Hoops HD

NEWS AND NOTES

-For Chad Sherwood’s UTR Game of the Day between Louisiana Tech and Evansville – CLICK HERE

-Penn State ended up falling to Texas A&M, but lets put this game into the proper context.  TAMU looks like a protected seed caliber team, and Penn State was right in there with them for pretty much the entire game.  The loss won’t damage their profile at all, and if anything it shows that Penn State can play at a tournament caliber level and may be in for a really big year.

-I must say that I’m impressed with UCLA, at least when it comes to how they’ve managed to pick up some notable wins despite the distractions.  They knocked off Wisconsin yesterday in a game that the Badgers really could have used.

-UT Arlington went into Alabama with a perfect record and a chance to pick up a huge road win that would have certainly impressed the committee.  They led for most of the game, but it slipped away late.  They had a shot that would have won the game at the buzzer, but couldn’t quite get it done.  We liked this UTA team coming into the year, but I don’t think we liked them this much.  They won at BYU earlier in the week, and had they won last night then everyone would have had to start thinking of them as a solid tournament caliber team.  They get another shot against Creighton in a few weeks.  Speaking of Creighton…

-Creighton fell to 4-1 on the season yesterday with their loss to Baylor, but the most impressed with them that I’ve been this year was in the game that they lost.  Northwestern and UCLA aren’t quite as good as their rankings.  Ironically I think Baylor is better than their ranking and Creighton was right in there with them.  They are definitely a team to watch this year.  Well, at least until February.

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES

WICHITA STATE VS NOTRE DAME (***Spotlight Game***) (Maui Invitational).  A pair of top 15 teams squaring off on a neutral floor in November!!  When this tournament began I think this is the match-up that most of us wanted to see in the final.  Wichita State was dinged by the committee last year for a lack of big wins (largely due to a lack of opportunities).  This would likely be a protected seed caliber win for whoever comes out on top.

-TENNESSEE VS PURDUE (Battle 4 Atlantis).  Both teams come in unbeaten and while we really weren’t expecting much out of Tennessee this year they can make a huge early splash by doing well in this tournament.

-IOWA VS UAB (Cayman Islands Classic).  Both teams have been very disappointing in this tournament and the two face off today trying to at least get one win out of the trip.

-WESTERN KENTUCKY VS VILLANOVA (Battle 4 Atlantis).  Western Kentucky looked to have the makings of a top 40 team this year with their recruiting class and this tournament was a potential coming out party for them, but things didn’t quite pan out well in the offseason and they are likely to struggle big time.  Nova has chomped down a few cupcakes so far and this tournament will be their first real test, but they are certainly up for it.

-SOUTH DAKOTA STATE VS BUFFALO (Cayman Islands Classic).  Two pretty solid UTR teams that probably won’t end up near the bubble, but could still end up at or near the top of their conferences.

-CHARLESTON VS CAL POLY (Great Alaska Shootout).  Charleston needs to basically win this tournament if they want to find themselves inside the bubble come March.  It isn’t so much that they’re getting the chances at high quality wins as it is that they need to avoid losses on neutral sites to non-tournament teams.

-VCU VS MICHIGAN (Maui Invitational).  Neither team has gotten a notable win out of this tournament yet, and today is their last chance to do it.

-LA SALLE VS MIAMI FL.  Miami hasn’t really been tested yet and should have little trouble today improving to 4-0.

-FRESNO STATE VS GEORGE MASON (Cancun Challenge).  Both teams have potential, but neither teams have the wins on their profiles yet and they’ll have limited chances to get them the rest of the way.  George Mason is coming off a somewhat surprising loss to Louisiana Tech and needs to rebound.  Prior to that they’d looked as good as anyone in the A10 so far.

-ARIZONA VS NC STATE (Battle 4 Atlantis).  Both teams come in unbeaten, and for the most part untested.  We’ll learn something about both of them tonight.

-TOLEDO AT SYRACUSE.  We weren’t all that big on Toledo coming into the year, but they’re unbeaten with wins over Saint Joseph’s and Oakland.  If they somehow win this game then they’ll really have our attention.

-BELMONT AT PROVIDENCE.  We’ve been very impressed with Belmont so far.  They’ve managed wins at Middle Tennessee and at home against Vandy.  Their only loss was a close game in their opener against Washington.  We like this Providence team as well, and if Belmont can some how pull this off then you’d have to start thinking of them as a potential at-large caliber team.  This is certainly the kind of win that the selection committee would notice.

