Joby’s Nitty Gritty Rankings: Dec 21st

Posted on December 21, 2015 by David Griggs

Last updated on Monday, December 21st at 9:30am, est

Joby’s Nitty Gritty Rankings Explained

Joby’s Nitty Gritty rankings were created as an attempt to quantify the characteristics the selection committee has always stated and shown to be important as key factors in their analysis.  I actually draw from what is known as the “nitty gritty sheet” that the Committee uses in taking the inputs for the statistics that make up these ratings.  Thus, why it is known as my Nitty Gritty Ratings.

The baseline for strength is on the RPI.  The Committee, rightfully or wrongfully, has repeatedly used the RPI as the baseline to determine what a “good win” (typically top 50) or a “bad loss” (typically anything above 100) is.  Other factors such as high level wins away from home, conference leaders, overall records, SOS, and “playing hot” are all components that comprise my ratings.

The ratings in their first year showed some strength.  When nobody thought UCLA should even get close to a bid, the ratings revealed that they actually were in the thick of the discussion (further proof the ratings are meant to mimic the Committee, NOT evaluate merit in a manner that I feel should be adopted).  I know of few other “formulas” that have the ability to accomplish this task.

Latest Rankings and Notes

Everyone is asleep so was able to compile rings through Saturday (waiting on Jerry’s nitty gritty sheets to pop on CBS of yesterdays games as that makes it a LOT easier to do than realtimerpi)  Only Pitt will be affected dramatically by my quick look at the Sunday results as they will move all the way up to around 12th from 24th.
Feel free if nobody wants to bracket to pick apart the seedings set from these.  Once again zero eye test.  It is just how I think the committee would mathematically look at these teams if there was a blind resume test.  To answer the first question, Dayton is the last 1 seed because they have 3 top 50 wins 5 top 100 wins.  Not many teams can match that and of those 5, 2 of those were neutral and one on the road.  Their losses are both to top 25 teams including the overall #1 seed.
Top 4 seed lines:
1: Xavier, Michigan St, Oklahoma & Dayton
2: UNC, Iowa St, Purdue & Miami
3: Virginia, Butler, Angry Frank, & George Washington
4: USC-West, Texas Tech, Utah & Arizona
(ok this line will need some explanation – yes Texas Tech’s resume is fraudulent but until Sam Houston, South Dakota St & Hawaii drop they are all quality wins and their only loss is to fellow 4 seed Utah; The Trojans have a nice top 25 split with Monmouth and some decent away from home performances with the only loss to the overall #1 seed – you can now see how Xavier earned that overall #1 by transitive property)
Last 4 in
Iowa, Curtain of Distraction!!!, Michigan & Marquette
(Marquette better get their RPI up as at some point soon, the formula will begin to automatically eliminate them from consideration if they are still 150)
First 4 out
Wake, Florida St, Vandy & Baylor
(one could make an argument for all 4 out to be better than all four in)
Other notable “ins” that are outliers for people: Alabama, Kansas St, Cal, UT-Arlington, Oregon St (wow the Pac-12 is getting a lot of love from the nitty gritty sheet early on – I predict this will really help them come selection time – UCLA part deux), S. Joe’s, St Mary’s & a NORTHWESTERN!!!!!!! (who is basically undefeated in the eyes of the computer.)  I would also add the entire first 4 to this list of debatables.
