News, Notes, and Highlighted Games: Sunday, Dec 11

Posted on December 11, 2016 by David Griggs

NEWS AND NOTES

-For Chad Sherwood’s UTR Game of the Day between Western Kentucky and Indiana State – CLICK HERE

-For Jon Teitel’s account of his day at the BB&T Classic – CLICK HERE

-I’d like to thank the Hoops HD editing team for reading over my write up from yesterday.  I was in a rush, and at times butchered the English Language, as well as got some of the game locations wrong. (Editor’s Note – the Puppet also thanks us for today’s edits as well.)

-Villanova is having fantastic luck against teams from Indiana away from home!  For that matter, they’re having fantastic luck against everyone.  They had a big win at Purdue earlier this season, and came from behind to pick up another win against what looks to be a very good Notre Dame team yesterday.  There is no shame in this loss for Notre Dame.  If anything, it was a huge statement that they are a solid top 25 team that was deserving of their ranking, and could even contend for a protected seed.  They led the #1 team for most of the game on a neutral floor.

-The last time Duke and UNLV met, it was in the 1991 Final Four and was one of the classic NCAA Tournament games of all time!  They finally met again yesterday!  It was NOT a classic!

-Butler rebounded from their loss at Indiana State to pick up a nice home win against a very good Cincinnati team.  After the game Cincinnati coach Mick Cronin was unhappy, which I suppose is as normal as saying that after the game, it was still Saturday. He also complained about Butler and the Big East being more “physical” than his team, which is downright hilarious for a coach and a program that pride themselves on toughness.

-Wisconsin opened it up against Marquette in the second half to pick up a very impressive looking road win against their in-state rivals.  Marquette isn’t a great team, but they are a fringe tournament team who came into this unbeaten at home, so it was a somewhat notable win.

-Rhode Island really needed to win at Houston yesterday.  Rhode Island did not win at Houston yesterday.  Rhody falls to 6-4, they’re winless on the road, and have lost three of their last four games.

-Dayton winning at home against East Tennessee State isn’t particularly surprising or noteworthy, but how good they looked against a pretty good Under the Radar team is perhaps worth noting.  In my opinion it was their most impressive performance of the year, and they now look like one of the best teams in the Atlantic Ten.

-Ohio U really needed to win at Iona yesterday.  Ohio U did not win at Iona yesterday.  We still believe this team to be good, but they have a very small margin for error and need to be able to beat UTR teams, even good ones, on the road.

-Wichita State picked up a (mostly) road win that they really needed.  They took down Oklahoma in Oklahoma City in a close one.

-UNC Wilmington picked up a big road win at Saint Bonaventure in a game we spotlighted yesterday.  After leading the Bonnies for most of the game, they let the lead slip away and needed a shot in the final minutes to pick up the one point win.  UNC Wilmington is now 8-1 on the year with three true road wins, and although Saint Bonaventure probably doesn’t pop out at you yet, they are a team that’s tough to beat at home and could make some noise in the Atlantic Ten.

-San Diego State lost at home to Arizona State.  This may be the last time we mention them for a while.

-Colorado followed up their big home win against Xavier with a road loss at BYU.  It was a game BYU really did kind of need, and even with it they still have a lot of work to do.

-UCLA followed up their effort at Kentucky with a home win against Michigan. This game was very competitive in the first half, but the Bruins ultimately pulled away with Lonzo Ball putting UCLA on his back.

-Perhaps we do need to pay attention to Providence again – Rodney Bullock is the latest in an assembly line of superstars for the Friars. They trailed against UMass by as many as 9 in the first half, but Providence was able to hold serve at home against a hard-luck UMass team.

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES

-OLE MISS AT VIRGINIA TECH.  Ole Miss comes into this game with a rather respectable 6-2 record, but they haven’t won a game that’s as tough as this one will be to win.  VA Tech can improve to 8-1 on the year and remain on what appears to be a solid path to the NCAA Tournament.

-ALABAMA AT OREGON.  Alabama doesn’t have anything bad or damaging on their profile just yet, but they really don’t have anything good on it either.  And, for that matter, Oregon could use a little meat on their profile.  We still believe them to be a very good team, but they haven’t shown it all the time like we expected them to.

