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NEWS AND NOTES:

-For all the In-Season Tournament Brackets – CLICK HERE

-The 77-62 final score of the Tennessee v Baylor game down in the Bahamas probably doesn’t properly illustrate just how dominant Tennessee was in this game. The game was out of hand well before the half. Tennessee continues to blow out everyone they play. Baylor is probably the strongest team they’ve played so far, and the Vols didn’t sweat at all.

-Saint John’s bounced back from their double OT loss to Baylor by blowing Virginia off the floor 80-55. Virginia may not be returning to the Bahamas anytime soon. They were blown out of the building two nights in a row.

-Duke got a massively impressive road win out at Arizona 69-55. It’s hard to not be impressed with how much they seemed to improve since the game against Kentucky. Arizona was a true road game against a higher ranked team, and they not only won it, but won it in a way where they were in control of it for the latter part of the 2nd half.

-Nebraska went into Creighton and won 74-63 in a game where it never felt like they weren’t in complete control. It was a very impressive performance and game plan by the Huskers, and an equally discouraging performance by Creighton. Steven Ashworth of Creighton also had to leave the game with an ankle injury. We certainly hope he is okay.

-UCF, who I was really big on, got beaten pretty handily by Wisconsin 86-70 in the Greenbrier Tip-Off. It’s probably Wisky’s best performance of the year considering that it was away from home and against a UCF team that appears to have proven itself.

-Drake has emerged as a surprise team this year! They knocked off a pretty good Florida Atlantic team 75-63 in the Charleston Classic to stay unbeaten on the season. This followed up a very impressive win over Miami FL just the day before. Speaking of Miami FL…

-The Canes lost for the second day in a row, this time 80-74 to Oklahoma State. They were actually way behind in this game and came back to make the final score look respectable. Miami FL was one of my sleeper teams in the preseason. Well…they’ve certainly been asleep!!

-Vanderbilt has also been a bit of a surprise this year. they remain unbeaten after their 76-60 win over Seton Hall, which was also in the Charleston Classic. This event has been…well…eventful!

-Saint Joseph’s, who had a loss to Central Connecticut earlier in the year, was starting to come on strong. They had a nice win against Texas Tech last night and played well against Texas for much of the game tonight, but just went cold down the stretch and the Horns ended up with a 67-58 win in the Legends Classic Championship game. I think Saint Joseph’s is much improved, but now they need to start actually finishing some of these games off so they can build up their profile.

-Nevada also knocked off VCU 64-61, which is another tough and close loss for a VCU team that we really felt it was important for to pick up some notable wins in this event. They’re not going to leave here with much.

-Wichita State blew Saint Louis off the floor 88-63 in the Hall of Fame Classic. Wichita improves to 5-0 and is certainly a team that has our attention.

-Notre Dame, who had looked pretty impressive against Georgetown just a few days ago, did not look impressive last night as they fell at home to Elon 84-77. Elon, who is a CAA team that we weren’t expecting much out of, has now won 2 straight road games and was reasonably competitive with North Carolina in their opener. They are certainly high on our UTR radar now!

-Longwood is now 6-0 after knocking off UAB in the Paradise Jam. UAB has been a huge disappointment this year, whereas Longwood is turning out to be a really good surprise.

-Pittsburgh remains unbeaten with a nice 73-64 win over LSU in the Greenbrier Tip-Off.

-Mississippi State went on the road to SMU and picked up a nice 84-79 win.

-Last but not least, the finish of the night was UC Riverside’s overtime win at Colorado State. The end of regulation featured a game tying shot, what appeared to be a game winning 3, and then another game tying shot at the buzzer from just beyond half court!

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HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:

-MARQUETTE VS GEORGIA (Nassau, Bahamas). Both teams come in unbeaten, but Marquette is clearly the more challenged and proven team as they have managed wins over Maryland and Purdue. Still, it’s a chance for Georgia to really make some noise if they can somehow pull off the upset win.

-CINCINNATI AT GEORGIA TECH. Cincinnati is coming off a road win at Northern Kentucky, which wasn’t that big of a test, but was at least a road win. This shouldn’t be that much of a test either. While it’s not a home buy game, and while it’s not at home, it’s still a game that a top 20 team should win without too much trouble.

