Hoops HD

NEWS AND NOTES

-Boise State is looking impressive out of the gate.  They blasted Illinois State today in the Puerto Rico Tipoff and have advanced to the championship game.  We weren’t all that big on them coming into the season, but one week in I’d say they look like the most impressive Mountain West team so far. (emphasis on SO FAR).

-Tulane remains unbeaten after blasting Colorado State.  By no means am I ready to declare them to be a great team, but they’ve shown more signs of life this first week than they have since I can remember.

-Virginia picked up a nice road win at VCU and were particularly impressive in how they closed out the game.  It’s the kind of early season win that should help them both on and off paper.

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES

-TEXAS TECH VS BOSTON COLLEGE (Naismith Hall of Fame Tipoff).  When you want to tip off the hall of fame, then by all means get BC and Texas Tech on the phone!!  Both teams come in unbeaten, and BC may actually have something this year.  At the very least they appear to be much improved.

-HARVARD AT MANHATTAN.  Harvard has a thin margin for error and simply cannot afford to lose too many more games to sub-NIT caliber teams.  Manhattan, to be fair, is 1-0 on the season.

-FURMAN AT BUTLER.  It’s a buy game, but we think Furman will be near the top of the SoCon standings and the come into this game having won their first two.

-LA SALLE VS NORTHWESTERN (Hall of Fame Tipoff).  Northwestern has struggled in all three of their games this year and is actually coming off a loss to Creighton.  La Salle’s expectations weren’t all that high (at least not by us), but they do come into this with three wins.  They can make a splash on the national scene if they pull this out today.

-MIDDLE TENNESSEE AT TENNESSEE STATE.  Middle is coming off a home loss to crosstown rival Belmont, but they could still end up having a big year and have a chance to pick up their second true road win today.

-LIBPSCOMB AT TEXAS.  I know this is a buy game, and Lipscomb not being at full strength yet makes it even more of a buy game, but it is a good Lipscomb team that will be near the top of the ASun taking on a Texas team that’s in bounce back mode.

-FAIRFIELD AT PURDUE.  It’s a buy game, but both teams are unbeaten and Fairfield is expected to be near the top of the MAAC, so we’ll highlight it.

-OAKLAND AT TOLEDO.  Oakland comes in 2-0 and is an UTR team that could turn out to be a fringe bubble team.  That means being able to win games like this on the road.  Toledo is 2-0, but if Oakland really is a top forty caliber team then this is the kind of game they need to be able to win.

-CHARLESTON AT CHARLOTTE.  Charleston was blasted by Wichita State, and didn’t really look that good in their opener either, but they still have a high ceiling of potential.  Having said that, they need to come into this game with a sense of urgency, even if it is November.

-BUCKNELL AT MARYLAND.  Bucknell had some chances to really start to build a solid profile early.  So far they’ve come up short.  None of their losses are bad, but if they want any hope of being on or inside the bubble then they need to be able to win a couple of games like this one.

-UT ARLINGTON AT BYU.  UTA is a likely Sun Belt frontrunner, and BYU is coming off a rather nice win at Princeton.  Both come into this unbeaten.

-UTAH STATE AT GONZAGA.  This is Gonzaga’s biggest test so far, and it probably won’t be much of a test.

-NEVADA AT PACIFIC.  Nevada is 3-0 on the year and is looking to pick up their second true road win.

-LONG BEACH STATE AT OREGON STATE.  Oregon State came up way short in a rather unimpressive showing against Wyoming a little while ago, but as the season goes on they should improve.  We weren’t expecting all that much out of Long Beach, but they come into this 2-0 and if they can win this one they’ll have a fair amount of early momentum going for them.

BUY GAMES

-UMES @ Georgetown
-William & Mary @ UCF
-NJIT @ Seton Hall
-FAMU @ Mississippi State
-Binghamton @ Evansville – Evansville can improve to 4-0
-Jackson State @ Saint Bonaventure – Bonnies still looking for their first win
-Idaho State @ Washington State
-Houston Baptist @ Belmont
-Texas Southern @ Syracuse
-Morgan State @ West Virginia
-Pine Bluff @ SMU

NEWS AND NOTES

-For Chad Sherwood’s UTR Game of the Day – CLICK HERE

-For the second installment of the internet’s hottest new show, The Kyle Lamb Show – CLICK HERE!!!!!

-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

NEWS AND NOTES

-For our latest Under the Radar Podcast – CLICK HERE

-For Chad Sherwood’s UTR Game of the Day between Middle Tennessee and Belmont – CLICK HERE

-Creighton got a huge win at Northwestern yesterday.  Creighton always seems to beat a ranked team in November.  I believe they’ve done so ever since they joined the Big East.  So, here we are again with Creighton getting a big early season win.

