Championship Week Video Notebook: Thursday, March 3rd

Posted on March 3, 2016 by David Griggs

-In the America East, Stony Brook survived a scare from UMBC.  To give you an idea of how big of an upset this would have been, Stony Brook’s RPI is 65, and UMBC comes in at 336.  That’s a much bigger gap than what we generally see when a #1 seed faces a #16 seed in the NCAA Tournament, and on top of that, Stony Brook was at home, where they had only lost once all season.

Whereas Stony Brook avoided a big upset, Albany, who had not lost a single regular season game at home, did not.  They fell to Hartford in what is the biggest upset in Championship week so far.

-In the Northeast Conference, we saw four pretty good games, the most exciting being Fairleigh Dickinson’s win against Saint Francis PA, but all the games were good.

-The OVC also got underway tonight.  We discuss all the action, and then preview tomorrow’s games. (recorded late Wednesday night (Mar 2nd)

And for all you radio lovers, there is an mp3 version of the show at the bottom of the page

 

TODAY’S CHAMPIONSHIP WEEK ACTION

ATLANTIC SUN
Semifinals
7:00 PM – (7) Stetson at (6) Lipscomb, espn3
7:30 PM – (4) Florida Gulf Coast at (1) North Florida, espn3

BIG SOUTH
First Round
2:00 PM – (8) Longwood vs (9) Charleston Southern, bigsouthsports.com
4:30 PM – (7) Radford vs (10) Presbyterian, bigsouthsports.com
7:00 PM – (6) Gardner-Webb vs (11) Campbell, bigsouthsports.com

METRO ATLANTIC
First Round
5:00 PM – (8) Rider vs (9) Quinnipiac, No live video
7:30 PM – (7) Canisius vs (10) Niagara, No live video
10:00 PM – (6) Manhattan vs (11) Marist, No live video

MISSOURI VALLEY
First Round
7:00 PM – (8) Loyola-Chicago vs (9) Bradley, Regional TV/espn3
9:30 PM – (7) Missouri State vs (10) Drake, Regional TV/espn3

OHIO VALLEY
Quarterfinals
7:00 PM – (4) Tennessee State vs (8) Austin Peay, ovcsports.com
9:30 PM – (3) Morehead State vs (6) Murray State, ovcsports.com

PATRIOT LEAGUE
Quarterfinals
7:00 PM – (9) Holy Cross at (1) Bucknell, patriotleague.tv
7:00 PM – (5) Colgate at (4) Army West Point, patriotleague.tv
7:00 PM – (7) Navy at (2) Lehigh, patriotleague.tv
7:00 PM – (6) American at (3) Boston University, patriotleague.tv

 

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News, Notes, and Highlighted Games: Wednesday, March 2nd

Posted on March 2, 2016 by David Griggs

NEWS, NOTES, AND LINKS

CLICK HERE for our most recent Hoops HD Video Notebook, complete with a recap of last night’s action, and a look ahead to tonight.

CLICK HERE for Chad Sherwood’s Under the Radar Game of the Day

CLICK HERE for the Hoops HD NCAA Tournament Survival Board

CLICK HERE for all other Conference Tournament Info

-Oklahoma beat Baylor at home last night.  Now, if you missed it, you’re probably wondering what was so noteworthy about that.  The reason is that Oklahoma had a 26 point lead in this game in the first half, and then late in the second half had to come from behind (albeit barely) to win the game.  It was quite remarkable.

-Georgia Tech needed a win at Louisville to really make a strong and relevant case for themselves, and came up just short after missing a shot that could have tied the game.

-Indiana picked up what was their most impressive and most meaningful game at Iowa last night.  It gives them their best road win, their best paper win, and it clinched an outright first place finish.  Not to take anything away from Indiana, because they look like a very good basketball team anyone who does not think of them as such just isn’t paying attention, but Iowa has now lost four in a row, and is just 1-5 in their last six games.  They’ve gone from looking like a #1 seed to not even looking like a protected seed.