People left out but in on many other people’s fields: both Indiana & Notre Dame, Georgia, Gonzaga and Northern Iowa.  I have to be honest.  Don’t know really why UNI is not getting more love.  They have two great wins as a % of their resume, which the sheet usually loves.  The loss to Colorado St at home is just KILLING them. (they would be safely in the field had that game never happened but it drops them 25 spots on the s-curve).  Most of the time going into conference play for non-major conferences will hurt teams (e.g. UT-Arlington will almost surely face this) but as Northern Iowa piles up wins in the MVC, they should be helped. (same with conference brethren Wichita St who is ineligible at present given their .500 record)
RANK
1 Xavier 2
2 Michigan St 1.958333333
3 Oklahoma 1.90625
4 Dayton 1.725
5 UNC 1.545454545
6 Iowa St 1.525
7 Purdue 1.520833333
8 Miami (fl) 1.45
9 Virginia 1.375
10 Butler 1.275
11 S. Carolina 1.225
12 GW 1.181818182
13 Southern Cal 1.136363636
14 Texas Tech 1.111111111
15 Utah 1.068181818
16 Arizona 1.041666667
17 Texas A&M 1.022727273
18 UALR 1
18 Kansas 1
20 Villanova 0.95
21 Providence 0.916666667
22 Texas 0.909090909
23 Monmouth 0.9
24 Pitt 0.888888889
25 Chattanooga 0.886363636
26 Colorado 0.863636364
27 Alabama 0.861111111
28 Oregon 0.840909091
29 Cincinnati 0.833333333
30 West Virginia 0.8
30 Kansas St 0.8
32 Valpo 0.791666667
33 Seton Hall 0.727272727
34 Louisville 0.725
35 Kentucky 0.704545455
35 Maryland 0.704545455
37 California 0.681818182
38 UTA 0.675
38 Oregon St 0.675
40 Duke 0.659090909
41 UCLA 0.604166667
42 Florida 0.575
42 St. Joe’s 0.575
44 Nwestern 0.568181818
45 St. Mary’s 0.527777778
46 Iowa 0.522727273
47 Arizona St 0.5
48 Michigan 0.479166667
49 Marquette 0.475
50 Wake Forest 0.45
51 Florida St 0.4
52 Vanderbilt 0.35
52 Baylor 0.35
54 Ole Miss 0.340909091
55 Indiana 0.333333333
56 Fordham 0.325
57 S. Dakota St 0.3125
58 New Mexico 0.3
59 Evansville 0.295454545
60 S. Illinois 0.25
61 Notre Dame 0.225
62 Georgia 0.21875
63 Duquesne 0.208333333
64 La Tech 0.204545455
65 Davidson 0.1875
66 Mercer 0.181818182
67 N. Iowa 0.175
68 Hawaii 0.15625
69 Army 0.15
70 Houston 0.138888889
71 Auburn 0.125
72 Gonzaga 0.113636364
73 Tulsa 0.090909091
73 NC State 0.090909091
75 St. Bonnie 0.083333333
76 Memphis 0.025
77 Syracuse 0.022727273
78 Georgia Tech 0
79 JMU -0.022727273
80 Washington -0.025
81 Richmond -0.05
82 Penn St -0.068181818
83 BYU -0.075
84 MTSU -0.083333333
85 Coll of Charlstn -0.1
86 Kent St -0.111111111
87 Oakland -0.15
88 IPFW -0.192307692
89 UConn -0.222222222
90 UNLV -0.270833333
91 UAB -0.272727273
92 Fresno St -0.295454545
93 Rhode Island -0.409090909
93 Creighton -0.409090909
95 Illinois -0.416666667
96 Northeastern -0.431818182
97 Georgia St -0.46875
98 Hofstra -0.472222222
99 UC-Irvine -0.520833333
100 Tx A&M-CC -0.55
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Under the Radar Game of the Day – Monday, December 21: High Point at William & Mary

Posted on December 21, 2015 by Chad

Under the Radar Game of the Day: High Point at William & Mary, 7:00 PM Eastern, caa.tv

For the rest of today’s Highlighted Games and more, CLICK HERE.

The College of William & Mary (named after England’s King William III and Queen Mary II) is, after Harvard, the second oldest college in the United States, having been founded in 1693.  Its alumni includes some of our most historic figures, including Presidents Thomas Jefferson, James Monroe and John Tyler.  The school has been playing men’s basketball since the 1905-06 season, and has been a member of the NCAA since the beginning.  Nine times in school history, the Tribe have been one win away from a berth in the NCAA Tournament.  A heartbreaking one point loss in the 2014 CAA Championship game was the most recent, and dropped the school record in such games to 0-9.  Along with Army, Northwestern, The Citadel and St. Francis-Brooklyn, William & Mary is on the very short list of teams that have been members of the NCAA since the inception of divisional play in 1948 without ever making it to the Big Dance.  Once again this season, the Tribe will be trying to get that elusive first-ever berth.