-NEW MEXICO STATE AT UNLV. Both teams come in 3-1, but both still have work to do if they want to build up their resumes. This would likely turn out to be a nice win for whoever is able to pull this one out tonight.

-La Salle vs Stetson (Boardwalk Battle) – a chance for La Salle to get another win away from home
-Marshall @ Purdue – Marshall is 3-1 but is probably way overmatched in this one
-Saint Francis U @ Georgetown
-UIC vs East Carolina (Boardwalk Battle) – it hasn’t been a bad showing in this event at all for these two teams, and if ECU can get to 6-1 with a win today
-Northeastern @ FGCU – a win for Northeastern gets them to 5-1 as well as their 2nd true road win
-UMES @ Illinois
-Detroit Mercy @ Wake Forest
-Southern Utah vs Idaho (San Diego) – Southern Utah can improve to 6-1 and pick up their 2nd win away from home
-Northern Illinois @ DePaul – DePaul can get to 6-0
-Louisiana vs George Washington (Paradise Jam) – GW is 4-1 but with no real wins of note
-UC San Diego vs Toledo (Boardwalk Battle) – it’s the championship game, and Toledo can finish off a really good run in this tournament
-Stony Brook @ Columbia – Columbia can get to 7-0
-Cal Poly @ Saint Mary’s
-Mississippi Valley State @ BYU
-Stanford @ Santa Clara – Stanford is 5-0, but this is their first road game

NEWS AND NOTES:

-There is A LOT to recap and a lot to preview!!

-To keep up with all of the In-Season Tournaments – CLICK HERE

-Baylor hit a last second 3 in double OT to knock off Saint John’s 99-98 in a highly entertaining, well played, back and forth game. It’s Baylor’s biggest win of the season so far, and while it was a missed opportunity for the Johnnies, I’d say their team is still in a very good spot.

-In one of the more surprising results of the day (at least to me) Drake knocked off Miami Fl 80-69 in the Charleston Classic, and at no point did it really ever feel that Drake was not in control. I didn’t think Drake would have much at all this year after the roster overhaul from a year ago, and I thought Miami FL would end up being a solid top 25 team. This is why I don’t bet on sports.

-Memphis, who I have been beating up on for a while for underperforming, is NOT underperforming this year!! They got a very nice win against a good San Francisco team on the road yesterday 68-64, and had to come back after a sluggish first half to do it. The Tigers are for real! They’re not in the top 25 yet, but they definitely should be.

-In that same Charleston Classic, Florida Atlantic got a nice win against Oklahoma State. FAU had played well this year, but had come up just short of picking up some really nice wins, so it would really help them if they can do well in this event.

-Also in the Charleston Classic, Seton Hall was in another rock fight where neither team could score, but they held off VCU 69-66 in overtime to advance to the winner’s side of the event. VCU won’t have quite as many opportunities as signature wins for the rest of the year, so picking up some wins in this event, even if it’s on the losers side of the bracket, is important.

-Syracuse, who had not looked good at all against bad opponents, nearly upset Texas yesterday, but came up just short 70-66. Texas moves on to the winning side of the Legends Classic, but my takeaway from this one is that Syracuse may be better than we thought whereas Texas may not be as good.

-Saint Joseph’s, who we liked coming into the year, then wrote off after a really bad early season loss to Central Connecticut, is now a team we are starting to like again! They picked up a really nice 78-77 win against Texas Tech in the Legends Classic yesterday to improve to 4-1 and will face Texas tonight.

-Princeton, a team that I was very big on coming into the season, struggled early on against weaker opponents, and was blown into the sun yesterday by Wright State 80-62. Princeton will likely get better as the season progresses, but they aren’t there yet.

-Vanderbilt picked up a very nice 73-71 win against Nevada in the Charleston Classic. They weren’t a team we had a close eye on coming into the year, but it’s looking like they may be able to make some noise in the SEC this year.

-Oregon went on the road to beat rival Oregon State 78-75. Both teams came in unbeaten, but both were also untested, so it was a notable win for the Ducks both on and off paper.

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HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:

-DRAKE VS FLORIDA ATLANTIC (Charleston Classic). Both teams are coming off of really nice wins, both really needed those, and both could really use this win today. FAU has looked good this season and just missed putting some really nice wins on their resume in the previous week, but they got a nice one yesterday against Oklahoma State. Drake remains unbeaten after getting a nice win against Miami FL yesterday. Both appear to be good teams, but both also have limited chances at notable wins, which is what makes the games in this event so important.