 

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES

-TEXAS TECH AT WEST VIRGINIA (Big Twelve).  Texas Tech is looking like they’re going to be in on the initial ballot, and they keep improving as the season continues.  West Virginia is ranked in the top ten, and could end up as high as the two line.

-PITTSBURGH AT VIRGINIA TECH (ACC).  Pitt turned things around in a big way with their win over Duke this past weekend, and now needs to pick up a road win to help to continue to strengthen their profile.  VA Tech isn’t anywhere near the tournament, but it’s a decent road win for a team that has room to improve the way Pitt does.

-MIAMI FL AT NOTRE DAME (ACC).  Miami is within striking distance of first place in the ACC, but the one thing they really haven’t done is pick up a road win as big as this one would be.  Notre Dame has a good profile and depending on how strong they finish a protected seed isn’t completely out of the question, but they got blasted at Florida State over the weekend and need to rebound from that.

-MICHIGAN STATE AT RUTGERS (Big Ten).  This should be the easiest road win of the year for the Spartans, who are also within striking distance of a #1 seed.

-DAVIDSON AT VCU (Atlantic Ten).  VCU is the first place team in the A10 and should land inside the bubble so long as they win the games they’re supposed to win the rest of the way.  That would certainly include this one.

-SAINT JOSEPH’S AT SAINT BONAVENTURE (Atlantic Ten).  Saint Bonaventure won the first meeting between these two, and right now that is arguably their signature win of the season.  They are right on the bubble and need a strong finish in order to end up inside of it.  Saint Joseph’s is fairly safe, largely because they’ve been outstanding away from home this year.  They’re actually 12-2 away from home, and 12-3 at home.  This would be another nice win for their profile if they’re able to pick it up.

-SETON HALL AT BUTLER (Big East).  Seton Hall is one of the hottest teams in the conference right now as they’ve won eight of their last nine, including a decisive win against Xavier over the weekend.  Butler has been playing better recently as well, and actually won the first meeting between these two, which is the one loss Seton Hall has suffered in the last nine games.  Both should land inside the bubble, but both could still really use this win.

-ARKANSAS AT ALABAMA (SEC).  Right now we have Alabama outside the bubble, but it’s still not out of reach.  They’ll need to finish strong, though, and that means avoiding home losses to non-tournament teams.

-WISCONSIN AT MINNESOTA (Big Ten).  Wisconsin is playing really well right now and shouldn’t have too much trouble picking up yet another Big Ten road win.

-CREIGHTON AT PROVIDENCE (Big East).  Providence has some big wins, but they’re in a bit of a tailspin having lost five of their last seven games.  This is a home game against a non-tournament team, and they really need to pick this one up in order to get things turned back around.

-OREGON AT UCLA (Pac Twelve).  Oregon is looking like a solid protected seed, and perhaps the best team in what is a very good Pac Twelve conference.  It’s never easy to win on the road, but this is the kind of game a protected seed should be able to win despite UCLA being 11-4 at home.

-WASHINGTON STATE AT WASHINGTON (Pac Twelve).  Washington is outside the bubble, and losing at home to a team as weak as Wazzu would likely be a death blow to their at-large chances.  Losing to a big rival would make things that much worse.

-OREGON STATE AT USC (Pac Twelve).  The biggest weakness with Oregon State’s profile is their lack of road wins.  They’ve had a great season and chances are they’ll make the field, but getting just one or two more road wins would greatly improve their resume.  USC has had a great year as well, but they’ve lost five of their lsat six and come into this with a sense of urgency.  With their final game of the season being against Oregon, they don’t want to be heading into the Pac Twelve Tournament having gone 1-7 in their last eight, and being just 8-10 in conference.

