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NEWS AND NOTES

–Please CLICK HERE check out our latest Under the Radar Video Podcast from last night.  It is a bit of an extended version, but we have a very special treat for you!!  Zach joins us for the first time all year!!  From his car!!  In a Five Guys parking lot!!  After leaving the UMBC v Hartford game!!  There is no better entertainment on the entire internet!!

It was another very entertaining night.

-Kansas was able to get it done against a pretty good TCU team despite being very shorthanded, which they will be for the rest of the year.  It was a good showing by TCU, and a sign that they should get the wins they need in conference to land safely in the NCAA Tournament field.

-Everyone’s favorite crazy uncle, Uncle Buzz!!, had a rough time at Georgia Tech last night.  VA Tech got the win, but it was surprising that it was such a struggle.

-Ole Miss beat Auburn rather handily at home.  I think this is a sign that Ole Miss is better than we thought.  I also think it’s a sign that Auburn isn’t as good as we thought.  Given how Auburn has struggled against UAB, Murray State, Dayton, and a few others, perhaps they’re not a top ten team after all.  I know some of those teams are good teams, but none are so good that a top ten team should struggle to beat them, much less struggle to beat all three.

-Ohio State went to Rutgers for what was probably their most winnable remaining road game, and lost!!  A nice feelgood win for a Scarlet Knights program that still has a very long way to go, but is getting better.

-Houston suffered their first loss of the year at Temple, and it wasn’t without some controversy,  A driving layup that would have tied the game in the final seconds was waved off due to a charge, and Temple held on to pick up a win that they desperately needed.

-Marquette got a nice road win at Creighton.  No sweat!.  They were down 5 with 5 seconds to go.  They hit a shot with less than a second to go, and after Creighton threw the ball the length of the court in an attempt to burn the final second, Marquette got the ball back under their own basket, inbounded the ball, and hit a three that just barely beat the buzzer.  After that they pulled it out in overtime.

-Vanderbilt, who we kind of liked, was blown out at Georgia.  That’s not good for Vandy.

-Georgetown fell on the road at Xavier in a game where both teams were beaten up with injuries.

-Kansas State was down by about 20, and appeared to be dead to rights, but somehow came back and beat West Virginia.  It was a win that both of those teams really needed, and it will put WVU into an even bigger tailspin.

-Louisville fell at Pittsburgh in overtime.  The Cardinals trailed for most of the game, but mounted a comeback and got a lead both late in regulation and in overtime, but couldn’t hold on.

-Fresno State picked up an impressive and exciting win at Utah State.  If we are going to see a second team out of the MWC, I guess it’s going to be Fresno.

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES

-SMU AT UCONN (American).  SMU has been playing better.  They’re off to a 2-0 start in league play and could use this road game tonight.  They’ve still got a lot of catching up to do.

-CINCINNATI AT TULSA (American).  Cincinnati is trying to bounce back after a horrendous loss to East Carolina, and they’ve got a really rough road test tonight against a Tulsa team who’s unbeaten at home, and who could play their way toward the bubble if they can have a strong showing in conference.

-MICHIGAN AT ILLINOIS (Big Ten).  If all goes as expected, Michigan should win and stay unbeaten on the year.

-PENN STATE AT NEBRASKA (Big Ten).  Nebraska looks to be a home court hero this year.  If that’s true, then they need to win at home against teams that have been playing as poorly as Penn State.

-WASHINGTON AT UTAH (Pac Twelve).  I still think there is room inside the bubble for a Pac Twelve team to get an at-large, but it’ll have to be someone that totally dominates league play, and Washington may be one of the few teams that’s good enough to do it.  Utah had struggled for most of the season, but they’ve come to life lately and won’t be easy to beat at home.

-PACIFIC AT GONZAGA (West Coast).  It’s a conference game that will end up looking like a buy game.

UNDER THE RADAR

-EAST TENNESSEE STATE AT THE CITADEL (SoCon).  ETSU is one of four teams that we think could win the SoCon this year, and they have a very compelling road game against a much improved and very exciting to watch Citadel team.

-WOFFORD AT UNC GREENSBORO.  Wofford and UNCG are two of the four teams that we think could win the SoCon this year.

-LOUISIANA AT GEORGIA STATE (Sun Belt).  If Georgia State blows through this league, and I mean pretty much wins out, then there may be room for them on this year’s bubble.