-FLORIDA AT FLORIDA STATE.  This is a big rivalry game that for the first time in several seasons features two teams that look to be on a solid pace to make the NCAA Tournament.  Bragging rights are on the line, as well as a quality win.

-NEVADA AT WASHINGTON.  Nevada needs this.  Pure and simple.  They have limited chances, they have a good looking record but haven’t always looked good when they needed to, and this is the kind of road game they need to pick up if they want to get noticed by the selection committee.

-HOFSTRA VS. KENTUCKY (Barclays Center).  Hofstra is capable of making some noise in the Colonial, but isn’t likely to put up any sort of a fight today. For Kentucky, this is their annual “showcase” for Big Blue Nation in New York.

-TENNESSEE AT NORTH CAROLINA.  This isn’t a buy game, but it is probably as big of a mismatch as most buy games.

-NORTHERN ILLINOIS AT MINNESOTA.  Buy game

-NEW ORLEANS AT NORTHWESTERN.  Buy game

-UC IRVINE AT SAINT MARY’S.  Buy game

-PEPPERDINE AT USC.  Buy game.

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Under the Radar Game of the Day: Western Kentucky at Indiana State

Posted on December 11, 2016 by Chad

Western Kentucky at Indiana State, 4:30 PM Eastern, espn3

For Jon Teitel’s report on the BB&T Classic, CLICK HERE.

The Under the Radar Game of the Day heads to Terre Haute, Indiana this afternoon as the Sycamores of Indiana State play host to the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers.  Indiana State enters today’s game at 5-4 overall, though all four of their losses have been by three points or less, including losses to Iowa State and Stanford in the Advocare Invitational.  Although the Trees have suffered quite a few close losses, they have begun to make up for it, winning each of their past two games by one point, including a huge upset home victory on Wednesday evening over nationally-ranked Butler.  Brenton Scott led the way in that win with 25 points, while Matt Van Scyoc added 23 of his own.

This afternoon, Indiana State will go for their fourth straight win as they host head coach Rick Stansbury’s Western Kentucky team.  WKU has been a bit of a disappointment so far this season, with a record of 3-5 that includes losses to UNLV, Eastern Kentucky and Missouri.  Pancake Thomas, the graduate transfer from Hartford who we expected to be a scoring machine this year after an extremely impressive year at his former school last season, has not topped 15 points yet this season and has not even broken into double-digits his last two times out.  The Hilltoppers will need him to start picking up more offensively if they want to get back on the winning side of things as non-conference play nears its conclusion.

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Basketball, BBQ, and Teitel: HoopsHD at the BB&T Classic

Posted on December 10, 2016 by Jon Teitel

Last Sunday was the 22nd annual BB&T Classic Basketball Tournament , a DC-based basketball tournament that raises funds for the Children’s Charities Foundation to financially support Washington-area charities. This year’s doubleheader featured Elon-Georgetown in Game 1 followed by Florida State-GW in Game 2. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel hopped on the subway, hopped off in Chinatown, and filed this report.

1 of the best parts of working a game at the Verizon Center is the pregame meal: Hill Country BBQ! After wolfing down some chicken/beef/mac and cheese I assumed I was heading upstairs to my usual 2nd-deck media seating, but was thrilled to discover that I was sitting in the front row directly next to the basket! Pro: I was only a few seats away from 2004 NCAA runner-up coach Paul Hewitt (who is now a scout for the LA Clippers). Con: while you would think sitting right in front of the cheerleaders is great, it becomes a lot less exciting after they spend 2 hours shouting cheers every 2 seconds. Attendance was pretty low due to Sunday afternoon competition from the NFL and some proactive preparation for final exams, but I consider basketball doubleheaders to be a rare treat.