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Under the Radar Game of the Day – Wednesday, March 2: Long Beach State at Cal State Fullerton

Posted on March 2, 2016 by Chad

Under the Radar Game of the Day: Long Beach State at Cal State Fullerton, 10:00 PM Eastern, espn3

For our latest Championship Week Video Notebook, CLICK HERE.

Championship Week has begun as the Atlantic Sun and Patriot League tipped off last night and action continues tonight in the America East, Northeast and Ohio Valley Conferences.  However, the UTR Game of the Day is limited to regular season games, as any and all conference tournament games would qualify as the Game of the Day.  Tonight’s schedule, amazingly enough, features only one regular season game involving Under the Radar teams — the Big West contest between Long Beach State and Cal State Fullerton.  Therefore, despite the game lacking in any significant postseason implications, it is our Under the Radar Game of the Day.

Long Beach State enters play tonight with a record of 16-13 overall and 10-4 in conference play.  The 49ers are still mathematically alive to win or share the conference regular season crown, but would need several major upsets to occur including a Hawai’i loss at UC-Davis tomorrow night and at least one more loss by UC-Irvine.  The 49ers are led by Nick Faust, who has the ability to lead the team in scoring each night and is their most dangerous player form beyond the arc.

Cal State Fullerton enters the game with a record of 10-18 overall and 3-12 in conference play.  A loss tonight will lock the Titans into last place and the 8 seed in the Big West tournament (Cal State Northridge will not be participating due to a self-imposed postseason ban).  The Titans are led by Tre’ Coggins, who is also deadly from three-point range.  Coggins is coming off a 24 point effort in a loss to UC-Santa Barbara — a game in which he hit 5 three-pointers.  If he is able to knock down the long range shots tonight, Fullerton just may be able to celebrate Senior Day with a victory.

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Championship Week Video Notebook: Tuesday, March 1st

Posted on March 1, 2016 by David Griggs

Chad, David, and John look at the quarterfinal round of the Atlantic Sun, and the opening round of the Patriot League.  It’s just Day 1 of Championship Week, and we’ve already seen two upsets with Lipscomb knocking off Jacksonville and Stetson taking down NJIT, who many of us thought would win the league.  They talk about that, look ahead to the OVC, NEC, and America East games on Wednesday

 

And for all you radio lovers, there is an mp3 version of the show at the bottom of the page…

 

WEDNESDAY’S CHAMPIONSHIP WEEK ACTION

AMERICA EAST
Quarterfinals
7:00 PM – (8) UMBC at (1) Stony Brook, espn3
7:00 PM – (7) Hartford at (2) Albany, espn3
7:30 PM – (6) Maine at (3) Vermont, espn3
7:30 PM – (5) Binghamton at (4) New Hampshire, espn3

NORTHEAST
Quarterfinals
7:00 PM – (8) Robert Morris at (1) Wagner, necfrontrow.com
7:00 PM – (7) St. Francis-PA at (2) Fairleigh Dickinson, necfrontrow.com
7:00 PM – (6) Long Island University at (3) Sacred Heart, Local TV/Fox College Sports Atlantic/necfrontrow.com
9:00 PM – (5) Mount St. Mary’s at (4) St. Francis-Brooklyn, Local TV/Fox College Sports Atlantic/necfrontrow.com

OHIO VALLEY
 First Round
7:00 PM – (5) Tennessee Tech vs (8) Austin Peay, ovcsports.com – (winner gets Tennessee State)
9:30 PM – (6) Murray State vs (7) Eastern Illinois, ovcsports.com – (winner gets Morehead State)

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News, Notes, Links, Conference Tournaments, and Highlighted Games: Tuesday, March 1st

Posted on March 1, 2016 by David Griggs

Happy March Madness Everybody!!!

You can stop searching the internet!!  You don’t need to go anywhere else!!  HOOPS HD HAS MARCH COVERED!!!  We are now in full blown March Mode!  We will be recording our Championship Week Video Notebooks every night, and keeping you updated with all of the action each day with our articles.

