News, Notes, and Highlighted Games: Wednesday, Nov 15th

Posted on November 15, 2017 by David Griggs

NEWS AND NOTES

-For Chad Sherwood’s UTR Game of the Day between Jacksonville State and Buffalo, which is another good one – CLICK HERE

-We will be recording our Under the Radar podcast tonight, so be sure and be on the lookout for that.

-The two showcase games lived up to the hype, at least in terms of excitement.  There were still some early November cobwebs to dust off, but all and all it was two great games to play early in the season.  Duke and Michigan State seesawed back and forth with Duke pulling out out in the end, and Kentucky hung right in with Kansas for the first 39-and-a-half minutes until the Jayhawks finally put it away.  When it comes to earning a #1 seed, having a neutral floor win over a team that’s also in the hunt for a #1 seed is a huge leg up, so even though it was just Day 5 of the season these are still games that can play a huge rule in shaping what the committee does in March.

-Purdue picked up a nice road win at Marquette and looked really impressive doing it.

-We weren’t really sure about George Washington coming into the year.  I believe we are now sure that they’re not as good as Florida State.  The Seminoles won easily at home.

-San Diego State was another team that we were kind of high on and that we felt had a chance of landing inside the bubble come March.  Of course it’s still early, but they didn’t just fail to pick up a notable road win against a decent at best Arizona State team, they got absolutely smoked.  Arizona State might be an NIT team (at least that’s what we think for now), and those are the kinds of games that NCAA Tournament caliber teams need to be able to win.  Not only did SDSU not win, they not won HUGE!

Georgia and UConn had some trouble in their buy games, but ended up getting it done.

 

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES

-COLORADO CHRISTIAN AT CAL BAPTIST.  The Team of the People!!!  YOUR LANCERS!!!  They are nationally ranked!!  They are undefeated!!  They look to continue their march to greatness in their final year of div2 tonight!!!  CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE GAME!!  Tip Off is at 10pm, est!!  We will be recording Under the Radar at the time, and we will have a live report!!

-INDIANA AT SETON HALL (Gavitt Tipoff Games).  Indiana had a rather unspectacular season debut with their 30 point home loss to Indiana State.  If they play like that on the road tonight against a Seton Hall team that appears to be good enough to earn a protected seed they may lose by 60.

-UC SANTA BARBARA AT PITTSBURGH.  We are highlighting this because of UCSB and not Pitt.  A win for UCSB, which is very possible, gets them to 2-0 on the year.

-MONTANA AT PENN STATE.  Both teams come in unbeaten.  Penn State could make some noise in the Big Ten this year, and Montana is one of the better teams in the Big Sky.

-BYU AT PRINCETON.  Princeton lost their opener, but they’re still a formidable team that can make some noise in the Ivy.  BYU is looking to stay unbeaten and pick up their first road win.

-JACKSONVILLE STATE AT BUFFALO.  This is Chad’s UTR Game of the Day.  Jax State blitzed Richmond on the road earlier this week.  A win tonight will give them what should turn out to be another decent road win and improve them to 3-0 on the year, which is a very good start.

-BUCKNELL AT NORTH CAROLINA.  It’s getting harder and harder to speak highly of this Bucknell team and portray them as top 40 team that we thought they were.  They’re 0-2, and while none of the losses are bad, if they’re a legit top 40 team they should have picked up at least one of them, or at least played a little better.  They have another chance to make a big impression tonight, but they’re probably swinging way over their heads in this one.

-NIAGARA AT MINNESOTA.  This is a buy game, but it’s worth watching since both teams come in without a loss.  Niagara had a nice road win at Saint Bonaventure in their first game, and Minnesota won at Providence in what was one of the more impressive wins of the entire year for any team so far.

-BUTLER AT MARYLAND (Gavitt Tipoff Games).  Both teams come into this one unbeaten, but untested.  We should learn something about both of them tonight.

-CREIGHTON AT NORTHWESTERN (Gavitt Tipoff Games).  Both teams come in unbeaten and untested.  Northwestern is in the rankings, but they’ve had to sweat more than you would expect during their first two games.  These re two likely tournament teams so this would be a really good early season win for whoever pulls it off.

-NEVADA AT SANTA CLARA.  Nevada had a nice win against Rhode Island the other night and is now trying to pick up their first true road win.

