News, Notes, and Highlighted Games: Tuesday, Dec 18th

Posted on December 18, 2018 by David Griggs

-For the latest Hoops HD Report, which we recorded last night – CLICK HERE

-For John Stalica’s UTR Game of the Day between The Citadel and Campbell – CLICK HERE

-Despite injuries, Vandy continues to play well.  Last night they picked up a rather surprising (at least to me) and impressive win as they decisively knocked off an Arizona State team that had been read hot on the year.  At 7-2 with a couple of decent wins, we have to start looking at Vandy as a possible NCAA Tournament team.

-Davidson really needed to bounce back and beat Wake Forest after their loss to Temple.  Or, perhaps the better way of putting it is that they needed not to lose to Wake Forest, who appears to be an NIT team at best.  Unfortunately, they lost to Wake Forest.

 

-XAVIER AT MISSOURI.  Both these teams are pretty far outside looking in right now, and need to start stringing together wins in games other than buy games in order to get caught back up.

-SOUTH FLORIDA AT FIU.  Both teams have impressive records and semi-impressive resumes, but both still have a lot of work to do with a small margin for error if they want to land inside the bubble.  This is also the first true road game for South Florida.

-RADFORD AT UNC GREENSBORO.  This should be a fun match-up between two really strong UTR teams.  UNCG can improve to 11-2 with a win, and Radford can add another quality road win to their resume.

-BRADLEY AT GEORGIA SOUTHERN.  Another match-up between two good UTR teams.  Bradley should be able to make quite a bit of noise in the MVC this year when you look at how that league has struggled, and Georgia Southern has a few big wins already and could be a force in the SBC.

-BUFFALO AT SYRACUSE.  Syracuse is coming off a loss to Old Dominion, and while we still have a long stretch of the season ahead of us which will give Syracuse ample chances at good wins in conference play, there is a sense of urgency to this game for the Orange.  Buffalo is 10-0 with a top 15 ranking, and they are looking at adding another quality road win to their resume as well. It should be a really fun game.

-LIBERTY VS ALABAMA (Rocket City Classic).  At 9-2 on the year, Liberty is off to a really good start and has a great opportunity at a huge win today.  Alabama is a modest 6-3 and will certainly have the chances they need to play their way inside the bubble if they’re good enough.  Holding serve today will be tougher than they expect, though.

-NORTH TEXAS AT NEW MEXICO.  North Texas has a bloated 10-1 record on the year so far, but they haven’t really been tested or gotten the kinds of wins that would really impress the committee, so their margin for error is still rather small.  They have a chance to pick up a semi-decent road win against a New Mexico team that has really struggled this season.

-CREIGHTON AT OKLAHOMA.  Oklahoma continues to win against better and better competition, and they continue to improve.  Creighton is a modest 7-3 and winning a game like this on the road could change the entire complexion of their current resume.  This will be a quality win for whoever ends up pulling it out.

-Princeton @ Duke
-Florida A&M @ Oregon
-Appalachian State @ Georgetown
-Youngstown @ Ohio State
-Albany @ Providence
-Binghamton @ Notre Dame
-Charleston @ Siena – a win for CofC gets them to 10-2 on the year
-Drexel @ UConn
-Charleston Southern @ Clemson
-South Dakota @ Kansas
-Evansville @ Murray State – a win for Murray gets them to 8-1 on the year
-Presby @ Butler
-SFA @ Baylor
-UT Arlington @ Gonzaga
-North Dakota @ Marquette
-Western Carolina @ Iowa
-South Dakota State @ Eastern Washington

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Under The Radar Game of the Day: The Citadel at Campbell

Posted on December 18, 2018 by John Stalica

For the latest episode of the Hoops HD Report Podcast – CLICK HERE

For the Puppet’s latest checkpoint bracket projection – CLICK HERE

Citadel (8-2, 5-2 D1) at Campbell (5-4, 3-4 D1) – 7:00 PM (ESPN+)

Tonight’s UTR Game of the Day matches up a pair of prolific offensive teams in the Bulldogs of Citadel and the Campbell Fighting Camels. Citadel comes into the game with a 6-game winning streak that includes a win against Southeast Missouri State 86-74 in their last contest. They even won at South Florida 84-81 over Thanksgiving break. As a team, Citadel currently averages 101 points per game – even with 3 non-D1 games on their docket, that is an impressive feat that includes 5 players (led by Lew Stallworth’s 17.1 PPG and 6.1 RPG) currently averaging double figures for the Bulldogs.

Any discussion of Campbell is certain to include one of the nation’s leading scorers in Chris Clemons, who is currently averaging an eye-popping 31 points a game (along with 6.3 RPG and 3.1 APG) for the Camels. Clemons surpassed 2,500 career points in Campbell’s 100-53 win in their last game against Central Penn. Assuming Campbell stays healthy and scores at least 25 points a game in Campbell’s remaining games, there is a chance he could eclipse the 3,000-point mark in his Campbell career!

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The Hoops HD Report: December 17th

Posted on December 17, 2018 by David Griggs

Chad and the panel are back to recap another busy weekend in college basketball.  They begin by looking at the Big 12 and Kansas’s big win over Villanova, along with Texas Tech and Oklahoma who are off to great starts.  In the ACC we look at North Carolina’s big win over Gonzaga, and how NC State deserves more credit than they’re getting.  In the Big Ten, we discuss Purdue and how much they’ve struggled, how Michigan continues to dominate, and question how good Ohio State is after they struggled against Bucknell.  In the SEC we look at how good Tennessee and Mississippi State are, and debate the overall strength of LSU.  The Pac Twelve and Atlantic Ten continue to struggle, and we discuss how many of those teams can land inside the bubble.  All that, and much more…

And for all you radio lovers, below is an audio only version of the show…

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Hoops HD Bracket Projections (from The Puppet): December 17th

Posted on December 17, 2018 by David Griggs

Let me explain what it is you’re looking at.  This is a CHECKPOINT on CURRENT MERIT.  It is not a prediction of where I think the teams will be in March, nor is it necessarily a ranking of how good I think the teams currently are.  I’m basically just asking the question how hard would it be for an average team to win the games that these teams have played, and then ranking them based on how they’ve done.  This is also what I think the bracket SHOULD look like, not what I think it WILL look like, so if you want a forecast of March, then this is not for you.

