Hanging with the Hoyas: Part 3

Posted on December 4, 2018 by Jon Teitel

HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel will spend the upcoming months covering several Georgetown basketball home games, with a very special reward coming in March. Part 1 of his series featured Central Connecticut State (https://hoopshd.com/2018/11/11/hanging-with-the-hoyas-part-1) and Part 2 featured Richmond (https://hoopshd.com/2018/11/30/hanging-with-the-hoyas-part-2). Part 3 was a Monday night visit to DC by the Liberty Flames for the schools’ 2nd meeting all-time:

The pregame media room meal switched back to make-your-own tacos (muy bien) but the chocolate chip brownie for dessert was the star of the show! Okay Coach Ewing: let’s see what holiday gift you have in store for the 4000 and change in attendance (WHY did they schedule a 6:30PM tipoff in DC on the same night as a Redskins-Eagles Monday Night Football game that is right before final exams?!):

Like most fans the majority of my attention is focused on the offensive end of the court during a game but I could not help but notice Liberty’s defense (which began the night #6 in the nation by allowing only 56.1 PPG). Coach Ritchie McKay learned all about the “pack line” defense as an assistant coach to Tony Bennett at Virginia, and his team kept giving the Hoyas’ big men fits all night. Every time an entry pass was sent into the low post there would be an immediate double-team in an attempt to force guys like 6’10” Jessie Govan/6’9” Trey Mourning to fire the ball back out to a guard on the perimeter.

Speaking of offense, Liberty was dominant in transition (15-3 edge in points off turnovers) while Georgetown hit the offensive boards time after time (9-0 edge in 2nd-chance points) which explained how even the game was in the 1st 20 minutes (Georgetown led 40-38 at halftime).

It was still a 5-PT game early in the 2nd half before the Hoyas put together a 22-4 run to make it 71-48 with just under 10 minutes to go thanks to FR PG James Akinjo: he only had 1 assist in the 2nd stanza but scored 14 of his game-high 19 PTS via a couple of threes, a tough bank shot, a pretty spin resulting in a layup, and a step-back jumper. He has only played college basketball for 1 month but he always seems like the fastest guy on the court and is already the best FT shooter on the team:

I think I finally discovered his secret: when everyone else jumps to attention after coming back from a TV timeout, he remains seated in his chair right there on the court to take advantage of every single second of rest he can get before standing up:

Govan continued to look like the Big East player of the year: 17 PTS (including 2-2 3PM)/10 REB in an efficient 31 minutes:

However, Liberty’s Scottie James middle name must be “Efficient”: entering the game with a conference-best 71.7 FG% and coming off a career-high 17-REB effort in a win over Georgia State on Saturday, he continued to impress with a team-high 18 PTS on 7-9 FG. He is 6’8” but can do damage both inside and out: reverse pivots, a Dream Shake series of fakes that led to an easy layup, and even a pair of 3-PT shots. However, not even Scottie Pippen could help a mid-major team pull off a road upset of a Big East team when the home team has a 29-5 advantage in getting to the FT line.

When you combine that with Georgetown’s insane 11-18 3PM, it is easy to see why the Hoyas won the game 88-78. In the postgame press conference we received 2 injury updates from Coach Ewing:

I had noticed a boot on the left foot of NC State transfer Omer Yurtseven during a mid-game huddle. Someone else raised the issue and Ewing said that it was just a sprained ankle:

SR Greg Malinowski hurt his left knee late in the 2nd half and limped over to the bench so that the trainer could take a look while he grimaced through the pain:

He went to the locker room, and returned to the bench a few minutes later with some padding around his knee. I inquired about an update and Ewing said that Malinowski had just banged knees with someone and should be ready for the big rivalry game at Syracuse on Saturday. I also asked Coach McKay about James’ unique skill set: he responded that his JR PF was “relentless, a pursuer of improvement”, and that he was blessed to have such a great player:

I finished the night by seeing how the 3-PT shot fit into Govan’s offensive game plan after not making any during the previous 2 games: he said (on the right) that it is just a matter of Ewing “giving him the freedom to take it when he has a good look”.  He gets his feet set/takes the shot/tries to knock it down…which he usually does (10-21 3PM this season!):

That’s all for now, check back in the weeks ahead for Part 4.