 

BUY GAMES

-Southern @ Missouri State
-American @ West Virginia
-Gardner Webb @ UCF
-Mount Saint Mary’s @ Georgetown
-UMES @ Saint Bonaventure – Bonnies looking for their first win
-Northwestern State @ SMU
-Ball State @ Oklahoma
-South Dakota @ TCU – both teams 2-0
-Seattle @ Washington State
-Cal State Fullerton @ Saint Mary’s
-Prairie View A&M @ UNLV
-Central Arkansas @ UCLA

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Under the Radar Game of the Day: Jacksonville State at Buffalo

Posted on November 15, 2017 by Chad

Jacksonville State at Buffalo, 7:00 PM Eastern, espn3

The Under the Radar Game of the Day shuffles off to Buffalo tonight as the hometown Bulls welcome in the defending Ohio Valley Conference tournament champions, Jacksonville State.  Buffalo enters tonight’s game at 1-0 following a win this past weekend over Western New York Big Four rival Canisius, 80-75.  Nick Perkins led the way with 26 points for the Bulls, while Jeremy Harris had 15 and Davonta Jordan came off the bench to score 16 and pull down 8 rebounds.  The Bulls are one of the favorites this season in a wide-open Mid-American Conference race, but need to be careful not to look past tonight’s game to their next contest, against Cincinnati in the opening round of the Cayman Islands Classic.

Ray Harper’s Jacksonville State Gamecocks did the same thing Ray Harper’s Western Kentucky teams seemed to always do last season, puling a few upsets and winning their conference tournament.  For Jax State, the OVC tourney win brought with it the school’s first-ever bid to the Big Dance.  And, at least so far this season, it appears that this team is eyeing a return trip.  The Gamecocks are 2-0 including an incredibly impressive blowout win on Monday afternoon at Richmond.  Four players scored in double-figures for the team, led by a double-double from Christian Cunningham.  If the Gamecocks can score another big road win tonight, they will establish themselves early as one of the key Under the Radar teams to keep an eye on throughout the season.

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News, Notes, and Highlighted Games: Tuesday, Nov 14th

Posted on November 14, 2017 by David Griggs

NEWS AND NOTES

–CLICK HERE for today’s Hoops HD Report where we recap the first weekend and preview all of the upcoming exempt tournaments

-For Chad Sherwood’s UTR Game of the Day between Loyola MD v Fairfield – CLICK HERE

-Minnesota picked up what is the biggest true road win of the season for any team (so far) with a really impressive showing against Providence.  Providence looks like a tournament team, and we believe they’ll be able to beat a lot of strong teams at home this year, so this one is going to look really nice on Minney’s NCAA Tournament resume.  It’s the caliber of win that we see out of protected seeds.

-Wichita State blew out College of Charleston.  I thought it was going to be a good game and it was…well…not.  CofC may not have the brand name that gets people excited, but we do believe they are a top 50 team, and potentially a fringe bubble team if they end up not winning their conference tournament.  So, it was a really impressive showing for the Shockers.

-We will get to this later in the week, but two UTR teams that looked really strong yesterday were Jacksonville State, who went into Richmond and completely blew the Spiders off their own floor, and Florida Gulf Coast, who has racked up two decisive wins against Illinois State and Siena.  Those may not be tournament teams, but they’re not chopped liver either, and to blow out Siena at Siena is rather impressive.

-Belmont pretty much led Vanderbilt for the entire game and picked up what was a feel good win against their crosstown foes at home.  Belmont lost just one game at home last year, and may not lose at home at all this year.  This loss may have bruised Vandy’s ego a little bit, but it won’t crush their season.  I applaud Bryce Drew and Vandy for playing the local teams.  They played (and lost) to Middle Tennessee early in the season last year, and it hardly resulted in their season being a wash.  The same is true for this season.  If they end up being a bust, it won’t be because of this game.  Most P5 schools don’t like to play games like this, but there really isn’t all that much to lose by doing it.  In fact more is gained than lost.  As for Belmont, they’ve beaten Vanderbilt and almost won at Washington.  They are once again a UTR team to keep an eye on.

-South Carolina won rather handily against Western Michigan.  That may not sound noteworthy, but Western Michigan appears to be pretty good this year whereas not many people were all that big on the Gamecocks.  The fact that they won so handily may indicate that Angry Frank and Co. are better than what we thought.

 

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES

-DUKE VS MICHIGAN STATE (***Spotlight Game***) (Champions Classic, Chicago IL).  On just the fifth day of the season we have a match up between the top two teams!!  A neutral floor win against a highly ranked team looks really good on an NCAA Tournament resume.  It’s the caliber of win that a team needs if they want to land on the #1 line.

-KENTUCKY VS KANSAS. (***Spotlight Game***) (Champions Classic, Chicago IL).  On just the fifth day of the season we have a match up between two top five teams!!  A neutral floor win against a highly ranked team looks really good on an NCAA Tournament resume.  It’s the caliber of win that a team needs if they want to land on the #1 line.

