News, Notes, and Highlighted Games: Dec 23rd thru 27th

Posted on December 23, 2015 by David Griggs

Below is a rundown of the notable upcoming college basketball games, as well as a quick look back at yesterday…

NEWS AND NOTES

-We are going into Holiday Mode here at Hoops HD, as is most of the rest of the college basketball world.  Today is a somewhat busy day, but it lightens up significantly after that.  Below is a rundown of all the games through Sunday.

-We will be recording our Under the Radar Podcast sometime soon, perhaps today.  Be on the lookout for it.

-Northern Iowa is a young team that can get way up for big games.  The problem is they can’t get their feet back on the ground once their heads are in the clouds.  They went on the road to face Hawaii in the Diamond Head Classic.  Hawaii is a good team that hadn’t lost at home, and it was a big game because winning it puts a true road win on their profile, and enables them to advance to play stronger competition.  But, a young team doesn’t quite grasp that the way they grasp getting up for an in-state rival that’s ranked #2.  So, they went to Hawaii and were trounced by Hawaii.

As for Hawaii, the win is likely of very little consolation.  The NCAA handed down three years of probation yesterday, along with a postseason ban that begins next year.

-Iowa State rebounded from their loss to Northern Iowa and picked up what has been their most impressive win of the year at Cincinnati in a game that came down to the buzzer.  This is the second time Cincinnati has lost at home to a highly ranked team at the buzzer.  Their paper would have obviously been much better had they won one or both of those games, but it also may end up meaning that they are a far more dangerous team than what their paper indicates.  Well, at least when they’re at home.

-Xavier remains unbeaten, and they sure did make it exciting.  They didn’t show up for the first half against Wake Forest and were down by as many as 18, but came roaring back on the road in the second half to get the win.

-Oakland was quite impressive against Michigan State, and almost pulled off what would have been a season defining victory in overtime.  The Horizon League is shaping up to be an exciting race between Oakland, Valparaiso, and Milwaukee.  We all really like Valpo and think they can land inside the bubble.  It’s a damn shame that the conference changed its format and the tournament is now at a predetermined site.  That makes what should be an exciting conference race a lot less exciting since there really aren’t any stakes.

-Little Rock suffered their first loss of the season to Texas Tech.  Texas Tech has just one loss, and although most of their schedule has been weak, they really did look good yesterday.  I don’t want to admit that Chad may have been right about Texas Tech, so I’ll just say that their early success is a surprise that none of us saw coming.

-George Washington went into DePaul and got absolutely run over.  It was perhaps the most surprising result of the day given how good GW has looked and how bad DePaul is.

 

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 23RD

-NEW MEXICO VS BYU (Diamond Head Classic).  This game now looks like it has much bigger NIT implications than NCAA Tournament implications.  Neither have that many remaining chances at notable wins, so they’ll have to really thunder to the finish if they want the committee to notice them.  BYU could have really done without the loss to Harvard yesterday.

-AKRON VS IONA (Las Vegas, NV).  CLICK HERE for Chad Sherwood’s Write UP as the UTR Game of the Day

-AUBURN VS HARVARD (Diamond Head Classic).  Auburn has so much work to do that they may not be able to do it all, but winning this tournament would certainly help.

-MONMOUTH AT CORNELL.  Monmouth is looking for what would be a very impressive sixth true road win on the season.  Cornell isn’t a great team, but they have yet to lose at home.  Six true road wins in OOC play really is amazing.  The committee needs to take notice and reward them for it.

-ILLINOIS VS MISSOURI (Saint Louis, MO).  This game is almost always fun.  Unfortunately, this year’s edition is only being highlighted so we can say that there is no reason to highlight it.

-NEW MEXICO STATE AT BAYLOR.  New Mexico State is the second best team in the WAC, and unless the Lopes get their waiver, they’ll probably be back in the NCAA Tournament with a poor seed.  Baylor has looked impressive at home this year and shouldn’t have too much trouble tonight.

