming off a hard fought loss to Utah State and really needs this win on their resume. I think they’re good enough to build the kind of resume they need in March to be selected for the NCAA Tournament, but they need this road win on there to do it.

-ILLINOIS AT NORTHWESTERN (Big Ten). Northwestern is coming off a tough road loss to Iowa where they lost after a 3pt buzzer beating shot. They have a good team, but they don’t have any real wins of note yet. Beating Illinois, even thought it is a home game, would qualify as a big win. It’s also a rivalry game. As for the Illini, they’re coming off a nice win against Arkansas, but this is their first true road test.

-Miami OH @ Indiana – Miami OH is off to a decent start and IU has been somewhat disappointing, but the Hoosiers still appear to have the upper hand

NEWS AND NOTES:

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

-It’s not easy to win on the road. And last night, the top two ranked teams, both of whom deserved those rankings and I would argue still do, both lost road games.

-Creighton was a red-hot 41% from beyond the arc against Kansas last night and basically led them from tip to buzzer in their 76-63 win. Creighton had been struggling, so this goes a long way toward turning them around. It gives them a big win on their resume, but also serves to build up their confidence.

-Auburn played a really good and tough game at Duke, but just wasn’t quite strong enough to beat Duke at Duke and fell 84-78. Auburn could very possibly be the best and most battle-tested team of the year come March considering how strong their schedule is and how well they’ve done against it. This loss, while it was a missed opportunity at a massive win, doesn’t even qualify as a setback.

-Marquette, who is another highly ranked team that had won big games and earned the ranking, couldn’t quite get it done at Iowa State last night and fell 81-70. Similar to Auburn, this game hardly even qualifies as a setback. Failing to beat a top ten team in a true road game isn’t going to bother the committee, nor should it.

-Alabama DID pick up a massive road win as they held off North Carolina 94-79 and were basically in control for the entire game. This drops the Tarheels to 4-4 and extends their losing streak to three. While none of those losses are bad, they do need to bounce back. Fortunately for them their next two games appear to be very winnable.

-Oregon remains unbeaten as they picked up a 68-60 win at USC in their conference opener. This is now a Big Ten game and not a Pac 12 game, which still feels strange to say.

-UConn, who was still reeling and being hit with criticism after such a poor showing in Maui, had a nice win over Baylor last night 76-72. They needed this for their confidence and just for the satisfaction of getting the critics off their backs as much as they needed it for the quality win on their resume.

-Pittsburgh had looked fantastic on the year so far! And, last night….they did not look fantastic at all. They got absolutely boat-raced at Mississippi State, who we knew was good, but not so good that we thought they’d blow Pitt’s doors off 90-57.

-Columbia’s perfect season came ton and end last night, and the game wasn’t even competitive. Albany won 88-73, but for much of the game the lead was even bigger than that.

-DePaul’s perfect season also came to an end. They were actually competitive for a good portion of the game at Texas Tech, but ended up losing 76-62.

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HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:

-PURDUE AT PENN STATE (Big Ten). Both teams come in 7-1. Purdue’s profile is better, and they are coming off a real nice win against Ole Miss, the gap between the two teams may not be as big as the polls indicate. Purdue is also on the road, so it will be a bit of a test. It would be the first true road win of the season for the Boilers if they’re able to pick up the win.

-DRAKE AT VALPARAISO (Missouri Valley). Drake looks to remain unbeaten and inch closer to the rankings.

-XAVIER AT TCU. Xavier is coming off two back-to-back unimpressive performances where they were blown out by Michigan and barely beat South Carolina State. It’s their first road game of the year, but TCU hasn’t exactly set the world on fire either. They come into this one with back-to-back losses and are looking to bounce back from that.

-SAINT LOUIS AT SAN FRANCISCO. Saint Louis has gotten off to a slower start than what we were expecting, but this is a very tough road game against a San Francisco team that may be near the bubble themselves come March, so a win today would go a long way toward jumpstarting SLU’s season.

-CAL STATE BAKERSFIELD AT UC IRVINE (Big West). UC Irvine can improve to 9-0 on the season.