-IONA AT SYRACUSE.  This is a buy game, but it’s interesting enough to put up here.  Syracuse is struggling, and while Iona has had better teams in the past, they’re not all that bad this year and are coming off a very close loss at Albany in their opener.  They may squeeze the Orange a little bit.

-GEORGE WASHINGTON AT FLORIDA STATE.  We don’t know a whole lot about either team yet, and today is a good test for both of them, as well as a chance to build up some early season momentum.

-UNC WILMINGTON AT DAVIDSON.  We like this Davidson team.  We think that they can have the kind of season that would impress the Selection Committee.  If they fail to win this game at home, we’ll realize that we were probably wrong!

-MONMOUTH AT LEHIGH.  Monmouth landing inside the bubble is a long shot, but this would be a nice road win for them, and that’s something that not many teams manage in the month of November.

-LIPSCOMB AT ALABAMA.  This is a buy game, but since both teams come in 1-0 and since Lipscomb is one of our favorites in the A-Sun we will go ahead and put it up here.

-DELAWARE AT BRADLEY.  Both teams are 1-0 and Delaware had a really nice win at Richmond to open the season (which quite honestly looks a lot less nice today, but still).

-PURDUE AT MARQUETTE (Gavitt Tipoff Games).  both teams come into this after winning a couple of buy games.  This would really be a nice road win for the Boilers if they’re able to pick it up.  It’s a really good test for a Marquette team that could also use a big early season win.

-SAN DIEGO STATE AT ARIZONA STATE.  Both teams are 1-0.  We’ve talked a lot about the Mountain West’s inability to land a team inside the bubble the last two years, and how we think San Diego State could be on the committee’s radar again this year.  Plain and simple, these are the kinds of games they need to win.  It’s not easy to win road games like this, but it’s not easy to make the NCAAs either.

-DENVER AT COLORADO (Front Range).  WE LOVE THE FRONT RANGE!!!  Colorado is trying to improve to 2-0 on the season, and in Front Range play!!!

-WINTHROP AT COLORADO STATE.  I know it’s a buy game, but it should be an interesting one.  Colorado State is trying to improve to 2-0 against a Winthrop team that should be one of the better teams in the Big South

 

BUY GAMES

-Nicholls @ Villanova – both teams 1-0
-Central Connecticut @ Saint John’s
-Sacred Heart at Boston College
-Cleveland State @ Rutgers – a win can get Rutgers to 3-0
-Bryant @ NC State – NC State can get to 3-0
-High Point @ Tennessee – both teams 1-0
-SC Upstate @ Georgia
-Stony Brook @ UConn
-VMI @ Duquesne – Duquesne can get to 2-0
-Liberty @ Wake Forest – If Liberty wins this then they will have our attention
-UMKC @ Kansas State
-New Hampshire @ Texas – both teams 1-0
-Maine @ Texas Tech
-Alabama State @ South Dakota State – we like this SD State team, and a win (which is likely) gets them to 3-0
-Howard @ Gonzaga
-Omaha @ New Mexico
-Eastern Washington @ Stanford

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Under the Radar Game of the Day: Loyola at Fairfield

Posted on November 14, 2017 by Chad

Loyola at Fairfield, 7:00 PM Eastern, fairfieldstags.com

A pair of former conference foes meet in today’s Under the Radar Game of the Day as the Metro Atlantic’s Fairfield Stags host the Patriot League’s Loyola (Md) Greyhounds.  Loyola played a tough game on opening night against the Big Ten’s Northwestern Wildcats, falling 79-75.  Andrew Kostecka led the way with 22 points while Cam Gregory registered a double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds.  Andre Walker, who averaged over 15 points per game last season, was held to only 8.  If he can contribute more, and the rest of the team continues to step up, the Greyhounds have a chance to challenge Bucknell for the conference title this year and, even more importantly today, pick up a road win in Connecticut tonight.

Fairfield enters tonight’s game at 1-0 following an 80-72 home win over the Penn Quakers.  Tyler Nelson led with way with 30 points for Sydney Johnson’s Stags in their win, while freshman Wassef Methnani came off the bench to add 20 points and 8 rebounds.  Nelson is one of four returning starters this year for a team that has a real chance to contend for the conference crown, especially if new players like Methnani can continue to contribute significantly.  Tonight’s game against a very good Loyola team should be a huge early litmus test for this team, and a win should continue to build the squad’s confidence.