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News, Notes, and Highlighted Games: Tuesday, Dec 4th

Posted on December 4, 2018 by David Griggs

NEWS AND NOTES

-For our latest Hoops HD Report Podcast – CLICK HERE

-Just a few days ago I had praised Iowa for how well they’d played this season, particularly at MSG where they beat Oregon and UConn.  They’ve now lost their first two Big Ten games.  Both were tall orders, and the game at UConn over the weekend was really exciting.  Last night’s game at Michigan State was not.  I believe the Spartans led by as much as 30 at one point.  Oh well, moving on to another team that I also spoke highly of, particularly after a close road loss at Iowa…

-Pittsburgh, after having one of the worst seasons for any P5 team in recent memory a year ago, ran out to a 6-0 start and collected a nice win against Saint Louis.  They went down swinging at Iowa, and then blew out a Duquesne team that was having a much better than normal season.  Then they had an easy game last night against Niagara.  AND THEY LOST!!!  They trailed by double digits late in the game, and came back to have a chance to win, but couldn’t get it done.  This is all kinds of shocking.  Some of these UTR teams are a lot better than people realize.  Niagara is not one of those teams.  They came into the game at 2-4, and had home losses to Grambling and Saint Francis Brooklyn.  By all accounts they played in a bad league, and were not expected to do well in that bad league.  But, last night they won at Pitt.  Did Kevin Stallings buy a ticket?  That’s the only explanation.

 

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES

-FURMAN AT ELON (SoCon0.  Furman has cracked the top 25, but they really had to sweat out Western Carolina in their conference opener last week, so I’m not gonna just take it for granted that they’re gonna win this one easily.

-OKLAHOMA VS NOTRE DAME (Jimmy V Classic).  Both teams have bloated records, but neither has really impressed me all that much yet.  That being said, you can’t just overlook that both are coming in with just one loss and that this would be a notable win (at least for now) for whichever team pulls it off.

-MIAMI FL AT PENN.  Miami already has one loss to an Ivy League tema and is trying to avoid losing their third game in a row.  This game won’t be easy.  Penn is tough this year, and they should have a nice crowd tonight at home.

-INDIANA AT PENN STATE (Big Ten).  Indiana is coming off an exciting home win against Northwestern, but has a tall order tonight against a Penn State team that we still think has a high ceiling, but that hasn’t really played up to it yet.  They’re coming off a loss and are looking to pick up a conference win at home.

-PROVIDENCE AT BOSTON COLLEGE.  These two old Big East rivals go at it tonight, and it’s a win that both teams could really use.  BC has just one loss, but this would probably be one of their best wins of the season so far.  Providence is playing in their first true road game and this is a win that would look pretty good both on and off paper.

-RADFORD AT JAMES MADISON.  Radford is 6-1 with road wins at Notre Dame and Texas.  This would be their fourth true road win of the season if they’re able to pull it off.

-NORTHERN KENTUCKY AT CINCINNATI.  Very interesting storyline to this game.  The two schools are in different states, but I believe are actually less than eight miles apart.  Cincinnati played their home games at NKU last year while their arena was being renovated.  NKU comes into this game with just one loss, and has looked really good in their last couple of games, so they will definitely be playing with confidence.  If they were to pull this off it’s the kind of win that would make the committee sit up and take notice.

-WOFFORD AT KANSAS.  This is a buy game, and Kansas should win rather easily, but Wofford is a very good UTR team.  I’d say they’re a lot better than the Stanford team that just took Kansas to overtime.

