NEWS AND NOTES
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-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
News, Notes and Higlighted Games: Monday, Nov 21st
NEWS AND NOTES
Happy Feast Week! Thanksgiving is traditionally synonymous with football, but there are actually more college basketball games this week, and probably more important games that end up impacting how the season shapes out, then any other week of the season.
We will see a lot of exempt tournaments this week. The one thing I would impress upon everything is that third place games and fifth place games are not weighed any less than if those two teams were playing in a regular OOC neutral floor game. Games are games. If a team picks up a quality win in a fifth place game, it’s the same as doing it as if it were on a neutral site in a non-tournament game.
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HIGHLIGHTED GAMES
-WOFFORD VS VERMONT (Gulf Coast Showcase). A win gets Vermont out to an impressive and attention grabbing 4-1 start.
-TENNESSEE VS WISCONSIN (Maui Invitational). We think Wisconsin is a top ten caliber team, but up to this point their only wins have been home buy wins. Doing well in this tournament will give their profile some high quality wins.
-LOYOLA CHICAGO VS WASHINGTON STATE (Paradise Jam – 5th place game). Both teams come into this game with just one loss, and have a chance to add another neutral floor win to their profiles.
-GREEN BAY VS UMKC. We didn’t expect much out of UMKC this year, but they come into this game with just one loss, and they’re beginning to grab our attention.
-GEORGETOWN VS OREGON (Maui Invitational). Oregon is a Final Four caliber team, but as of now their best win is at home against Valpo. They can really add to their profile if they do well in this tournament. They face a Georgetown team that
sucksappears to be spiraling out of control.-KENT STATE VS SOUTH DAKOTA (Gulf Coast Showcase). Both teams are unbeaten, and Kent State is a potential bubble crasher that we have our eyes on.
-ILLINOIS STATE AT TCU. We like Illinois State this year despite their early loss to Murray State. They have a chance to pick up what may be turn out to be a decent road win against a 3-0 TCU team.
-SAINT JOSEPH’S VS. NC STATE (Paradise Jam – 3rd place game). Both teams are coming off losses and looking to add a possible notable neutral floor win to their profiles.
-BELMONT VS FLORIDA (game in Tampa). Belmont is always tough, but we have some questions about them this year. If they can pull off a win in this game, our questions will probably be answered.
-GEORGE WASHINGTON VS GEORGIA (Hall of Fame Classic, Kansas City). After a roller coaster of an offseason, GW is out to a 3-0 start and they have a chance to pick up a notable neutral floor win today against a pretty good Georgia team. The winner will most likely face Kansas, and the loser will most likely face UAB.
-NOTRE DAME VS COLORADO (Legends Classic). Both teams are unbeaten and both are fighting for a place on the college basketball map. Neither team has done much other than win buy games up to this point.
-MONTANA STATE VS RICE (Hardwood Showcase, Houston). Both teams come in with decent records, so this one is worth keeping an eye on.
-CENTRAL MICHIGAN VS PEPPERDINE (Lone Star Showcase). Neither team has any notable wins yet, but both come in at 3-0.
-OLE MISS VS CREIGHTON (Paradise Jam – Championship). Both teams are unbeaten, and Creighton has managed to rack up some pretty good wins already. Ole Miss is still flying low on the radar, but a win in this one will put them on the national scene.
-OKLAHOMA STATE VS UCONN (Maui Invitational). Oklahoma State hasn’t knocked off any heavyweights yet, but they do come into this unbeaten. UConn has played three lightweights, lost to two of them, and barely beaten the other one. They need some wins in this tournament just to get things turned around.
-TEXAS VS NORTHWESTERN (Legends Classic). Texas is unbeaten so far, but has only played buy games. This is their first real test against a Northwestern team who’s only loss was a close one at Butler
-SAINT LOUIS VS BYU (MGM Grand Main Event). BYU looks to remain unbeaten.
-UAB VS KANSAS (Hall of Fame Classic, Kansas City). UAB looked pretty good in their last game despite losing a key player for the season to an injury, but they look to be way overmatched in this one.
-UC DAVIS VS SACRAMENTO STATE. Both Sacramento-area teams are playing each other in the inaugural collegiate basketball game in Sacramento’s Golden 1 Center. UC-Davis picked up 2 wins in the Cable Car Classic plus a non-DI win; the Hornets have a pair of losses against
Big 12 powersColorado and Nebraska along with a non-DI win of their own.-CALIFORNIA VS SAN DIEGO STATE. This is a good OOC game that both teams could use since neither has done anything other than win buy games yet. This is the second game of a doubleheader that is being played in Sacramento’s brand new Golden 1 Center.
-GEORGE MASON VS HOUSTON (Gulf Coast Showcase). Kind of an oddity that the only two teams from major conferences face each other in the opening round. Then again, it’s easy to see why the puppet thought this was a buy game – George Mason appears to be mismatched against a Houston team that should be favored to win this tournament.
-NORTH CAROLINA VS CHAMINADE (Non D-I – Maui Invitational). This will likely be the biggest mismatch of the tournament, and perhaps of the entire week.
-VALPARAISO VS ALABAMA (MGM Grand Main Event). Valpo is good, but they really need a good win on their profile and this is one of the few chances they have to get one. It’s a winnable game against a decent Alabama team that they really need to win.
BUY GAMES
-Western Carolina @ Ohio State
-Winthrop @ Illinois. Watch out for Winthrop, who is one of the bettter teams in the Big South
-Norfolk State @ Butler (nonbracketed game – Las Vegas Invitational)
-Bucknell @ Vanderbilt (nonbracketed game – Las Vegas Invitational)
-Northern Colorado @ Arizona (nonbracketed game – Las Vegas Invitational)