-LMU AT GONZAGA (West Coast).  Gonzaga blew through their conference opener and should blow through this game tonight.

-GREEN BAY AT WISCONSIN.  Wiscy has a lot of work to do if they want to get their season turned around.  If Gard wants to impress the administration at Wiscy and become the permanent head coach he’ll certainly have that opportunity.

-OKLAHOMA AT HAWAII (Diamond Head Classic).  The good news for Hawaii is that they looked really solid in their win against a good UNI team last night.  The bad news is that they’re on probation for the next three years.  It is an interesting story line with Hawaii being unbeaten at home and Oklahoma being so highly ranked.  Hawaii’s postseason ban kicks in next year, so if they want to make the NCAA Tournament without the automatic bid they need high quality wins like this.

-COLORADO VS SMU (Las Vegas, NV).  I like this Colorado team, but it’s hard to argue for them when they almost lose to Penn State.  Having said that, if they can knock off an unbeaten SMU team it would be a huge statement win and really put them solidly in the NCAA Tournament picture.

-SAINT MARY’S AT SANTA CLARA (West Coast).  SMC is still seeking their first true road win of the season.  A win today would also get them to 2-0 in conference play.

-WASHINGTON STATE VS NORTHERN IOWA (Diamond Head Classic).  UNI was blitzed by Hawaii in their game last night, but faces a much improved (but still not great) Wazzu team tonight.  They have to rebound and avoid a loss that could potentially look ugly come March.

-Central Connecticut @ Connecticut – (buy game)
-Morehead State @ Davidson – (buy game)
-Colgate @ Georgia Tech – (buy game)
-Western Carolina @ Pittsburgh – (buy game)
-Bryant @ Michigan – (buy game)
-Utah Valley @ Louisville – (buy game)
-Lafayette @ USC – (buy game)

 

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 24TH

-No games scheduled today.  It’s a sad day when there is no college basketball, but it gives us all time to remember what’s really important.  And, what’s really important is….THE #LopesWaiver Movement!!!  SPEND YOUR CHRISTMAS EVE DOING SOMETHING THAT’S TRULY MEANINGFUL!!  Tweet at the NCAA!  Email the NCAA!  Call the NCAA!  If they don’t answer, then leave a message!  TELL THE NCAA TO GIVE THE LOPES A WAIVER, AND LET THE LOPES PLAY!!!  #LopesWaiver  

 

FRIDAY DECEMBER 25TH

-Today is all about the Diamond Head Classic.  The match-ups won’t be decided until very late on Wednesday night.  If Auburn ends up facing off against Oklahoma in the championship game, it would likely be a mismatch, but it’s also a huge opportunity for Auburn to drastically turn their season around.

As mentioned earlier, Hawaii’s postseason ban begins next season, so picking up some hardware in this tournament would go a long way toward boosting their NCAA Tournament credentials.  They’ve got a very intriguing game in the semifinals against Oklahoma.

The other story to watch is to see how Northern Iowa reacts in the loser’s bracket.  They don’t get many shots at quality wins, but it’s important that they avoid bad losses so they don’t undo the two huge wins they have this year.

 

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 26TH

-LOUISVILLE AT KENTUCKY.  It’s the first Saturday after Christmas, and that means Louisville vs Kentucky.  This is an important game because it’s between two likely protected seeds who are looking at adding a big quality win onto their profile, but on paper that’s really all it is.  It’s not a conference game so the stakes aren’t super high.  Off paper, the stakes couldn’t be higher.  This is a bitter rivalry that feels like a high stakes conference game even though it really isn’t.  Louisville has no wins of note yet, so winning this game would completely change the complexion of their profile and season.  They have also been dominated by Kentucky in this series in recent years, so it would help them get some pride back as well.  Kentucky is looking to rebound from a somewhat surprising loss to Ohio State this past weekend.  If they pull off the win in this one, the fans will forgive them.  If they don’t, they’ll start to get extremely restless.

