NEWS AND NOTES
The following games of note have been postponed due to severe winter weather:
-Providence @ Villanova (now Sunday 1/24 at 1 PM)
-SMU @ Temple (now Sunday 1/24 at 12 PM)
-Davidson @ Richmond (now Monday 1/25 at 7 PM)
-Chattanooga @ VMI (TBD)
-William & Mary @ Hofstra (TBD)
-Saint Joseph’s @ La Salle (now Sunday 1/24 at 5 PM)
-St. Bonaventure @ VCU (now Sunday 1/24 at 3 PM)
-Tennessee St @ Belmont (now Sunday 1/24 at 5 PM)
-For Chad Sherwood’s Under the Radar Game of the Day between LITTLE ROCK VS TEXAS ARLINGTON, which is a big one with potential NCAA Tournament implications – CLICK HERE
-It was a rough week from what appear to be top forty and therefore NCAA Tournament caliber teams from what are normally one bid leagues. Valparaiso lost on the road to a Wright State team that is suddenly playing very well last night, but nevertheless it’s still the kind of game that you would expect Valpo to win. In a result that was perhaps even more damaging, Monmouth lost their third game of the season to a sub 200 RPI team when they fell at Manhattan. They trailed most of the game, but actually came back and took a lead in the final minutes, but could not hold on.
-Gonzaga also fell at Saint Mary’s. That’s not a bad loss in and of itself, but the problem for the Zags is that they don’t have enough good wins, which makes missing a rare opportunity at a good win feel like a bad loss.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES
-CONNECTICUT AT GEORGETOWN. This is an out of conference game that both teams appear to seriously need. UConn is hovering around the bubble right now and has limited opportunities at notable wins moving forward, so they could really use a a victory in a game like this. Georgetown is coming off a huge win at Xavier and still has a lot of work to do, but a win in this game would be a nice addition to their profile.
-SOUTH CAROLINA AT TENNESSEE (SEC). South Carolina is an amazing 17-1 on the year. Tennessee isn’t a tournament team, but they do have just one home loss, so if South Carolina were to win it they’d get more credit than what most may realize.
-OKLAHOMA AT BAYLOR (Big Twelve). Oklahoma is still the #1 team in the country, and I think they have the best overall profile despite the loss earlier this week. Baylor is unbeaten at home, and has been playing very well lately, so this will be yet another very tough test for the Sooners. It’s also a chance for Baylor to continue to build up momentum. The way they’ve been playing it wouldn’t surprise me if they ended up as a protected seed.
-BOSTON COLLEGE AT NOTRE DAME (ACC). Notre Dame looks to be somewhere in the 7-10 seed range right now, and shouldn’t have too much trouble picking this one up at home.
-NORTHWESTERN AT INDIANA (Big Ten). Indiana has racked up several wins in a row, but they haven’t really been tested yet, and likely won’t be today either. Still, at least they’re holding serve and winning the games they’re supposed to.
-WAKE FOREST AT MIAMI FL (ACC). Wake has hit the skids, and unless they come out of it they’re not going to wind up anywhere near the bubble. Miami, on the other hand, has played like a protected seed all year.
-WEST VIRGINIA AT TEXAS TECH (Big Twelve). I feel Texas Tech is a team that’s just outside the bubble, but they are still a very tough team to beat at home, so it would be another big win for the Mountaineers if they can pull it off. They’re coming off a rather surprising home loss to Texas so this is a chance for them to rebound.
-LSU AT ALABAMA (SEC). Both teams have a lot of work to do, so there needs to be a huge sense of urgency for both of them coming into this one.
-TEXAS AT KANSAS (Big Twelve). Texas picked up one of the most impressive road wins of the year earlier this week when they knocked off West Virginia. They’ve got another very tough test today against a Kansas team that’s looking to rebound from a rather decisive loss at Oklahoma State from earlier this week.
-MICHIGAN AT NEBRASKA (Big Ten). Nebraska has gotten hot lately with four straight wins, including a big one at Michigan State early in the week, so they come in to this one with a ton of momentum. Michigan is solidly inside the bubble, but still has a lot of room for improvement. Having said that, this likely won’t be an easy game for them to win.
-DUKE AT NC STATE (ACC). It’s rare that we say this, but Duke is in a tailspin, and although NC State isn’t the strongest opponent, as much as Duke has struggled it could be a tough road win for them to pick up.
-SETON HALL AT XAVIER (Big East). Both teams appear to be in good shape with Seton Hall inside the bubble and Xavier still in the protected seed range. Both are also coming off losses earlier in the week where Seton Hall almost pulled off the upset against Villanova, and Xavier surprisingly fell at home to Georgetown. It’s two tournament caliber teams looking for another notable win.