-CAMPBELL AT ABILENE CHRISTIAN.  You know what?  We will highlight this.  Why the hell not.  Abilene Christian comes into this game with just one loss and has been one of the more surprising UTR teams this year.  Campbell has an NBA caliber player in Chris Clemons, so they are always fun to watch, and the Camels are looking for their first road win.

-LIPSCOMB AT BELMONT.  The Battle of the Boulevard!!!!!  Part Two!!!  Belmont is coming off a rather surprising loss (at least to me) to Green Bay.  They are still a very strong team that actually won at Lipscomb earlier this season.  Lipscomb has wins at TCU and SMU under their belt.  Their only loss was that home game to Belmont that was previously mentioned, so they will be looking for a bit of revenge tonight.  This is always a fun game to watch.  It’s definitely worth tuning in to.

-MICHIGAN AT NORTHWESTERN (Big Ten).  Michigan has been destroying the planet this year, and that could very easily continue tonight against a decent but not great Northwestern team.

-SOUTH DAKOTA STATE AT MEMPHIS.  We were big on South Dakota State coming into this season, and have been pretty hard on them after they dropped the two games in Florida, but other than the one bad week they’ve looked pretty good.  If they play up to their capabilities, this game is not out of reach.

-NEW MEXICO AT NEW MEXICO STATE.  Can New Mexico complete the sweep and improve to a rather impressive 7-1 on the year?  New Mexico’s only loss was to New Mexico State and they’ve won two true road games, so I wouldn’t completely count them out.

-FLORIDA VS WEST VIRGINIA (Jimmy V Classic).  Both teams had expectations coming into the year, and as of now neither has really played up to them.  This game kind of has a sense of urgency to it because both teams really need a win of note on their resume.

 

BUY GAMES

-New Hampshire @ Seton Hall
-Northeastern @ Syracuse
-Saint Peter’s @ Clemson
-Winthrop @ Davidson
-Detroit @ Dayton
-Fordham @ Maine – you may not realize this, but a win will get Fordham to 7-1
-UNC Asheville @ Auburn
-McNeese @ Mississippi State
-Lamar @ Houston
-Georgia State @ Alabama
-UT Arlington at Missouri
-UTEP @ Marquette
-South Dakota @ Colorado

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The Hoops HD Report: December 3rd

Posted on December 3, 2018 by David Griggs

Chad and the panel review a very busy and eventful week in college basketball.  The ACC/Big Ten Challenge produced some great games, and conference play is underway in the Big Ten, and we look at the success that both those leagues are having.  We also look at the Pac Twelve and Big East and look at some of the struggles those two leagues are having.  The Atlantic Ten continues to disappoint, and we look at whether or not Saint Louis can earn an at-large bid.  And last but not least, we look at Buffalo and Furman, who are both in the Top 25.  All that, and much more!!

…and for all you radio lovers out there, below is an mp3 version of the show…

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Puppet’s Bracket Projections: Dec 3rd (and other News and Notes)

Posted on December 3, 2018 by David Griggs

As I do every week, I’d like to emphasize that this is a CHECKPOINT on CURRENT MERIT.  This is not a prediction of what I think the bracket will look like in March, nor is it based on how good I think the teams actually are.  For instance, I think Furman is having a great year, and is a good team.  They’re unbeaten, they have big wins against Villanova and Loyola Chicago, and they’re now ranked in the Top 25.  I do not think they’ll end up as a protected seed, but as of now, at this moment in time, none of the teams that I have on the lower seed lines have done more than they have, and until they do I’m going to keep Furman seeded ahead of them.

OTHERS CONSIDERED: DePaul, Georgetown, Liberty, UCF, Indiana, Clemson, Notre Dame, Colorado, Purdue, TCU, Washington, VCU, UNC Greensboro

 

NOTES ON THE BRACKET

-Michigan is my overall #1 seed, and it’s kind of hard to have anyone else there.  They have not one, but three blowout wins against good teams, and one of those was away from home against Villanova.  While the single most impressive win of the year probably belongs to Gonzaga, I still think Michigan’s overall resume is better for now.  Or, maybe not.  At this time of year we’re really just splitting hairs anyway, and this is more of an exercise in evaluating teams than it is in determining their overall potential value.