 

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 27th

-MIDDLE TENNESSEE AT SOUTH DAKOTA STATE.  I’m guessing this will be Chad’s UTR GOTD, so I won’t say too much about it.  But, it’s very possible that one or both of these teams could end up on the bubble, or even inside the bubble, especially if they blow through their conferences which both are good enough to do.  This game is huge because it’s one of the last chances either one of them has at a quality win.

-Presbyterian @ Marquette – (buy game)
-Texas Southern @ Syracuse – (buy game)
-Marshall @ Maryland – (buy game)
-South Carolina State @ Ohio State – (buy game)
-Loyola MD @ Northwestern – (buy game)
-Caroll College (nondiv1) @ Stanford – (buy game)

 

I hope everyone has a safe and happy Christmas, or whatever holiday they like to celebrate.  I also hope that everyone uses this time valuably and remembers to contact the NCAA on behalf of the Team of the People, the Grand Canyon Antelopes.  I just wanted to reiterate that one more time.  #LopesWaiver

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Under the Radar Game of the Day – Wednesday, December 23: Iona vs Akron

Posted on December 23, 2015 by Chad

Under the Radar Game of the Day: Iona vs Akron, 3:00 PM Eastern, streamup.com/holidayhoops

In the final UTR Game of the Day before the Christmas break (we will be back with more action on Sunday the 27th), we remain out in Las Vegas for the final game of the South Point Holiday Hoops Classic.  This three team round-robin event has already seen Akron defeat UC-Santa Barbara on Monday, 84-70, before UCSB bounced back yesterday afternoon to upend Iona 80-76 (a fairly significant upset for a Gauchos team that was just 2-7 heading into that game).  Today, Iona and Akron will battle it out, with Akron having a chance to complete the two game sweep in this event.  The Zips (whose fans are celebrating the school’s first ever bowl game victory yesterday over Utah State), are off to a solid 8-2 start that includes at win at Arkansas.  Pat Forsythe and Antino Jackson have led the way so far this season, and will be called upon to have another big game today if the Zips want to knock off an Iona team eager for a victory, and at the same time prove that they will be a serious contender in the MAC this season.

Iona was the preseason pick to win the Metro Atlantic, though with the amazing story that has been Monmouth so far this season, the Gaels have almost fallen off of everyone’s radar.  While their record before this trip to Vegas was only 4-4, all of their losses had been respectable (at Valparaiso, Oregon State, Tulsa and Rhode Island).  However, the loss yesterday was almost inexcusable for a team that should be able to battle with Monmouth all season.  The Gaels should be able to contend because they have A.J. English who is capable of putting up some incredible numbers (such as the 46 he scored on Fairfield earlier this year).  Unfortunately, they are not the same team without him, and English has missed the last three games, including yesterday’s loss, due to a hand injury.  With just over a week left until conference play re-commences, the Gaels need to get healthy.  If they can’t, then they need to learn how to win without English, and picking up a victory today will go a long way to doing just that.

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News, Notes, and Highlighted Games: Tuesday, Dec 22nd

Posted on December 22, 2015 by David Griggs

It’s a very busy day in college basketball as a lot of teams get one last big game in before Christmas.  Below is a rundown of all the action.

 

NEWS AND NOTES

-To watch and/or listen to our latest Hoops HD Report Video Podcast – CLICK HERE  

-For Chad Sherwood’s Under the Radar Game of the Day featuring Grand Canyon, The Team of the People, – CLICK HERE 

-For John Stalica’s most recent Bracket Projections, and the comments from Chad and David as to what they thought was wrong with it – CLICK HERE

-Grand Canyon added another notable win away from home to their profile when they knocked off Houston last night.  I believe this makes them the best transitional program in college basketball history.  That may not even be debatable.  The NCAA has to let this team play in the conference and NCAA Tournaments!!  Join the movement!!  Tweet at the NCAA!!  Call the NCAA!!  Tell them to let the lopes play!!  #LopesWaiver

 

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES

VIRGINIA TECH VS SAINT JOSEPH’S (Brooklyn, NY).  Saint Joe’s is out to an 8-2 start and although they still have some work to do to get the attention of the committee, it’s not outside the realm of possibility.