Elon has never played in the NCAA tourney but was hoping that this might be their year.  The Phoenix started the season 6-1 but Georgetown was their 1st big test of the season. Rodney Pryor led the way for the Hoyas in the 1st half with 13 PTS, but despite not taking a single FT attempt or blocking a single shot Elon made 6 threes en route to a 36-36 halftime tie. The Phoenix continued to make 3-PT shots in the 2nd half to keep it close, including a trio of trifectas off the bench from Dainan Swoope. Pryor finished with a game-high 23 PTS by using his entire bag of tricks: dunks, 3-PT shots, steals that led to coast-to-coast layups, pull-up jumpers, baseline jumpers, and an 8-9 performance from the FT line. He received a ton of offensive help from LJ Peak, who made a season-high 9 FG by getting to the hoop time and again for layup after layup. Elon did not give up and remained competitive right to the very end: SR PG Luke Eddy had the ball in his hands down by 3 with 5 seconds left, but as he dribbled past his man into the lane he tried to pass it out to a teammate at the top of the key for a game-tying 3-PT shot…but the buzzer sounded before he could make it happen. At the postgame press conference I asked Pryor how he has made such a smooth transition as a grad transfer from Robert Morris: he gave most of the credit to his teammates/coaches for accepting him for who he is and said that he tries to play 120% every game (so the next time you think giving 100% is good enough, think again!).

Unlike the 1st game that was close throughout, game 2 was a blowout early and continued to get ugly from there. GW had just eked out a 1-PT win over South Florida on Saturday afternoon so there was some concern that the Colonials might come out flat.  They did not disappoint by shooting 5-25 from the field in the 1st half and committing 11 turnovers as Florida State opened up a 35-19 lead at the half. Collin Smith scored 22 PTS against the Bulls but followed that up by failing to make a single FG against the Seminoles. GW fell behind by 30 midway through the 2nd half so the lone bright spot was FR PF Kevin Marfo. The big man set career highs with 18 PTS/9 REB in only 26 minutes off the bench by doing damage inside with put-backs, dunks, and even a tough reverse layup over 7’4” Christ Koumadje. Florida State was only average on offense and got outrebounded 52-42, but their defense just wore down the Colonials: 10 STL, 6 BLK, and only 4 made threes allowed all afternoon. Koumadje was a site to behold: all he did was convert alleyoop dunks and an occasional put-back, but when you are the tallest player in program history that is all you need to do. I asked Coach Leonard Hamilton after the game why superstar freshman Jonathan Isaac did not start for the 1st time in his young college career and was told that he sat out due to a strained hip flexor: HoopsHD breaking the injury news!

Conclusions: Elon is not good enough to overtake UNC-Wilmington in CAA play (the Seahawks are only a 5-PT loss away from being undefeated), Georgetown is going to have a rough road ahead in Big East play (the only conference team with more losses is St. John’s), GW is good when they get some rest (0-2 with no days of rest but 7-2 when they do not play back-to-back), and Florida State is going to make the NCAA tourney for the 1st time since 2012 (the Seminoles are only a 3-PT loss away from being undefeated).

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Under the Radar Game of the Day: New Hampshire at Bryant

Posted on December 10, 2016 by Chad

New Hampshire at Bryant, 3:00 PM Eastern, necfrontrow.com

For today’s News, Notes and Highlighted Games, CLICK HERE.

Bryant.  Oh Bryant.

What a last few weeks it has been for the Bulldogs.

On November 28, the Bulldogs were down by a point in their game at Brown when guard Ikenna Ndugba, mistakenly believing his team was ahead, dribbled out the clock and threw the ball up in the air to let the last seconds expire.  As he went to celebrate his team’s victory, he discovered that the Bulldogs had in fact lost.  We can’t help but empathize with Ndungba for this painful mistake.

If that was the only blemish on Bryant this season, it would have been enough.  But it wasn’t.  Last time out, on Tuesday night at Navy, the Bulldogs went to halftime with an impressive 49-24 lead.  When the game ended, they had lost 76-74.  Navy’s comeback from a 25 point halftime deficit was the second largest halftime deficit comeback in NCAA history, only topped by a Duke-Tulane game all the way back in 1950.  Oh Bryant.