-MIAMI FL VS OKLAHOMA STATE (Charleston Classic). Both teams lost yesterday, but at the end of the day this still goes on the team sheet just the same as any other neutral floor game would. Both teams still have potential this year, and this could end up being a win that looks reasonably good on either team’s resume come March.

-PITTSBURGH VS LSU (Greenbrier Tip-Off). Both teams are unbeaten, and both have semi-notable wins on the season already, but this is the first time either has been tested away from home, so we should learn something about both of them.

-ILLINOIS STATE VS MCNEESE (Paradise Jam). If McNeese is going to build up their resume at all, they need to do well in this event. It’s pretty much as simple as that.

-WISCONSIN VS UCF (Greenbrier Tip-Off). Wisconsin has a really nice win against Arizona on the year, but they followed that up with a near upset loss to UTRGV, and this is their first really big test away from home. UCF has already made some noise with wins over FAU and Texas A&M, but like Wisky this is their first really big test away from home.

-SETON HALL VS VANDERBILT (Charleston Classic). Every Seton Hall game seems to turn into a rock fight, but after a sluggish start they had a really nice win against VCU yesterday and have another shot against an unbeaten Vandy team today who comes in after a close win against Nevada.

-SAINT JOHN’S VS VIRGINIA (Bahamas Championship). It’s a third place game, but like we always say it’s the same as any other neutral floor game. Saint John’s lost to Baylor in a double overtime thriller and has the chance to bounce back against a Virginia team that was beaten handily by Tennessee, but who should still end up having a good year.

-SYRACUSE VS TEXAS TECH (Legends Classic). After not looking good at all for most of the season, Cuse nearly upset Texas yesterday, which was easily their best and most inspiring performance of the season despite the loss. They get Texas Tech today, who’s coming off a loss to Saint Joseph’s and who also needs a quality win.

-VCU VS NEVADA (Charleston Classic). Both teams have a bit of a sense of urgency coming into this one. Both are coming off losses, and both need to pick up notable wins in this event. While they’ll get some other opportunities throughout the year, they won’t get quite as many as the teams in the P4 leagues will.

-HOFSTRA AT HOUSTON. This is a buy game, and it is admittedly probably a huge mismatch, but it is still worth highlighting simply because Hofstra has shown out a little bit this season. It will be interesting to see how competitive they can be tonight.

-NEBRASKA AT CREIGHTON. Nebraska has looked okay this season, but doesn’t have a win anywhere near the caliber that this one would be if they could somehow pull it off. The Huskers played really well against Saint Mary’s in their last game despite the loss. This is also Creighton’s first non-buy game of the year, so while I think the Bluejays will win, I wouldn’t pencil it in just yet.

-UTAH STATE VS IOWA STATE (Hall of Fame Classic). Both teams come in unbeaten, and both have expectations of being good this year, but this is also the first real test for both of them.

-GEORGE WASHINGTON VS KANSAS STATE (Paradise Jam). GW is 4-0, but has not been tested at all. K State is 3-1, but has only been tested once and lost that game. This event is a chance to add some decent wins onto their resumes because right now all they’ve won is buy games.

-MISSISSIPPI STATE AT SMU. This is a really interesting match-up between two teams that didn’t get a lot of love in the preseason, but who I think have potential. This would be a really nice road win for a Mississippi State team that just beat Utah their last time out, and it would be SMU’s first real win of note.

-TEXAS VS SAINT JOSEPH’S (Legends Classic). Saint Joe’s was a team that I liked coming into the year, and I know a lot of people (including me) kind of wrote them off after they lost to Central Connecticut. While that loss does make you hold your nose, It’s their only loss of the year, and they just beat a pretty good Texas Tech team yesterday. If they can somehow beat Texas tonight, who got here after having to really sweat out Syracuse, we have to once again start paying a lot of attention to Saint Joe’s.

-BAYLOR VS TENNESSEE (Bahamas Championship). Baylor won a double OT thriller yesterday against Saint John’s, and gets a shot at Tennessee who has blown through their schedule. This is probably the toughest test of the year so far for the Vols, but they’ve had no problems with anyone they’ve faced so far, so it will be interesting to see how they do tonight. In short, it’s a chance for both teams to pick up what will almost assuredly be a high caliber win for their tournament resumes.