William & Mary enters play tonight with a record of 6-3, and the CAA’s top KenPom rating at 72.  The Tribe have won at North Carolina State and at home against Old Dominion already this season.  Two of their three loses are certainly understandable (at Dayton and at Virginia), but the third was a real head-scratcher (at Howard) that may come back to haunt the team if it cannot capture an automatic bid this year.  The Tribe do have two more chances to pick up solid home wins before the start of conference play, as they will be hosting a pair of team expected to contend for their conference championships — Central Michigan next week and High Point tonight.

High Point, led by one of the nation’s most exciting players in John Brown, enters the game tonight with a record of 8-3.  A win tonight would be the Panthers’ most note-worthy on the season so far, though their losses have been respectable (at Georgia, at Texas Tech and at NC State).  The NC State loss, last time out, may still be stinging for the team, as the Panthers had the ball on a sidelines in-bounds play with 19 seconds left and committed a costly turnover.  They then had another chance when the Wolfpack missed two free throws, but gave up an offensive rebound and watched Cat Barber sink a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to send HPU home with the loss.  High Point must put that game behind them and come out strong again tonight if they want to capture the victory in what will be their last regular season non-conference game against a D1 opponent.

 

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News, Notes, and Highlighted Games: Monday, Dec 21

Posted on December 21, 2015 by David Griggs

A Look at all of today’s college basketball action…

 

NEWS AND NOTES

-We will be recording our Hoops HD Report later tonight, so be on the lookout for it.

-We will also be posting our latest Bracket Projections, as well as Chad Sherwood’s UTR Game of the Day very shortly

 

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES

-AKRON VS UC SANTA BARABARA (Las Vegas, NV).  Akron has a long way to go before they’re anywhere near the bubble, but a win does get them to 8-2.

-PROVIDENCE AT UMASS.  UMass has been better than expected so far this year.  But, they’re still terrible.  Providence has just one true road win, so even tough UMass isn’t that good at least this game allows them to add to that total.

-HIGH POINT AT WILLIAM & MARY.  CLICK HERE for Chad Sherwood’s UTR Game of the Day 

-GRAND CANYON VS HOUSTON (Las Vegas, NV).  Houston has just one loss, but their eight wins haven’t exactly been noteworthy.  In fact, Grand Canyon would probably be their most notable win to date if they pull it off.  Pulling it off won’t be easy though!  The Team of the People are on a roll!!  They’re coming off a big win at San Diego State and should play well in this tournament.

-SOUTHERN ILLINOIS AT SAINT LOUIS.  Many probably think Southern Illinois is somewhat of a fraud, and I can’t say they’re wrong, but a win today gets them to 11-2, as well as gives them their fourth true road win.

-OREGON VS ALABAMA (Birmingham, AL0.  Alabama has blasted by Dayton and Xavier earlier in the year, but outside of that they’ve looked much better than expected, and that’s despite losing a key player for the season due to injury.  Oregon has looked great at home, but not so much away from home.  They need some notable wins like this away from home in order to round out their profile.

-PEPPERDINE AT GONZAGA (West Coast).  Gonzaga has been decent enough to land inside the bubble if they blow through their conference, but not so good that they look like a top ten team.  They can’t afford too many slip ups because anything less than first place could land them in some trouble.

-SAN FRANCISCO AT SAINT MARY’S (West Coast).  Saint Mary’s has just one loss, but has no wins of note at all.  They’ll need to finish at or near the top to even be considered by the committee, but they may actually be good enough to do it so we’ll keep our eyes on them.