-I don’t think Radford will end up in the top half of the bracket, but for now there just isn’t anyone on the lower seedlines that has done more than they have.

-I really like this Utah State team.  They absolutely blew UC Irvine’s doors off this past weekend, and I know on the surface that may not sound like much, but UCI is a good team that has already won some big games and is tough to beat at home.  Utah State also has another nice win against Saint Mary’s, and their only loss was a close game (I know they came from behind, but still) to unbeaten Arizona State.

-People who have followed us for a while know that I’ve got a heavy hand when it comes to pouring drinks, and to rewarding wins away from home.  Perhaps I put a little too much emphasis on it, especially when you consider what the actual committee has done in recent years (although my brackets are what I think SHOULD happen, not what I think the committee will do).  This bracket is no exception.  I know UCLA just beat LMU rather badly, but it was at home, and LMU has some nice wins away from home, which is why I have them where I do.

 

COMMENTS FROM HOOPS HD STAFF

Coming Soon….

 

TONIGHT’S ACTION

-IOWA AT MICHIGAN STATE (Big Ten).  This is a conference game between two top twenty teams that already have some nice wins on their resume and that have earned their rankings.  This would be another nice resume win for whoever pulls it off.

-LIBERTY AT GEORGETOWN.  This is a buy game, but this Liberty team is better than what you may think.  They’re probably overmatched tonight, but the Hoyas better not overlook them.

-RUTGERS AT WISCONSIN (Big Ten).  Rutgers is getting better as a program, but they’ve still got a ways to go and appear to be overmatched tonight.

-TEXAS SOUTHERN AT GEORGIA.  Dare I say upset alert?  This Texas Southern team has two really nice road wins already, and no bad losses, and as a result are actually currently inside my bubble in the bracket above. Georgia isn’t all that good, so TX Southern really has a chance to pick up yet another true road win against a P5 team.

-Morgan State @ Virginia
-Troy @ Florida State
-Niagara @ Pittsburgh
-North Dakota State @ Iowa State
-Florida A&M @ DePaul

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News, Notes, and Highlighted Games: Sunday, Dec 2

Posted on December 2, 2018 by David Griggs

NEWS AND NOTES

-It was an exciting day of hoops action even though most of the final results weren’t all that cataclysmic.

-Gonzaga trailed Creighton at the half in an arena that was going berserk, but came back to get the win and actually pulled away at the end.

-UNC Greensboro was right with Kentucky until the under 8 timeout in the second half, and then UK finally blew it open in the final minutes.  The game was a lot more exciting than what the score indicated.

-Kansas needed overtime to get past a Stanford team that we all thought was asleep.  They looked good yesterday though.  I thought we were one again in for a year where Kansas was going to be better on the road than at home.

-Michigan blew out Purdue.  That’s the third top 20 team they’ve blown out this year.

-Marquette got it done in a big way against a very good Kansas State team that pick up a win that will look good on paper, but also be good for their mental health.

-Oregon lost their second game in a row as Houston picked up the big win.  They trailed by 20 at Houston late in the first half, but came storming back late in the game.  They couldn’t quite get over the top, though.

-Texas Tech trailed Memphis for most of the game down in Miami, but came from behind late and picked up the win to stay unbeaten.

-Buffalo is also unbeaten after knocking off previously unbeaten San Francisco over in Ireland 85-81.  The Hall of Fame Classic over in Belfast gave us three boring games, and one really good one.

-Villanova trailed La Salle by 12 late in the first half, and didn’t get control of the game until the final minute or so.  La Salle is now 0-8.  Losing this game would have been rather damaging for Nova.

-Saint John’s continues to not play the type of basketball that knocks me off my feet, but they’ve still won every game they’ve played.  They came from behind to beat Georgia Tech yesterday.