-DUKE AT ARIZONA. Both teams have already faced big tests with Arizona going to Wisconsin and Duke facing Kentucky. While both teams are very good, and both will almost assuredly end the season very high in the metrics, neither has a really big win of note yet, so that’s what’s at stake tonight.

-SAINT LOUIS VS WICHITA STATE (Hall of Fame Classic). Saint Louis was a team we had high expectations for this year, but they’re off to a bit of a slow start. This would be a really nice win for them if they can knock off Wichita State, who comes in without a loss, but who’s also looking to pick up a win of note for their resume.

-NORTH CAROLINA AT HAWAII. Hawaii is unbeaten, but they haven’t faced a test like this yet, so even though they’re at home they are probably way overmatched.

BUY GAMES (and other games of note):

-UIC vs La Salle (Boardwalk Battle) – it’s still a chance for La Salle to pick up some wins away from home
-Longwood vs UAB (Paradise Jam) – Longwood is unbeaten, but this is their first real test. UAB has been a bit of a disappointment so far.
-Middle Tennessee vs South Florida (Myrtle Beach Invitaitonal) – both teams had nice wins yesterday and are off to pretty decent starts this season
-James Madison vs UC San Diego (Boardwalk Battle) – both teams won their games yesterday
-Bradley vs Wright State (Myrtle Beach Invitational) – Wright State pulverized Princeton yesterday, and Bradley has made some noise early, so it’s a good match-up and opportunity for both
-Temple vs Florida State (Basketball Hall of Fame Tip-Off) – both teams have just one loss, but neither has what appears to be a quality win yet
-Jacksonville State vs Toledo (Boardwalk Battle) – both teams come in 4-1
-Louisiana vs Liberty (Paradise Jam) – Liberty has looked really good early on and has a chance to build up their resume in this event
-Utah Tech @ Utah
-Campbell @ Ohio State
-Jackson State @ Kentucky
-Southern Illinios @ Florida
-William & Mary @ NC State
-VMI @ Davidson – Davidson is unbeaten
-Merrimack @ Butler
-Winthrop @ Louisville
-Texas State vs Princeton (Myrtle Beach Invitational) – both are UTR teams that have shown promise, but both are coming off losses and Princeton has been a little disappointing so far
-New Orleans @ Tulane – Tulane can get to 5-1
-Elon @ Notre Dame – ND can stay unbeaten
-Pacific @ Missouri
-Utah Valley @ Murray State – Murray State can get to 4-1
-Rice @ Houston Christian – Rice can get to 5-1 and pick up their 2nd road win
-Pepperdine @ Northwestern
-Little Rock @ Arkansas
-Norfolk State @ Grand Canyon – two good UTR teams, and it’s a game GCU cannot afford to lose
-UC Riverside @ Colorado State
-UC Irive @ Weber State – we really like this UC Irvine team, and they can pick up their 3rd true road win tonight
-Alcorn State @ Washington
-Cal State Fullerton @ UCLA

NEWS AND NOTES:

CLICK HERE for our latest UNDER THE RADAR Video Podcast

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

-The In-Season Tournaments get rolling today!!!

-Alabama basically kept Illinois at arms length for the entire game. It never really felt like the Tide were not in control and they cruised to a 100-87 win that perhaps wasn’t even as close as the score indicated.

-Grand Canyon continues to struggle out of the gate as they fell at home to UC Davis 75-68. The loss to Arizona State was a missed opportunity, but the loss to UC Davis is a big setback. We had thought this was a top 40 team, and they still may end up being that, but they haven’t shown it so far, and they don’t get many strikes if they want to end up inside the bubble. I know they are still down a key player, and that UC Davis isn’t bad, but this is the kind of game you would expect a solid NCAA Tournament team to be able to win at home.

-Arizona State BARELY escaped Cal Poly last night 93-89. They’re 5-1 on the year with the only loss being a very close game against Gonzaga, but they dodged a bullet last night.

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HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:

-MIAMI FL VS DRAKE (Charleston Classic). Both teams are unbeaten and Miami has blown through their buy games. I wouldn’t call this a huge test, but Drake probably is better than the teams the Canes have been blowing out. I still think Miami can have a big year and make the NCAA Tournament. This event is a chance for them to get some notable wins away from home that aren’t just home buy games.