This afternoon, the hardluck Bulldogs will be at home hosting this year’s Team of the People, the Preseason NIT Champion (per HoopsHD.com at least) New Hampshire Wildcats.  UNH enters today’s game with a 6-3 record that includes their huge early-season win at Temple.  In fact, the only blemish on the Wildcats’ resume so far was a disappointing home loss to Abilene Christian that we have decided to write off as just a fluke of nature.  The Wildcats had all five starters in double figures last time out against American, and if they can keep hitting teams with a tough balanced attack, there is no reason this team will not be dancing for the first time ever this March.

#GoDancingOrDie

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News, Notes, and Highlighted Games: Saturday, Dec 10th

Posted on December 10, 2016 by David Griggs

A rundown of a busy Saturday in college basketball

SPOTLIGHT GAMES

-UNC WILMINGTON AT SAINT BONAVENTURE.  The reason we’re spotlighting this is because both teams are good, both already have some good wins on their profile, both are fighting for a spot in the NCAA Tournament, but most people are unaware of it.  It’s a game between two good teams with limited opportunities at statement wins, but who both have an opportunity today.

 

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES

-TEMPLE VS DEPAUL (HoopHall Miami Invitational).  Temple has been both hot and cold.  Their good wins are good enough to indicate their a tournament team, but some of their losses indicate that they still have work to do.  This game falls under the category of a “Should Win.”  If you’re a tournament team you should win this kind of game. If DePaul wins, Chad might take Temple off of his Survival Board.

-ARIZONA AT MISSOURI.  This will likely be a mismatch.  It would be Arizona’s first true road win.

-VILLANOVA VS NOTRE DAME (Never Forget Tribute – Newark, NJ).  Both teams are unbeaten, both teams are ranked, Nova is looking like a #1 seed, and Notre Dame is looking like they could be a protected seed.  This is a great OOC game that will count as a quality win for whoever pulls it off, and it would be the second really good road win for Nova.

-UMASS AT PROVIDENCE.  Both teams come into this with only two losses, which is a surprise in regards to both of them.  Providence has looked good this year, and is coming off a feelgood win against rival Rhode Island.  It’s possible that they’re both for real, and this is the kind of game that could help them.

-UAB AT MEMPHIS.  Memphis has a long way to go, but they do seem to be improved and can improve to 7-2 on the year with a win over their old conference (sort of) rivals.

-RHODE ISLAND AT HOUSTON.  You get the sense that Rhody really needs this.  Houston has a ways to go before we start thinking of them as a solid tournament team, but they’re program is much improved and is continuing to improve, so this is a big game for them as well, but Rhody needs some statement wins on their profile to solidify that they are, without question, a tournament team.

-WISCONSIN AT MARQUETTE.  This is an in-state rivalry where Wisconsin is looking for their first true road win, and Marquette is looking for a solid statement win.  This one is important both on and off paper.

-EAST TENNESSEE STATE AT DAYTON.  This is a buy game, but ETSU comes into this with just one loss, and if they pick up a win in this one you have to start thinking that it’s possible for them to end up either on or in the bubble if they keep it up.  Dayton, on the other hand, needs some meat on their profile, so this is a rather big game for them.  It’s a buy game, but the Flyers are in trouble if they think this will be easy.

-OHIO U AT IONA.  UTR Game of the Day candidate??  Ohio is really good and has just one loss, but this is both the kind of game they need to win, and the kind of game they cannot lose.

-LA SALLE VS GEORGETOWN (HoopHall Miami Invitational).  Both teams have a lot of work to do in order to get in the tournament picture, and neither one of them has done much of it yet.  Both have potential, but both should also come into this with a huge sense of urgency.

-PENN STATE VS PITTSBURGH (Never Forget Tribute – Newark, NJ).  Pitt hasn’t done anything great, but they’re still potentially a solid  tournament team.  This is another “Should Win” game.  If they’re a tournament team, they need to prove they can win away from home.

-CENTRAL MICHIGAN AT ILLINOIS.  Central Michigan comes into this at 8-2, and Illinois is a semi-respectable 7-3.  CMU hasn’t quite been tested like they will today, though.  Now, having said that, the Illini better not overlook them.

-DENVER AT AIR FORCE (Front Range).  Neither team looks to be a tournament caliber team.  We highlight this simply because we love the Front Range!!!