-Indiana knocked off Northwestern in a Big Ten thriller in a game that came down to the final seconds.  Both these teams have looked a lot better than they did a year ago.

-Perhaps the most exciting game of the day was Furman’s double overtime win against Western Carolina in their conference opener.  Western Carolina just isn’t that good, and it would have been really damaging had Furman not managed to get that win at home.

-Belmont suffered their first loss of the year in a rather surprising result at Green Bay.  That’s a bit of an unexpected setback for the Bruins.

-Yale got the win against Miami FL in the Air Force Reserve Hoophall Miami Invitational, or whatever the hell they’re calling it.  The Canes had a home loss to Rutgers, and a mostly home loss to Yale.  They’ve certainly had better weeks.

-Utah State absolutely blew out UC Irvine on the road yesterday.  I think this was one of the more surprising results of the day.  It’s not just that Utah State won, but that they blew a really good UC Irvine team out of their own arena.  Utah State is now 7-1 with a couple of decent wins on that resume.

 

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES

-ARIZONA AT UCONN.  Both teams are off to very solid starts, and at this point seem to be on a trajectory that is much higher than where I thought they’d be at the beginning of the year.  This would be a really nice win on Arizona’s resume, and it would be a big win for a UConn team that’s looking to keep their momentum going.

-UCF AT MISSOURI.  After suffering a somewhat surprising loss to FAU earlier this year, UCF has looked really good.  This is their first true road game of the season, and it comes against a Missouri team that has been disappointing for most of the year.

-ILLINOIS AT NEBRASKA (Big Ten).  This is the early season conference opener for both teams.  Nebraska clearly looks like the superior team and can improve to 7-1 on the year.

MINNESOTA AT OHIO STATE (Big Ten).  Both teams come into this game at 6-1.  Ohio State is looking to bounce back from the somewhat surprising home loss to Syracuse earlier this week, and Minnesota is looking for what would be their biggest win of the year up to this point.

-UC SANTA BARBARA AT WASHINGTON .  UCSB comes into this game with just one loss.  Washington is a solid 5-2, but still doesn’t seem like they’ve played up to the ceiling that we think they’ll hit this year.  They don’t want to overlook UCSB in this one.

-LMU AT UCLA.  This is the game of the night.  UCLA is a modest 5-2, but needs some big wins on their resume before we can genuinely be excited about them.  LMU comes in at 8-0 and has looked pretty good, but this is by far their biggest test of the season so far.

 

-TAMUCC @ Tennessee
-Oral Roberts @ SMU

Posted in Daily Rundown, News and Notes | Comments Off on News, Notes, and Highlighted Games: Sunday, Dec 2

News, Notes, and Highlighted Games: Saturday, December 1st

Posted on December 1, 2018 by David Griggs

NEWS AND NOTES

-The Big Ten officially got underway tonight.  They start early now that they’ve extended their schedule.  Wisconsin and Iowa was a top 25 match-up that did not disappoint as Wisky got yet another huge road win on their resume.  Seeing as how Iowa was ranked #14th this is easily their best win of the season so far.  Wisky is one of those unranked and un-hyped preseason teams that is now climbing pretty high in the rankings now that the season is underway.  And for that matter, so is Iowa.  And, so is Texas!!  But, about that…

-The biggest headlines of the night probably belong to Radford, who went into Texas and came out with a huge road win.  It was close the entire way, and Radford actually had a bit of a lead built up that Texas chipped away at, but couldn’t quite get over the hump.  Radford had a win earlier this season at Notre Dame.  That win was big because anytime a UTR team can beat a brand name P5 team on the road it’s a big deal, but so far Notre Dame has looked like an NIT team at best.  Texas was ranked in the top 20, and had absolutely earned that ranking, so this was a huge win for Radford.  As far as them landing inside the bubble, we’ve still got a long way to go, but it’s possible.