-AUBURN VS NEW MEXICO (Diamond Head Classic).  Auburn has a ton of ground to make up, and although New Mexico is 7-3, they’ve done little to nothing away from home.  This tournament is a chance for both to improve their profiles, but they’ll have to pick up the win today to do it.

-RADFORD AT CHATTANOOGA.  Chattanooga has some big wins and should cruise to an at-large bid if they can blow through the rest of their schedule.

-LITTLE ROCK AT TEXAS TECH.  Little Rock comes in unbeaten with some notable wins, and Texas Tech has just one loss, but hasn’t beaten a team as good as Little Rock yet.  Both teams have a lot of momentum, but in the case of Little Rock they won’t have too many (if any) chances at big wins that will impress the committee from here on out, so this is a really big game for them.  I’m not sold on this Texas Tech team just yet, but wow!  Chad Sherwood sure is!

-STEPHEN F AUSTIN AT ARIZONA STATE.  SFA has had a disappointing beginning to the season, but they are still likely the best team in the Southland.  Arizona State has been better than expected and will be in the conversation come March if they keep it up.

-FORDHAM VS BOSTON COLLEGE (Brooklyn, NY).  A win for the Rams gets them to 10-1, and even though they’ve done it against a weak schedule, it’s still their best start in recent memory.

-MIAMI FL AT LA SALLE.  Miami has just one loss on the year, and they continue to climb the rankings.  This would just be their second true road win of the year, and many true road wins in conference will be tough to come by, so winning this will help round out their profile even more.

-CLEMSON AT GEORGIA.  Both teams are looking more like NIT teams than NCAA teams at this point, and need to turn things around in a hurry if they want that to change.  A win today would be the right kind of start.

-IOWA STATE AT CINCINNATI.  Cincinnati should roll over their conference along with UConn, but even if they do their opportunities at big time wins will be limited, so this is a big game for them.  Iowa State has the ability to be a top ten caliber team, but they just haven’t shown it yet this year.  This is actually their first true road game of the season, as well as their first game against a team that will likely make the NCAAs on the first ballot.

-XAVIER AT WAKE FOREST.  Xavier is ranked #6 and I don’t feel they’re overrated.  They’ve won handily against some pretty good teams, but this is just their second true road game, and their first against a team as good as Wake, so this is arguably their toughest game to date.  It’s the latest installment of the Skip Prosser Classic in honor of the man who coached both programs before passing away of a heart attack in 2007.  This year they’re both looking like NCAA Tournament teams as Wake Forest is much improved under head coach Danny Manning.

-RHODE ISLAND AT OLD DOMINION.  Rhody’s profile would look so much better had they held on to beat Providence.  As it is now, they’ll need a very strong showing the rest of the way to end up on the right side of the bubble.

-MICHIGAN STATE AT OAKLAND (Auburn Hills).  This is sort of a road game, I guess.  Oakland is doing the event management, so it is their home game, but it’s at the Palace of Auburn Hills, which will probably feature a crowd very partial to Michigan State.  Oakland is very good at 7-3 and could make quite a bit of noise once they start Horizon League play.  Tonight’s game is a great opportunity where they have nothing to lose.

-GEORGETOWN AT CHARLOTTE.  When it comes to how good or bad a team will look on any given night, Georgetown is the biggest wild card of them all.  They’re good enough to be a protected seed, but poor enough to lose to a team that misses the CIT.  Who knows what they’ll do tonight against a horrendously poor 2-8 Charlotte team.

