Bracket Projections: Monday, Nov 14th

Posted on November 14, 2016 by David Griggs

So, I like doing these all year long, which is why I’m doing one after the first week even though there is no practical reason to be forecasting anything right now.  From a personal standpoint, it gets me in the habit of evaluating teams right away, so that is the single biggest benefit of it.  The order, or rank, or seed of the teams doesn’t really matter because there is so little to evaluate that they are impossible to rank.  But, merely evaluating them keeps me personally up to speed with what each team has done.

This is a CHECKPOINT of CURRENT MERIT, not a prediction of the future or even how good I think the teams currently are.  If it were, I’d be crazy.  It’s merely ranking what a team has done on the court up to this point.  Wagner and Yale are not likely to end up as #1 seeds.  I know that.  But, they’ve both won on the road against good teams, so they’re currently ahead of everyone who’s done nothing other than win a buy game at home when doing a checkpoint of current merit.  That’s all this is.

In a nutshell, any team that won a game that was not a home buy game moved ahead of all the teams that only won a home buy game.  No teams that lost a game that was not a buy game were punished for it, and no teams that won a buy game was rewarded for it.

I want to emphasize one more time that this is not a prediction of the future, or even a reflection of how good I think the teams currently are.  It is merely a merit ranking up to this point.

  1. INDIANA – Beat Kansas on a neutral floor
  2. ARINONA – beat Michigan State on a neutral floor
  3. WAGNER – won at UConn
  4. YALE – won at Washington
  5. NORTH CAROLINA – won at Tulane and at home against Chattanooga
  6. CLEMSON – won at home against Georgia
  7. MARQUETTE – blowout win against Vanderbilt
  8. SAINT MARY’S – convincing win against a pretty good Nevada team
  9. Virginia – won at UNCG
  10. CHATTANOOGA – road win at Tennessee
  11. Oregon – neutral floor win vs Army
  12. Duke
  13. KENTUCKY
  14. KANSAS – lost to Indiana on a neutral floor, which is not damaging
  15. Villanova
  16. Xavier
  17. Wisconsin
  18. Michigan State – lost to Arizona on a neutral floor, which is not damaging
  19. Louisville
  20. Gonzaga
  21. Purdue
  22. Syracuse
  23. West Virginia
  24. Ucla
  25. RHODE ISLAND
  26. Creighton
  27. Texas
  28. Maryland
  29. Pittsburgh – won a buy game against Eastern Michigan, but they move up some because they’re semi-quality
  30. Stanford – neutral floor win vs Harvard
  31. Ohio State – won at Navy, so they move up some for the road win
  32. CINCINNATI
  33. Dayton
  34. Iowa State
  35. Florida State
  36. California
  37. Miami FL
  38. WICHITA STATE – blew out a pretty good Long Beach State team
  39. Seton Hall
  40. Texas A&M
  41. Butler
  42. Notre Dame
  43. SAN DIEGO STATE
  44. Virginia Tech
  45. Oklahoma
  46. Usc
  47. Florida
  48. Colorado
  49. Michigan
  50. Vcu
  51. NC State
  52. Connecticut
  53. MURRAY STATE – home win against a pretty good Illinois State team
  54. Kansas State
  55. RICE – won at James Madison
  56. Smu – blowout win over what we think is a good Eastern Michigan team
  57. MONMOUTH
  58. KENT STATE – we really like Ohio and Buffalo in this league as well, but Kent won away from home against Cleveland State
  59. NICHOLLS – won at Boston College
  60. WRIGHT STATE – we really like Valpo in this league, but Wright State is the only team that’s won a true road game.
  61. DELAWARE – two div1 wins, but we still like UNC Wilmington
  62. OMAHA – won at UCSB, and a close loss at USC
  63. UC DAVIS – two div1 wins
  64. JACKSONVILLE – won at Denver
  65. ALBANY – beat Penn State, but we still like Vermont and New Hampshire
  66. UT ARLINGTON – preseason favorite that won the opener
  67. WEBER STATE
  68. BUCKNELL – only team in the conference that’s won a div1 game, but American and Lehigh both almost knocked off ranked teams
  69. PRESBYTERIAN – Only Big South team with a div1 win
  70. TEXAS SOUTHERN – only SWAC team to win a div1 game
  71. NEW MEXICO STATE – no WAC team has won a div1 game yet, so we’re sticking with the preseason favorite, who didn’t look bad in their loss to Colorado State
  72. HOWARD – no MEAC team has won a div1 game yet, so we’re sticking with the preseason favorites