-NAVY AT ARMY (Patriot League). The game is at Madison Square Garden. Neither team is inside the bubble, but we will go ahead and highlight it because it is a unique event, and because Navy currently sits atop the PL standings.
-BRADLEY AT WICHITA STATE (Missouri Valley). Wichita State has been red hot since getting back to full strength, and needs to continue to roll through conference play.
-MISSOURI AT TEXAS A&M (SEC). TAMU has looked like the best team in the SEC, and shouldn’t have too much trouble picking up the win at home against Mizzou today.
-VANDERBILT AT KENTUCKY (SEC). Vandy has been somewhat disappointing this year, and with just one road win on the year they’re probably overmatched today against a Kentucky team that hasn’t been as strong as we expected, but is still unbeaten at home.
-IOWA STATE AT TCU (Big Twelve). It’s never easy to win on the road in this league, so Iowa State needs to take advantage of what is perhaps their most winnable remaining road game.
-PITTSBURGH AT FLORIDA STATE (ACC). We have both teams inside the bubble, but we also feel that both have a ton of room for improvement. Pitt’s paper is rather weak, and a road win in a game like this would really help them. Florida State has been somewhat inconsistent and could also use another notable win.
-LOUISVILLE AT GEORGIA TECH (ACC). Louisville has just one true road win, and because their OOC schedule was so weak their paper is still rather weak as well, so they could REALLY use this one. Georgia Tech isn’t the best team out there, but they do have just two home losses.
-GONZAGA AT PACIFIC (West Coast). Gonzaga fell at Saint Mary’s earlier this week, and still hasn’t beaten BYU or SMC in conference play. They’re running out of strikes and although they appear to be undermatched in this one, they can’t afford to lose it.
-UCLA AT OREGON (Pac Twelve). The Pac Twelve has several teams that are currently on our bubble, and UCLA is one of them. A road win against an Oregon team that’s played really well at home this year would really help their cause.
-UTAH STATE AT SAN DIEGO STATE (Mountain West). San Diego State is suddenly looking like the strongest team in the Mountain West, and although they still have a ton of work to do, they should get a good look from the selection committee if they win out.
-MARYLAND AT MICHIGAN STATE (Big Ten). Both teams are high in the rankings, but their current situations are notable. Maryland doesn’t have a win on their profile that’s anywhere close to as strong as this one would be, and Michigan State is in a bit of a tailspin that they need to come out of. So, even though both teams are ranked and appear to be safe, it’s still a big game for both teams because both actually kind of need a big win.
-OKLAHOMA STATE AT KANSAS STATE (Big Twelve). Both are currently on the outside looking in and need to get hot in order to get back into the picture. That being said, both have at moments shown that they’re capable of playing well.
-JAMES MADISON AT ELON (Colonial). James Madison has an outside shot at an at-large, but they basically need to blow through the conference to do it. Having said that, JMU is a perfect 6-0 in true road games, which does stand out.
-BUTLER AT CREIGHTON (Big East). Creighton has been playing well lately, especially at home, but they still have a very long way to go before they’re even in the tournament picture. Butler is just 2-4 in Big East play, but the early part of their schedule was brutal. Having said that, this is a big game because they don’t want to fall any further behind.
-AUBURN AT FLORIDA (SEC). Auburn has picked up two big wins in a row, but both were at home. Florida can land inside the bubble, but they need to continue to win the games against non tournament teams that they’re supposed to win.
-MARQUETTE AT SAINT JOHN’S (Big East). Marquette isn’t entirely out of the picture, but they’ve got a very long way to go and can’t afford to drop this one even though they’re the road team.
-NORTH TEXAS AT UAB (Conference USA). UAB has won thirteen in a row, but none came against really strong competition. They’ll need to win out to get any sort of a look from the selection committee because they just don’t have the chance to pick up the type of win that would impress the committee.
-GRAND CANYON AT UMKC (WAC). The Team of the People are looking to continue their domination tour!! This is one of their toughest conference games as UMKC is a very good 7-2 at home. The Lopes are clearly the best team in the WAC, and they deserve the waiver!! #LopesWaiver
-LITTLE ROCK AT UT ARLINGTON (Sun Belt). Both these teams are riding the bubble, but both are also coming off damaging conference losses and need to offset that with a really big win. This is one of the biggest and most important remaining regular season games for both these teams, so it should be fun.
