News, Notes and Highlighted Games – Wednesday, November 23rd

Posted on November 23, 2016 by David Griggs

NEWS AND NOTES

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

-For Jon Teitel’s coverage of the 2k Classic – CLICK HERE

-The shocker from yesterday was Indiana losing at Fort Wayne.  Fort Wayne wasn’t one of those really good Under the Radar teams like Chattanooga, or Valpo, or Arkansas State, or someone like that.  At least they didn’t appear to be.  They were blown to bits out at Illinois State, and weren’t able to beat an Arkansas team that certainly isn’t as good as Indiana appears to be.  But, they pulled off a huge upset in an overtime thriller yesterday, which is the first really big upset of the season!  As for the Hoosiers, in the grand scheme of things it will barely qualify as even being a setback.  They’re playing a tough schedule and already have a neutral floor win against Kansas.  Had they not beaten Kansas and won this game, I don’t think their profile would look as good as it does now with the Kansas win and the Fort Wayne loss.  They will need some true road wins, but they’ll have other chances.  For Fort Wayne, it’s hard to say how much this win will end up meaning in regards to making either the NCAA Tournament or the NIT.  It’s a fantastic feelgood moment in time, but in order to make it count as far as making the postseason is concerned, they need a very strong showing the rest of the way.  As far as the game itself, it sure was fun to watch!

-Texas continues to struggle.  We think Colorado is a good team and there certainly isn’t a high level of shame in losing to them, but Texas was totally outplayed.  Then again, we’ve seen this before.  Not so much from Texas, but from Shaka Smart.  November just isn’t his month.  Even the great teams he had at VCU struggled in November, so don’t be surprised if the Horns really pick it up here in another week or two.

 

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES

-WICHITA STATE VS LSU (Battle 4 Atlantis).  Both teams are unbeaten, but both have only played buy games up to this point.  This tournament is the first real test for both teams.

-VCU VS BAYLOR (Battle 4 Atlantis).  Baylor has a big win over Oregon already and could really pick up some big wins and begin to build their profile if they do well in this tournament.

-OREGON VS UCONN (Maui Invitational – 5th Place).  Both teams were high in the rankings when the season started.  Both could still end up having big seasons, but UConn had to sweat out Chaminade in their last game, and hasn’t really looked good at any point.  Oregon struggled against a Tennessee team that many of us were expecting them to beat handily.  Both teams kind of need this just to get their seasons on the right track.

-MICHIGAN AT SOUTH CAROLINA.  Both teams come in unbeaten, and Michigan has played some good teams and looked really good against them.  This is their first true road game, so picking up a win will further improve their profile. South Carolina also needs to cash in on an opportunity like this game, especially with upcoming games like Syracuse, Seton Hall and Memphis coming away from home in the next few weeks.

UTAH STATE VS TEXAS TECH (Cancun Challenge – 3rd Place).  Both are coming off their first losses of the season and looking to pick up some momentum by adding some notable neutral floor wins to their profile.

-MICHIGAN STATE VS SAINT JOHN’S (Battle 4 Atlantis).  Michigan State has played a killer schedule, but up until now they haven’t done anything except win home buy games.  None of their losses are going to hurt them, but eventually they need to win some games away form home and win some games that aren’t buy games.  This tournament is yet another opportunity for them to get their season on the right track.

-UMBC AT NAVY.  No big wins yet, but after being one of the worst D-1 teams for the last several years, UMBC has a chance to start off 5-0.

-GEORGETOWN VS OKLAHOMA STATE (Maui Invitational – 3rd Place).  Both teams are coming off losses to highly ranked opponents, but Georgetown already has a big win in this tournament and to pick up another notable neutral floor win will definitely have their season back on the right track.  Oklahoma State had a lot of questionmarks coming into this season as well, and to pick up a second notable win will be a great start for them.

-HOUSTON VS VERMONT (Gulf Coast Showcase – Championship).  It’s early, and perhaps these two won’t be on the radar all season long, but it is one of the better teams in the America East taking on an unbeaten Houston team that’s really starting to get their program turned around.

