Hoops HD

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

For John Stalica’s UTR Game of the Day between Louisiana and Louisiana Tech – CLICK HERE

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES

-MISSISSIPPI STATE VS KANSAS STATE (Newark, NJ).  Both these teams have potential, but both also have a lot of work to do and both could really use this win.

-OREGON AT MICHIGAN.  Both teams are in the rankings, and it wouldn’t shock me at all if both ended up with protected seed.  Having said that, as great as Michigan looked down in the Bahamas, they have struggled a little since they’ve gotten back and could really use a win in a game like this to help get that momentum back.  Oregon has some good wins under their belt, but this would probably be their biggest if they’re able to pull it off because it’s a true road game.

-MICHIGAN STATE AT OAKLAND.  This game is in Detroit, and although it’s a “road” game for Michigan State, it will not be like a typical road game.

-SYRACUSE AT GEORGETOWN.  It’s the old flagship Big East Rivalry!!  In a non-Big East game, but an important game nonetheless.  Georgetown has actually had a really good week on the court, especially when you consider how rough it has been for them off the court.  They’ve been playing like a tournament team and their resume is starting to show it.  Syracuse still has a lot of work to do, but a road win against a rival in a game like this can go a long way.

-TULSA AT ARKANSAS.  Both teams have bloated records, but I’m not really sold on either one of them yet.  Still, it’s a good opportunity for both teams and it’s definitely a game worth paying attention to.

-DELAWARE VS VILLANOVA (Newark, NJ).  This is a essentially a buy game even though being played on a neutral court.  Delaware is coming in 9-1 (albeit against a weak schedule) and Nova hasn’t exactly looked like world-beaters, we will go ahead and highlight it.  It’s an opportunity for Delaware, and it’s a game where Nova needs to hold serve.

-ALABAMA AT PENN STATE.  Penn State is coming off a huge win against Maryland and should be able to keep that momentum going against an Alabama team that has struggled, but that also appears to be getting better.

-DUQUESNE AT RADFORD.  Duquesne can improve to 10-0 with a win.

-MEMPHIS AT TENNESSEE.  This is a fun cross-state rivalry that has suddenly built up some heat.  Both teams are ranked, both are likely to land in the top half of the bracket, and it’s a resume building opportunity for both teams.  This one really should be a fun one.

-AIR FORCE AT DENVER (Front Range).  Neither of these teams will be anywhere close to a postseason tournament, but we at Hoops HD love the Front Range!!

-UCLA AT NOTRE DAME.  Right now, it looks as though both teams will end up on the outside looking in.  Both have a ton of work to do, perhaps more than they are capable of doing, and a win today would certainly help.

-SAINT LOUIS AT AUBURN.  SLU has a solid record, but they haven’t been tested like they’re going to be today.  Auburn is still unbeaten and has some solid wins on their resume.  They should be able to hold serve at home.

-SETON HALL AT RUTGERS.  Seton Hall has had their struggles this year, and Rutgers has shown they are improving and can be tough to beat at home, but Seton Hall still looks like the superior team.  It is a rivalry game, though, so it should be fun.

-XAVIER AT WAKE FOREST.  This appears to be a winnable road game for Xavier, and it would be their first of the year if they’re able to pick it up.

-GEORGIA TECH AT KENTUCKY.  This is the kind of game where you would expect Kentucky to be able to hold serve.  We are going into the winter break.  This is typically when Kentucky starts to kick it into gear.

-CHARLESTON AT RICHMOND.  We thought Charleston would be one of the better teams in the CAA this year, and they still could be, but they’ve struggled so far.  Richmond is putting together a rather impressive resume.  A win today will get them to 9-1 on the year.

-SACRAMENTO STATE AT SANTA CLARA.  This is a very intriguing UTR game between a Sac State team that only has one loss, and a Santa Clara team that’s 9-2 and has shown drastic improvements in recent years.

-LOUISIANA AT LOUISIANA TECH.  Another fun UTR rivalry game.  LA Tech already has a nice win against Mississippi State and they should be able to hold serve at home today.

-SAN FRANCISCO AT CAL STATE FULLERTON.  San Francisco is off to a very respectable 8-2 start and this should be a winnable road game for them.

-WINTHROP AT FURMAN.  A fun UTR regional match-up that should end up being a very winnable game for a really good Furman team.

-OKLAHOMA AT WICHITA STATE.  I really like this Wichita State team and think they’ll end up in the top 25 some time in the near future.  Oklahoma is good, but this is the kind of game that the Shockers should be able to win at home.

-DRAKE AT DAYTON.  This is a buy game, and it could very well end up looking like a buy game, but Drake does come into this one at a very respectable 8-2 and has an opportunity to make a huge statement.

-NEW MEXICO STATE AT NEW MEXICO.  This is Round 2 of this annual home and home.  New Mexico has a respectable 9-2 record, but will need some meat on their resume before we start taking them too seriously.  New Mexico State has improved some, but is still dealing with injuries.  It will be very difficult for them to get this one on the road.

-STANFORD AT SAN JOSE STATE.  A rather strange, but very winnable, road game for the Stanford Cardinal who can improve to 9-1 with a win.

-UTAH STATE VS BYU (Salt Lake City, UT).  It’s a rivalry game, and it’s an important game between two teams that are good, but who need to build up their resumes and only have so many chances to get quality wins.  That’s what’s at stake today, so this one means a lot both on and off paper.

-GEORGIA AT ARIZONA STATE.  Georgia is off to a respectable 6-2 start, but they don’t have a win like this on their resume yet.  If they can get this one, then we will sit up and take notice.  Arizona State is good, but at this point their resume could still use some work.

-LIBERTY AT VANDERBILT.  Liberty is unbeaten, and although they are from a UTR conference they still appear to be the better team and should be able to get this win on the road.

-STONY BROOK AT PROVIDENCE.  This is a buy game, but we highlight it because this is another game where Providence does not want to overlook their opponents.

-NORTHERN COLORADO AT WYOMING (Front Range).  Both of these teams are terrible, but we highlight this game anyway because we at Hoops HD love the Front Range!!

-GONZAGA AT ARIZONA.  This is usually a fantastic match-up, and it should be again this year.  Both teams are in the rankings, both are fighting for protected seeds, and this would be a high caliber win for whichever team pulls it out.

-SAINT MARY’S AT CALIFORNIA.  Many think SMC is a tournament caliber team, and they very well could be, but if they are then this is the kind of road game that they need to be able to win.

BUY GAMES

-Eastern Kentucky @ Louisville
-Southern @ Butler
-UIC @ DePaul
-Nicholls @ West Virginia – Nicholls has had some good moments, so WVU shouldn’t entirely overlook them
-Central Michigan @ Texas – CMU has a good record. If they win this, then we’ll talk
-Lamar @ TCU
-Middle Tennessee @ Ole Miss
-Weber State vs Utah (Salt Lake City)
-UMKC @ Kansas
-Arkansas Pine Bluff @ Oregon State
-Old Dominion @ Illinois
-Colgate @ Cincinnati – Colgate is the favorite out of the Patriot League. Cincinnati better not overlook them.
-UL Monroe @ SFA