Hoops HD

NEWS AND NOTES:

-For our 1st Under the Radar Video Podcast of the Season – CLICK HERE

-Auburn, Houst0n, Tennessee, Creighton, and Saint John’s all blew out their opponents in home buy wins.

-Troy ended up losing at Arkansas 65-49, but they were in this game for the majority of the time before they ran out of gas late in the second half. We were big on the Trojans coming into the season and still are. They probably needed a win in a game like this in order to make a solid run at landing inside the bubble, but even if they don’t knock off a top 25 team on the road they may still get a very serious look from the committee if they can blow through most of the rest of their schedule.

-Wake Forest REALLY struggled against USC Upstate, and was actually behind for much of the second half. They barely held on to win 85-80, but the showing was less than spectacular.

-Hofstra improved to 3-0 with their 49-48 rock-fight-like win over Seton Hall. The Pirates have now fallen to Fordham at home, and Hofstra on a neutral floor. It may be a long year for Seton Hall.

-North Texas, who has been very good in recent years but who we weren’t expecting that much from this year, is now 3-0 and they got a really nice 54-51 win at Minnesota yesterday. They are now a team we have our eyes on!

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HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:

-NORTHERN IOWA AT WICHITA STATE. These two are old MVC rivals and I believe it’s the first time they’ve met since Wichita State left to become members of the American. The Shockers are off to a 2-0 start with one of those wins being at Western Kentucky so they have shown a fair amount of promise. Northern Iowa is a team I was big on coming into the season, but they were just dominated by UC Irvine in their last game and need to bounce back.

-NORTHERN COLORADO AT SOUTH DAKOTA STATE. This is a really solid UTR match-up. Northern Colorado nearly beat Colorado last week, and South Dakota State comes in undefeated with a notable win over McNeese State. I don’t know if either team will end up near the bubble, but the Jackrabbits are off to about as good of a start as you can ask.

-GRAND CANYON VS ARIZONA STATE (Phoenix, AZ). I’ve said for the last several months that I really like this Grand Canyon team and think they’ll be in the top 25 before the end of the season. They really struggled in their last game against Western Kentucky, but they were without two key players, so they’ll be a lot more dangerous if they are at full strength. Arizona State wasn’t a team we expected much from at all, but they nearly pulled the upset at Gonzaga last week and appear to be much better than most of us realized. This would be a high caliber win for the Sun Devils and end up looking pretty good on their resume if they can pull it off. In short, this is a very good early season opportunity for both these teams.

-LSU AT KANSAS STATE. Both teams come in 2-0, but neither has really been tested yet, so we should learn something about both of them tonight.

-Southern Illinois @ Oklahoma State
-TAMUCC @ New Mexico State – New Mexico State can improve to 3-0
-Omaha @ UNLV

NEWS AND NOTES:

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

-At the Champions Classic last night, neither Michigan State nor Kansas was a champion at shooting the basketball. Michigan State was just 3-of-24 from the outside and Kansas was under 30% from beyond the arc. Despite the poor shooting and appearing to be overmatched, Michigan State hung in. Kansas pulled it out in the end 77-69, but when I now look at Michigan State I see a team that went up against the top ranked team in the country and didn’t play their best game, but still hung in for most of the game. Imagine what they’ll look like when they do start playing their best games!

-Duke v Kentucky was played at a much higher level. Both teams were super talented, and both played together well despite it being early in the season and most of the players being new to the rosters this year. Duke appeared to be pulling away in the first half, but in the second half Kentucky made a defensive adjustment and actually came out in what looked to be a match-up zone. I think Kentucky’s defense in the second half made the difference. After about four video reviews in the final 30 seconds of the game, Kentucky got a huge 77-72 win. This is a big statement win for the Cats. They aren’t just a top 25 team, but a team that can compete against the best in the country.

-Villanova lost the Holy War to Saint Joseph’s. I know this is a rivalry, and that many think Saint Joe’s is good (despite already having a loss to Central Connecticut) and that many know that Villanova is not, but WOW has Nova fallen in the last two years!!

-UCF remains undefeated after their 100-94 win against Florida Atlantic. Considering FAU was on the road, they actually played really well in this game and kept fighting back every time it looked like UCF was about to get control. FAU may be better this year than what we were expecting despite the departure of Dusty May.

-North Florida, who had knocked off South Carolina and Georgia Tech, couldn’t get past Georgia last night. Georgia won 90-77 to stay unbeaten on the year, and while UNF didn’t get blown off the floor, it never really felt like they were in the game either. Still, from a UTR standpoint, North Florida has had a great start to the season.

-It seems like Syracuse always has trouble with Colgate, and they did again last night. It came down to the last possession with Colgate having a chance to either tie or win, but they couldn’t get a shot up and the Orange held on 74-72.

-The Battle of the Boulevard never disappoints!!! Last night was another thrilling, close, and back and forth game with Belmont grabbing the lead in the final seconds, Lipscomb having one last possession, but then failing to get a shot off. Belmont got the dramatic 80-79 win. This is one of our favorite rivalries, so we always mention it.

-Two other teams to keep an eye on that are from the Sun Belt are Texas State and Arkansas State. Texas State didn’t get the win at TCU, but they hung in there, and Arkansas State took Alabama to the wall a few days ago and blew Little Rock off the court last night. The Sun Belt is looking like a strong league this year and we will certainly be discussing that on our Under the Radar podcast tonight. So, don’t miss it!!

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HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:

-KENT STATE AT AUBURN. This is obviously a buy game, and it’s a game that Auburn should win rather easily (especially when you consider how well they’ve been playing), but Kent State does come in undefeated and if they can some how aim at the moon, shoot at the moon, and hit the, it would catapult them onto the national scene and give them the kind of win that could land them inside the bubble come March.

