Hoops HD

NEWS AND NOTES

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYBODY!!!  Eat lots of food!!  Watch lots of hoops!!  and, watch our latest Under the Radar Podcast!!  CLICK HERE

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

-In case you’re living under a rock, the big news from yesterday was Gonzaga’s exciting win over Duke to win the Maui Invitational, and perhaps take over the #1 ranking next week depending on what happens out at the NIT.  The Zags led by as much as 16 in the second half, but Duke came charging back and had multiple chances to either tie or win in the final minute, but couldn’t get it done.  After such a well played game, Gonzaga missed four straight freethrows and Duke missed two (albeit contested) layups in the last thirty seconds or so.

-Marquette hung with Kansas for a while, and Louisville was right in there with Tennessee for about 30 mins, but neither pulled off the upset, which gives us another top five match-match up (our third of the year!!) in the Preseason NIT (or whatever the hell they’re calling it) on Friday.

-Creighton pulled off a HUGE win by knocking off Clemson in the Caymand Islands Classic.  They won the event, but much more importantly they got a big OOC neutral floor win on their resume.

-Pittsburgh pulled off a bit of a surprise in their win over Saint Louis.  All of a sudden last year’s Stallings Award winners are 6-0 with a nice neutral floor win on their resume.  Pitt’s decision to get rid of the guy that was so bad that we at Hoops HD named an award for being bad after him is starting to pay off!!

-Oklahoma picked up a nice win against Florida.  We had been a little tough on the Sooners, but suddenly they are unbeaten with a couple of road wins, and now a nice neutral floor win.

-Georgia State crushed Georgia, I mean CRUSHED them.  If they play like that the rest of the year they will blow through the Sun Belt, which we were kind of expecting them to do anyway, and who knows where they’ll stand with the committee.

-Minnesota remains unbeaten, and now has a notable win over Washington on their resume after defeating the Huskies in a close and exciting game to win the Vancouver Showcase.

-Arizona State has been fantastic in November these past two years!!  They knocked off a Utah State team that had been playing really well to stay unbeaten and win the MGM Resorts Main Event last night.  They are now 5-0 with some pretty good wins on that resume.

HIGHLIGHTED

-WISCONSIN VS OKLAHOMA (Battle 4 Atlantis).  Oklahoma comes in unbeaten, and although they hadn’t looked all that impressive coming into this event, they did pick up a real nice win against Florida yesterday.  Wisconsin also comes in without a loss and has nice win against Xavier on their resume, so it’s a chance for both teams to try and build up their early season resumes with a nice win.

-VILLANOVA VS CANISIUS (Advocare Invitational).  Nova hasn’t won anything other than buy games yet, and this tournament is a chance for them to add some good (and at this point needed) wins to their resume.

-UMASS VS SOUTHERN ILLINOIS (Continental Tire Las Vegas Holiday Invitational).  We still really like this Salukis team.  This is a chance to pick up some nice OOC wins for their resume.

-LA SALLE VS MIAMI FL (Wooden Legacy).  This game is a bit of a mismatch, but Miami can make a statement if they’re able to do well in this tournament.

-VIRGINIA VS DAYTON (Battle 4 Atlantas).  Dayton had a nice win against Butler yesterday and still doesn’t have a loss on the season.  They’re probably swinging way over their heads today, but if they somehow were to win this it would instantly make them a national story.

-OKLAHOMA STATE VS MEMPHIS (Advocare Invitational).  We don’t know much about either team, and both come in with respectable 2-1 records.  Both have an opportunity to make a statement by playing well in this tournament.

-NEVADA VS TULSA (Continental Tire Las Vegas Holiday Classic).  This appears to be a big mismatch, and it probably is, but Tulsa does come in with a 4-0 record and has a chance at a huge win today.

-NORTHWESTERN VS FRESNO STATE (Wooden Legacy).  At 3-0, Northwestern hasn’t done anything Earth shattering yet, but should get some chances in this tournament if they’re able to win and advance.

-CHARLESTON VS LSU (Advocare Invitational).  This should be a good game between a CofC team that has looked good so far and an LSU team that is in the rankings and has some decent wins of their own already.  Charleston needs to pick up notable wins in events like this if they want any chance at all at impressing the selection committee.  They simply aren’t going to have these opportunities later in the season.