-OLD DOMINION AT FLORIDA ATLANTIC (Conference USA).  I think ODU is the best team in CUSA, and that they certainly have the best resume despite a surprising loss this week.  This will be a somewhat tough road test.

-MOREHEAD STATE AT BELMONT (Ohio Valley).  Belmont is one of the horses in the two horse OVC race…

-MURRAY STATE AT UT MARTIN (Ohio Valley).  Murray State is the other horse.

-NORTH TEXAS AT UTEP (Conference USA).  North Texas shouldn’t have any trouble improving to 16-1 on the year.

-GRAND CANYON AT NEW MEXICO STATE (WAC).  This is quickly becoming one of the more intriguing UTR rivalries.  New Mexico State may insist that it’s not a rivalry based on how they’ve dominated the series, but it is at the very least a feud.  NMSU again looks to be the toughest team to beat in the WAC.

-UC DAVIS AT UC IRVINE (Big West).  Irvine has had a good season up to this point and should land in a good spot if they can dominate Big West play.

NEWS AND NOTES

-It was a really exciting night of games.  Michigan State and Texas Tech took care of business at home against pretty strong competition.  I keep wanting to tell myself that Purdue is a good team, but they’re just 9-6 on the year, and while they played better than the 18pt loss at Michigan State may indicate, they’re still just 9-6 on the year, and they still lost by 18 on the road.

-The most energetic and electric game of the evening was North Carolina at NC State.  The crowd was beyond bonkers, and UNC just sprinted out to an early double digit lead in the first couple minutes of that game, and while NC State did tie it a few times, the Tarheels were in control the entire time, and they picked up a huge win.  How good was this win??  Well, consider this.  It is the only home loss for any team that’s currently ranked in the top 15 so far.  Of all the teams currently ranked in the top 25, the only other home losses are Ohio State’s two losses at home to Syracuse and Michigan State, and TCU’s home loss to Lipscomb.  So a VERY nice resume win, and rivalry win, and conference win, for UNC.

-Mississippi State went into South Carolina for what appeared to be a very winnable road game, and didn’t win it.  After an atrocious OOC stretch, Angry Frank’s Gamecocks are now 2-0 in SEC play.

-Iowa State also lost on the road to Baylor in a game that was somewhat surprising, but not as surprising as Mississippi State’s loss at South Carolina.  Iowa State could use a few more road wins before it’s all over

-Buffalo blew out a Toledo team that had looked great up until this past weekend.  The Bulls will likely remain in the top 25 for the rest of the season.

-Saint John’s led Villanova at Nova for most of the game, but could not hold on in the final minutes.  They actually had a chance at the end after playing great defense and forcing a shot that missed the rim.  The only problem was Nova got the rebound and the Johnnies players didn’t realize it had missed the rim, so they purposefully fouled before the shotclock expired.  Still, it was  a great effort by the Johnnies.  Two of their three toughest conference games are already behind them, so don’t be surprised if they finish really strong.

-Maryland picked up a very nice and decisive road win at Minnesota, which is something they really needed.

-Texas went on the road and lost at Oklahoma State, which was something they really did not need.

-Last, and definitely not least, a big congratulations to North Alabama, who defeated Florida Gulf Coast last night for their first ever div1 win as a div1 program!

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES

-VANDERBILT AT GEORGIA (SEC).  Vandy seems to still have the NCAA Tournament, and this is the kid of road game that tournament teams are expected to win, so we’ll see if they’re up to it.

-GEORGETOWN AT XAVIER (Big East).  Georgetown seems to still have the NCAA Tournament within their reach, and this is the kind of road game that tournament teams are expected to win, so we’ll see if they’re up to it.

-VIRGINIA TECH AT GEORGIA TECH (ACC).  A very winnable road game for VA Tech.  They have looked like a protected seed so far.

-AUBURN AT OLE MISS (SEC).  This is a road test for an Auburn team that’s trying to cement itself as a protected seed, and an Ole Miss team that has surpassed a lot of our expectations so far, and is continuing to build on what has been a great start.  If they win this, it will increase their momentum even more.

-OHIO STATE AT RUTGERS (Big Ten).  This is probably the most winnable road game that Ohio State has remaining on their schedule.  They just need to hold serve.