-MIDDLE TENNESSEE AT GEORGIA STATE.  Both teams have kind of been under the radar even by Under the Radar standards, but both come into this game with just two losses, and Middle has looked pretty good in their last couple of games.

-SAINT BONAVENTURE AT SIENA.  Can the Bonnies pick up their third true road win and improve to 8-2 on the year?

-VANDERBILT AT PURDUE.  Vandy hasn’t had a really big win for their profile yet, and they also don’t have a true road win yet, so a win tonight would go a long way toward improving the complexion of their resume.  Purdue has looked outstanding despite the fact that they’re coming off a loss to a very good Butler team.

-KENT STATE VS SMU (Las Vegas Classic).  SMU is dead to me due to being ineligible, but Chad says that I have to keep talking about them anyway.  Kent State, on the other hand, is 7-2, and a win like this would be a huge statement win.  It’s the kind of win that makes the difference between getting looked at by the committee and being completely ignored.

-SAINT JOHN’S VS SOUTH CAROLINA (Basketball Hall of Fame Shootout).  This year’s Saint John’s team should not be allowed to participate in any event that has “Hall of Fame” in the title.  South Carolina is unbeaten, they continue to win against decent competition, they’ve played their way into the rankings and deservedly so, and I think they’ll pick up another win tonight.

-LONG BEACH STATE AT ARIZONA.  I know this is a buy game, but Long Beach is at least good enough to where we can highlight it.

-MERCER AT OHIO STATE.  Mercer is 9-2, and prior to Ohio State’s win against Kentucky, I’d say they’d looked like the better team this year and should be able to snag the road win.  Ohio State sleepwalked through their first ten games, but perhaps now they’ve finally turned the corner.  We’ll see tonight.  It may not look this way to the casual fan, but beating Mercer at home will actually be a sign of improvement.

-GEORGE WASHINGTON AT DEPAUL.  GW has just one loss on the year, but they also have just one true road win, so today is a chance for them to add to their resume.

-CALIFORNIA AT VIRGINIA.  I still like this Cal team.  They have just two losses, but they are lacking any real big wins.  They’re depth (or lack thereof) has also been an issue.  Virginia has looked like one of the best teams in the country since their loss to GW, and I’m expecting them to win impressively tonight.

-SOUTH DAKOTA STATE AT WEBER STATE.  This would be SD State’s fifth true road win if they pull it off.

-COLORADO VS PENN STATE (Las Vegas Classic).  There is nothing “Classic” about Penn State.  Colorado, on the other hand, has looked really strong since losing their season opener in a close game to Iowa State, and doing well in this tournament should help boost their resume even more.

-KANSAS AT SAN DIEGO STATE.  Kansas has looked like a #1 seed this year, and San Diego State has looked like an NIT team.  This isn’t the kind of loss that hurts a team in and of itself, but SDSU is running out of chances to do something that will impress the committee.  They also have losses to Grand Canyon and San Diego that they need to offset.

-OKLAHOMA VS WASHINGTON STATE (Diamond Head Classic).  Wazzu is much improved, but in saying that you have to remember just how bad they were before.  They’re not to the point of being able to stay with a Final Four caliber team like Oklahoma.

-NORTHERN IOWA AT HAWAII (Diamond Head Classic).  Northern Iowa is coming off a huge win, but they have another huge test and opportunity today against a Hawaii team that has yet to lose at home.  A win isn’t just a quality win, but a chance to play better competition in the later rounds, so it’s a big game for both teams.

 

BUY GAMES

-Presbyterian @ Richmond
-Troy @ Ole Miss
-Kennesaw State @ Indiana
-South Florida @ Seton Hall.  Not a buy game, but might as well be.
-UNC Greensboro @ NC State
-Miami OH @ Dayton
-Jacksonville @ Florida
-Delaware @ Villanova
-Montana State @ Syracuse
-North Dakota @ Kansas State
-Alabama A&M @ Evansville
-IUPUI @ Memphis
-Southern Utah @ Butler
-Tennessee Tech @ Iowa
-Delaware State @ Utah
-UMKC @ Louisville
-South Dakota @ UNLV
-McNeese State @ UCLA
-Seattle @ Washington.  I know this is a regular home and home, but it’s practically a buy game.