-STANFORD VS FLORIDA (Battle 4 Atlantis).  Both teams come in at 2-2, and both have missed a couple of opportunities at decent wins.  You get the sense that they really need to get it done in this one simply to avoid falling further behind the pack.

-TEXAS VS NORTH CAROLINA (Continental tire Las Vegas Invitational).  Texas comes in unbeaten and appears to be pretty good, but they haven’t had a test like this in their first few games.  We should learn something about them today.

-SETON HALL VS GRAND CANYON (Wooden Legacy).  Seton Hall is just 1-2, and this game has a bit of a pivotal feel for them because you get the sense that they need to pick up a couple of notable wins in this event.  It won’t be easy.  This is a good Grand Canyon team, and they’re really excited about trying to pick up some notable wins of their own.

-UAB VS FLORIDA STATE (Advocare Invitational).  Both teams are unbeaten.  The difference is UAB has played nothing but home buy games, and Florida State has actually knocked off some decent opponents.

-MIDDLE TENNESSEE VS BUTLER (Battle 4 Atlantis).  This is the loser’s side of the bracket, and one gets the sense that winning this game is as much about avoiding potential losses to sub-NIT teams as it is getting a notable win.

-MICHIGAN STATE VS UCLA (Continental Tire Las Vegas Invitational).  Two ranked teams going at it and trying to pick up a big neutral floor win.  Advancing to the winner’s side of the bracket helps ensure better opportunities and notable wins in the later rounds.

-HAWAI’I VS UTAH (Wooden Legacy).  Both teams are 2-1, and both are lacking any notable wins at the moment, so this tournament provides them with that opportunity.

NEWS AND NOTES

-For the UTR Game of the Day between Toledo and UC Irvine, which is a good one –CLICK HERE

-Duke continues to impress, although Auburn was able to come back from large deficits and keep themselves in the game on more than one occasion.  The final score was a six point margin, and I think that accurately reflects how good both these teams are.  Arizona stayed with Gonzaga for a while, but only for a while.  That gives us the championship match-up out in Maui that most of us were hoping for!

-Lipscomb loves Dallas!  and Fort Worth!  They picked up a really impressive road win at TCU last night after winning at SMU in their previous game.  A fantastic start to the season for Lipscomb with their only loss being to rival Belmont.

-Saint John’s picked up a nice win against VCU in overtime to improve to 5-0.  It hasn’t always been decisive, but the Johnnies have won all five of their games.

-Texas Tech is good again.  No one talked about them in the preseason.  You need to talk about them now.  They blasted a pretty good Nebraska team.  They are unbeaten.  They have beaten some good teams in games where they really did not struggle.  They are good again!!

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES

-SAINT LOUIS VS PITTSBURGH (Barclays Center Classic).  We weren’t expecting much out of Pitt, but they do come into this game without a loss and if they can somehow pick up this win today then maybe they can have some momentum going their way for the first time in years.

-OKLAHOMA VS FLORIDA (Battle 4 Atlantis).  Neither team has managed a quality win yet, and this tournament is a chance for both of them to start building up their resume.

-SOUTHERN MISS VS WESTERN CAROLINA (Cancun Challenge).  Southern Miss can improve to 4-1 and add another win away from home to their resume.

-SOUTH DAKOTA STATE AT COLORADO STATE (Gulf Coast Showcase).  Both teams come into this with decent records, but South Dakota State has already lost two games that are really going to hurt their resume at the end of the year.  It’s important that they basically win out if they want to be in the discussion for an at-large bid.

-STANFORD VS WISCONSIN (Battle 4 Atlantis).  Wisky already has a nice win at Xavier on their resume, and can pick up a few more in this event.

-SAN DIEGO STATE VS IOWA STATE (Maui Invitational).  San Diego State is coming off a close win against Xavier and is looking to add another notable win to their profile.  Iowa State didn’t have any trouble with Illinois yesterday and has another chance to add a nice win to their resume today.

-DUKE VS GONZAGA (Maui Invitational).  We have a neutral floor match-up in a small intimate atmosphere between two top three teams, and two potential #1 seeds.  This would essentially be a #1 seed caliber win for whoever pulls it off.  Gonzaga has struggled a little bit more than Duke, but still looks very strong.

