Hoops HD

NEWS AND NOTES

-For the latest Hoops HD Report Video Podcast – CLICK HERE

-No real huge surprises from yesterday.  Oklahoma looked like a top 25 team on the road against Kansas, but not like the #1 team, which is pretty much what it would have taken to get out of there with a win.  Still, it was a solid showing.

-Nevada stomped all over Utah State, which is probably their toughest competition in that conference.  They still have to play them again on the road, but it was a dominant showing.

-Texas Tech picked up a close road win at West Virginia to keep their momentum going.

-Maryland won a home thriller against Nebraska in a game that they really needed to pull out.

-Two notable results from the American were South Florida’s home win over UConn.  USF has played a light schedule, but they’re 11-2 on the year and are worth keeping an eye on.  UCF also picked up a nice and much needed home win against Temple in what was a very bubblicious game.

-Butler has looked awful over their last few games losing badly to Florida, and at home last night to Georgetown.  The Bulldogs are falling behind the pack need to string together several wins to put themselves back into the NCAA Tourney hunt.

-Speaking of not looking good, Kansas State was blasted at home by Texas last night.  K State really hasn’t looked all that impressive at any time this season.  Their two best wins are probably Penn and Missouri down in the Paradise Jam.

-Drake, the one team from the MVC we had been praising for the last couple of weeks,went on the road and lost to Evansville.

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES

-PENN STATE AT MICHIGAN (Big Ten).  Penn State has been one of the bigger disappointments of the year, and Michigan has been one of the bigger surprises.  The Wolverines are ranked 2nd in the nation and are right now playing in a way that could earn them a #1 seed.

-NC STATE AT MIAMI FL (ACC).  NC State is 12-1 and they have some nice wins on their resume, but they’re still looking for their first true road win of the season.  Miami FL has been a bit of a disappointment this year, but they have played well at home and will have the opportunity to turn their season around in conference play.

-ILLINOIS AT INDIANA (Big Ten).  Indiana is ranked in the top 25, and deservedly so.  They have a conference game that should end up looking a lot like a buy game.

-IOWA AT PURDUE (Big Ten).  Purdue is coming off one of their more impressive looking wins of the year after dominating a pretty good Belmont team, but they still have a lot of work to do.  I still believe the Boilers are better than what their current resume shows, but they have to start picking up quality wins.  They face an Iowa team that’s been somewhat impressive, but that’s still looking for their first true road win.

-MARSHALL AT OLD DOMINION (Conference USA).  This ODU team has some nice OOC wins, and if they can blow through Conference USA they should be right on the bubble.

-CHARLESTON AT TOWSON (Colonial).  Charleston will have to win out or come close to it, but if they do they could be flirting with the bubble.

-GEORGIA SOUTHERN AT TEXAS STATE (Sun Belt).  These are two of the better teams int he Sun Belt and it will be fun watching them square off early on in conference play.

-LOUISIANA TECH AT NORTH TEXAS (Conference USA).  Two of the stronger C-USA teams going at it.  North Texas only has one loss on the season, but they’ve played a rather weak schedule.  This is one of their tougher tests of the season so far even though they’re at home.

-MINNESOTA AT WISCONSIN (Big Ten).  Wisky is trying to rebound from a somewhat surprising road loss against Western Kentucky by knocking off a Big Ten rival.  Minney is 11-2 on the year and looking to pick up what would probably be their biggest win of the season so far.

-JACKSONVILLE STATE AT BELMONT.  Belmont’s margin for error is very thin, but if they can run the table in the OVC they should be inside the bubble going into Selection Sunday.

-COLORADO AT ARIZONA.  Speaking of razor thin margins for error, both these teams are on the outside looking in, and will remain there unless they can run through the Pac Twelve.

-SAINT MARY’S AT SAN FRANCISCO (West Coast).  San Francisco is coming off a somewhat surprising loss to UC Santa Barbara.  They’re still in position to play their way into the NCAA field, but they can’t afford to stub their toes in games like this.

-I don’t think this will end up impacting the NCAA Tournament’s at large field, but it’s a fun night in the SoCon with Samford visiting East Tennessee State and The Citadel traveling to Wofford.

NEWS AND NOTES

-Saint John’s blew past Marquette for what was easily their most impressive win of the year.  It was a home game, but the Johnnies still beat them rather convincingly.  We were skeptical of how good the Johnnies were despite the fact that they went undefeated in conference play.  With a close loss at Seton Hall at the buzzer, and a blowout win against Marquette, we are no longer skeptical

-We will be recording the Hoops HD Report tonight.  After this week we will be back on Monday nights for the rest of the season.

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES

-NEBRASKA AT MARYLAND (Big Ten).  Both teams have good records, and both have looked good at times, but both still have work to do.  Nebraska could use some more true road wins, and Maryland could use some more big wins.  It’ll be interesting to see what they do against each other.