-ALBANY AT DARTMOUTH.  Albany can improve to 5-0 on the year and pick up their second straight road win.

-BALL STATE AT BUCKNELL.  After starting off 0-4 against a rough schedule I’m fully expecting Bucknell to turn things around and end up having a big year.

-WYOMING VS CINCINNATI (Cayman Islands Classic).  I’m really looking forward to this one.  I think both teams are good and that this is the biggest test for both of them so far.  Cincinnati will have other numerous chances at statement wins so there is more to be gained here by Wyoming, who has far fewer, than Cincinnati.  If the Cowboys can get this then you have to start thinking them as being among the best of the Mountain West teams and a potential solid top 40 team.

-TOWSON VS GEORGIA SOUTHERN (Gulf Coast Showcase).  Towson has just one loss and appears to be one of the better teams in the Colonial.  Georgia Southern is unbeaten and has some nice wins on their resume.  Both teams come in with a lot of momentum and the winner will come out of this with even more.

-STEPHEN F AUSTIN AT MISSISSIPPI STATE.  This is a buy game, but since both teams come in without a loss we will go ahead and highlight it.

-MIAMI OH AT TULANE.  We didn’t expect much out of either team this year, but both are off to good starts as Miami comes in with just one loss and Tulane comes in unbeaten.

-MARQUETTE VS LSU (Maui Invitational).  Both teams already have a decent win in this tournament and have a chance to pick up another this evening.

-EVANSVILLE VS LOUISIANA TECH (Cancun Challenge).  Both teams come in undefeated, and LA Tech picked up a nice win yesterday against what appears to be a rather solid George Mason team.

-COLORADO STATE AT NEW MEXICO STATE.  New Mexico State has just one loss (at Saint Mary’s) and looks to have the opportunities and ability to put together a solid OOC profile.

-SMU VS NORTHERN IOWA (Battle 4 Atlantis).  SMU is unbeaten and untested so far.  This tournament is a chance for them to add some quality wins to their resume.  They don’t want to overlook a UNI team that comes in 3-1.

-OLE MISS VS RICE (MGM Resorts Main Event).  Ole Miss can improve to 4-1 on the year with a win

-UTAH VS UNLV (MGM Resorts Main Event).  Both teams come in unbeaten and Utah in particular has looked really good so far.  They have a chance to add yet another solid early season win to their resume.

BUY GAMES

-Kennesaw State @ Florida State
-Colgate @ Boston College
-Wofford @ Texas Tech
-Augustana (nondiv1) @ Illinois
-Arkansas State @ Indiana
-Maine Fort Kent (nondiv1) @ Vermont
-Fort Wayne @ Kentucky
-Detroit @ Saint Louis
-Lehigh vs USC

NEWS AND NOTES

-For our most recent HOOPS HD REPORT – CLICK HERE

-LSU is one of the biggest surprises of the season, at least as far as I’m concerned.  They beat what is by all accounts a pretty good Michigan team yesterday, and have looked good in some of their earlier games as well.  I was dogging them pretty hard 24 hours ago.  Will Wade and CO have shut me up.

-Baylor picked up a really nice neutral floor win against Wisconsin in a game where the Badgers fell way behind, but came back to make it close and actually had a chance to win in the final minutes.

-Creighton beat UCLA and now has two wins against ranked teams that had no business being ranked.  Now, that could all change tonight if they knock off Baylor, who has all the business in the world being ranked.

-Syracuse blew out Oakland.  I take two things away from that game.  Syracuse is better than I thought, and Oakland (who I know was without a key player) is worse than I thought.

-Missouri took down nondiv1 Emporia State 67-62 in what was a true statement win!!  Granted, the statement isn’t exactly favorable, but it was a statement!!

-Utah picked up a nice win against Ole Miss out in Las Vegas in a game that I really wish would have tipped off earlier.  I’m really tired this morning because of how late the game ended.

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES

-IOWA VS SOUTH DAKOTA STATE (Cayman Islands Classic).  Iowa fell to Louisiana yesterday and now just needs to get out of this with a couple of wins so their profile won’t be completely ranked.  They face South Dakota State, who lost to a pretty good Wyoming team and is one of the stronger UTR teams this year.

-MARQUETTE VS WICHITA STATE (Maui Invitational).  Marquette had a nice win against VCU in their opener, and Wichita overcame an 18pt second half deficit against Cal to come back and win.  Both teams look to continue to build their profiles with notable OOC wins away from home.

