NEWS AND NOTES
-For Chad Sherwood’s UTR Game of the Day – CLICK HERE
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-The most notable result of the day was probably Xavier’s win at Wisconsin. Wiscy isn’t getting quite as much respect as they have in the past, or in my opinion as they will in the future, but I think this is a really good Wisconsin team and that this will prove to be a very impressive and valuable win for Xavier. It was an intense game that led to some amusing antics toward the end of the game between the fans and some of the Xavier players. Just because it’s November doesn’t mean we don’t have intensity.
-Saint Louis’s win over Virginia Tech was the other big result. This team lost over twenty games a year ago, but they have a lot of new talent and made a splash on the national scene a little sooner than I thought they would. (I hate to say this, but to be fair to Chad, he did call this). If they win again tonight against Providence, they will have made more than just a splash. If a team wins away from home against likely Tournament teams, then they’ve had one hell of a week.
-Illinois State picked up a somewhat surprising win against South Carolina in the Puerto Rico Tipoff. That in and of itself was a nice win, but it’s even nicer when you consider that they have the opportunity to continue to add to their resume.
-Harvard fell at Holy Cross. Nothing against Holy Cross, but at no point in their first three games has Harvard looked like the tournament caliber team that we thought they were. They may still get there, but they’re not there right now.
-Belmont picked up a real nice win at Middle Tennessee. This is important because the committee is now (supposedly) evaluating road wins a lot more closely. Middle Tennessee is really good and may not lose at home for the rest of the year. So far, Belmont has a close loss at Washington, a win against Vandy, and a road win against a team that may not lose another home game. Not a bad start!!
-We think Missouri is much improved!! Missouri went out to Utah and got run off the floor yesterday. Missouri was so bad last year that they’re still much improved, but maybe not to the point of being able to beat decent (let alone good) teams on the road.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES
-SOUTH CAROLINA VS UTEP (Puerto Rico TipOff). This was probably the match-up most were expecting to see. It’s just not on the side of the bracket they were expecting to see it in. South Carolina lost to Illinois State and UTEP fell to what may be a better than expected Boise State team.
-BRADLEY VS VERMONT (Island of the Bahamas Showcase). We think Vermont can land inside the bubble, and to make that happen it is important that they do well in (win) this tournament.
-AUBURN VS TEMPLE (Charleston Classic). Auburn blitzed Indiana State yesterday and Temple beat what we think is a pretty good Old Dominion team as well. With as much controversy as there is surrounding Auburn hoops right now, a good showing in this tournament would have to feel rather refreshing.
-MERCER VS LIBERTY (Paradise Jam). Liberty is out to an impressive 2-0 start and can build on it in this tournament.
-ILLINOIS STATE VS BOISE STATE (Puerto Rico Tip-Off). Really looking forward to this one after watching both these teams pick up nice wins yesterday.
-TULANE VS COLORADO STATE (Jamaica Classic). We weren’t all that excited about either team, but both come in 2-0 and if they can keep that momentum up by doing well int his tournament then they will have our attention.
-HOUSTON VS DREXEL (Paradise Jam).
-VIRGINIA AT VCU. This is one of those always fun, but rarely played early season regional match-ups!! In fact, games like this should be mandated by law!! It’s a good road test for Virginia, and it’s good in the sense that if they win then it’s a good road win on their resume, but even if they don’t pick it up the entire shape of their season will not be altered or wrecked.
-NORTHERN KENTUCKY VS JAMES MADISON (Island of the Bahamas Showcase). I really like this NKU team, but they have a razor thin margin for error and in order for the selection committee to even consider them they need to basically win virtually everything.
-VIRGINIA TECH VS WASHINGTON (2K Classic). I say this every year, but I’ll say this again. The fact that this is a third place game means absolutely nothing to the power rankings or to the selection committee. It will be evaluated the same as if it were just a regular neutral floor game. With that in mind. it’s a chance to pick up a notable win away from home for both teams. Washington has played well in both their losses. Their record doesn’t show it, but they may be better than we thought (which, truth be told, isn’t saying a whole lot, but still…)
-QUINNIPIAC VS COLORADO (Paradise Jam). If this weren’t part of a tournament it would be considered a buy game.
-GEORGIA STATE AT OLE MISS. Both teams come in at 2-0. I’m curious to see what Georgia State does in what is a good early season test.
-YALE AT ALBANY. Yale is still looking for their first win, whereas Albany comes in 2-0. Neither team is likely to land inside the bubble, but both should be at or near the top of their conference standings so we’ll go ahead and highlight it.
-IOWA STATE AT TULSA (Puerto Rico Tip-Off). I have a feeling that both of these teams will slip way below the level of “relevance” very quickly. But until that happens we’ll continue to follow them. One of these teams will win this game today.
-PROVIDENCE VS SAINT LOUIS (2K Classic). Chad said it before the year started. I didn’t believe him, but Saint Louis looked VERY good in their win against a good Virginia Tech team yesterday. If they can beat another good Providence team tonight then you have to start looking at them as one of the better teams in the A10. Winning tonight would go a very long way toward building their NCAA Tournament resume.
-SOUTH DAKOTA STATE AT KANSAS. This game is a mismatch, and it’s technically a buy game, but both teams are unbeaten and South Dakota State is the likely frontrunner in the Summit League. This is a great test for them early in the season and should be a really good game to watch.
-UC SANTA BARBARA AT TEXAS A&M. It’s a buy game, but UCSB is one of the better teams in the Big West, so we’ll go ahead and highlight it.
-FRESNO STATE AT ARKANSAS. Both teams come in without a loss, and Arkansas looked really good against Bucknell earlier in the week. Should be another fun matchup.
-DEPAUL AT ILLINOIS (Gavitt Tipoff Games). Illinois isn’t expected to do much, but this is a winnable home game against a regional opponent, and it would get them to 3-0.
-NEW MEXICO AT NEW MEXICO STATE. The first leg of one of the best and under-appreciated college hoops rivalries. New Mexico comes in 2-0, but this is clearly their first real test of the year. New Mexico State has a loss at Saint Mary’s, but still looks like one of the WAC frontrunners and they’ll have a few more chances OOC to build their resume. This one is always fun and tonight should be no exception.
-CLEMSON VS HOFSTRA (Charleston Classic). Hofstra picked up an exciting win against Dayton yesterday and has the chance to continue to build on that today. We weren’t all that excited about the Pride when we previewed the Colonial, but they could certainly emerge as a team to keep an eye on if they continue to do well in this tournament.
-EASTERN WASHINGTON AT UNLV. Eastern Washington already has a notable road win against Stanford. If they pick up another one tonight then they’ll have a great start to building a good profile.
BUY GAMES
-Fordham @ Florida State
-Northeastern @ Stanford – Stanford has lost one buy game already
-Southern @ Duke
-East Tennessee State @ Kentucky
-Omaha @ Louisville
-Columbia @ Penn State – Penn State can improve to 4-0
-Alabama A&M @ Alabama
-Lafayette @ Villanova
-UNC Asheville @ Vanderbilt
-Northern Arizona @ Arizona State
-North Dakota State @ Missouri State – I know it’s not an actual buy game, but all that can really be said is that it’s a chance for Missouri State to improve 3-0
-SC State @ UCLA
-Alcorn State @ Baylor
-UC Irvine @ Kansas State
-Alabama State @ Oregon