LINKS

-For the Final Hoops HD Report of the season, where the staff runs through the nine multi-bid leagues and discusses the other teams that are inside the bubble – CLICK HERE

-For Jon Teitel’s Conference Tournament Previews (Part 1) – CLICK HERE

-For Chad Sherwood’s Under the Radar Game of the Day, featuring the Team of the People against Saint Mary’s #LopesWaiver – CLICK HERE

-For the Hoops HD NCAA Tournament Survival Board, which is the most valued and reliable resource that is available to the Selection Committee – CLICK HERE

-For all the Conference Tournament Info you need, including dates, times, networks, and matchups – CLICK HERE

-For our latest Bracket Projections – CLICK HERE

 

NEWS AND NOTES

-Even in Texas, the things that Kansas did last night to the Longhorns should be considered abusive and illegal.  Kansas had strong seasons the past two years where they appeared to taper off a little down the stretch.  This season, Kansas does not appear to be tapering off.

-The chalk pretty much held last night.  Chattanooga avoided what would have been a complete death blow to their at-large chances when they came back to beat VMI.  The problem is that they may already be on the outside looking in and will need to win the automatic bid.

 

CHAMPIONSHIP WEEK

ATLANTIC SUN QUARTERFINALS

-#8 South Carolina Upstate @ #1 North Florida (7:30 PM, ESPN3)
-#5 Kennesaw State @ #4 Florida Gulf Coast (7:05 PM, ESPN3)
-#7 Stetson (ineligible for NCAA Tournament) @ #2 NJIT (7:30 PM, ESPN3)
-#6 Lipscomb @ #3 Jacksonville (7:00 PM, ESPN3)

PATRIOT LEAGUE OPENING ROUND

-#9 Holy Cross @ #8 Loyola MD (7:30 PM, patriotleague.tv) – winner gets Bucknell
-#10 Lafayette @ #7 Navy (7:00 PM, patriotleague.tv) – winner gets Lehigh

 

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES

-KENTUCKY AT FLORIDA (SEC).  Kentucky has been very inconsistent on the road.  They need a strong finish to the season, which includes picking up more wins away from home, if they want to end up as a protected seed.

-TENNESSEE AT VANDERBILT (SEC).  Vandy has been playing really well all of a sudden.  They’re suddenly on the bubble, and should make the field if they keep going like they have been.  They need to hold serve in home games against non-tournament teams, which means taking care of business against their rivals.

-VIRGINIA AT CLEMSON (ACC).  Virginia is on the cusp of a #1 seed.  Their only losses have been close road losses against likely protected seeds.  If they really are a #1 seed then this is the kind of road game that you would expect them to win.

-DEPAUL AT VILLANOVA (Big East).  Nova is atop the Big East, and should be able to end up as a #1 seed so long as they hold serve the rest of the way.

-DAYTON AT RICHMOND (Atlantic Ten).  Dayton has lost three out of their last four, and their profile has slipped somewhat.  The sooner they get the ship righted, the better.  They don’t want to add another loss to a non-tournament team to their profile.

-BAYLOR AT OKLAHOMA (Big Twelve).  I still think Oklahoma can end up on the #1 line, but they probably need to win out the regular season.  Baylor is a solid tournament team that should get in on the initial ballot, but this is a very tall order.  Oklahoma win the first meeting rather handily.

-WAKE FOREST AT DUKE (ACC).  Duke is coming off a loss at Pitt where they looked really sluggish.  Fortunately for them they have a very winnable game tonight against Wake, which should help get them back on the right track.

-PURDUE AT NEBRASKA (Big Ten).  Purdue has a solid profile and should end up below the protected seeds, but in on the initial ballot.  Nebraska isn’t the easiest place to win on the road, but it’s the kind of road game that a solid NCAA Tournament team should be able to win.