-LOUISIANA VS WYOMING (Cayman Islands Classic).  I really like this Wyoming team, and they should be able to win this game and advance to the championship game.  If they are somehow able to beat Cincinnati then they will emerge from this tournament looking like a top 40/NCAA Tournament caliber team.

-PITTSBURGH VS OKLAHOMA STATE (Legends Classic).  We highlight this game only to say that we are not highlighting this game.  Okie State is off to a somewhat respectable 3-1 start.  They face a Pitt team that isn’t really respectable at all.

-VCU VS CALIFORNIA (Maui Invitational).  Both these teams are falling behind the pace and even though it’s as early as it is you get the sense that this is a game that both of them really need to win.  There should be a sense of urgency for both teams.

-UMKC VS GEORGIA SOUTHERN (Gulf Coast Showcase).  Georgia Southern is 4-0 with wins at Wake Forest and another against Missouri State in this tournament.  If they win it then they will be on our radar.

-PENN STATE VS TEXAS A&M (Legends Classic).  Penn State has been one of the bigger surprises this season, and TAMU has been one of the more impressive teams this season who is starting to put together what could turn out to be a protected seed caliber profile.  If Penn State can win this then you have to start thinking of them as a solid NCAA Tournament team.

-LOUISIANA TECH VS GEORGE MASON (Cancun Challenge).  I think George Mason has looked about as good as anyone else in the A10 so far with their only loss being at Louisville in their season opener.  LA Tech comes in to this event with no losses and can make a splash if they can pick up some quality wins away from home.

-RICHMOND VS CINCINNATI (Cayman Island Classic).  Richmond had looked so bad prior to yesterday’s win against UAB that it was actually kind of a surprise that they won the game.  To say that Cincinnati sweated out Buffalo in their game yesterday is overstating it, but they didn’t exactly put them away wither.  The winner gets another neutral floor win on their profile and advances to the championship game.

-WISCONSIN VS UCLA (Hall of Fame Classic).  Both teams came up short yesterday, but as far as the committee is concerned the fact that this is a third place game is entirely irrelevant.  It’s a neutral floor game between two probable NCAA Tournament teams and would count as a quality win.

-FLORIDA GULF COAST AT MIDDLE TENNESSEE.  This will likely end up being Chad’s UTR Game of the Day.  It’s a matchup between two UTR Top Ten teams.

-SAMFORD AT VALPARAISO.  Samford has been somewhat disappointing so far, but it’s still early, they can still turn it around, and they could still end up being one of the better teams in the SoCon.  They take on a currently unbeaten Valpo team on the road today.

-MICHIGAN VS CHAMINADE (nondiv1) (Maui Invitational).  Michigan was beaten by a much better than expected (at least by me) LSU team yesterday and just needs to avoid what would be a really damaging loss today.

-FRESNO STATE VS EVANSVILLE (Cancun Challenge).  Evansville comes into this unbeaten and looking to add something other than just buy game wins to their profile.  Fresno State’s only loss came against a really good Arkansas team.

-UT ARLINGTON AT ALABAMA.  UTA comes into this game without a loss and a very impressive win at BYU to go along with it.  If they can manage to follow that up with a win tonight then they’ll be on pace to end up as a top 40/NCAA Tournament caliber team.

-DAVIDSON AT NEVADA.  Both teams are unbeaten, both teams are good (we think), and both teams need quality wins.

-BAYLOR VS CREIGHTON (Hall of Fame Classic).  Creighton already has two notable wins, but this would certainly be their most notable if they could beat what appears to be a very strong Baylor team.  Baylor took care of Wisconsin yesterday in the semifinals and is looking for an early season win of note as well.

-NOTRE DAME VS LSU (Maul Invitaitonal).  I’m really looking forward to this game considering that LSU is a lot better than I thought they were.  If they can somehow pull this one off then you’re talking about a team that not many were expecting to be anywhere close to NIT caliber to them probably cracking the top 25 next week.

-WESTERN NEW MEXICO VS CAL BAPTIST (Division II/Team Of the People). The HoopsHD Team of the People is currently ranked #14 overall in D-2 hoops and #1 overall in the West region. The Lancers are unlikely to be challenged by Western New Mexico going into their own Thanksgiving tournament.

BUY GAMES

-Southern Illinois @ Louisville – both teams 2-0
-Houston Baptist @ Virginia Tech
-Bryant @ Rutgers
-Texas Southern @ Kansas
-Alabama A&M @ Minnesota
-Niagara @ BYU.  Niagara has lost two straight since winning their opener at Saint Bonaventure
-Pacific @ Air Force – AFA can improve to 4-0