-Mississippi State had a nice come from behind victory at Dayton.  The Flyers are in trouble.  They could end up totally crushing the Atlantic Ten, but because the league is so weak this year they’d still be lacking notable wins.  They really needed this one tonight.

 

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES

We have 16 solid hours of basketball today starting at 8am!!  I really wish Hawaii was playing at home tonight, because that would have extended it to 18 hours!!  Today is jam packed, and pretty much every Saturday for the rest of the year will be like this!!

-BUFFALO VS SAN FRANCISCO (Basketball Hall of Fame Belfast Classic).  At the beginning of the season I would have never circled this match-up, but with an unbeaten and nationally ranked Buffalo team taking on an unbeaten San Francisco team that’s looking for it’s first really nice win, this is now a highlighted game.  Should be fun!

-SAINT JOHN’S VS GEORGIA TECH (Game in Miami FL).  The Johnnies come into this game without a loss, and although none of those wins have me jumping up and down, a few of them have been decent, and they have won it all.

-LOUISVILLE AT SETON HALL.  We’ve seen Louisville play well against good teams this year, and earlier this week we saw them pick up a big home win against Michigan State.  This is their first true road game of the season.  Seton Hall has been up and down as well, but they’re coming off of three strait wins out at the Wooden Classic, so they have some momentum built up.

-UNC GREENSBORO AT KENTUCKY.  This UNCG team is a lot better than what most people realize, and this Kentucky team is highly talented, but that has been sleepwalking a little bit this season.  It is a very intriguing match-up.  As excited as everyone is about Wofford, UNCG won the SoCon last year and returned most of their key players.  Their only loss was a close one to LSU, so Kentucky better not overlook them.

-NORTHWESTERN AT INDIANA (Big Ten).  Indiana got dump-trucked in their last game against Duke, but that’s perhaps not even discouraging.  They’ve played pretty well in all their other games, and should be tested by a Northwestern team that’s off to a 6-1 start.  I think both teams are looking to make a statement, and this is an opportunity.

-GONZAGA AT CREIGHTON.  Gonzaga has looked like the best team in the country despite the fact that a key player in injured, and Creighton has looked pretty good.  It’s a huge home game for the Bluejays and it should be a great atmosphere.

-KANSAS STATE AT MARQUETTE.  Marquette has looked decent this year, but they are still a long way from reaching their ceiling.  A win over a highly ranked team would be a huge step forward.  K State comes into this game at 6-0, but this is their first true road game and probably their biggest test of the year.

-TEXAS TECH VS MEMPHIS (Game in Miami FL0.  Texas Tech is good, and Memphis isn’t good yet, but probably will be soon.  The Red Raiders, who once again started the season with almost no hype at all, are out to a 6-0 start and are currently ranked #20th.  Expect that ranking to continue to climb.

-VILLANOVA VS LA SALLE (Big Five, Game at the Palestra).  Villanova is ranked in the top 25!!  Villanova is the defending National Champion!!  La Salle….is…..playing Villanova today!!!

-COLORADO STATE AT COLORADO (Front Range).  We at Hoops HD love the Front Range!!!  And, let’s not overlook this Colorado team.  They’re off to a 4-1 start and knocking off their rivals at home will certainly help build up that momentum even more.

-SAN DIEGO STATE AT ILLINOIS STATE (MWC/MVC Challenge).  Both teams need this win.  Both are off to decent starts at best, but that’s all you can say about them.  It doesn’t feel like they’re caught up with the pack of teams that will compete for spots in the NCAA Tournament, and whoever loses this game will be even further behind.

-SAVANNAH STATE AT GARDNER WEBB.  THE TEAM OF THE PEOPLE!!!!!!  They have what we feel is a winnable road game, which would keep them at the top of the MEAC for most current div1 OOC wins.