-GEORGIA TECH AT LOUISVILLE (ACC).  Georgia Tech is outside the bubble, but they’ve been playing well these past couple of weeks and are a few big wins away from landing in the field.  Now, having said that, the question is whether or not they’re good enough to pick up the few big wins that they need.

-GEORGE MASON AT GEORGE WASHINGTON (Atlantic Ten).  GW is just outside our bubble, and a home loss to a weak team could serve as a bit of a death blow to their at-large chances.

-ARKANSAS STATE AT LITTLE ROCK (Sun Belt).  Little Rock should land inside the bubble so long as they win out and avoid an early loss in the SBC Tournament.  They’ve had a good year and I’d hate to see them stub their toes and suffer a bad loss this close to the end.  This game also has Survival Board implications as an Arkansas State win would eliminate conference-mate Appalachian State from being able to make the Sun Belt Tournament.

-TEXAS A&M AT AUBURN (SEC). This is a winnable road game for a TAMU team that appears to be below the protected seeds, but still in on the initial ballot.

-INDIANA AT IOWA (Big Ten).  The schedule isn’t balanced, but Indiana has clinched a least of share of first place in the Big Ten.  This would probably be their most impressive win of the year if they pull this one out on the road.  Iowa is still a protected seed, but they’ve been tapering off in recent weeks.

-SAN DIEGO STATE AT NEW MEXICO (Mountain West).  I can’t say for certain whether or not San Diego State will land inside the bubble, but if they win out and avoid an early loss in the MWC Tourney they should get a serious look.

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Under the Radar Game of the Day – Tuesday, March 1: Grand Canyon at Saint Mary’s

Posted on March 1, 2016 by Chad

Under the Radar Game of the Day: Grand Canyon at Saint Mary’s, 10:00 PM Eastern, campusinsiders.com

For our latest HOOPS HD Report video podcast, CLICK HERE.

For Part 1 of Jon Teitel’s conference tournament previews, featuring 13 conferences kicking off play this week, CLICK HERE.

The Saint Mary’s Gaels broke into the Top 25 in the Coaches’ Poll this week, but that doesn’t prevent me from still choosing this game as the UTR Game of the Day.  After all, we have had this game circled on our calendars for months now as the last regular season non-conference game and the final chance for the Grand Canyon Antelopes to prove themselves and the case for the #LopesWaiver.  (For more information on that, click here).  Grand Canyon enters the game tonight at 24-5 overall and tied for second place in the WAC at 10-3.  Their RPI entering play tonight is 98, and with only tonight’s game and their regular season finale Saturday at Utah Valley left, a win tonight is almost a must if they want to become the first transitional team to ever finish in the top 100 of the RPI.  The ‘Lopes are led by Grandy Glaze who now has a dozen double-doubles on the season.  If Glaze and his teammates can get the win tonight, they will once again send the message to the college basketball world that they deserve a chance at winning an automatic bid in the WAC tournament, and could at the same time end St. Mary’s dreams of an at-large bid.

The St. Mary’s Gaels did something this season that they had not done since 1995 — sweep the regular season series with Gonzaga.  As a result of the sweep, the Gaels are the top seed in the West Coast Conference tournament and will begin play Saturday night when they take on the winner of Friday night’s 8/9 game between Loyola Marymount and San Diego.  The Gaels have an RPI of 47 entering play tonight, which combined with a first place finish in their conference and a 24-4 overall record will get them some serious discussion in the committee room if they fail to capture the automatic bid.  The Gaels have a balanced scoring attack including the likes of Emmett Naar, Dane Pineau and Joe Rahon.  Calvin Hermanson led the way last time out with 24 points against San Francisco, and Evan Fitzner led the way in their earlier home win over Gonzaga with 20.  The scariest part of the Gaels roster is that it does not have a single senior on it — meaning that next year they should be even better, though hopefully that also means that they will schedule more aggressively.  If the Gaels do not get the WCC automatic bid this year and miss the field, they really can only blame themselves for only playing one non-conference game away from McKeon Pavilion.

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