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.

evans

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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Under the Radar Game of the Day: Milligan at Middle Tennessee

Posted on November 11, 2016 by Chad

 

For the rest of this weekend’s highlighted games, CLICK HERE.

Milligan at Middle Tennessee, 12:00 PM Eastern, cusa.tv

Milligan College is a small school with enrollment of just over 1200, located outside of Johnson City, Tennessee.  The Buffaloes, who have been participating in collegiate basketball since 1914, are coming off a 16-14 season in the NAIA’s Appalachian Athletic Conference.  Normally, despite their history, Milligan is not the type of school that would garner any attention here, even from the Under the Radar Game of the Day.  But this year they do have our attention.  They have our attention because at noon Eastern today they will be in Murfreesboro to take on Middle Tennessee in the first official game of the 2016-17 men’s college basketball season.

It may be appropriate that head coach Kermit Davis’ Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders are the first team on the court this year, given that they pulled off one of the top upsets of all time in last year’s NCAA Tournament, knocking out #2 Seed Michigan State in the Round of 64.  Although the Blue Riders lost a pair of double-digit scorers off of that team, they do return their top two scorers in Giddy Potts and Reggie Upshaw.  Both players averaged right around 14 point per game last year.  A pair of new additions, Arkansas transfer Jacorey Williams and junior college transfer Brandon Walters figure to be big pieces of this team this year as they look to not only return to the Big Dance but maybe even secure a better seed than 15.

This will be the first game to tip since Kris Jenkins hit his three-pointer to capture the national championship for Villanova.  Let the games begin!

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Opening Weekend!! November 11th, 12th, and 13th Highlighted Games

Posted on November 11, 2016 by David Griggs

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 11TH

-MILLIGAN (nondiv1) AT MIDDLE TENNESSEE.  This is a buy game and is highlighted only because it officially tips off the season.

-LESLEY (nondiv1) AT NEW HAMPSHIRE.  It’s the Team of the People!!  This is also a buy game, but all games by UNH get full coverage!!

-UMASS-LOWELL AT MASSACHUSETTS. This is the first matchup today involving 2 D-I teams and also the first matchup between both schools since UMass-Lowell moved up to Division I. The River Hawks are a dark horse pick in the America East and would love nothing more than to start their season off with a win against the Minutemen.

-LOUISIANA TECH AT SOUTH CAROLINA.  SC just missed the tournament a year ago.  This is the kind of game they can’t be losing if they want to get back in the picture this year.

-VANDERBILT VS MARQUETTE (Annapolis, MD).  Marquette is looking to take a huge step forward.  A win against a rebuilding Vandy team would be a good way to start.

-STEPHEN F AUSTIN AT KENTUCKY.  It’s technically a buy game, and it’s a huge mismatch considering how SFA is completely rebuilding, but we’ll put it with the highlighted games due to SFA’s recent success.

-CHATTANOOGA AT TENNESSEE.  We feel Chattanooga is good enough to make the NCAAs with or without the automatic bid.  If that’s true, this is the kind of road game they need to be able to win, so it’s a good test right out of the gate.

-ARIZONA VS MICHIGAN STATE (Honolulu, HI).  Arizona is dealing with injuries right out of the gate, and Michigan State is young but still very talented.  This is a great first game for both teams because the winner is off to a big start, and the loser isn’t really hurt by the loss.

-GEORGIA AT CLEMSON.  This is a rivalry game between two teams who are looking to get over the top and make the NCAAs.

-EASTERN MICHIGAN AT PITTSBURGH.  This is a buy game, but with Eastern Michigan being one of the better teams in the MAC, we’ll go ahead and highlight it.  It’s probably a mismatch, but it’s worth highlighting.

-VIRGINIA AT UNC GREENSBORO.  Once again, Virginia is playing an early season road game.  In this case they wanted to play at a site where they believed they’d be placed for the NCAA Tournament, but since it was moved out of Greensboro it may have backfired somewhat.

-LA SALLE AT TEMPLE (Big Five).  La Salle should be much improved, and Temple should be rebuilding.  Gotta love Big Five action on opening night!

-DREXEL AT MONMOUTH.  Monmouth has a lot of players back, and has a chance to once again contend for a spot in the NCAA Tournament.  Like last year, though, they don’t have many strikes, so every game will have a sense of urgency to it.

-FLORIDA GULF COAST VS FLORIDA.  This is technically a buy game, but FGCU is one of the better teams in the ASun so we’ll go ahead and highlight it.  If this is the year the Gators can finally get to the NCAA Tournament, then they need to dominate games like this.

-FORT WAYNE AT ARKANSAS.  This is a buy game, but Arkansas better not overlook IPFW, who is one of the better teams in the Summit League.  I think they can pull off the upset if Pig Sooie overlooks them.

-KANSAS VS INDIANA (Honolulu, HI).  Two teams that are high in the rankings and who could both end up as protected seeds in the NCAA Tournament!  It’s a great opening night match-up where the winner gets a big win, and the loser is probably just fine.

-OHIO STATE VS NAVY (Annapolis, MD).  Ohio State is looking to rebound this year, and having a winnable road game on opening night is a good way to start things off.

-NORTH CAROLINA AT TULANE.  This game isn’t on campus, but it’s a very winnable road game for a UNC team that has struggled in early season road games in recent years, albeit those struggles have come against teams that are generally much better than this Tulane team.

-NORTH FLORIDA AT AUBURN.  For the last two years we’ve started off thinking Auburn is going to be good, and they ultimately haven’t been.  They should be tested tonight by a North Florida team who will contend for the ASun title.

-SOUTH DAKOTA STATE AT CALIFORNIA.  Cal should get a decent test from a South Dakota State team that could make some noise in the Summit League this year.