-ARIZONA AT CALIFORNIA (Pac Twelve). Arizona could use a few more road wins if they want to safely end up as a protected seed. Cal is one of several Pac Twelve teams that’s riding our bubble, so this is a very big game for them as well.
-COLORADO AT WASHINGTON STATE (Pac Twelve). Like a lot of teams, Colorado has some good things on their profile but still has some work to do if they want to feel safe. Even though this is a road game, it’s the kind of game that they need to win.
-PORTLAND AT SAINT MARY’S (West Coast). SMC got a big win earlier this week at home against Gonzaga to improve to 16-2, but I still think their margin for error is somewhat small due to such a weak OOC schedule
-ARIZONA STATE AT STANFORD (Pac Twelve). Both teams are right on our bubble, and both could really use a win in this game.
Throwback Thursday (Friday edition) – 1963 NCAA Tournament
Click here for Chad Sherwood’s UTR Game of the Day between Albany and Stony Brook (weather permitting).
Click here for a double feature of the weekly Bracket Rundown and Under The Radar podcasts
On the same week that we celebrated Martin Luther King Jr. Day, we also look back to the 1963 NCAA Tournament. Almost every diehard fan knows about 1966 and Texas Western and their significance, but not much is said about the tournament 3 years earlier that began to spur more widespread integration into the game.
We start with the Mideast Region – the 6 teams selected for this region were Loyola of Chicago, Mississippi State, Illinois, Notre Dame, Bowling Green and Tennessee Tech. Mississippi State had won the SEC regular season title 4 out of the past 5 seasons, but state laws forbidding the Maroons (as Mississippi State was known back in 1963) to play integrated teams would not allow them to appear in the NCAA Tournament. While sneaking out of Mississippi in the middle of the night to the regional site of East Lansing, Mississippi State would be making their first ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament. They would lose to Loyola in the semifinals of the region and would also beat Bowling Green in the Mideast 3rd place game. However, the team that emerged in the Mideast was Loyola; they would beat Tennessee Tech, MSU and downstate rival Illinois to earn a bid to the Final Four in Louisville. Loyola was believed to be the first team to start 5 black players in a regular-season game at Wyoming, but would not start such a lineup in the tournament like Texas Western would do 3 years later.
The East Region had 7 teams in the field; Duke, NYU, Pittsburgh, West Virginia, UConn, Princeton and Saint Joseph’s. While the field was unseeded, Duke did get the bye in the 1st round and would only have to beat NYU and Saint Joseph’s to earn their first ever trip to the Final 4 in program history under coach Vic Bubas. West Virginia would defeat NYU in the 3rd place game; this would represent the last time that NYU would make the NCAA Tournament at the Division I level.
In the Midwest Region, it was 2-time defending champion Cincinnati and everyone else (namely Colorado, Oklahoma City, Colorado, Texas and Texas Western). Cincinnati did survive a pair of tests against Texas and Colorado to earn their 3rd straight trip to the Final Four. Texas would earn 3rd place in the Midwest with a win over Oklahoma City.
In the West Region, UCLA, San Francisco, Oregon State, Arizona State, Utah State and Seattle all qualified for the NCAA Tournament. Many people would wonder how it was possible for UCLA, Oregon State and Arizona State to be in the same region, but people forget that what was the Pacific Coast Conference had to disband because of pay-for-play scandals. This caused Oregon State to be independent for 5 seasons before rejoining what was then the Pac-8 Conference that included UCLA. (Arizona State was in the WAC at that time). Led by legendary coach Slats Gill (the namesake of Gill Coliseum), the Beavers would defeat Seattle, San Francisco and Arizona State to earn the program’s 2nd Final Four bid. San Francisco would defeat UCLA for 3rd place in the West; UCLA was a year away from the beginning of their dynasty in men’s basketball.
When the Final Four convened in Louisville, Loyola defeated Duke 94-75 and Cincinnati would defeat Oregon State 80-46 in the other semifinal. Duke would defeat Oregon State for 3rd place and even propelled Art Heyman to Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four without being a part of the championship game. Cincinnati had defeated Ohio State in overtime in the previous 2 NCAA title games, but the 3rd time would not be a charm as Loyola would defeat the Bearcats 60-58 in overtime at Louisville’s Freedom Hall. Both Cincinnati and Loyola would feature integrated lineups in the championship; this was in stark contrast to the Brown v. Board of Education championship that would be staged in 1966 between Texas Western (now UTEP) and Kentucky.
Last Saturday, Mississippi State also wore uniforms to commemorate their 1963 team when they hosted Tennessee; click here for highlights of that game.