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The Hoops HD Report: Nov 13th

Posted on November 13, 2017 by David Griggs

Chad and the panel review all the action from a busy opening weekend.  We focus on Texas A&M’s impressive win against West Virginia, UCLA’s win over Georgia Tech despite the off the court issues, Kentucky’s win over what we think is a very good Vermont team, the early struggles of the Atlantic Ten, and much more.  From there, we preview the big showcase games in tomorrow’s Champions Classic, which gives us two top ten matchups of Kansas vs Kentucky and Michigan State vs Duke.  For the second half of the show we preview and discuss all of the upcoming exempt tournaments.

 

And for all you radio lovers, below is an mp3 version of the show…

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News, Notes, and Highlighted Games: Monday, Nov 13th

Posted on November 13, 2017 by David Griggs

NEWS AND NOTES

-For Chad Sherwood’s UTR Game of the Day, which is actually one of the better games of the day overall – CLICK HERE

-For our latest Merit Rankings/Bracket Projections – CLICK HERE

-It was a rather chalky Sunday.  Vermont took Kentucky to the wall after being down double digits in the second half, but couldn’t quite get over the top.  Kentucky will win bigger games, but this was a harder game to win than most realize, and they deserve more credit for winning it than most will give them.

-Arkansas also blew past what we still think is a good Bucknell team, but Bucknell is off to a rough start.

 

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES

-MINNESOTA AT PROVIDENCE (Gavitt Games).  Both teams are likely NCAA Tournament teams.  I think this Providence team is really good.  If Minney could get this one on the road it may turn out to be one of the better wins on their profile come March.

-CENTRAL MICHIGAN AT MICHIGAN.  This is a buy game, but both teams come in 1-0 and although Central Michigan appears to be overmatched, they could end up making some noise in the MAC this year.

-LA SALLE AT PENNSYLVANIA (Big Five).  I’m not expecting much out of either of these teams, but it’s the Big Five, so we gotta talk about it!

-OLD DOMINION AT JAMES MADISON.  I miss these former Colonial rivalries.  Both come into this 1-0 and can build up some early momentum with a win.

-VANDERBILT AT BELMONT.  Belmont is coming off a very close loss at Washington in their opener.  They’re a really strong UTR team, and Vandy could really have their hands full as the road team in this crosstown matchup.

-WESTERN MICHIGAN AT SOUTH CAROLINA.  This is a buy game, but we’ll highlight it because of Western Michigan’s potential and because both come into this one 1-0.

-ORAL ROBERTS AT TULSA.  Will Tulsa fall to 0-2 on the season?

-MIDDLE TENNESSEE AT MURRAY STATE.  This may be Chad’s UTR game of the day.  Both come in 1-0 and both are expected to finish at or near the top of their conferences.  Middle Tennessee has been to the Round of 32 for two consecutive years, and although they lost a lot of their key players from last year they should still be a force in CUSA.

-COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON AT WICHITA STATE.  This is a HUGELY important game for CofC.  They are one of the UTR teams that we feel has a legitimate chance to land inside the bubble and make the tournament even if they fail to win their conference tournament.  This is the kidn of game they need to be able to win in order for that to happen, though.

-NEW MEXICO STATE AT SAINT MARY’S.  New Mexico State is a solid program, but they don’t get many chances to establish themselves as being nationally relevant.  They have the chance to do that tonight.  This may actually be one of SMC’s toughest OOC games, so it’s important that they take care of business.

-WYOMING AT OREGON STATE.  Both teams are 1-0, and both appear to be much improved from a season ago.  Making The Dance may be a long shot, but this is a chance for each team to pick up some early season momentum.

-RHODE ISLAND AT NEVADA.  Rhody appears to be a solid tournament caliber team, but they’ll have limited chances to build their profile, at least up to the point to where they’d be considered for a protected seed.  Having said that, this would be a really solid road win against a good Nevada team.

BUY GAMES

-Jacksonville State @ Richmond
-Eastern Kentucky @ Ole Miss – both teams 1-0
-Gardner Webb @ Florida
-Western Carolina @ Cincinnati
-Mount Saint Mary’s @ Notre Dame
-Austin Peay @ Virginia
-New Orleans @ Oakland
-North Florida @ VCU
-Saint Peter’s @ Northwestern
-TAMUCC @ Baylor – both teams 1-0
-North Texas @ Nebraska – both teams 1-0
-Milwaukee @ Iowa State
-Charlotte @ Oklahoma State – both teams 1-0
-Rider @ Xavier
-Wagner @ Missouri – both teams 1-0
-Prairie View A&M @ Oregon
-Mississippi Valley State @ Utah
-Tennessee Tech @ TCU – both teams 1-0
-North Dakota State @ USC

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