-NEBRASKA AT KANSAS.  Kansas is a potential #1 seed, and Nebraska is looking like they’re an NIT team at best, and may have to extend themselves just to get that.

-TENNESSEE STATE AT NC STATE.  It’s a buy game, but Tennessee State comes in with just one loss, and although it was a disappointing and very poor showing at Vanderbilt, they’ve still looked good a lot more than they’ve looked bad, including a very good win at Middle Tennessee.  NC State is in trouble if they overlook them.

-WICHITA STATE VS OKLAHOMA (Oklahoma City).  This is a big game for Wichita State because their opportunities at statement wins will be limited once conference play starts.  Oklahoma is off to a pretty good 6-2 start and has looked better than expected so far given the massive rebuilding job they’re having to undergo.

-NORTHERN COLORADO AT COLORADO STATE (Front Range).  It’s not a buy game!  It’s a Front Range game!  We love the Front Range, and Colorado State looks like they’re a tournament caliber team.  Perhaps the one and only Mountain West team that’ll end up in a posiition to make the field with or without an automatic bid.

-CINCINNATI AT BUTLER.  Last year’s game was a thriller.  This year both teams are into the rankings, Cincinnati already has a big win at Iowa State, and Butler has some pretty big wins as well.  This is a shot at an OOC quality win for both teams.

-OKLAHOMA STATE AT TULSA.  Oklahoma State comes into this at 6-2 and is looking for their first true road win.  This is a “Should Win” game for the Cowboys.

-DUKE AT UNLV.  This is a road game for Duke, who may be the best team in the country, against UNLV, who will be lucky to make the NIT.

-UTAH AT XAVIER.  Xavier is coming off a loss at Colorado and is looking to rebound against a Utah team that’s in rebuilding mode. This is also Utah’s first game away from home this season.

-UCONN AT OHIO STATE.  Ohio State won their first six games and then put up a tremendous effort in a close loss at Virginia last week, so it was a bit of a surprise when they lost to Florida Atlantic the other night.  UConn has been disappointing this year, although they are coming off of an emotional (certainly not artistic) win against their old friend Syracuse. Can their luck change as they face an OSU team looking to rebound from a somewhat damaging loss?

-RUTGERS AT STONY BROOK.  Steve Pikiell, in his first year at Rutgers, returns to the Stony Brook team he was so successful with a year ago.  On paper, Rutgers can pick up their second true road win and improve to 9-1 overall.

-ARIZONA STATE AT SAN DIEGO STATE.  Both teams have been rather disappointing (especially San Diego State) and need to string together some wins just to raise themselves back up to the level of relevance.

-SOUTH ALABAMA AT STETSON.  A win for South Alabama gets them to a very respectable 7-2 and gives them their second true road win.

-ARMY AT MONMOUTH.  Monmouth will have a limited number of decent wins on their profile, so they pretty much need to come close to winning out. The loss to Army was one of the reasons the Hawks were ultimately relegated to the NIT last year, so revenge will definitely be on their minds.

-UMBC AT RICHMOND.  UMBC is much improved.  They still have a long way to go before they’re even considered a conference frontrunner, but they come into this game at 7 -1 and with a lot of momentum.

-WASHINGTON STATE AT KANSAS STATE.  A win for K State, which they shouldn’t have too much trouble doing, gets them to 9-1.

-MICHIGAN AT UCLA.  Both Michigan’s and UCLA’s schedules have tested them, and today both will be tested again.  UCLA is coming off a huge road win at Kentucky, and with a #2 ranking they currently have a profile that resembles what a #1 seed would have.

-AKRON AT GONZAGA.  This is a buy game, but Akron is one of the better teams in the MAC, and they come into this at 7-2, and although winning this is a long shot, don’t be surprised if they’re able to at least be competitive against the Zags.

-VALPARAISO AT MISSOURI STATE.  Valpo lost badly at Kentucky earlier this week, but that isn’t the kind of loss that will hurt them.  Missouri State is unbeaten at home, but this is still the kind of game Valpo needs to be able to win if they want to demonstrate to the committee that they belong in the NCAA Tournament without the automatic bid.