 

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Under the Radar Game of the Day: Sam Houston State at Ohio

Posted on November 14, 2016 by Chad

Sam Houston State at Ohio, 7:00 PM Eastern, espn3

The Under the Radar Game of the Day heads to Athens, Ohio tonight as one of the top picks in the MAC this season, Ohio University, hosts one of the Southland’s preseason favorites, Sam Houston State.  Ohio began the season Friday night with a 10 point win over Southern.  Antonio Campbell, the defending MAC Player of the Year, scored 14 points while pulling down 7 rebounds in that win.  Three other players joined him in double-digits, led by 15 points and 4 assists from sophomore Jordan Dartis.  With Jaaron Simmons and Kenny Kaminski also scoring more than 10, the Bobcats had a balanced scoring attack and enough depth to prove that our preseason pick of the Bobcats to win the MAC was certainly justified.

Ohio’s opponent tonight is Sam Houston State.  The Bearkats also won their opener in dominating fashion over non-D1 LeTourneau.  SHSU is our pick to win the Southland as six of their top seven players return from last season.  The team is heavy on senior talent, led by Aurimas Majauskas and Dakarai Henderson.  They also have depth, as shown by three players off the bench reaching double-digits in scoring in their opener, including leading scorer John Dewey (18 points).  Although the long road trip to Ohio, which is historically a very tough place to play, will not be easy, if the Bearkats can steal one on the road tonight they will send a message to the rest of the Southland that they just might be the team to beat.

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Under the Radar Game of the Day: Long Beach State at Wichita State

Posted on November 13, 2016 by Chad

Long Beach State at Wichita State, 8:00 PM Eastern, Cox Sports/espn3

The Under the Radar Game of the Day tonight is also one of the better games, on paper at least, of the entire opening weekend of the college basketball season.  Head coach Dan Monson’s Long Beach State 49ers will be heading to Wichita to take on Greg Marshall’s Shockers.  Both teams are coming off of season-opening wins on Friday and have the chance to make an early statement tonight in a game between a pair of teams that may be good enough to contend for an at-large bid if they come up short in their conference tournaments.  Long Beach is led by Noah Blackwell and Evan Payne.  The 49ers almost always play one of the toughest non-conference schedules in the nation, and this year is no different as they will follow tonight’s game with trips to North Carolina, Louisville, UCLA and Washington, and will travel to Kansas and Texas later this year.  Given that schedule, tonight’s game is actually one of their most winnable non-conference games of the season!

Wichita State may find it tougher to win the Missouri Valley Conference this season without Ron Baker and Fred VanVleet.  The good news is that there are no significant seniors and there are several players that look ready to step up into starring roles, including Markis McDuffie, former Kansas transfer Conner Frankamp and a now healthy Landry Shamet.  Although we are predicting Illinois State to challenge and possibly dethrone them, the Redbirds suffered a tough loss Friday evening at Murray State.  Wichita can certainly send a message to Illinois State and the rest of the conference with a win over a very good Long Beach team tonight.

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News, Notes and Highlighted Games – Saturday, November 12

Posted on November 12, 2016 by John Stalica

Click here for Chad Sherwood’s UTR Game of the Day between Akron and Youngstown State

Click here for all of the Hoops HD Season Previews, including Jon Teitel’s interview with Arizona State PG Shannon Evans

As of yesterday at noon EST, college basketball began in earnest with Middle Tennessee and Milligan tipping off. While a 102-64 Blue Raider win was hardly game-of-the-day material, the Armed Forces doubleheader in Hawai’i certainly lived up to its billing. Michigan State got off to a red-hot 17-2 start against Arizona, but ultimately Arizona would come back and also get a game-winning shot from Kadeem Allen to secure a 65-63 victory. In the nightcap, Indiana and Kansas went to overtime and the Hoosiers got a signature 103-99 win thanks to 26 points from James Blackmon Jr.

In honor of Veterans Day, there was another doubleheader that was played at Alumni Hall on Navy’s campus last night. Vandy led Marquette by a point at the half, but it was all Golden Eagles in the 2nd half as Marquette ran away with a 95-71 victory. In the nightcap, Navy got off to a good start against Ohio State, but the Buckeyes ultimately pulled away with a 78-68 win.

