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For our latest Under the Radar Podcast – CLICK HERE

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

FRIDAY, DEC 23rd

-AUBURN AT UCONN (game in Hartford).  Auburn comes in at 9-2 and needs really needs to do better than they did the last time they faced a team from New England.  If they want to make the NCAA Tournament then winning on the road against non-tournament teams is what they need to be able to do.

-PROVIDENCE AT BOSTON COLLEGE.  This is an old Big East rivalry that probably doesn’t burn as hot as it used to.  Providence has been a bit of a surprise this year.  They come into this game at 10-2, but still don’t have a true road win on their profile.  BC is a much more modest 6-6 and so far hasn’t looked like the kind of team that is postseason bound.

-NORTHERN KENTUCKY AT WEST VIRGINIA.  This is practically a buy game, but it technically isn’t.  It’s part of a four year home-and-home deal that the two schools have.  And, with NKU being much improved and coming into this game at 10-3, it’s a chance for them to do something that will make them nationally relevant.  It’s a long shot because WVU is an excellent team, but it’s still a great opportunity for a Norse team that, by UTR standards, really shouldn’t be ignored.

-RUTGERS AT SETON HALL.  This is an old Big East rivalry that is now an OOC rivalry.  Both teams come in with bloated records.  Seton Hall actually has some wins of note to go along with it where most of Rutgers wins have come against fluff.  Having said that, Rutgers needed a bit of fluffing given the state of their program.  If they can win this game, it could be a huge turning point for the Scarlet Knights.  It will be much easier said than done, though.

-GEORGIA AT OAKLAND.  Georgia could use a notable road win, and although Oakland is an Under the Radar team, this would still go down as a notable road win.

-ARKANSAS STATE AT MINNESOTA.  Arkansas State had a chance to pick up a nice win against Alabama the other night, and just came out flat.  Going to Minnesota is a tougher assignment, but if they were to pick this up it would really boost their NCAA Tournament profile.  Arkansas State has a win at Georgetown, but they can’t just hold serve and coast the rest of the way.  They need a win like this on their resume if they want to be able to make the NCAA Tournament without the automatic bid.

-SAN FRANCISCO VS ILLINOIS STATE (Diamondhead Classic).  Both teams won their first game easily yesterday, and come into this with quite a bit of momentum as well as a need to build up their resumes.  Neither appear to be inside the bubble as of yet, but both are on our radars and have the ability and opportunity to play their way into the picture.

-WYOMING VS USC (Continental Tire Las Vegas Classic).  Wyoming has a bloated record.  If they can win this game, they’ll have a bloated record with some meat on it and suddenly be nationally relevant.  USC is unbeaten, in the rankings, and looking to remain that way.

-VMI AT DAYTON.  Buy game.

-HARVARD AT HOUSTON.  Buy game.

-FLORIDA A&M AT WISCONSIN.  Buy game.

SATURDAY, DEC 24th

-UTAH AT HAWAI’I (Diamondhead Classic).  This game tips off after midnight throughout most of the United States!!  I’m saying it’s on Dec 24th!  We DO have basketball on Dec 24th!  It’s not a very meaningful game, but it’s the most meaningful thing that’s happening that day!

-The Longhorn Network is also rerunning the Kansas v Texas game from the 1999-2000 season.

SUNDAY, DEC 25th

-The final round of the Diamondhead Classic is being played today.  Most of the games don’t carry any real weight and aren’t worth highlighting.  The biggest game in the bracket is probably Friday night’s game between San Francisco and Illinois State.  If the winner of that can hold serve against either Tulsa or San Diego State they will have added three neutral floor wins to their profile and built up some momentum going forward.

MONDAY, DEC 26th

-MORGAN STATE AT LMU.  Yunno, I don’t know why this game is being played today and none others.  But, the two teams have the college basketball stage all to themselves!

-We are switching into holiday mode (or at least I am) until next Tuesday.  I hope everyone has a safe and happy Holiday Season and is able to enjoy whatever it is they plan on doing.  If it’s a big family gathering that you’re looking forward to, then I hope you enjoy it!  If’ it’s big family gathering that you’re dreading, then I hope you survive it and that the shattering of emotions is held to a minimum.  Remember, the Diamondhead games are going on all throughout Christmas Day, so if you want something to do as you run and hide you can turn those on and hit us up on Twitter!  If you’re by yourself, then I hope you’re at least able to enjoy the down time and destress.  And, again, the Diamondhead games are on, so you can turn those on and hit us up on Twitter!  If you’re having to work, then you must be really important in some capacity and I hope they’re at least paying you time-and-a-half.

-Big Ten and American play tip off on Tuesday, and we will be back then to highlight that.

NEWS AND NOTES

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

-Yesterday I wrote about how Louisville v Kentucky is oftentimes a sloppy and poor played game.  Yesterday, it was anything but that.  The energy level was high, the skill level was high, and it was one of the more exciting games we’ve seen all year up to this point.  Louisville, who had lost nine of the last ten meetings between the two, picked up the win and earned the bragging rights that they haven’t had since the 2012-2013 season.  As for Kentucky, it always bruises the ego when you lose a rivalry game, but it was their first true road game, it is hardly a damaging loss, and if they played that well in that environment there is more reason to be optimistic than pessimistic moving forward.

-Clemson also picked up a huge road win against their rivals in South Carolina.  It is perhaps one of the biggest wins of the Brad Brownell era considering what kind of a quality road win it was on paper, and what a momentum boost a win like that will do for them off paper.  I didn’t know this, and it sounded unbelievable during the broadcast, but apparently it was the first ever out of conference road win against a ranked team for the Clemson program.