-BYU also picked up a really nice road win at Princeton.  We weren’t all that big on the Cougars, but they’re off to a 2-0 start with a good road win, so we’ll be paying attention to them until they give us a reason not to.

-Other than that it was a rather chalky day, which is common when you have this level of buy games.  Bucknell put up a good showing against North Carolina, and UCLA had to sweat out their game against Central Arkansas, but other than that there were no real surprises.

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES

-ILLINOIS STATE VS SOUTH CAROLINA (Puerto Rico Tipoff).  We weren’t expecting all that much out of South Carolina this year, but they’ve looked pretty good winning their first two games and could emerge onto the national scene if they do well in this tournament.

-AUBURN VS INDIANA STATE (Charleston Classic).  Indiana State already has a big win at Indiana.  If they pick up some more notable wins in this tournament then we will definitely start paying attention to them.  Auburn is…well…probably in for a long year.

-OLD DOMINION VS TEMPLE (Charleston Classic).  Old Dominion is off to a 2-0 start and can help out their profile by picking up some wins in this tournament.  We think Temple is a much improved team and we’ll learn something about them this week as well.

-BOISE STATE VS UTEP (Puerto Rico Tip-Off).  Both teams come in without a loss.  UTEP finished strong last year and it will be interesting to see if they can carry that momentum into this year.

-CLEMSON VS OHIO (Charleston Classic).  Picking up some early season wins away from home should help both teams.  Clemson will have a rough time in the ACC and would really benefit from making a case for themselves out of conference.  Ohio, like most UTR teams, has a small margin for error and this is a chance for them to pick up some notable wins.

-IOWA STATE VS APPALACHIAN STATE (Puetro Rico Tip Off0.  Appy State can improve to 3-0 with a win.  Iowa State has a solid program, but this year’s edition of it will struggle.  Their next win will be their first.

-NEBRASKA AT SAINT JOHN’S (Gavitt Tipoff Games).  This is the first real test for both teams.  We’ll learn something about both of them tonight.

-VIRGINIA TECH VS SAINT LOUIS (2K Classic, New York NY).  Both teams come in unbeaten, but also untested.  We like this Virginia Tech team and while we think Saint Louis is improved we still have a lot of uncertainties about them.  This is a chance for both teams to pick up a good early season win.

-HARVARD AT HOLY CROSS.  Both teams come in 2-0, and although they haven’t looked as dominant as we expected in their first two games we still think this Harvard team could end up inside the NCAA Tournament bubble.  If they’re truly  tournament caliber team, then this is the kind of road game that they are expected to be able to win.

-BELMONT AT MIDDLE TENNESSEE.  This is Chad’s UTR Game of the Day.  CLICK HERE TO READ HIS WRITE UP

-DAYTON VS HOFSTRA (Charleston Classic).  Both teams come in 1-0, and like all teams in these early season tournaments it’s a chance for them to emerge their relevance if they do well.

-MISSOURI AT UTAH.  Both teams come in 2-0 and both look to be much improved from last year.  Mizzou, who has been pitiful the last two years, can pick up a really nice early season road win and improve to 3-0, which will generate more momentum than what they’ve had in quite some time.

-XAVIER AT WISCONSIN (Gavitt Tipoff Games).  Both teams have devoured a couple of cupcakes, but both appear to be really good.  This is the first real test for both teams and it’s a chance to pick up a really nice early season win.  A lot of people are down on Wiscy, but if they win this they’ll suddenly be nationally relevant and either in the rankings or close to it like what we’re used to seeing.

-PROVIDENCE VS WASHINGTON (2k Classic).  Providence lost a tough one earlier in the week, but doing well in the 2K Classic certainly gives them the chance to bounce back.

-SAMFORD AT LSU.  We highlight this to point out that we think LSU is awful and it wouldn’t surprise us at all if Samford, who is a likely SoCon frontrunner, goes in there and beats them.

-MARSHALL AT MOREHEAD STATE.  A win for Marshall gets them to 3-0.

-LOYOLA CHICAGO AT UMKC.  A win for Loyola gets them to 3-0.

BUY GAMES

-North Florida @ Florida
-FAMU @ Miami FL
-Coppin State @ Cincinnati
-Chicago State @ Notre Dame
-Southern Miss @ Michigan – both teams 1-0
-Texas Southern @ Ohio State
-Presbyterian @ NC State
-South Alabama @ La Salle – La Salle can improve to 3-0
-Oral Roberts @ Oklahoma State – this may not technically be a buy game.  I know Okie State has gone to Oral Roberts.  But, it looks like one.
-Grambling @ Iowa
-Cal State Bakersfield @ Arizona