-VCU AT OLD DOMINION.  This is an old rivalry game between two teams who have looked good at times this season, but have also looked bad at other times.  Both need some consistency, and both need decent wins on their profile.  This isn’t just a rivalry game, it’s an important game with a pivotal feel when it comes to what it means on paper.

-LOUISIANA TECH AT LOUISIANA LAFAYETTE.  A bit of an in-state rivalry as ULL tries to improve to an impressive 8-2 on the year.

-NEW MEXICO AT NEW MEXICO STATE.  This is the second leg of this rivalry series.  Both come into it with respectable records and will be fighting for bragging rights.

-COLORADO AT BYU.  Colorado is coming off a big home win against Xavier, and is trying to pick up their second true road win of the year, which would give them a really good early season profile.

BUY GAMES

-Saint Peter’s @ Maryland
-Cleveland State @ Purdue
-Boston U @ Syracuse
-Tennessee Tech @ Michigan State
-Texas Southern @ Louisville
-VMI @ West Virginia
-Houston Baptist @ Indiana
-Mercer @ Clemson
-Wofford @ TCU
-UMES @ UCF
-North Florida @ Arkansas
-Long Beach State @ Texas
-South Carolina State @ Texas A&M
-Stephen F Austin @ Rice
-UC Davis @ California
-David Griggs @ The English Language

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Under the Radar Game of the Day: Siena at Florida Gulf Coast (and other News, Notes and Highlighted Games)

Posted on December 9, 2016 by Chad

Siena at Florida Gulf Coast, 8:00 PM Eastern, espn3

For our most recent Under the Radar video podcast, CLICK HERE.

The Under the Radar Game of the Day today comes from Fort Myers, Florida where the Atlantic Sun’s FGCU Eagles will be hosting the MAAC’s Siena Saints.  Florida Gulf Coast enters the game tonight at 5-3 on the season.  Their three losses (Florida, Baylor and Michigan State) have all been very respectable, and they really could have won the Michigan State game.  They also have already scored a home win over Texas-Arlington, a win which is even more impressive after Arlington pretty much dominated 12th-ranked St. Mary’s on the road last night.  Brandon Goodwin is coming off of one of his best games of his career last time out, when he put up a double-double in a win over Georgia Southern, with 12 points and 10 assists.  Also keep an eye on Zach Johnson who has averaged over 18 points per game in his last three.

Siena enters play tonight at only 3-6 overall, a record we are somewhat disappointed in given that they had been our preseason pick to win the MAAC, despite the returning depth and talent at Monmouth.  The Saints have already fallen once in early conference play, losing last time out at Rider.  Brett Bisping was held to only 9 points in that loss, though he did pull down an impressive 15 rebounds.  Nico Clareth, who had scored 33 against Fairfield, only had 12 points, but did add 9 rebounds of his own to just miss the double-double.  The Saints will need to find more scoring if they want to pick up the win tonight on the road over the team that has emerged as the clear favorite to win the Atlantic Sun.

LAST NIGHT’S GAMES

– As alluded to earlier, Texas-Arlington got a huge win at Saint Mary’s last night by a 65-51 score. The Mavs led almost the entire game and the Gaels never got closer than 11 points in the 2nd half. It’s a slight blip on the Gaels’ profile, but it was a huge win for Arlington after beating Texas earlier in the year and missing opportunities at Minnesota and Arkansas.

– We’ve said before that Iowa is an alligator hole (or snake pit as Griggs calls it), but they were able to rebound and avenge their Cy-Hawk loss from last year with a 78-64 victory over Iowa State. The Hawkeyes are reloading this year, but it definitely gives them a boost going into the upcoming holiday season and B1G season.

– Middle Tennessee is threatening to leave UTR territory and enter the Top 25 with a thrashing of Vanderbilt last night. The Blue Raiders are now 9-1 and will have an upcoming road trip to Belmont and VCU where they can add even further to their profile.

HIGHLIGHTED BUY GAMES (in a manner of speaking)

– Hartford at Boston College
– Wake Forest at UNC-Greensboro (bizarro buy game)
– Longwood at Creighton – If you’re looking for polar opposites in the RPI, this is your mismatch of the night!
– Georgia Southern at Minnesota

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