 

 

BUY GAMES

-Charleston Southern @ Florida State
-Eastern Kentucky @ West Virginia
-Sacred Heart @ Northwestern
-Appalachian State @ North Carolina
-Youngstown State @ Notre Dame
-Chicago State @ Marquette
-Quinnipiac @ Oregon State

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Under the Radar Game of the Day – Sunday, December 20: Northern Arizona at Arkansas-Little Rock (and News, Notes, and Highlighted Games)

Posted on December 20, 2015 by Chad

Under the Radar Game of the Day: Northern Arizona at Arkansas-Little Rock, 2:00 PM Eastern

And then there were 6.  After yesterday’s results, we now have six undefeated teams left in the nation.  Michigan State.  Oklahoma.  SMU. Xavier.  South Carolina.  And Arkansas-Little Rock.  The UALR Trojans are the only undefeated team that has not yet cracked the Top 25 rankings (though we believe they will soon if they keep winning).  Despite not being a team that we were looking at seriously heading into the season (Yours Truly picked them to finished 7th in the Sun Belt), the Trojans have exceeded expectations and looked extremely good all season long.  They have won at San Diego State and at Tulsa already, and went to DePaul last week, picking up a 22 point victory over a Big East team.  The Trojans have been led so far by Josh Hagins (19 points at 8 assists against DePaul) and a deep bench (their top three scorers in the win over Idaho all came off the bench).  Enough cannot be said for the job that has been done by ex-Bob Knight assistant Chris Beard so far this year.  He is 9-0 for his career as a D1 coach, and one cannot argue with perfection.

This afternoon, Little Rock goes for 10-0 as they host the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks out of the Big Sky Conference.  Despite making a run to the CIT Championship game last season, NAU has been off to a very rough start so far this year, sitting at 2-7, with both wins having coming against non-D1 competition.  And they have not been playing the toughest of teams either, as their resume includes home losses to Norfolk State and Hampton.  The brights spots so far have been the play of Kris Yanku (double figure scoring in all but one game) and Torry Johnson (if we throw out his game against Arizona where he was held scoreless).  It appears that the Lumberjacks may be in over their head’s today in Little Rock — but the games are played on the court and not on paper, so you should never count any team out until the final buzzer sounds.

 

OTHER HIGHLIGHTED GAMES

-PITTSBURGH VS DAVIDSON (New York, NY).  Both these teams have good records, but don’t really have any good wins.  Both have potential, but need to start putting some meat on their profile, and winning today would be a good start.

-MONMOUTH AT RUTGERS.  If we’re going to talk about Monmouth as if they are an at-large candidate, then the only way to sum up this game is to say that they need to avoid a bad loss at Rutgers.

-EVANSVILLE AT FRESNO STATE.  Evansville has been good this season, but they need some notable wins.  Fresno isn’t a great team, but they are 7-0 at home and if Evansville can go there and win they will get some credit for it.

-Bradly @ Boise State.  Buy game
-UMass Lowell @ UConn.  Buy game

 

NEWS AND NOTES (David Griggs)

-In case you were out Christmas shopping, or had just given up on basketball in general until March, yesterday was a VERY exciting day.  We had a lot of notable upsets with Ohio State taking down Kentucky, Utah beating Duke in overtime, Northern Iowa holding on to beat Iowa State, Seton Hall taking down an improved Wichita State team in overtime, Gonzaga and Oregon State winning close games, as well as some other results.  There is another reason yesterday was great.  For the first time, I think we’re starting to see how the new rules emphasis on officiating, particularly on cleaning up the physical play, has improved the game.  Yesterday’s games were not only close, they were so much fun to watch.  Utah made one big defensive play after another against Duke, and they did it without playing like it was a rugby scrum.  The skill and finesse have come back!  So, for everyone that was complaining about all the fouls and all the whistles, this is why!!  This is what we want the game to look like!  Yesterday was just a fantastic day with so many well played games, and it should hopefully be this way from here on out!  That’s all I really wanted for Christmas!

Now that college basketball is starting to get good again TURN ON YOUR TELEVISIONS!!  BUY TICKETS!!  It’s not just Madness in March.  It’s Madness ALL SEASON LONG!!!

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News, Notes, and Highlighted Games: Saturday, Dec 19th

Posted on December 19, 2015 by David Griggs

It’s the Saturday before Christmas, and like most Saturdays it is a very busy day in college basketball.  With it being the Holidays, it is important for all of us to remember what’s really important.  And, what’s really important…IS COLLEGE BASKETBALL!!  Below is a rundown of all of today’s action, as well as a quick look back at yesterday….