-PURDUE AT MICHIGAN (Big Ten).  Purdue is coming off a very close loss at Florida State, but still appears to be very good.  Michigan is coming off an anything-but-close win against North Carolina.  They are breathing fire right now with two blowout wins against ranked teams on their resume, and as good as Purdue is, they may end up getting blown out as well.

-LOYOLA CHICAGO AT UIC.  A bit of a desperation game here for Loyola.  They’re a modest 4-3 on the season and really need to get their motor started if they want to land inside the bubble.  Today’s game is winnable, but it’s not a cakewalk.  UIC is unbeaten at home, and they’ll be up for this one seeing as how Loyola was in the Final Four last year.

-NEVADA AT USC.  USC is good.  USC is not usually an easy place to win.  Their problem is that Nevada is AWESOME.  Nevada is ranked #5th, and although I personally do not feel they are the fifth best team in the country, I do feel they are one of the ten best teams in the country.  They can remain unbeaten and pick up their second true road win today.

-PENN STATE AT MARYLAND (Big Ten).  This is going to be a good one.  Penn State is coming off a huge home win against a very good Virginia Tech team….but that was at home.  They’re walking into a snake pit today to take on a Maryland team that isn’t easy to beat at home.  They’re also looking to rebound from a home loss against a very good Virginia team.

-TULSA AT UTAH.  I highlight this because of Tulsa wins this game and gets to 6-2 with a road win like this on their resume, we will sit up and take notice.

-VANDERBILT VS NC STATE (Game in Miami FL).  Both teams come in with just one loss, and both have exceeded any preseason expectations they may have had.  I wouldn’t be at all surprised if both these teams ended up in the NCAA Tournament, and that this turns out to be a resume building game for whoever wins it.

-RHODE ISLAND AT PROVIDENCE.  We LOVE this rivalry!  It is far more intense than what anyone outside the state of Rhode Island realizes, and many of the recent games have been close, hard fought, and fun to watch!  The problem is that there is absolutely no indication at all that this year’s edition will look like that.  Rhody is not good.  In fact, they’re bad.  Providence is decent now, and will likely continue to improve.  It may be rather lopsided.

-BUTLER AT SAINT LOUIS.  This is an important game for SLU.  They are one of the few A10 teams that looks like they might be an NCAA Tournament team.  If they are, then they should be expected to be able to beat top 40 teams at home.  I’m not even sure if Butler is a top 40 team, but what I do know is that if SLU really is a tournament caliber team then this is the kind of game they need to be able to win.  Butler only has one loss, but they don’t have anything on their resume that really wows me yet.  A win today would change that.

-STANFORD AT KANSAS.  This isn’t a buy game, but Kansas is one of the two best teams in the country and Stanford….isn’t.  It may end up looking like a buy game before it’s over.

-TEMPLE AT SAINT JOSEPH’S (Big Five).  Temple is 6-1, and while they don’t have any huge wins yet, they have shown some potential.  A road win against a Big Five rival will at least keep their momentum going.

-GEORGIA STATE AT LIBERTY.  This is a really fun UTR game that we are going to go ahead and highlight.  It’s unlikely that either team will be inside the bubble, but we may see one or both teams in the NCAA Tournament with auto-bids.  Georgia State is off to an impressive start, and Liberty comes into this with just one loss.

-LIPSCOMB AT MIDDLE TENNESSEE.  This game isn’t nearly as intriguing as it would have been a year ago.  Lipscomb clearly looks like the superior team, and they’re going after their fourth road win of the season and trying to improve to 6-1 on the year.

-CINCINNATI AT UNLV.  Cincinnati is probably a tournament team.  They may be good enough to be wearing white in the Round of 64 as the better seeded team.  UNLV has a nice brand name, but this year’s team is terrible.  It’s never easy to win true road games, but right now I’d say a UNLV win would be more of an indictment on Cincinnati than it would be a quality win for Vegas.

-NORTHERN COLORADO AT WYOMING (Front Range).  We at Hoops HD love the Front Range!!  And….this is a Front Range game!!  Ummm…Northern Colorado is kind of a surprise team in the Big Sky that can improve to 5-1 and pick up their third road win.  That’s all I got.  Sorry.