I would also be remiss if we did not again highlight the 2016-17 Team of the People – New Hampshire also tipped off early in the afternoon with an 85-60 win over non D-I Lesley College. Jaleen Smith had a triple-double with 20 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for the Wildcats.

There were also quite a few teams that survived opening-night scares and one team that did not. Xavier started off the night hot against Lehigh, but ultimately a missed 3 at the buzzer by the Mountain Hawks enabled Xavier to survive with an 84-81 victory. (For our UTR fans, remember the name Tim Kempton – he had 25 points and 7 rebounds last night). Texas trailed Incarnate Word with 2 minutes to play, but escaped with a 78-73 win. Creighton and Maryland also had close wins against UMKC and American, respectively. UConn was not as lucky – Wagner pulled off the stunner of the night with a 67-58 win on the road. Mike Aaman and Romone Saunders had 15 points apiece for the Seahawks.

Saint Mary’s certainly looked like a team on Opening Night to be reckoned with – they got a surprisingly easy 81-63 win at home against Nevada. Clemson also opened a renovated Littlejohn Coliseum with a 74-64 win over Georgia. While Fort Wayne missed an opportunity to get a signature road win (Arkansas defeated Fort Wayne 92-83), Chattanooga was able to cash in with a win at Tennessee 82-69 last night. Casey Jones returned to action for the Mocs, and they also learned just prior to the game that Makinde London would indeed be eligible to immediately play this season after getting a hardship transfer waiver (he played at Xavier last season, but transferred to be closer to home to an ailing relative). Eastern Michigan also missed an opportunity to get a road win at Pittsburgh, but there was no shame in losing 93-90 in double overtime. NC State also survived against Georgia Southern; they trailed a long time before escaping with an 81-79 victory. Stanford would also defeat Harvard 80-70 in a game played in China.

As for other notable upsets last night, Jacksonville State went on the road and beat Tulsa 84-73. Nicholls State went up to Chestnut Hill and were able to beat Boston College 79-73 thanks to 28 points and 7 boards from DeAndre Harris. Albany did not get the memo that they were supposed to be rebuilding this season; they beat Penn State in a game where the Great Danes led by as many as 19 points on the road.

The Atlantic 10 also had a tough night last night. While Dayton, VCU and Rhode Island won comfortably, La Salle missed an opportunity to get a Big 5 road win after falling at Temple 97-92. While Fordham losing at East Tennessee State wasn’t a shock, losing by 37 on the road couldn’t have been a promising omen for the Rams. And as the puppet has alluded to many times on Opening Night, Saint Louis started off with a toy pop gun start with a 21-point loss at home to Ball State. Even George Washington was fortunate to survive with a 75-71 win at home against Maryland-Eastern Shore to begin the post-Mike Lonergan era.

As for other notable UTR games, Murray State added what should be a nice scalp for the Ohio Valley with a 73-70 win at home against Illinois State. Utah State (while not technically under-the-radar themselves) got a very nice 72-56 win on the road at UC-Irvine. Northeastern also defeated fellow Beanpot member Boston University by an 87-77 score. Detroit finally got a win after losing a pair of exhibition games against Wayne State and Ferris State. Unfortunately for the Titans, it was against D-III Adrian.

TODAY’S NOTABLE BUY GAMES (as listed by David Griggs yesterday):

-Grand Canyon @ Duke (Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame Tipoff Classic – Campus)
-North Carolina Central @ Marshall (Global Sports Classic – Campus)
-Bryant @ Notre Dame (Legends Classic – Campus)
-Southern @ Ohio (Global Sports Shootout – Campus)
-Alabama State @ Western Kentucky (Global Sports Classic – Campus)
-UC Davis @ Santa Clara (Cable Car Classic)
-South Carolina Upstate @ Georgetown
-Charleston Southern @ Florida State
-NW Nazarene (Non D-I) @ Utah
-Northern Colorado @ Butler
-Appalachian State @ Davidson
-Trinity (Non D-I) @ Valparaiso

And a special shoutout goes to people hearing about our website courtesy of WIBG 1020 AM in Southern New Jersey – Chad Sherwood appears on the 2nd and 4th Saturday mornings from 9 AM – 10 AM (you can listen here for Chad’s commentary).