 

NEWS AND NOTES

-THE TEAM OF THE PEOPLE!!  Grand Canyon went on the road and won against San Diego State!  We hear all about The Show, and how awesome they are, and rightfully so.  It wasn’t quite as wild with so many students being on Christmas Break, but still.  GCU is on Christmas Break as well, AND they’re the road team.  By the end of the game, GCU’s fans were clearly the most audible.  If one of the reasons for the transitional period is to help programs assimilate to div1, then I conclude that GCU has been fully assimilated!  Their fans went on the road into what’s normally a very hostile environment, and out cheered San Diego State.  They also defeated San Diego State.  If that’s not being fully assimilated to div1 then I don’t know what the hell is!  LET THE LOPES PLAY!!!!  #LopesWaiver

-Angry Frank and South Carolina remain unbeaten after winning on the road against in state rival Clemson last night.  It took a few years, but he really seems to have this program going.  Hopefully SC fans come out and force and support what really is a good team that should be dancing in March.  It’s been a long time since they’ve had a team that’s as good as this one appears to be.

-For Chad Sherwood’s Under the Radar Game of the Day, which features the greatest mascot in the history of college sports, and perhaps in the history of ALL sports – CLICK HERE

 

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES

-UTAH VS DUKE (New York, NY).  Duke already has quite a few notable wins on their profile and this would certainly be another one if they could pull it off.  Utah is a very respectable 8-2, but they don’t have a win anywhere close to this caliber, and struggled in their last road game at Wichita State.

-AUBURN AT XAVIER.  Auburn continues to improve, but they still don’t have all the weapons they need just yet.  They’re coming off a road loss to Middle Tennessee and could be in for a very long day against a top ten caliber Xavier team.

-GEORGIA TECH AT GEORGIA.  Georgia has a good team, but has gotten off to a very sluggish start and needs to build up some momentum.  I hadn’t expected much from Georgia Tech this year, but they’re at a somewhat impressive 7-2 and if they pick this one up on the road they’ll be in really good shape as OOC play winds down.

-WICHITA STATE AT SETON HALL.  Wichita is back at full strength and has been playing like the team we thought they would.  They have a lot of work to do, but they are more than capable of doing it.  Seton Hall is a very solid 8-2, which makes this a win of substance for whoever pulls it off.

-VILLANOVA AT VIRGINIA.  Both of these teams are likely to end up with protected seeds, so this would be a very high profile win for whoever pulls it off.  It’ll be interesting to watch Nova’s outside shooting matched up against a very tough UVA defense.

-MICHIGAN STATE AT NORTHEASTERN.  Northeastern is a respectable 7-3 with a nice win at Miami FL, but they’ve still underperformed compared to how good we thought they’d be.  Having said that, when they play up to their ceiling, they are really good.  I don’t know if they’re good enough to knock off a top ranked Michigan State team, but this is a fantastic and rare showcase home game for them.

-NORTH CAROLINA VS UCLA (Brooklyn, NY).  Since losing their opener to Monmouth, UCLA has actually been playing exceptionally well and has quite a few noteworthy wins already.  North Carolina has looked solid, but they’ve yet to win a true road game (although they do have neutral-court wins over Northwestern and Kansas State in Kansas City).  If UNC pulls this off, it enhances their profile with a likely win over an NCAA Tournament team away from home.

-INDIANA VS NOTRE DAME (Crossroads Classic).  You get the sense that both these teams have been disappointing so far this year, and could really use a big win in a rivalry game to get things turned around.  I know it’s early and I know this isn’t a conference game, but both teams need to come in with a sense of urgency to win it, especially Indiana.

-ILLINOIS STATE AT SAINT JOSEPH’S.  Illinois State has been wildly inconsistent this year, whereas Saint Joe’s is out to a rather impressive 7-2 record.  We didn’t expect much from the Hawks, but they’ve held their own during the OOC portion of the season.

-CREIGHTON AT OKLAHOMA.  I wasn’t as big on Oklahoma as most coming into the year, but I’m a believe now.  I think they’re a Final Four caliber team.  Creighton has also been much better than I expected at 7-3, but they’re probably overmatched on the road today.