-OKLAHOMA STATE VS FLORIDA ATLANTIC (Charleston Classic). FAU doesn’t have any notable wins yet other than perhaps Liberty, but I do really like how they’ve played. They hung in with both UCF and Charleston and nearly beat both of them. This event is a chance for them to pick up some notable wins that will look good on their tournament resume. Oklahoma State is 3-0, but they’ve only played in home buy games and they didn’t exactly blow out their opponents, so this will be their toughest test of the year so far.

-SETON HALL VS VCU (Charleston Classic). Seton Hall has been underwhelming so far. While VCU hasn’t lost, they haven’t been tested yet like they will in this event. This is a chance for them to pick up some notable neutral floor wins.

-BAYLOR VS SAINT JOHN’S (Bahamas Championship). The Johnnies come into this one 4-0 and just had a really nice win against New Mexico, but this is their first game away from home and it comes against a Baylor team that is super talented and already has a nice win against Arkansas. In short, this is a resume building opportunity for both teams.

-SYRACUSE VS TEXAS (Legends Classic). I’m not sure what’s so legendary about this match-up. Syracuse is unbeaten, but they barely won each of their three buy games. Today, they’re not playing a buy game. They’re playing Texas, who to be fair has no wins yet that weren’t home buy games, and for that matter has no wins against a team that has a D1 win yet, but still at least looks the part. Both these teams could use this to make their resume not look like doodoo.

-VANDERBILT VS NEVADA (Charleston Classic). Both teams are unbeaten, and each has what is at least a semi-notable win so far, but this is the first time either team will have played away from home yet, so we should learn a little more about them tonight.

-TEXAS TECH VS SAINT JOSEPH’S (Legends Classic). This is the first test for Texas Tech, and while many people wrote Saint Joe’s off after their loss to Central Connecticut, I still think Joe’s could have a good year this year. They’ve beaten rivals Villanova and Penn in their last two games, and have a chance to pick up a quality win tonight as well as take a step into the national spotlight.

-VIRGINIA VS TENNESSEE (Bahamas Championship). Tennessee has just looked awesome. They haven’t beaten any really good teams, but they’ve absolutely dump-trucked a few decent ones. Virginia comes in 3-0, and they did beat Villanova, but Tennessee is on a whole other level compared to anyone they’ve played so far.

-EASTERN WASHINGTON AT WASHINGTON STATE. On paper, Wazzu can get to a respectable 5-1 with a win, but what makes this game so interesting is how many players and coaches for Wazzu were a part of Eastern Washington’s program a year ago.

-MEMPHIS AT SAN FRANCISCO. I’ve been very critical of Memphis for the past…ohhh…six years or so, but they may actually be starting to win me over. They come in unbeaten and have a nice win at UNLV. This is probably their toughest test of the season so far. San Francisco is 4-0 and the Sobrato Center is not an easy place to play. The Dons already have a win against a good (we think) Boise State team, and if Memphis can get this one on the road, they’ll REALLY have my attention!

-OREGON AT OREGON STATE. It’s a rivalry game between two unbeaten teams!! Whether or not either team is any good still remains to be seen. Oregon did beat Troy pretty badly their last time out, and while that was a buy game, Troy is a pretty good UTR team. This is the first road game for the Ducks and probably their biggest test. Oregon State really hasn’t been tested either as they’ve just blown through four buy games.

BUY GAMES (and other somewhat notable games):

-Ohio U vs Middle Tennessee (Myrtle Beach Invitaitonal) – MTSU is 3-1 and a good showing in this event will put some sparkle on their resume
-LaSalle vs UC San Diego (Boardwalk Battle) – La Salle can get to 5-0 and pick up their 2nd win away from home
-East Carolina vs Jacksonville State (Boardwalk Battle) – ECU is unbeaten but doesn’t yet have a win away from home
-UNC Greensboro @ Indiana
-Radford @ Clemson
-ETAMU @ Oklahoma
-Princeton vs Wright State (Myrtle Beach Invitaitonal) – Princeton hasn’t looked all that strong so far this season, but they could still have a big year and this event is an opportunity for them
-Oral Roberts @ Ole Miss – Ole Miss can get to 5-0
-Tarleton State @ Michigan
-Grambling @ New Mexico