Under the Radar Game of the Day – Tuesday, January 12: Northern Illinois at Toledo

Posted on January 12, 2016 by Chad

Under the Radar Game of the Day: Northern Illinois at Toledo, 7:00 PM Eastern, espn3

For our latest Hoops HD Report Video podcast, CLICK HERE.

The UTR Game of the Day heads to Ohio tonight for a MAC West Division regular season matchup between the Northern Illinois Huskies and the Toledo Rockets.  10 of the MAC’s 12 members currently sit at .500 or better overall, making for what appears to be an exciting conference race all season long.  Even further proof is that two games into conference play, only Akron and Northern Illinois remain undefeated in league play.  Northern Illinois enters the game tonight with an overall record of 13-2, 2-0 in the MAC.  The Huskies’ record is truly amazing when you realize that this team failed to win more than 10 games in a season from 2007-2013, a seven year stretch where the program was among the worst in all of D1.  They improved each of the last two years, winning 15 and 14 games, but both seasons ended with losing records again.  Four more wins this season will guarantee a winning record, something that should happen absent a complete meltdown.  Perhaps one of the biggest reasons for the team’s success this season has been the play of redshirt sophomore Marin Maric.  Maric has scored in double figures in 11 straight games and has posted a double-double four of the last six times out.

The Toledo Rockets enter play today with an overall record of 10-5, 1-1 in early MAC play.  They have their own deadly force to contend with, as senior Nathan Boothe is one of the top players in the MAC.  He has already topped to 20-point mark five times this season and has recorded 5 double-doubles and one triple-double (12 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists against San Jose State).  Toledo has struggled away from home so far this year, picking up 4 of their 5 losses on the road.  However, they have only been beaten at home once (by Oakland).  The MAC is a conference known, at least by the UTR guys, as a very difficult place too pick up road wins.  Therefore, if NIU can come to Toledo and score the victory tonight, despite the overall records, we would consider it an upset that would message sent to the rest of the conference that the Huskies intend to compete for more than just a winning record.

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The Hoops HD Report: January 11th

Posted on January 11, 2016 by David Griggs

Chad is joined by David and John, and they run through all of the power conferences in college basketball.  They discuss the big game between Kansas and Oklahoma from earlier in the week, Baylor’s huge and much needed road win at Iowa State, Louisville’s loss at Clemson and how the Cardinals’ weak out of conference schedule puts more pressure on them in conference play, Dayton’s damaging loss at La Salle, Arizona’s and Virginia’s tough road struggles this past week, and much more….

 

And for all you radio lovers, below is an mp3 version of the show….

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Under the Radar Game of the Day – Monday, January 11: Cal State Bakersfield at Chicago State

Posted on January 11, 2016 by Chad

Under the Radar Game of the Day: Cal State Bakersfield at Chicago State, 8:00 PM Eastern

With no significant sporting events scheduled for tonight (what? some football game?), the UTR Game of the Day will be heading to Chicago for a battle in the Western Athletic Conference between the Bakersfield Roadrunners and the Chicago State Cougars.  Although it is our firm belief that the Grand Canyon Antelopes should be eligible for the WAC’s automatic bid this season (click here to read more on that), among the currently NCAA eligible teams, the highest KenPom rating belongs to Bakersfield.  The Roadrunners enter play tonight with a KenPom rating of 119.  They sit at 11-5 on the season and 1-0 in WAC play.  Their last two wins have come on the road, including their conference opener at UMKC.  Four players scored in double figures in that win, led by Aly Ahmed’s 24 points.  Daminye Durham shot 6 for 10 from three, adding 18 points.  In fact, Durham now has 33 made three’s on the season — and only 13 made shots from inside the arc.  If he gets hot again tonight and teammates like Ahmed continue to shine, Bakersfield should pick up their second conference victory and continue to establish themselves as a legitimate contender for the conference title.

Standing between Bakersfield and a 2-0 WAC start is the Chicago State Cougars.  Chicago State has struggled so far this season, with only one Division I win to date (at home against Western Illinois).  Overall, with three non-D1 wins, the Cougars are 4-13, 0-1 in WAC play.  Fred Sims is one player worth keeping an eye on for the Cougars as he has had a few games so far this season in which he has shined, including a 26 point effort at Marquette and a 22 point effort at DePaul.  Although both those games ended in defeats, the Cougars are at home tonight, where all four of their wins have occurred.  Even though winning this game would be a considered an upset, if Sims and his teammates can come together, they are certainly capable of pulling it out.