-NORTHWESTERN AT DEPAUL.  It hasn’t always been impressive, but Northwestern’s paper is currently very solid.  A win today gets them to 10-1 on the year.

-CHARLESTON AT MIAMI FL.  I know this is a buy game, but because Charleston is out to an unbelievably surprising 7-2 record and already has a very lopsided win against LSU, we’ll go ahead and highlight this.  I think Miami is likely too much for them, but if they win today I think they earn the title of biggest shocker of the year.

-KENTUCKY VS OHIO STATE (Brooklyn, NY).  It isn’t likely to be pretty.  It really isn’t.  Ohio State hasn’t even looked like an NIT team this year.

-COLORADO STATE AT KANSAS STATE.  K State is an impressive 7-2 and are very close to being even better than that.  It’s strange to say, but Bruce Weber has done a really good job this year.  They should be able to pick up the win against a Colorado State team that’s kind of in a rebuilding mode.

-CINCINNATI AT VCU.  VCU has looked good at times on the court, but on paper they are very weak and need to start picking up some wins soon if they want to be in the picture.  Cincinnati a good win against George Washington already and this would be another decent win for them if they can pull it off.

-DRAKE VS IOWA (Big Four Classic).  This is kind of a mismatch, and it shouldn’t be tough for Iowa to pick up the neutral floor win.

-BUTLER VS PURDUE (Crossroads Classic).  Whereas the first Crossroads game between Notre Dame and Indiana is two underperforming teams looking to turn it around, these are two very good teams who have looked great this year, especially Purdue.  It’s a rivalry game off paper, and it’s a chance to pick up a high quality win on paper.  It should be fun.

-SOUTH DAKOTA STATE AT FGCU.  South Dakota State isn’t quite on the bubble yet, but they are a very good team and we’re starting to play close attention to them.  If they can blow through most of the rest of their schedule, which they’re good enough to do, they’ll likely be in the discussion

-WESTERN ILLINOIS AT CHICAGO STATE.  The win at Wisconsin isn’t looking as impressive, but WIU is still 7-2 on the year and in a position to be in the discussion if they blow through the rest of their schedule.

-NC STATE AT MISSOURI.  NC State has a lot of work to do, and it would be very ill advised to lose this game.  Missouri is not a strong team, but they have won all five of their home games.

-NORTHERN IOWA VS IOWA STATE (Big Four Classic).  Northern Iowa is in rebuilding mode, and like a lot of young teams they look great on some nights (beat UNC), and awful on other nights.  Iowa State is highly ranked, but they aren’t exactly highly tested.  They needed a huge come back at home against Iowa just last week, and could be in for another fight today IF they overlook UNI.  If Northern Iowa pulls the upset then it’s the kind of win that makes a statement to the selection committee.

-PRINCETON AT MARYLAND.  I know this is a buy game, but with Princeton at 6-2 we’ll go ahead and highlight it.

-IONA AT RHODE ISLAND.  Iona isn’t a great team, but they’re good enough to beat anyone who overlooks them and have been playing much better since dropping their first two games of the season.  Rhody has adjusted to not being at full strength, but they still have a ton of work to do if they want to show they are a tournament team.

-OKLAHOMA STATE VS FLORIDA (Orange Bowl Classic).  Florida has played well, but they still don’t have any hugely notable wins on their profile yet.  If they keep improving, they will get there, though, and knocking off a decent Oklahoma State team would be a plus.

-MERCER AT ARKANSAS.  We highlight this one because Mercer is out to a respectable 8-2, and although Arkansas isn’t a great team, it’s still a chance to see if Mercer is good enough to win against a brand name team on the road.

-NEW MEXICO STATE AT UTEP.  This is the second leg of this OOC rivalry.  UTEP is a mile from the bubble right now, and short of winning out they’re probably not going to end up in the picture, but this is a chance to build up some momentum in the home stretch of OOC play.