OTHERS CONSIDERED:  Colorado, Georgetown, Butler, Murray State, Toledo, Iowa State, Maryland, UCLA, Davidson, Creighton, Wofford, Washington, Alabama, North Texas, San Francisco, UCF, Vanderbilt, Kent State, Fresno State, Ole Miss, San Diego, Liberty, Texas State

NOTES ON THE BRACKET

-We are still splitting hairs.  The more the season plays out, the more defined things will become, but for now there are teams that are in the top half of the bracket that could arguably be left out altogether, and vice versa.

-I still have Gonzaga on the #1 line despite two straight losses.  The reasons are this: They lost to Tennessee on a neutral floor, who is on the #1 line, and to North Carolina in a true road game, who is on the #2 line and who is unbeaten at home.  Those are not damaging losses.  Duke has not won any games that are as difficult as those two are to win.  Not to mention, Gonzaga beat Duke on a neutral floor.  I know that the human polls will rank Duke higher because the biggest thing they look at is how recently a team lost.  That isn’t how the committee looks at it, though.

-Buffalo is not a protected seed.  The reason for that is because their big win at West Virginia suddenly isn’t looking as big as it did at the time.  They’re a good team.  They also have wins at Southern Illinois and on a neutral floor against San Francisco.  Those aren’t protected seed caliber wins, though, and those wins aren’t as good as the ones that the teams who we do have as protected seeds have.

-I love what Belmont has done this year, and they are now the only team with a win at UCLA.  They are also the only team that has won at Lipscomb.  I don’t think they’ll end up anywhere close to the #5 line because they don’t have the opportunities at the kinds of wins that they’ll need to stay there, but for now I think that’s where they belong in terms of the merit of their resume.

-As bad as the Atlantic Ten has been, VCU and Saint Louis seem to have enough on their resumes to land them inside the bubble at the moment.

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Under The Radar Game of the Day: Northern Colorado at New Mexico State

Posted on December 17, 2018 by John Stalica

For tonight’s News, Notes and Highlighted Games – CLICK HERE

Northern Colorado (6-2, 4-2 D1) at New Mexico State (7-2, 5-2 D1) – 9:00 PM EST (WAC Digital Network)

Tonight’s UTR Game of the Day is a nonbracketed game that is part of the Las Vegas Classic featuring the Northern Colorado Bears (for the lower bracket) and the New Mexico State Aggies (for the main bracket). The Bears are a respectable 3-2 in true road games this season, even with a weekend loss at San Diego. They also have a pair of wins under their belts against Front Range rivals Denver and Wyoming. Jordan Davis leads the Bears with 24.4 points a game and 4.9 assists per game (although 4.6 turnovers a game may be the only negative).

While New Mexico State has been tearing through the UTR portion of their schedule along with sweeps of rivals UTEP and New Mexico, their most recent outing was a near-upset at the Sprint Center in Kansas City where they fell to Kansas 63-60. Three players average double figures in points for the Aggies – they are led by AJ Harris (12.0 PPG) and Ivan Aurrecoechea’s 11.9 PPG and 5.4 rebounds a game).

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News, Notes, and Highlighted Games: Monday, Dec 17th

Posted on December 17, 2018 by David Griggs

NEWS AND NOTES

-Houston came from behind, again, to get another win against Saint Louis.  SLU could have really used this win.  In one sense the loss doesn’t hurt because losing at Houston won’t set a team back all that much.  In another sense, SLU needs to do more than just hold serve, and this was the kind of game that could have really pushed them forward.  Their opportunities at notable wins are limited, so the ice they are skating on is pretty thin.

-West Virginia fell at Rhode Island, and didn’t look all that strong or competitive.  I’m now thinking that West Virginia is not as good as we thought.  Having said that, it was a nice win for Rhody that could help get their season turned around.

-Tulsa is now 9-3 on the year with some fairly decent wins on their resume after their win against Dayton.  They still have a ways to go, but the road to the NCAA Tournament is at least open for them if they can have a big year in conference play.

-TCU’s resume still needs some improvement, but I now think their team is just fine.  They crushed a decent Indiana State team yesterday to win their fifth game in a row, and will get the chances at the kinds of wins they need.

 

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES

-ARIZONA STATE AT VANDERBILT.  Arizona State had to come from behind to eek out a win against Georgia a couple days ago.  They should get an even bigger test tonight.  Vandy is doing better than expected considering the injuries that they’ve sustained.  This win would look great on their resume, but pulling it off is easier said than done.

-DAVIDSON AT WAKE FOREST.  Davidson is coming off a heartbreaking overtime loss against Temple that they really could have used.  They have a chance to rebound against what appears to be a weak Wake Forest team, but it’s still a road win for their resume.

-NORTHERN COLORADO AT NEW MEXICO STATE.  This is a really interesting UTR game between what has looked to be the best team in the Big Sky and a New Mexico State team who took Kansas to the wall just last week.  Don’t be surprised if we see both these teams in the bracket this March.

-SEMO @ Florida State
-Houston Baptist @ Samford
-Covenant (nondiv1) @ Lipscomb
-Gardner Webb @ Georgia Tech
-Chicago State @ Northwestern
-Pepperdine @ Oregon State

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