-EAST TENNESSEE STATE AT WOFFORD (SoCon).  A really good early season Under the Radar game between two of the better teams in the SoCon.  It’s a conference game, so this one counts!!

-NEW MEXICO AT BRADLEY (MWC/MVC Challenge).  Both teams have a lot of work to do, but if they can put together a long string of wins they will end up getting the attention of the committee.

-FIU AT ARKANSAS.  FIU is off to a very surprising 7-1 start, but they’ve not played in a game that will test them anywhere close to as much as this one will today.  Arkansas has just one loss on the year, and that was an overtime game against a Texas team that is currently in the rankings, so chances are they’re going to end up being a lot better than what many of us were expecting.

-BAYLOR AT WICHITA STATE.  Both teams are off to a slow start and both have a lot of ground to make up.  That gives this game kind of a pivotal feel even though it’s still early.

-OREGON AT HOUSTON.  Houston is unbeaten, but for the most part also untested.  There still doesn’t appear to be that much buzz around the program, but that may start to change if they’re able to win this one.  Oregon is still in the rankings, but after their loss to Texas Southern earlier this week that may not last for much longer, especially if they drop this game as well.

-NORTHERN IOWA VS SOUTH DAKOTA STATE (Game in Minneapolis).  South Dakota State is almost out of strikes.  They basically need to win out or come close to it in order to get inside the bubble.

-WASHINGTON STATE AT NEW MEXICO STATE.  Both teams come into this game with just one loss, but New Mexico State has looked like the more impressive team so far.  I’m still not all that big on Wazzu, but my opinion will certainly change if they’re able to win this one.

-BYU AT WEBER STATE.  This could be a tough road test for BYU against a Weber State team that comes in at 4-2 and could make some noise in the Big Sky.

-TEXAS SOUTHERN AT ARIZONA STATE.  With wins at Baylor and at Oregon, you can’t just dismiss this as another buy game for Texas Southern.  Arizona State is unbeaten.  If Texas Southern gets a third scalp and manages to blow through the SWAC, then you have to start thinking of them as a bubble team.  That’s assuming a lot, though.  This will not be an easy game to win.

-UTAH STATE AT UC IRVINE.  This is one of the better, and perhaps more important, games of the day.  Both teams have just one loss, and both have managed some decent wins.  Neither have played their way into the national consciousness yet, but both are on pace to have big years and this will probably end up being a big win for whoever pulls it off.

 

BUY GAMES (and other games worth mentioning, but not higlighting)

-Oakland @ Xavier
-Cleveland State @ Toledo – Toledo only has one loss this year
-Belmont @ Green Bay – Belmont looking to remain unbeaten and pick up their 4th road win
-Marshall @ Ohio – Marshall is looking to improve to 6-1 on the year
-Youngstown State @ West Virginia
-Charlotte @ Charleston
-Western Carolina @ Furman – SoCon game
-Florida Atlantic @ Bethune Cookman – FAU is out of the gate fast, and can improve to 7-1 with a win
-Central Connecticut @ Virginia Tech
-Houston Baptist @ LA Tech
-Stetson @ Duke
-Missouri State @ Oregon State
-Tennessee State @ Western Kentucky – WKU better win this or they’re in trouble
-Iona @ VCU
-Quinnipiac @ Stony Brook
-Fordham @ Manhattan – Fordham can improve to 6-1 with a win over their rival
-Davidson @ UNC Wilmington – Davidson’s first true road game.  Can improve to 7-1
-Wake Forest @ Richmond – Wake can improve to 5-2 and pick up their first true road win
-Yale @ Miami FL – game part of an MTE.
-Prairie View @ Murray State
-Cornell @ Syracuse
-Abilene Christian @ Pepperdine – ACU can get to 8-0 and win their third road game
-Long Beach State @ San Diego

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