-TROY AT ARKANSAS. Troy was my preseason pick to win the Sun Belt, and while they haven’t had a test like this yet they do come into this one at 2-0. Arkansas is coming off a close loss to Baylor and will be looking to bounce back from that.

-CALIFORNIA AT VANDERBILT. Neither team will likely be anywhere close to the bubble come March, but for now they both come into this one at 2-0.

-WYOMING AT TEXAS TECH. We really like this Texas Tech team and while they may be tested a little bit tonight against a Wyoming team that comes in at 2-0, they should be able to win this one at home.

BUY GAMES (and other games that might as well be):

-UMass @ Louisana Tech – LA Tech can get to 3-0
-Wagner @ Saint John’s
-Le Moyne @ UConn
-Montana @ Tennessee
-Coastal Carolina @ NC State
-Ball State @ Dayton
-SC Upstate @ Wake Forest
-Merrimack @ VCU
-Louisiana @ Houston
-Oral Roberts @ Tulsa
-Hofstra @ Seton Hall – Seton Hall is coming off a loss to Fordham and needs to be on upset alert again in this one
-Fairleigh Dickinson @ Nebraska
-Houston Christian @ Creighton
-Westminster (nonD1) @ Utah State
-Oakland @ Illinois
-Cal State Fullerton @ Colorado
-Queens @ BYU
-North Dakota State @ Santa Clara
-Fresno State @ UC Santa Barbara – both teams are unbeaten
-Weber State @ Nevada – this could be somewhat competitive, but Nevada should win at home
-Long Beach State @ San Francisco – San Francisco is off to a good start and should stay unbeaten
-UT Arlington @ USC

NEWS, NOTES, AND LINKS:

-For the latest HOOPS HD REPORT – CLICK HERE

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

-Alabama held McNeese at arms length for pretty much the entire game, and while McNeese did play well, they didn’t quite play well enough to beat the #2 ranked team on the road. But to be fair there are very few teams in the country that are capable of playing that well. The Tide picked up a nice 72-64 win.

-Austin Peay remains unbeaten after holding off Chattanooga 67-61 last night, and they are definitely worth keepin an eye on. Remember that one of their three wins came at Butler.

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HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:

-VILLANOVA AT SAINT JOSEPH’S (Big 5). Both teams come into this one having lost home buy games in their previous game, so it goes without saying that both are off to a slow start. Both could use this win for what it means on paper, but they also need the momentum that comes from winning a rivalry game to build up some much needed momentum.

-MICHIGAN STATE VS KANSAS (Champions Classic – Atlanta, GA). Both teams come in unbeaten, and Kansas is coming off a really nice win against North Carolina in their last game, so they have been tested, but this is still their first big game away from home. Michigan State blew through their buy games, but this will be our first chance to really learn something about them.

-DREXEL AT TEMPLE (Big 5). Both teams come in 2-0, but neither have really been tested yet. It’s a rivalry game and it appears to be the toughest opponent either team has faced yet, so we should learn a little something about them today.

-FLORIDA ATLANTIC @ UCF. Both teams are off to really good starts and after just one week it looks like they are set to outperform their preseason expectations by a ton. UCF managed a big win against Texas A&M and FAU absolutely blew Indiana State off the floor. This is an early season match-up between two teams that appear to be better than what most people thought they’d be.

-NORTH FLORIDA AT GEORGIA. North Florida already has two wins in road buy games against South Carolina and Georgia Tech, and has a shot at picking up a 3rd tonight. This is another game that North Florida can win, especially if Georgia isn’t ready for them. The Dawgs barely got by Tennessee Tech in their opener. I know UNF is an under the radar team, but they’re starting to build up a really good looking resume.

-DUKE VS KENTUCKY (Legends Classic – Atlanta, GA). The expectations and enthusiasm has been high around this Kentucky program, but this is their first real test under new Head Coach Mark Pope and we are all seeing how they handle it. To be fair, it is also Duke’s first real test. It’s two talented teams that are still getting used to playing with each other, and we should learn quite a bit about both of them tonight.

-AKRON AT SAINT MARY’S. This is likely a mismatch, but Akron is a strong enough UTR team to potentially make this one interesting. SMC has won both their games so far, but this may be their toughest test to date.

BUY GAMES (and others worth mentioning):

-Hampton @ Providence – Providence can get to 3-0
-Cornell @ La Salle – both teams are 2-0 and La Salle has shown some promise early on
-Norfolk State @ William & Mary – Norfolk just beat James Madison and can get to 4-0 with a win in this one
-Mount Olive (nonD1) @ East Carolina – ECU can get to 3-0
-Lehigh @ Columbia – Columbia has the big win against Villanova and can stay unbeaten with a win
-NC Central @ High Point – High Point can get to 3-0
-NC A&T @ George Wahsington – GW can get to 3-0
-Tarlton State @ Florida State
-Saint Francis U @ Penn State
-UIC @ Northwestern – Northwestern looking to bounce back from a close loss at Dayton
-Colgate @ Syracuse
-Eastern Kentucky @ Clemson – both teams 2-0
-SELA @ Mississippi State
-Sam Houston @ Baylor
-South Alabama @ Ole Miss
-Ohio U @ Illinois State – both are fairly decent UTR teams
-Chicago State @ Texas
-Texas State @ TCU – both teams unbeaten
-Jackson State @ Xavier
-Denver @ Colorado State (Front Range) – We at Hoops HD LOVE the Front Range!!!
-Corban College (nonD1) @ Boise State
-TAMUCC @ New Mexico
-South Dakota @ Iowa – both teams unbeaten
-Queens @ Utah – both teams unbeaten
-Northern Arizona @ Stanford – both teams unbeaten
-Western Oregon (nonD1) @ Oregon State
-Portland @ Oregon