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Bracketology 2016: March Madness Predictions (Version 2.0)

Posted on January 10, 2016 by Jon Teitel

LINKS

-For today’s News, Notes, and Highlighted Games – CLICK HERE

-For Chad Sherwood’s Under the Radar Game of the Day – CLICK HERE

Welcome back to another year of NCAA tourney predictions. Last year HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel correctly picked 66 of the 68 teams that made the tourney, including 62 right on the money or within 1 spot of their actual seed. He will spend the next 9 weeks predicting which 68 teams will hear their names called on Selection Sunday, with new updates each week. See below for his list of who would make the cut if they picked the field today, and let us know if you agree or disagree in the comments section. To compare how we stack up with other websites, check out: www.bracketmatrix.com.

68 logo

SEED: TEAM (CONFERENCE)
1: Kansas (Big 12)
1: Oklahoma (Big 12)
1: Michigan State (Big 10)
1: Xavier (Big East)

2: North Carolina (ACC)
2: Villanova (Big East)
2: Maryland (Big 10)
2: Miami Florida (ACC)

3: Virginia (ACC)
3: Duke (ACC)
3: Kentucky (SEC)
3: West Virginia (Big 12)

4: Iowa State (Big 12)
4: Arizona (Pac-12)
4: Providence (Big East)
4: Louisville (ACC)

5: Purdue (Big 10)
5: Butler (Big East)
5: Texas A&M (SEC)
5: Iowa (Big 10)

6: Pitt (ACC)
6: South Carolina (SEC)
6: Oregon (Pac-12)
6: Gonzaga (WCC)

7: Dayton (A-10)
7: Texas Tech (Big 12)
7: Utah (Pac-12)
7: George Washington (A-10)

8: Baylor (Big 12)
8: Connecticut (AAC)
8: Florida (SEC)
8: UCLA (Pac-12)

9: USC (Pac-12)
9: Indiana (Big 10)
9: Michigan (Big 10)
9: Oregon State (Pac-12)

10: St. Mary’s (WCC)
10: Colorado (Pac-12)
10: Cincinnati (AAC)
10: California (Pac-12)

11: Seton Hall (Big East)
11: Texas (Big 12)
11: Arizona State (Pac-12)
11: Notre Dame (ACC)
11: Wichita State (MVC)
11: Arkansas Little-Rock (Sun Belt)

12: Boise State (MWC)
12: Monmouth (MAAC)
12: Valparaiso (Horizon)
12: Texas-Arlington (Sun Belt)

13: Chattanooga (SoCon)
13: Akron (MAC)
13: South Dakota State (Summit)
13: Louisiana Tech (CUSA)

14: Northeastern (CAA)
14: Hawaii (Big West)
14: Stony Brook (America East)
14: Yale (Ivy)

15: Belmont (OVC)
15: Texas A&M Corpus-Christi (Southland)
15: High Point (Big South)
15: Idaho (Big Sky)

16: Army (Patriot)
16: Cal State Bakersfield (WAC)
16: North Florida (Atlantic Sun)
16: Jackson State (SWAC)
16: Wagner (NEC)
16: Hampton (MEAC)

CONFERENCE: # OF TEAMS
AAC: 2
America East: 1
ACC: 7
Atlantic Sun: 1
A-10: 2
Big East: 5
Big Sky: 1
Big South: 1
Big 10: 6
Big 12: 7
Big West: 1
CAA: 1
CUSA: 1
Horizon: 1
Ivy: 1
MAAC: 1
MAC: 1
MEAC: 1
MVC: 1
MWC: 1
NEC: 1
OVC: 1
Pac-12: 9
Patriot: 1
SEC: 6
SoCon: 1
Southland: 1
SWAC: 1
Summit: 1
Sun Belt: 2
WCC: 2
WAC: 1

 

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News, Notes, and Highlighted Games: Sunday, Jan 10th

Posted on January 10, 2016 by David Griggs

NEWS AND NOTES

-For Jon Teitel’s latest Seed List, where he shows you what he thinks the Selection Committee would do if today were Selection Sunday – CLICK HERE

-For Chad Sherwood’s Under the Radar Game of the Day – CLICK HERE

-Baylor, who had looked awful on the road all season long, didn’t just pick up their first road win when they beat Iowa State, they picked up one of the more impressive road wins anyone has managed this season.  That changes the complexion of their profile in a huge way.