-MISSOURI STATE AT DEPAUL.  Missouri State is off to a 3-0 start and is looking to add a road win to their profile against what is currently (emphasis on “current”) a respectable 2-1 DePaul team.

-PURDUE VS AUBURN (Cancun Challenge – Championship).  This is one of the more important games of the day as far as shaping the early part of the season.  Auburn is unbeaten, and if they can knock off Purdue tonight they become something they haven’t been for a very long time.  Nationally relevant.  Purdue is high in the rankings, but already has a home loss to Villanova and doesn’t have any huge wins of note yet.  Losing this doesn’t hurt them in the long run, or won’t be a season breaker, but it will be an early setback.

-LOUISVILLE VS OLD DOMINION (Battle 4 Atlantis).  Both teams come in unbeaten.  Louisville is highly ranked but has only played home buy games.  This tournament is a chance for them to put some notable wins on their profile.

-WISCONSIN VS NORTH CAROLINA (Maui Invitational – Championship).  This is a great early season game between two highly ranked teams.  Wisconsin has already been tested, but this is the Tar Heels’ biggest test up to this point.  Both teams look like they can end up as protected seeds, so this is a huge opportunity for both teams to put a neutral floor win against a protected seed on their profile. (Historical footnote – the last two times North Carolina won the Maui Invitational, they would go on to win the national title. – John S.)

-VALPARAISO VS BYU (Men Who Speak Up Main Event at the MGM Grand – Championship).  Both teams are good, but both have limited shots at statement wins, which actually makes this a very important game for both teams.

-OAKLAND VS NEVADA (Great Alaska Shootout).  Oakland comes into this unbeaten and has a chance to take on Nevada on a neutral floor.  We feel Nevada is one of the better teams in the Mountain West, so it’s a good early season neutral floor game for both teams.

 

BUY GAMES

-Cleveland State @ Kentucky
-UMES @ Colorado State
-The Citadel @ Arizona State
-Jackson State @ Ohio State
-North Texas @ Rutgers
-William & Mary @ Duke
-Samford @ Cincinnati
-Charleston @ Villanova
-Coastal Carolina @ Wake Forest

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Under the Radar Game of the Day: Georgia State vs Eastern Kentucky

Posted on November 23, 2016 by Chad

Georgia State vs Eastern Kentucky, 3:00 PM Eastern, Triple Crown Sports TV YouTube Stream

For the highlights of Jon Teitel’s trip to the 2K Classic, CLICK HERE.

This evening, the ball room in the Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya in Cancun, Mexico will host the championship game of the Cancun Classic between Auburn and Purdue.  The winner of that game will be able to claim the title of Cancun Challenge champions — in the Riviera Division.  However, what is less well known is that the Cancun Challenge in fact crowns two champions.  It is the championship game of the four team event between the mid-major/Under the Radar schools, the Mayan Division, that is today’s Under the Radar Game of the Day.  Georgia State (a 74-53 winner over NJIT in yesterday’s semifinal) will be taking on Eastern Kentucky (91-82 overtime win over Idaho State).

Georgia State enters today’s game with an overall record of 2-2.  The Panthers’ two losses were in their two non-bracketed campus site games in this event, at Purdue and at Auburn.  In addition to yesterday’s win over former Team of the People NJIT, they also opened the season with a win over non-D1 Thomas.  We are still investigating whether that was an entire team or just a guy named Thomas.  😉  D’Marcus Simonds led the way for head coach Ron Hunter’s squad in yesterday’s win, with 26 points off the bench.  If he comes up with another performance like that today, Eastern Kentucky could be in a ton of trouble.

Eastern Kentucky is currently 2-3 on the season, having lost both of their non-bracketed games in this event as well (at Auburn and at Texas Tech).  They also lost a hard-fought game at home in overtime to a very good UNC-Wilmington team.  Their lone win outside of Mexico came over IUPUI at home on the first day of the season.  Nick Mayo led the way for the Colonels yesterday with a double-double of 21 points and 10 boards against Idaho State.  In fact, he has been the team’s top scorer in all but one game so far this season.  Another strong performance by Mayo and his teammates could send them home from their trip to Mexican with a championship trophy.