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Under the Radar Game of the Day – Tuesday, December 22: Grand Canyon vs Marshall

Posted on December 22, 2015 by Chad

Under the Radar Game of the Day: Grand Canyon vs Marshall, 10:30 PM Eastern

For our latest HOOPS HD Report Video Podcast, CLICK HERE.

Tonight’s Under the Radar Game of the Day comes from Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas, Nevada as the Team of the People, the Grand Canyon Antelopes, battle the Thundering Herd of Marshall in the championship game of the Global Sports Classic.  Grand Canyon is coming off of their second huge win of the past week, having upended the Houston Cougars by a 78-69 score in last night’s semifinal.  The ‘Lopes were led by Dewayne Russell in the win, as he scored 20 points while dishing out 6 assists.  The Houston win came just a few nights after the biggest win in program history when the ‘Lopes won at San Diego State, 52-45.  Keonta Vernon led the way in that game, with 16 points and 11 rebounds.  If Russell, Vernon, and the rest of Thunder Dan’s team can perform close to the way they have their past two games, a championship could be in store tonight.  And with the championship comes even more reason why GCU should be granted a waiver for NCAA Tournament eligibility this season.  (For the case on why the waiver is the right thing for the NCAA to do, read this.)

Tonight’s opponent in the championship game is Marshall.  The Thundering Herd defeated Wyoming last night 90-82 to advance and run their record to 4-7 on the season.  It says something about just how well Grand Canyon has played this year when we are able to note that if Marshall wins tonight, it will be the Thundering Herd’s best win on the season to date.  Marshall was led last night by James Kelly, who had a career night.  Kelly scored 38 points while pulling down 13 rebounds, his fifth double-double of the season.  If he is even close to being as good tonight as he was last, the ‘Lopes will certainly have their hands full in trying to contain him and pick up the victory.

 

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The Hoops HD Report: December 21st

Posted on December 21, 2015 by David Griggs

Chad and the Panel begin by discussing the sudden retirement of Bo Ryan.  They look back on his career, as well as talk about how it effects Wisconsin moving forward.

They then look back on what was a very busy weekend in college basketball.  They discuss some of the bigger upsets, such as Ohio State taking down Kentucky and whether or not Kentucky was overvalued.  They also look at Northern Iowa’s big win against Iowa State, which is their second of the year.  They focus on Oklahoma’s dominance so far this year, and how they and Michigan State have looked like the two best teams.

Xavier and South Carolina are both unbeaten, and the panel discusses how good they feel both those teams have looked.

Alabama, Oregon, Kansas State, Pittsburgh, Miami FL, Ole Miss, and Texas A&M are other teams that are all off to good starts, and the panel looks at each one and discusses whether they feel they’re legitimate contenders or frauds.

All that, a look ahead to this week’s upcoming games, particularly Louisville vs Kentucky this Saturday, and a lot more…

 

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

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Bracket Projections: December 21st

Posted on December 21, 2015 by David Griggs

Below are the most recent Hoops HD Bracket Projections, as well as comments and critique from some of the staff…

OTHER IMPORTANT LINKS

For Joby’s latest Nitty Gritty Rankings – CLICK HERE

For a Rundown of all of today’s action – CLICK HERE

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

 

Bracket Posted by John Stalica on Monday, December 21st at 9:30am, est

This represents the pre-Christmas checkpoint (not the one that David Griggs tries to avoid at NCAA headquarters) of all the NCAA teams in the bracket.