-SETON HALL AT XAVIER (Big East).  Seton Hall is coming off an exciting win against Saint John’s, and has a lot of good wins this season so far.  Xavier has struggled all year, but they did look good in their road win against DePaul, and they’ve played well at home this year, so it won’t be a cakewalk for the Hall.

-TEXAS TECH AT WEST VIRGINIA (Big 12).  Texas Tech has looked fantastic this year, but I don’t think their resume is as quite as good as they are yet.  Picking this one up on the road should help a lot.

-TULANE AT CINCINNATI (American).  This is a conference game that will end up looking a lot like a buy game.

-TEMPLE AT UCF (American).  This is a bubblicious looking game for both of these teams.  Both have big records, but neither have a whole lot of big wins.  This is an opportunity with a sense of urgency for both these teams.

-GEORGETOWN AT BUTLER (Big East).  If either of these teams are going to reach the NCAA Tournament, then these are the kinds of games that they’re gonna need to be able to win.

-TULSA AT HOUSTON (American).  Tulsa is 10-3 and although they’ve been floating below the national radar, they come into this game with a ton of momentum and if they can somehow pull this off on the road it would certainly make a huge impression on the committee.  Houston has also been on a roll and looking to remain unbeaten.

NORTHWESTERN AT MICHIGAN STATE (Big Ten).  Northwestern has lost to Indiana, Michigan, and Oklahoma all in close games.  They don’t have any real wins of note yet, but are potentially much better than their resume.  A win in a game like this would change the entire complexion of their resume.  As for Michigan State, they look like a protected seeded caliber team and need to hold serve at home.

-UCONN AT SOUTH FLORIDA (American).  We’ve got both teams on the outside looking in, but both are having better years than expected, and both will certainly have the opportunities they need to play their way in.  IF South Florida pulls this off they’ll improve to 11-2.

-DEPAUL AT VILLANOVA (Big East).  Villanova appears to have fixed most of what’s wrong, and can play their way back up to a protected seed if they’re able to blow through the Big East like they have in recent years.

-OKLAHOMA AT KANSAS (Big 12).  Oklahoma has a really good record against a decent schedule, but this is by far their toughest test of the year so far, and it may be their toughest test all year by the end of the season.  Kansas is once again on pace to get a #1 seed and is probably expecting to pick this one up at home.

-IOWA STATE AT OKLAHOMA STATE (Big 12).  Iowa state is 10-2 on the year, and is looking to pick up their first conference win as well as their first true road win.

-TEXAS AT KANSAS STATE (Big 12).  Both teams have potential, and both will likely end up in the NCAA Tournament.  Texas has some big wins, but has also been kind of schizophrenic this year.  K State needs some more meet on their resume and the sooner they start strengthening it the better.

-FRESNO STATE AT SAN JOSE STATE (Mountain West).  Fresno State is off to a decent start, but has a very small margin for error.  Losing a game like this could totally sink them.

-UTAH STATE AT NEVADA (Mountain West).  These are two of the stronger teams in the MWC, but Nevada clearly appears to be the superior team and they’ve got the home court advantage.  Utah State is pretty good, though, and if they did pull off the upset it would be the signature win for the season and go a long way toward putting them in the tournament.

-Harvard @ North Carolina

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!  Well, the Athletic New Year was back in July, so nevermind.

-We did end the year with two rather big upsets.  Hartford won on the road at Boston College in overtime 79-78.  BC is 9-3 on the year, but two of those losses were home buy games.

The second game was a huge shocker.  Monmouth picked up their first win of the year at Penn.  Monmouth had not won a game all year, and was near the bottom of all div1 in nearly every metric ranking.  In rankings like the NET and JNG, the two teams were close to 300 spots apart.  That is a HUGE upset!!  And, I think it has doomed Penn to needing the automatic bid to make the NCAA Tournament.

-NJIT now has 7 true road wins, and is 12-3 on the season.  They had a nice win at Duquesne yesterday and are off to their best start ever since jumping to div1.

-Creighton picked up their biggest win of the year by winning at Providence.  It gives the Jays a much needed quality road win away from home, not to mention a conference win.

-NOTRE DAME AT VIRGINIA TECH (ACC).  Notre Dame has a fairly decent OOC profile, but they still have a lot of work to do to land inside the bubble.  Winning a game like this would jack their resume through the roof.

-MARQUETTE AT SAINT JOHN’S (Big East).  The Johnnies are coming off their first loss of the year, but it was perhaps their most impressive performance.  They at the buzzer against a very good Seton Hall team on the road.  They’re at home tonight against a Marquette team that’s looked as strong as anyone in the Big East this year, but that’s still looking for their first true road win.

-Winthrop @ Florida State
-Cal State Fullerton @ Washington