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JT at MSG for 2K: HoopsHD takes a road trip to the 2K Classic

Posted on November 22, 2016 by Jon Teitel

The 2K Classic is a 4-team college basketball tournament held every November at Madison Square Garden that benefits the Wounded Warrior Project. This year’s quartet of Marquette/Michigan/Pitt/SMU included an NCAA title game coach (John Beilein), a coach in a new city (Kevin Stallings), a coach who played/worked for the winningest coach ever (Steve Wojciechowski), and a coach who has not lost a game since 2012 (Tim Jankovich). HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel celebrated his birthday in belated fashion by heading to the Garden to watch 4 games in 26 hours.

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I showed up on Thursday evening for tip-off and headed to the press seating on the 200 level…which happened to be the only people who were sitting in the 200 level, as attendance for a weeknight doubleheader of 4 teams not based in New York was sparse. I sat down, turned to my right, and was thrilled to see 2 of my colleagues from the previous website I wrote articles for sitting next to me: I guess great minds think alike!

Game #1: SMU-Pitt
Basketball is often described as a game of runs but this was ridiculous. Pitt was up 20-15 midway through the 1st half, but then SMU went on a 16-0 run in a 4-minute span to open up a 31-20 lead, followed immediately by the Panthers going on a 13-0 run of their own to close the half and take a 33-31 lead. Pitt’s 2-man show of Michael Young/Jamel Artis combined for 42 PTS/12 REB, but they were no match for Semi Ojeleye. The Duke transfer had sat out for almost 2 full years while joining the Mustangs but he showed that he was worth the wait thanks to a 20-PT 2nd half that included a pair of nice alley-oops from Shake Milton, a pair of 3-PT shots, and a game-clinching sequence in the final minutes by blocking a shot/running the floor/getting the ball back from Milton for an easy layup. Coach Jankovich previously worked as an assistant to Coach Stallings at Vandy and apparently he learned a couple of new tricks while beating his old boss 76-67. He only has 9 scholarship players on the roster after taking over the reins from Larry Brown, but as long as 1 of those 9 is “Sem-Wow” then he has a good chance of winning the AAC.

Game #2: Marquette-Michigan
The nightcap got pretty ugly pretty quickly. Marquette made it a game for the 1st 7 minutes as it was tied at 15 apiece…and then Michigan proceeded to go on a 35-11 run to end the half with a 50-26 lead. The Wolverines are not a run-and-gun team as evident by their zero fast-break points all night long, but when you have 5 different guys who can make a shot from behind the arc and your defense holds the other team to 26.7 3P% then you are going to win a lot of games. The play of the day was a huge drive down the lane/1-hand dunk from Moritz “Mo” Wagner that brought the crowd to its feet en route to a 79-61 Michigan victory. DJ Wilson had 1 of the quietest double-doubles you will ever see with 10 PTS (3-7 FG)/12 REB, and Mark Donnal’s 15 PTS in 21 minutes off the bench was 1 short of the Golden Eagles’ subs’ entire production.

Game #3: Marquette-Pitt
As light a crowd as there was the previous night, it appeared that there were only about 500 people for this Friday 4:30PM EDT tip-off. It was eerily quiet and a prime opportunity for hecklers to ensure that the objects of their wrath were well within shouting distance. Coach Wojciechowski showed exactly how to make an in-game adjustment: he angrily called a timeout after an Artis jumper cut Marquette’s lead to 39-33 with 50 seconds left in the 1st half, then his team responded with a Sam Hauser 3, strong defense that forced a poor shot by Young, and a driving layup high off the glass by Andrew Rowsey with 3 seconds left for a 44-33 halftime lead that could have easily been a 3-PT lead had he been unable to get his team in gear. Rowsey had only made 1 shot through the 1st 3 games of his Marquette career but this was his coming-out party that featured a little of everything: making a 3 that bounced on the rim twice before going in, saving a loose ball from going out of bounds, driving the lane before making a beautiful behind-the-back bounce pass for a 3-PT play, drilling a deep 3 with a hand in face, baiting Chris Jones into fouling him on a 3 at the shot-clock buzzer with under 3 minutes left and then converting all 3 FTs to tie it at 75, etc. However, after all the great things Rowsey did while scoring 20 PTS in 28 minutes off the bench, he was unable to finish strong by dribbling the ball off his foot with 48 seconds left and then missing a 30-footer at the buzzer in a 78-75 loss. Artis had 21 PTS/7 REB in a winning effort but the story of the game was Young: he had a personal 10-0 run to turn a 59-49 deficit into a tie game, finished with a career-high 30 PTS, and had a huge BLK on a Rowsey drive to the hoop with 18 seconds left. I do not know if Young is going to play in the NBA but I would not bet against him leading the ACC in scoring this season. When I asked Wojo in the postgame press conference about trying to stop a guy who scores 10 straight points, he spent 30 seconds raving about all of the Pitt seniors.