-HOUSTON AT TEMPLE (American).  Houston is unbeaten and has passed several big tests, but they haven’t been tested like this in a true road game, so we should learn something for them tonight.  It’s a big game for Temple as well who has a smattering of decent stuff on their resume, but nothing as good as this yet.

-MARQUETTE AT CREIGHTON (Big East).  It’s been a great season for Marquette so far, but they don’t have a true road win yet, so this would certainly add something to their resume if they’re able to pick it up.  Creighton has fallen behind the pack and they’ll need to string together several wins in order to get caught back up.

-WEST VIRGINIA AT KANSAS STATE (Big 12).  In our last bracket projections we didn’t have either team in, so based on our current checkpoint both have a lot of work to do.

-LA SALLE AT VCU (Atlantic Ten).  VCU is one of those teams that can end up inside the bubble if they dominate the league.  That would mean not losing at home to an awful La Salle team.

-TULANE AT SOUTH FLORIDA (American).  South Florida’s schedule has been incredibly weak, but they are 11-3 on the year with a conference win over UConn.  they should win tonight and we’ll continue to keep an eye on them.

-LOUISVILLE AT PITTSBURGH (ACC).  Louisville has a pretty nice resume at the moment, but another road win will always make it look even nicer.  Pitt still has a ways to go, but they are improving and they have played well at home this year.

-CLEMSON AT SYRACUSE (ACC).  This is a win that both of these teams could really use.  Both have shown signs of being good, and Clemson has been playing a little better lately, but both still have work to do.

-FLORIDA AT ARKANSAS (SEC).  This is a win that both these teams could really use.  Both have shown sings of being good, but both still have work to do, particularly Florida if they’re going to catch back up to the pack.

-BUTLER AT SETON HALL (Big East).  Seton Hall’s resume is pretty solid, but they are coming off a somewhat surprising loss to DePaul and certainly don’t want to follow that up with a home loss to Butler.  Butler had been in a bit of a tailspin themselves and still has a lot of work to do between now and the end if they want to land on the right side of the bubble.

-VIRGINIA AT BOSTON COLLEGE (ACC).  Virginia is undefeated and looking like a #1 seed.  They should be able to hold serve and pick up this road win.

-TCU AT KANSAS (Big 12).  There are a lot of question marks about this game.  TCU has just one loss, but they’ve played a rather weak schedule.  Tonight will be a true test.  Kansas has been hit hard with the injury bug, and it will be interesting to see how they play now that they’re so shorthanded.

-MIAMI FL AT FLORIDA STATE (ACC).  Florida State has a very bloated record, but if they’re really as good as their ranking then they shouldn’t have too much trouble against an unranked team at home.  Miami needs to put together a long string of wins just to catch back up to the pack.

-FRESNO STATE AT UTAH STATE (Mountain West).  If there are two teams in the MWC outside of Nevada that can make the NCAA Tournament, it appears to be these two, but neither have a large margin for error and both need quality wins on their resume, which makes this seem like a very bubblicious type of game even though it’s January.

-IOWA AT NORTHWESTERN (Big Ten).  Both teams have looked good at times, but both have struggled in conference play and both really need more good wins on their resume.

-UMASS AT SAINT LOUIS (Atlantic Ten).  SLU needs to dominate this league if they want to have a chance, and they can’t lose at home to teams that aren’t likely to make the NIT.

-ARIZONA STATE AT CALIFORNIA (Pac Twelve).  Arizona State has not been playing well lately (the home win against Kansas aside), and they cannot afford to slip up in this one.

-SAN JOSE STATE AT NEVADA (Mountain West).  Nevada shouldn’t have too much trouble bouncing back and picking up the win.

-ARIZONA AT STANFORD (Pac Twelve).  Arizona has won their first two conference games, and while their margin for error is small, it’s not too outrageous to think they can land inside the bubble if they do well in the league and avoid losses to non-tournament teams, which pretty much means avoiding losses to anyone.

UNDER THE RADAR

-BINGHAMTON AT STONY BROOK (America East).  Stony Brook can improve to 14-3 on the year.

-LIBERTY AT STETSON (Atlantic Sun).  Liberty is trying to keep pace with Lipscomb and (maybe) NJIT

-NORTH FLORIDA AT LIPSCOMB (Atlantic Sun).  See above