One of the big movers over the past 2 weeks is Xavier. We expected both Michigan and Cincinnati to be signature wins, but Alabama, USC and Dayton have also proven to be significant wins as well. They are about to embark on a tough 3-game stretch that includes games at Wake Forest, at Villanova and at home against Butler. They have earned a #1 seed for now, but their region would rival that of Wichita State’s Group of Death from 2 seasons earlier.

It seems a little odd to see Kentucky and Duke as low as they are, but Duke’s only wins against teams currently projected in the field are Indiana (which barely made the cut this week) and Yale. And at the rate the Ivy League is playing right now, they could conceivably be playing in a First Four matchup this seaon. Kentucky is a little better with wins over Duke and Arizona State (and I suppose Albany counts), but they picked the wrong season to lose to Ohio State.

I also believe that Monmouth, Arkansas-Little Rock and Texas-Arlington are at-large caliber teams based on their current merits. I would also not recommend losing to teams like Canisius going forward.

I do think that UNLV is at-large worthy for now, if only because they have played a brutal schedule and even managed a few noteworthy wins over Oregon and Indiana. Unfortunately, the Mountain West is not going to offer many opportunities for signature wins this season.

A plethora of teams normally from one-bid leagues have at-large credentials at the moment, which is also forcing play-in games down to the 13-seed line. It is very unlikely that the Selection Committee would send a team to either Spokane or Denver, but that was my only option this week. Even bumping a couple of teams down to the 14-line does not work since it causes bracketing principles to be broken in 1st-round matchups involving conference foes.

EDIT (Bracket updated at 2:15 PM, est) – The real chairman of the committee, Chad Sherwood, has informed me that Duke and Virginia cannot be in the same region (nor, for that matter, can Purdue and Maryland), so Duke and Purdue will be trading places.

 

Screen Shot 2015-12-21 at 2.59.10 PM

Screen Shot 2015-12-21 at 2.59.00 PM

 

COMMENTS FROM DAVID

-Xavier may seem overseeded at #1, but at this point in time I can’t say I disagree with it.  They have five notable wins, and four came away from home.  I don’t know if they’re good enough to end up on the top line come March, but if they can continue winning away from home they’ll have a strong case.

-It appears as though Chattanooga, Little Rock, Valpo, and Monmouth are all inside his bubble, but barely.  I would actually make a case that they belong several lines higher than that.  Monmouth has played just one home game, and posted an 8-3 record with wins against USC, Notre Dame, UCLA, and Georgetown all away from home.  They do have one loss to Canisius that has us holding our noses, but I think they’ve done more than enough to offset that.

-Louisville is interesting.  They’ve looked good enough to be a protected seed, but if you look at their paper all they’ve done is blow out weak teams in buy games and almost beat Michigan State.  If you’re using the eye test, you could have them on the #4 line or higher.  If you’re just going off the paper, you could almost make a case that they don’t belong at all.  John has them on the #7 line.  Perhaps he compromised.

 

COMMENTS FROM CHAD

– I don’t have too much more to add than what David said other than a few comments on the lower lines.  I do not understand Hofstra on the 12 line, inside the bubble.  They have four losses, including to Indiana State and Siena, with only the Florida State win being of note.

– I also wonder why Texas Tech is not in this field — they have not beaten anyone, but only have one loss.  That merits consideration at least.  On the same token, where are Pitt, Seton Hall and Florida?  I will take what they have done so far over the likes or Oregon State, Marquette, Florida State and Indiana.

– Finally, I guess the elephant in the room is that Wichita State is not in the field.  They have looked like an NCAA team, and I am not sure you can punish them too much for the 8th place finish at the Advocare Invitational given that VanVleet was out.  I would probably have sent them to the First Four, more based on eye test since his return (despite the Seton Hall loss) than based on their paper.

– EDIT (2:30 PM): Regarding the 2:15 PM Edit – John claims it was just  mistake, but we all know that in reality he thought Maryland was an ACC team.  We forgive him as, after all, David still thinks Colorado is in the Big 8 and Texas A&M is in the Southwest Conference.

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