Game #4: SMU-Michigan
We saved the worst for last: no, not the least-competitive game of the 4, a 76-54 Wolverines win that was painful to watch. The saddest sight of the weekend was every Michigan fan under age 10 who would get on the Jumbotron…and then proceed to dab. Go Blue, stop dabbing. The most surprising sight was the gentleman sitting 5 rows behind the SMU bench: Larry Brown! The ESPN telecast kept him up on the screen for about 60 seconds while the announcers talked about him and the whole thing just felt really awkward. Derrick Walton Jr. had a 24-hour rollercoaster: zero points on 0-4 FG on Thursday, followed by 23 PTS on a career-high 7 threes on Friday (1 short of the school record for most 3PM in a regular season game held by Garde Thompson/Aubrey Dawkins). His teammate Zak Irvin was named MVP with 16 PTS in each of his 2 games.

Conclusions
Marquette: I thought that this was going to be their year with a lot of seniors and if Rowsey keeps scoring 20 PPG then they can finish in the top half of the Big East, but my prediction is that they end up off the bubble.
Michigan: 4 games, 4 double-digit wins, if they are making their 3s they are unbeatable, I cannot WAIT for their road trip to UCLA on 12/10!
Pitt: they are 3-0 in games decided by 5 PTS or less due to their abundance of juniors/seniors, and if they can win at Maryland next Tuesday then they could easily be 12-1 entering ACC action, but is there another team in the nation with a more difficult 10-game stretch to open conference play (Notre Dame/Virginia/Syracuse/Louisville twice/Miami/NC State/Clemson/North Carolina/Duke)?
SMU: 1 of the only teams I can think of whose 2 best players (Ojeleye/Milton) are neither freshmen nor seniors, if these 2 stick around for 1 more year then I think they might win an NCAA tourney game in 2018.

 

[acx_slideshow name=”2K Classic 2016″]

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News, Notes, and Highlighted Games: Tuesday, Nov 22nd

Posted on November 22, 2016 by David Griggs

NEWS AND NOTES

For the latest Hoops HD Report Podcast – CLICK HERE

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

-The biggest surprise yesterday by far was a Georgetown team that seemed to resemble an airplane crashing into a mountain. Instead, they pulled off what could be one of the single biggest season altering wins of the year when they knocked off Oregon, and did so rather impressively.  The final score was close, but Georgetown jumped out to a big lead and was able to fight off a furious Oregon comeback to hold on.  They will face Wsiconsin today, and if they get that one Georgetown will have gone from looking like a sub-NIT team to looking like a top 25 team in a period of just over 24 hours.

-Another big surprise was Northwestern.  It wasn’t so much the win over Texas, as it was how convincingly they won it.  That sets up a game today against what looks to be a very good Notre Dame team.  Northwestern has been close, but they’ve never made it all the way to the NCAAs.  We’ve seen one miracle in Chicago this year.  Could this be another one?  This isn’t necessarily a make or break game, but it is the kind of win that would greatly help their cause.

-Winthrop pulled off a rather notable “upset” at Illinois, but I’m really not sure how surprising that even is.  Winthrop is one of the better teams in the Big South, they had looked good (at least for thirty minutes) at Florida State this past Saturday, and Illinois isn’t exactly unbeatable.