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Under the Radar Game of the Day: Akron at Youngstown State

Posted on November 12, 2016 by Chad

Akron at Youngstown State, 7:30 PM Eastern, espn3

Youngstown, Ohio is the location tonight for the Northeast Ohio Doubleheader Benefiting Coaches vs Cancer, with Kent State and Cleveland State meeting in the early game (5:00 PM, espn3) and Akron and Youngstown State meeting in the nightcap.  Akron enters tonight’s game as one of the top contenders in the MAC, along with Ohio U and Eastern Michigan.  The Zips were one of the nation’s best teams from beyond the three-point arc last season.  Further, big man Isaiah Johnson could be in store for a huge season and will make the team very difficult to beat.  We expect the Zips and Ohio to battle for the MAC East Division crown all season.

However, the Zips will also want to put together a solid non-conference resume and a win in Youngstown tonight could go a long way towards doing just that.  The Penguins have never made the NCAA Tournament, but are a legitimate dark horse pick in the Horizon league this season.  Cameron Morse averaged over 20 points per game last season from the backcourt, and the combination of Matt Donlan and 7 foot tall center Jordan Kaufman up front will make this team, with a roster full of juniors and seniors, a lot tougher to beat than most people expect.  A win tonight over what could be a very good Akron team will help the Penguins establish the confidence they need as they head into the season.

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Season Preview: HoopsHD interviews ASU JR PG Shannon Evans

Posted on November 11, 2016 by Jon Teitel

We conclude our 2016-17 season preview interview series with ASU JR PG Shannon Evans.  Most people do not associate the character trait of “loyalty” with players who leave their old school to transfer to a new 1, but Shannon certainly fits the bill.  He spent the 1st 2 years of his college career at Buffalo under Coach Bobby Hurley, and when the coach headed 3000 miles west to ASU, his young PG followed suit.  He had to redshirt last year but is ready to get back onto the court Friday night when the Sun Devils host Portland State.  HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Shannon about playing in the NCAA tourney a couple of years ago and learning the PG position from a 2-time NCAA champ who set the D-1 record for career AST.

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As a freshman at Buffalo you scored 8.5 PPG and were named to the MAC All-Freshman team: how were you able to come in and contribute right from the start? I just came in and tried to do whatever I could to get a little playing time. I learned that I could get onto the court by pressuring the ball and bringing some energy to the game, so I played as feisty as I could and my game opened up from there.

In January of 2015 you scored a career-high 33 PTS (8-11 3PM) in a win over Cornell: was it just 1 of those scenarios where every shot you put up seemed to go in because you were “in the zone”? It was crazy: I felt like I could not miss. You dream of having nights like that and they only come around every blue moon. My teammates kept getting me the ball and I made a lot of shots.

As a sophomore you were top-10 in the conference in PPG/APG/SPG: how do you balance your scoring with your passing with your defense? I try to take whatever the defense is giving me. Some nights I am a scoring option and other nights I just pass the ball.

In the 2015 NCAA tourney you scored 15 PTS in a 6-PT loss to #5-seed West Virginia: how close did you come to pulling off the upset? We came really close: we were down by 1 PT with 2 minutes left but just could not take the lead. When you have some success you want to keep being successful so now I want to get back there and go even further.

That spring you decided to transfer: why did you choose to follow Coach Bobby Hurley when he left to become coach at ASU last year? Coming out of high school I had a lot of holes in my game. Coach helped me get where I am today so I owe all of my success to him and my parents. They all made big sacrifices for me and helped me become the player I am.

Coach Hurley won back-to-back NCAA titles at Duke while setting an NCAA record 1076 career AST: what has he taught you about becoming a great PG? He taught me to being open-minded and poised. He preaches the importance of being a leader.

How do you expect to fit into the backcourt with fellow JR PG Tra Holder? I feel that we complement each other well and can both score/pass so we just try to share the ball and make the right play at the right time. We both have a mindset of winning: that is more important than anything.

Your non-conference schedule includes games against Northern Iowa/Kentucky/Purdue/Creighton: which of these games do you feel will present your biggest test? I think that all of them are equal and we will take it 1 game at a time. Whatever game is next on our schedule is the most important.

You only have 2 seniors on the roster: how much pressure is there on you to be a leader this year? There is a lot of pressure because we have a lot of young guys. I have been around Coach the longest so I know what he expects/demands. I try to help everyone out as much as I can because the sooner they learn the ropes the better.

What are your goals for the upcoming season, and what are your expectations for the upcoming season? I want to make it back to the NCAA tourney: that is my only goal. We want to win as many games as we can and change the culture at ASU.

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