-Cal hung in with Virginia in what was a low scoring affair.  It looked like Cal is finally able to win games that aren’t just home buy games.  They didn’t actually win it, and Virginia picked up what should turn out to be a quality road game, but I do believe Cal is improving.

-Middle Tennessee, the team that had looked so impressive this season, looked anything but impressive yesterday.  They lost at home to Georgia State, who will most likely finish in the upper half of the Sun Belt, it is hardly the kind of team you would expect Middle Tennessee to not beat at home.  It is a setback, and it greatly narrows their margin for error.  They can still land inside the bubble, but they did shoot themselves in the foot.  If they pick up another loss or two like that it’ll be more like shooting themselves in the face rather than the foot.

-Arkansas State, another team I was big on and actually had inside my bubble in my last projections, lost rather decisively at Alabama.  So much for that!

-For once, I was wrong. I thought that the Johnnies’ would not end up winning by 18 points against the ‘Cuse after I turned off that game last night. They ended up winning by a whopping 33 points instead and handed Syracuse their worst-ever margin of defeat in the Carrier Dome. ESPN was also quick to point out last night that Chris Mullin is 2-0 as a head coach against Syracuse and 1-18 against the rest of the Big East.

-Last and definitely least, Grayson Allen is back in the news!  Duke beat Elon.  That isn’t noteworthy other than Elon made them sweat more than expected.  But, during the game, Grayson Allen tripped an Elon player who had gotten by him while driving the basket.  This is the third time in the last season-and-a-half that Grayson Allen has tripped an opposing player.  He did apologize profusely for his actions after the game, but that will do little to quash the media and social media outrage over this.  Allen trips players at the same rate that Luis Suarez seems to bite players (soccer footnote).  Tripping is far less egregious than biting, but it is something that needs to stop.

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES

-TENNESSEE AT EAST TENNESSEE STATE.  East Tennessee State may not be the bigger brand name, but they are the better team this year and they are at home.  It will actually be an upset if ETSU does not win rather than the other way around.

-GEORGE WASHINGTON AT MIAMI FL.  We haven’t talked much about Miami, but the do come into this game at a respectable 8-2.  They still have quite a bit of work to do, but they have at least held serve up to this point.

-YALE AT TEMPLE.  While their season has been disappointing at times, Yale is still the Ivy League frontrunner.  They take on a Temple team that has some really good wins and some really bad losses.  It’s hard to know for sure what they’re ever going to do.

-WYOMING VS DEPAUL (Continental Tire Las Vegas Classic).  Wyoming doesn’t really have anything that resembles a quality win, but they are 9-2 and they play in a league that isn’t exactly stock full of quality.  This is a very winnable game, and if they pick it up and can get a win against USC tomorrow in the championship game, then they’ll be a Mountain West team that at least has SOMETHING of note on their NCAA Tournament profile.

-LSU AT WAKE FOREST.  Both teams still have a lot of work to do, and there is a good chance that neither of them will be in the tournament picture at the end, but this is the kind of game that both of them need to win if they do want to end up inside the bubble.

-KANSAS AT UNLV.  This is a huge mismatch in Kansas’s favor despite this being a road game.  The Jayhawks shouldn’t have any trouble putting this true road win on their resume.

-UT ARLINGTON AT LMU.  UT Arlington is going after their sixth true road win of the season, which is a lot higher than what most teams have at this point.  Two of those road wins include at Texas and at Saint Mary’s.  This team doesn’t appear to be getting a whole lot of national love, but they are certainly on our radar.  We feel they could end up being an at-large team if they keep winning at that clip.

-COLORADO STATE AT LONG BEACH STATE.  A rare home game for Long Beach.  It’s also a rare OOC game against a team that’s not a hands down first ballot team.  Even still, Colorado State is good enough to where they’ll have a chance to play their way onto the bubble.  In order for that to happen they need to be able to win games like this.

-SAN FRANCISCO VS UTAH (Diamondhead Classic).  Both of these teams come into this event with just on two losses, and if they can do well in it their NCAA Tournament profile will certainly reflect it.  Neither look to be solid tournament teams at the moment, but both have held serve and the door hasn’t shut on them yet as far as being able to play their way into the picture.

-MISSOURI STATE VS USC (Continental Tires Las Vegas Classic).  Missouri State is out to a rather impressive 8-3 start, and if they can some how pick up this win and a win tomorrow we’ll have to start taking a serious look at them.  USC is looking to pick up two decent but not great wins and remain unbeaten.

BUY GAMES

-TAMUCC @ Oklahoma State
-UNC Greensboro @ Georgetown
-Morehead State @ Mississippi State
-Austin Peay @ Indiana
-Furman @ Michigan
-McNeese State @ NC State
-Louisiana Monroe @ VCU
-Marshall @ Cincinnati
-Rider @ UMass
-Canisius @ Saint Bonaventure – defacto Big Four
-William & Mary @ Rhode Island
-Sam Houston State @ Arkansas – it’s a buy game, but Sam Houston is a Southland frontrunner
-Houston Baptist @ Northwestern
-Santa Clara @ Valparaiso
-South Dakota State @ Wichita State
-Eastern Washington @ Colorado
-South Alabama @ Ole Miss
-UNC Asheville @ Ohio State
-Cal State Bakersfield @ BYU
-South Carolina State @ Saint Mary’s
-Idaho @ Stanford