-Valparaiso got a much needed neutral floor win against Alabama.  It may not be enough in and of itself if this is their only signature win of the season, but at least it is something.  They improve to 4-1 with the only loss being at Oregon.

-San Diego State improves to 3-1 with a really nice neutral-court win against California in Sacramento.  Cal had to sweat out UC Irvine, so this loss is hardly a huge surprise.  If anything, it means that Cal needs to get it together. As for San Diego State and the Mountain West, this should serve as a signature win that is desperately needed on both fronts.

 

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES

-TENNESSEE VS OREGON (Maui Invitational).  Oregon is coming off one of the more surprising losses of the season to Georgetown, and is looking to rebound against a Tennessee team that they should beat.  Then again, we Georgetown was a team we thought they should beat, so…

-TEXAS VS COLORADO (Legends Classic).  Both teams are coming off losses.  Colorado losing to Notre Dame isn’t too shocking, and Texas losing to Northwestern in and of itself isn’t the surprise of the year, but losing as handily as they did was rather unexpected.  The fact that this is a third place game is not important.  It’s still a chance for both teams to pick up a notable win on a neutral floor.

-AUBURN VS TEXAS TECH (Cancun Challenge).  Neither team has really been challenged yet, but both come in 3-0.

-SAINT BONAVENTURE VS CENTRAL MICHIGAN (Lone Star Showcase).  Central Michigan hasn’t beaten anyone of note yet, but a win today gets them to 5-0 and definitely places them on our radar.  For now.

-NOTRE DAME VS NORTHWESTERN (Legends Classic).  We say it every year about Northwestern.  Is this the year?  They are off to a fantastic start with their only loss being a close game at Butler.  They blasted Texas yesterday and can add another big win to their profile today.  Notre Dame was a team we had questions about at the beginning of the season, but many of those questions have been answered.  They are good.  This is one of the more intriguing games of the day, especially when you consider the storyline about how not much was expected out of either team, but both have done well and exceeded expectations.

-YALE AT PITTSBURGH.  Yale is coming off a loss at Virginia where they got pounded, but their profile is still solid and this would be another good win for them if they’re able to pull it off.

-TOLEDO AT MIDDLE TENNESSEE.  I’m a little surprised this wasn’t the UTR Game of the Day.  Both teams are off to good starts, and both should be major players in their conferences this year.  If everything falls right, it’s possible one or both of them are contending for an at-large spot.  That would mean being able to win games like this one today.

-GEORGE WASHINGTON VS UAB (Hall of Fame Classic).  GW has looked pretty good this season, but couldn’t get it done against Georgia yesterday.  It’s important that they pick up this neutral floor win today against a decent UAB team.

-SOUTH DAKOTA VS HOUSTON (Gulf Coast Showcase).  Neither team has beaten any solid opponents yet, but both come into this without a loss.

-ARKANSAS AT MINNESOTA.  Both teams are unbeaten, but for the most part untested.  It will be interesting to see what they do against each other.

-WISCONSIN VS GEORGETOWN (Maui Invitational).  Wisky was definitely expected to be here.  Georgetown was not.  Instead of highlighting to top twenty teams, we’re highlighting a Georgetown team that is coming off what could be a season altering win against Oregon.  After a slow start that saw a heartbreaking loss to Maryland and a headscratching loss to Arkansas State, if they can pick up another win in this tournament they are well on pace to building the kind of profile needed to make the NCAAs.

-PURDUE VS UTAH STATE (Cancun Challenge).  Utah State is 3-0, and Purdue, who played well against Villanova, hasn’t won anything other than home buy games so far.  It’s a great early test for both teams.

-LITTLE ROCK VS PEPPERDINE (Lone Star Showcase).  Both teams come in at 3-1 with Little Rock having just knocked off Saint Bonaventure.

-INDIANA AT FORT WAYNE.  This is the kind of road game that is rarely scheduled, but that should be.  Despite it being a “road game” Indiana will have a large contegency of fans.  It’s also a winnable game, which counts for more than double of what a home game counts for in the RPI.  So, the risk/reward for playing games like this actually favors the alpha program.  And, if Indiana does happen to lose, then so what??  It’s embarrassing for a couple of days, but that’s really all it is.  They move on and are still in great shape.