-LOUISVILLE VS TENNESSEE (NIT Season Tip-Off).  Both teams come in with a 3-0 record, but Tennessee is ranked in the top 5 and is expected to be the better team.  This is a chance for Louisville to make a huge statement, though.

-LOUISIANA VS TULANE (Gulf Coast Showcase).  Fun interstate match-up between a Louisiana team that should do well in the Sun Belt, and a Tulane team that is improving as a program.

-GEORGIA STATE VS GEORGIA (Cayman Islands Classic).  A fun interstate match-up between a Georgia State team that we feel will be tops in the Sun Belt, and a Georgia team that may not be expected to do well in the SEC, but would still be a feel-good win for GA State if they’re able to pull it off.

WASHINGTON VS MINNESOTA (Vancouver Showcase).  Both teams are off to good starts, and both have the chance to add a really good (we think) early season win to their resumes.

-MARQUETTE VS KANSAS (NIT Season Tip-Off).  We were expecting big wins out of Marquette this year, and although they come in 3-1 they got blasted in their only real test of the season.  Kansas already has a big win against Michigan State under their belts and can add to that by picking up more big wins away from home in this event.

-DAYTON VS BUTLER (Battle 4 Atlantis).  Dayton comes in with three buy game wins, and Butler comes in with two buy game wins and a win against Ole Miss, so this is the first real test for either team this season.

-CREIGHTON VS CLEMSON (Cayman Islands Classic).  Clemson comes in without a loss and has looked strong every time they’ve taken the floor.  Creighton has played pretty well this season as well, and can really pick up an early statement win today if they’re somehow able to pull it off.

-TOLEDO VS UC IRVINE (Gulf Coast Showcase).  UC Irvine looks to remain unbeaten and add another nice neutral floor win to their resume against a one-loss Toledo team.

-LOYOLA CHICAGO VS BOSTON COLLEGE (Fort Meyers Tip-Off).  Both teams come into this game with just one loss.  Loyola has won three straight since their loss to Furman and is looking to keep that going.

-SAINT MARY’S VS MISSISSIPPI STATE (MGM Resorts Main Event).  Saint Mary’s is always criticized for their lack of quality wins.  They have a chance to pick up a really good one on a neutral floor today.  Mississippi State is also looking for what would probably be their biggest win of the season so far.

-PENN STATE VS SMU (Cancun Challenge).  This game has a pivotal feel to it because you get the sense that the loser is really in trouble.

-XAVIER VS ILLINOIS (Maui Invitational).  This game has a pivotal feel to it because you get the sense that the loser is really in trouble.

-MIDDLE TENNESSEE VS VIRGINIA (Battle 4 Atlantis).  Middle Tennessee is coming off a fantastic three year run, but they lost a lot of key players and aren’t quite the same.  Still, they’re off to a 4-1 start and have the opportunities to catapult themselves into national relevance if they can play well in this event.  Today won’t be easy.  Virginia is ranked 4th and while they haven’t been tested yet, they are almost certainly capable of passing the tests they’ll face down in Atlantis.

-HARVARD VS SAN FRANCISCO.  Harvard has had a few bright points and should be a factor in Ivy League this year.  San Francisco is looking to improve to 5-0.

-ARIZONA STATE AT UTAH STATE (MGM Resorts Main Event).  Both teams are unbeaten, both teams have won some notable games, and in the case of Utah State, they have looked very good at times this year.  It’s a late tip, but definitely worth staying up and watching.

-AUBURN VS ARIZONA (Maui Invitational).  Also a late tip.  Also worth staying up and watching.  Auburn will likely end up as a protected seed, and we’re still trying to figure Arizona out.  If they can somehow manage to win this game, then we will have them figured out.

BUY GAMES

-Winthrop @ Kentucky
-South Wesleyan (nondiv1) @ Furman
-Dartmouth @ Buffalo
-Coppin State @ Wofford
-Colgate @ Syracuse
-Florida A&M @ South Florida
-Montana State @ Arkansas
-Alabama State @ Iowa
-Rice @ BYU
-Central Connecticut @ LMU