-HARVARD VS STANFORD (China).  Harvard should contend for the Ivy again this year.  Don’t be surprised if they really give Stanford a scare.

-NEVADA AT SAINT MARY’S.  This is an underrated match up between a nationally ranked Saint Mary’s team, and a Nevada team that we think will finish near the top of the Mountain West and contend for a spot in the NCAA Tournament.  Picking up a win tonight would really give the Wolfpack a boost.

-SAN DIEGO AT SAN DIEGO STATE.  This appears to be a huge mismatch, but San Diego did pull off the upset last year.  SDSU doesn’t want this loss on their profile.

 

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 12TH

-GRAND CANYON AT DUKE.  Last year’s team of the people, who will once again contend for first place in the WAC, travels to Duke.  They’re probably way overmatched, but it’s still a good litmus test for a GCU program that is growing very quickly.

 

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 13TH

-EASTERN MICHIGAN AT SMU.  Eastern Michigan will contend for first place in their division in the MAC, and can pick up a notable road win to really help their NCAA Tournament Profile and give their season a huge momentum boost if they’re able to pull this one off.

-CHATTANOOGA AT NORTH CAROLINA.  As we mentioned in their Friday write up, we feel that Chattanooga is an NCAA Tournament caliber team, but as good as they are they’re probably swinging over their heads today.  We feel Chattanooga can make the field as a bubble team, whereas we feel UNC will contend for a #1 seed.

-NEW MEXICO STATE AT COLORADO STATE.  This is a chance for what appears to be a pretty good New Mexico State team to pick up a somewhat notable road win.

-YALE AT WASHINGTON.  Yale had a big season last year, and will try and carry that into this year despite some of what they lost.  We feel Washington will be much improved as well, so this will give us a chance to learn something about both teams.

-LONG BEACH STATE AT WICHITA STATE.  Long Beach is one of the better teams in the Big West, and as per usual they are playing an absolutely killer out of conference schedule.  Wichita, on the other hand, appears to be the Missouri Valley frontrunner, but is going through a major rebuilding period after losing so much from last year.  It’s a chance for us to learn something about both teams, and for both teams to get a notable early win.

 

BUY GAMES

-Lafayette @ Villanova (Friday)
-UT Martin @ Ole Miss (Friday)
-American @ Maryland (Friday)
-McNeese @ Purdue (Friday)
-Western Carolina @ Miami FL (Friday)
-Georgia Southern @ NC State (Friday)
-Colgate @ Syracuse (Friday)
-Marist @ Duke (Friday)
-Evansville @ Louisville (Friday)
-Mount Saint Mary’s @ West Virginia (Friday)
-Oral Roberts @ Baylor (Friday)
-Wagner @ UConn (Friday)
-Brown @ Cincinnati (Friday)
-UNC Asheville @ VCU (Friday)
-Austin Peay @ Dayton (Friday)
-Lehigh @ Xavier (Friday).  Lehigh should be a force in the PL, but they are way overmatched in this one
-UMES @ George Washington (Friday)
-Dartmouth @ Rhode Island (Friday)
-Fairleigh Dickinson @ Seton Hall (Friday)
-Radford @ Wake Forest (Friday)
-Houston Baptist @ Texas Tech (Friday)
-Norfolk State @ Mississippi State (Friday)
-Incarnate Word @ Texas (Friday)
-Central Arkansas @ Wisconsin (Friday)
-Savannah State @ Iowa State (Friday)
-Southern Utah @ Valparaiso (Friday)
-Gardner Webb @ SMU (Friday)
-Morgan State @ Houston (Friday)
-Pine Bluff @ UAB (Friday)
-Coastal Carolina @ Alabama (Friday)
-Northwestern State @ Texas A&M (Friday)
-Howard @ Michigan (Friday)
-Maine @ Virginia Tech (Friday)
-Sacramento State @ Colorado (Friday)
-Prairie View A&M @ Oregon State (Friday)
-Portland State @ Arizona State (Friday)
-Pacific @ UCLA (Friday)
-Utah Valley @ Gonzaga (Friday)
-Western Illinois @ Kansas State (Friday)
-UMKC @ Creighton (Friday)
-SEMO @ Illinois (Friday)
-Kennesaw State @ Iowa (Friday)
-South Carolina State @ Wichita State (Friday)
-Idaho State @ New Mexico (Friday)
-UTSA @ Fresno State (Friday)
-Montana @ USC (Friday).  USC is rebuilding and needs to win games like this if they want to repeat last year’s success
-Army @ Oregon (Friday)
-Bryant @ Notre Dame (Saturday)
-South Carolina Upstate @ Georgetown (Saturday)
-Charleston Southern @ Florida State (Saturday)
-NW Nazarne (nondiv1) @ Utah (Saturday)
-Northern Colorado @ Butler (Saturday)
-Appalachian State @ Davidson (Saturday)
-Trinity (nondiv1) @ Valparaiso (Saturday)
-IUPUI @ Michigan (Sunday)
-Saint Francis Brooklyn @ NC State (Sunday)
-Bucknell @ Wake Forest (Sunday)
-Cornell @ Siena (Sunday)
-Central Connecticut @ Seton Hall (Sunday)
-Savannah State @ Iowa (Sunday)
-UTSA @ Oregon State (Sunday)
-Northwestern State @ Oklahoma (Sunday)
-Canisius @ Kentucky (Sunday)
-Holy Cross @ South Carolina (Sunday)
-Northern Kentucky @ Illinois (Sunday)
-Omaha @ USC (Sunday)
-Mercer @ Florida (Sunday)
-Cal State Northridge @ UCLA (Sunday)

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