-GEORGIA VS KANSAS (Hall of Fame Classic).  Georgia has won three straight since losing the opener to Clemson.  They’re probably overmatched tonight, but as far as making the NCAAs a win really helps them, but a loss won’t hurt them at all.  And if they pull off the long shot win, it means instant relevance.

-OKLAHOMA STATE VS NORTH CAROLINA (Maui Invitational).  Both teams are 4-0, but North Carolina has looked much better so far.  This may be the toughest test for the Tarheels up to this point, but from what we’ve seen they’re more than capable of passing it.  For Oklahoma State, it’s a longshot win, but if they pull it off they’re instantly nationally relevant.

 

BUY GAMES

-Stony Brook @ Maryland
-South Carolina State @ Syracuse
-Grambling State @ Virginia
-South Carolina Upstate at Charlotte.  Charlotte is 3-0
-Sam Houston State @ Georgia Tech
-IUPUI @ Marquette.  I’m gonna put a slight upset alert on this one.  IUPUI played Michigan tough, then blasted both Howard and Eastern Michigan.
-Robert Morris @ Kansas State
-McNeese State @ Memphis
-New Orleans @ USC
-UC Santa Barbara @ SMU
-Stetson @ Air Force
-San Jose State @ Saint Mary’s
-Long Beach State @ Washington

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Under the Radar Game of the Day: SIU Edwardsville at Arkansas State

Posted on November 22, 2016 by Chad

SIU Edwardsville at Arkansas State, 8:30 PM Eastern, astateredwolves.com ($4.95 fee)

For our latest HoopsHD Report video podcast, CLICK HERE.

The Under the Radar Game of the Day comes from Jonesboro, Arkansas as the Sun Belt’s Arkansas State Red Wolves welcome in the Ohio Valley’s SIU Edwardsville Cougars for a non-conference matchup.  SIUE enters the game tonight with a record of 2-2 on the young season, having started things off with a 2-1 performance in Hawai’i at the Rainbow Classic, picking up wins over Hawai’i and Florida Atlantic, but falling to Texas State.  They also lost their last time out, at home to in-state rival Southern Illinois.  Sophomore Tre Harris is definitely worth keeping an eye on for the Cougars.  Despite not being a starter, he has led the team in scoring in 3 of their first 4 games and picked up a double-double in the fourth.  He was particularly impressive against Southern Illinois, scoring a career high 24 points including a career high 5 three pointers.  Despite only playing 12 minutes in the team’s opener, he has been close to 30 minutes in each of the last three games and that time may increase even more if he keeps playing this well.

The Cougars will have their work cut out for them tonight in Jonesboro, as Arkansas State appears to be this year’s early season noise-maker out of the Sun Belt (an honor that was shared by Little Rock and Texas-Arlington last season).  Although the Red Wolves did start the season with a loss at North Dakota State, they have won four straight since that time, including a win at Georgetown and a neutral court win over a very good Chattanooga team.  Devin Carter (25 points against Georgetown) and Donte Thomas (a double-double with 18 points and 10 assists against Chattanooga) are both having great seasons so far and will both be worth watching tonight and as the season moves forward.  In fact, it would not be a surprise if Thomas picks up a couple of triple-doubles this season (he did get one last year against South Alabama).  Tonight’s games is the first of a three game homestand for the Red Wolves which will include a home game this weekend against a very good Lehigh team, and a potential second appearance in the UTR Game of the Day.  In fact, if they can keep up their winning ways we may be discussing a lot more about this team all season.  But for now, all their concentration has to be tonight’s game and the SIU Edwardsville Cougars.

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The Hoops HD Report: November 21st

Posted on November 21, 2016 by David Griggs

Chad and the panel review some of the big games and surprises from this past week, including UConn’s struggles, Michigan State’s controversial ending against FGCU, Ole Miss and Creighton’s performance in the Paradise Jam, Xavier winning the Tire Pros Invitational, Oregon’s surprising loss to Georgetown, Saint Mary’s big start, and much more.  They also look ahead to some of the big games coming up this week.

 

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

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