-BAYLOR AT TEXAS A&M.  This is a former Big Twelve Rivalry that had built up quite a bit of heat just prior to TAMU leaving the league.  It won’t be the same as a conference game with students packed into the arena, but it’s still an interesting game between two ranked teams that will likely enter the NCAA Tournament on the first ballot.

-UNLV AT ARIZONA.  UNLV has looked impressive enough up to this point.  This is a huge test, but if they were to pick up the win, they would pretty much erase any and all doubt (at least for now) that they are a solid tournament caliber team.  Arizona is still likely to end up as a protected seed and is very tough to beat at home.

-TULSA VS OREGON STATE (Portland, OR).  Both these teams have good records and both have profiles that could use some work.  So, it’s a big game for both teams.

-TENNESSEE VS GONZAGA (Seattle, WA).  Gonzaga still looks like a solid tournament team, but they don’t look like a protected seed, much less a top ten team, like we thought they would at the beginning of the year.  Still, they should be able to win this game handily.  If they trip up in this one they may be in some trouble.

-TEXAS AT STANFORD.  Texas is coming off a huge win against UNC, and can continue to build their tournament profile if they can pick up their first true road win today.

 

BUY GAMES

-Cornell @ Syracuse
-Western Kentucky @ Louisville.  This is a H & H series, but it will look very much like a buy game
-UNC Asheville @ Georgetown
-Saint Peter’s @ George Washington
-Montana @ Kansas
-Maine @ Fordham
-South Carolina State @ Saint Bonaventure
-Houston Baptist @ Arizona State
-Missouri State @ Valparaiso (not an actual buy game, but it’ll look like one)
-East Carolina @ Houston
-Arkansas Pine Bluff @ Texas Tech
-Oakland @ Washington
-Florida Atlantic @ Florida State
-Youngstown State @ Michigan
-Furman @ Dayton
-Coppin State @ California
-Rider @ Providence
-Wofford @ Vanderbilt
-Rice @ New Mexico
-Hampton @ Colorado

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Under the Radar Game of the Day – Saturday, December 19: Dartmouth at New Hampshire

Posted on December 19, 2015 by Chad

Under the Radar Game of the Day: Dartmouth at New Hampshire, 1:00 PM Eastern, WBIN/Fox College Sports-Atlantic

The Granite State.  New Hampshire.  Of the 48 states that have places a team in the NCAA Division I Tournament, the longest drought currently belongs to this state.  Dartmouth last earned a bid in 1959.  New Hampshire, which has played D1 basketball since 1962, has never danced.  In fact, New Hampshire, in hosting an America East quarterfinal game last season, had earned the state’s first ever home postseason tournament game.  The Wildcats will try to contend again this season in the America East, with the dream of finally getting that first tournament bid.  Although they are a longshot with the likes of Albany and Stony Brook in their conference, a dance ticket is certainly within the realm of possibilities.  But before either of the Granite State teams can begin to think about the postseason, or even their conference regular season, they must first get through their own rivalry matchup this afternoon.  Today marks the 63rd matchup in the history of this series, with UNH entering play today with a 33-29 all-time lead.

The New Hampshire Wildcats enter play today with a record of 6-4, a mark that ties last season for the best start in school history through 10 games.  They are led by Iba Camara, who is averaging a double-double.  His best games came in a win at Holy Cross when he scored 14 points and pulled down 16 rebounds, and in the season opening win against Lyndon State when he scored 15 while pulling down 20 boards.  Camara is joined by Daniel Dion, who has scored in double-digits in four straight games, and was one of only a few bright spots in a 98-44 loss at SMU back on December 5.

The Dartmouth Big Green enter the game tonight with a record of 3-5, having gone 0-2 over the past week in a long road trip to Stanford and Cal State-Bakersfield.  Evan Boudreaux continues to lead the way for the Big Green including a 14 point effort in the loss earlier this week at Bakersfield.  However, the most important part of the Dartmouth team has not played a single minute all season.  Of course, we are talking about the Dartmouth mascot, perhaps the greatest mascot in the history of college athletics.  We are talking about Keggy the Keg.  When Keggy is there to cheer your teams on, even when you lose — you win!

Keggy the Keg

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