-Four overtimes!!  Twenty extra minutes!!  USC and Arizona gave us an entire half of free basketball before USC pulled off the win in four overtimes.  USC led in the final minute three different times, but finally pulled it off for one of their biggest wins since Andy Enfield arrived on campus.

-Dayton was in the rankings and appeared to be sailing safely toward a bid.  They’re still relatively safe, but they now have a loss to a La Salle team that’s outside the top 200.  It’s a very damaging loss, and it’s rare that you see a team inside the bubble have multiple sub 200 losses, but it is the kind of loss they can overcome.

-Chattanooga, who won at Dayton earlier this year and looked to have a strong profile, shot themselves in the face as well with their loss at Furman.  Chattanooga should still be okay for a bid if they win out, but if they drop any more then chances are they’ll need the automatic bid to make the field.

-Texas A&M’s win at Tennessee may not seem like that big of a win, but it is somewhat notable since it is currently the only home loss for the Vols.

 

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES

-CINCINNATI AT SOUTH FLORIDA (American).  Cincinnati is still reeling from their loss at SMU, which was their third loss in the final seconds to a highly ranked team.  They need to pick up this winnable road game today.

-MICHIGAN STATE AT PENN STATE (Big Ten).  Penn State has just one home loss, but Michigan State should still be able to pick up the victory and remain in #1 seed contention.

-LOUISVILLE AT CLEMSON (ACC).  Louisville has started adding some meet to their profile and can pick up their second true road win on the season and remain unbeaten in conference play.

-RHODE ISLAND AT SAINT JOSEPH’S (Atlantic Ten).  Saint Joe’s is right on our bubble, so every game has a pivotal feel.  They don’t want to drop any games at home against non-tournament teams.

-OHIO STATE AT INDIANA (Big Ten).  Both teams are improving and both have improved their resumes in recent weeks, but both still have a lot of work to do.

-UCF AT SMU (American).  SMU is still unbeaten, but that still doesn’t mean anything as far as the NCAA Tournament is concerned.

-PURDUE AT ILLINOIS (Big Ten).  Purdue continues to look like a protected seed and shouldn’t have too much trouble picking up the win on the road today.

-VILLANOVA AT BUTLER (Big East).  Butler hasn’t looked that strong since conference play started, but they’re still high in the rankings and still have a strong profile.  A win in a game like this could really give them the momentum they need to turn things around.  Both teams still have a chance to end up as protected seeds.

-NC STATE AT WAKE FOREST (ACC).  Wake has lost their last few games, but all were against very strong teams.  They are still in reasonably good shape, but they need to get the momentum turned back in their favor.  NC State is good, but with Wake being at home it’s a more winnable game for them and one they need to take advantage of.

-STANFORD AT OREGON (Pac Twelve).  Oregon is unbeaten at home and needs to continue to hold serve against non-tournament caliber teams

Posted in Daily Rundown, News and Notes | 1 Comment

Under the Radar Game of the Day – Sunday, January 10: Valparaiso at Detroit

Posted on January 10, 2016 by Chad

Under the Radar Game of the Day: Valparaiso at Detroit, 1:00 PM Eastern, ASN/espn3

For the second time in three days, the Valparaiso Crusaders are our feature team in the UTR Game of the Day.  Of course, with NFL football dominating the headlines today, there are only two games on the calendar that even qualified for consideration, and, with all due respect to UIC at Oakland, this one is clearly the most important.  The Valparaiso Crusaders enter play today with a record of 12-3 overall and 2-0 in conference play.  On Friday night, they faced what we thought would be their toughest conference game of the season — and proceeded to crush Oakland on the road, winning 84-67.  This afternoon, the road trip to Michigan concludes as they head to Detroit to take on the Titans.  Valpo was led in the Oakland win by Trevonn Walker’s 24 points and Alec Peters’ double-double (15 points and 11 boards).  Vashil Fernandez added 12 rebounds of his own, just missing a double-double (9 points).

Detroit is currently 9-5 on the season, but off to a solid Horizon League start at 3-0, although all three games have come at home so far.  In a strange quirk of the schedule, the Titans start Horizon League play with five straight home games, meaning that 9 of their last 13 games after that will all be on the road.  Paris Bass is the key players to keep an eye on for the Titans.  He has only played 7 games so far this season, yet scored well into double-digits in each of them, including a 28 point, 13 rebound effort last weekend against Cleveland State.  With Bass, who was the conference Freshman of the Year last season, in the lineup and playing strong, the Titans are certainly capable of pulling off the upset today.  However, if the Crusaders play anywhere close to the way they played Friday night, that may not be possible.

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