News, Notes, and Highlighted Games: Sunday, Dec 13th

Posted on December 13, 2015 by David Griggs

Below is a quick look back at all of yesterday’s college hoops action, and a look ahead to the highlighted games today.

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

 

NEWS AND NOTES

-Xavier didn’t blow out Cincinnati yesterday, but they didn’t really sweat them out either.  In fact, Xavier has played a pretty good schedule and hasn’t had to sweat out any games.  I think they’re a legit top ten team.  They’ll be playing at Georgetown, at Nova, and at Butler this year.  They’ll have the chance at some very impressive road wins against ranked teams that could land them on the #2 or #3 line. Even their upcoming road game at Wake Forest (the Skip Prosser Classic) could tell more about Xavier’s ability to win a true road game than the Michigan game earlier this season.

-Gonzaga began the season ranked really high, but hasn’t lived up to it yet.  UCLA is not a bad team, but last year on the road they were bad.  They were VERY bad.  Any team that’s any good at all, much less top ten good like we thought Gonzaga was, should absolutely trash a team like UCLA at home.  Gonzaga didn’t.  I’m not saying a top ten team will NEVER stub their toes and lose a game.  But, Gonzaga hasn’t really won a big game other than beating UConn.  They’ve lost to Texas A&M, almost blew it against UConn, lost at home to UCLA, lost at home to Arizona, and almost lost at home to Montana.  That’s not playing like a top ten team.  Considering that some of those losses were at home, it’s not even playing like a top 25 team.  It’s a nice win for UCLA.  In recent years it’s rare that they beat anyone away from home, but at the same time it’s a rather defining loss for Gonzaga.  Or, an “undefining” loss for Gonzaga.  We can no longer define them as a top team.

-Speaking of not top teams, Wisconsin lost at home to an unranked team.  Again.  That’s three times in one year.  I’m not so sure that’s happened three times in the previous ten years combined.  A really nice win for Marquette who looked sluggish in November, but now looks to be much improved.

-Little Rock remains unbeaten.  They blew out DePaul on DePaul’s campus in front of a crowd of dozens.  I don’t think DePaul will come anywhere close to winning the Big East.  And, if DePaul were in the Sun Belt, I don’t think they’d come anywhere close to winning that either.

-Chattanooga picked up a huge win yesterday by knocking off a very good Dayton team at Dayton!  Unfortunately they also picked up a huge loss the day before when Casey Jones injured his ankle in practice.  They’re saying he is out indefinitely.  Chattanooga has the kind of profile that should get them inside the bubble if they slip up in the SoCon Tournament, but in order to maintain that profile they’ll have to blow through the rest of their schedule.  Having Casey Jones would certainly help.

-North Carolina lost a true road game to an unranked team.  Again!  I know it’s not easy to win on the road.  But, it’s not easy to be ranked in the top ten.  They’re 0-for-2.  Until they start winning true road games, especially against unranked teams, I can’t think of them as a top ten team.

-Boise State finally looked like the solid team we were expecting them to be yesterday with their win against Oregon.  The Broncos got off to a sluggish start and they’ve got a lot of work to do, but it’s not too late to build a really solid profile if they can keep it up.

-Wichita State has pulled off a full blown 180 and turned their season around.  They won handily at home against Utah, and should be safely inside the bubble if they keep it up.

 

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES

-SYRACUSE AT SAINT JOHN’S.  This is an old Big East Rivalry that appears to be a mismatch this year.  The Johnnies are a respectable 6-3, which isn’t bad considering all the changes their program is going through, but they haven’t taken down a really solid team like Syracuse yet.  Having said that, Syracuse is looking for their first true road win.

-RHODE ISLAND AT NEBRASKA.  Rhody has had to adjust to losing their best player for the season and they have a long ways to go if they want to be in the discussion come March.  This is the kind of road win that would look impressive on their profile if they’re able to pull it off.

-LOYOLA CHICAGO AT NOTRE DAME.  This is technically a buy game, but it’s worth highlighting as Loyola’s program does appear to be on the rise.  They’re a modest 5-3 on the year, but they are improving.  The Irish can improve to 7-2 overall with a win.

-TULSA AT MISSOURI STATE.  Tulsa has some good things on their resume, but they also have some losses to offset those good things.  Losing today to a weak Missouri State team would fall into the ‘damaging’ category.

-UC SANTA BARABARA AT SOUTH DAKOTA STATE.  A win for SD State gets them to 9-1 overall.  UCSB is a pretty solid program, but they’re struggling this season.

-YALE AT USC.  Yale should be one of the major players in the Ivy League, and at 7-2 USC is still on our radar.  They’ll stay there as long as they keep winning.

-SAINT JOSEPH’S AT TEMPLE (Big Five).  Saint Joe’s appeared to be weak coming into this season, but they are a very respectable 6-2.  Picking up a road win against a rival will continue to build their profile.

-LA SALLE AT VILLANOVA (Big Five).  This isn’t a buy game, but there is a very good chance it will end up looking like one.  Big Five rivalry or no Big Five rivalry, it’s a mismatch.  Nova is a likely protected seed and La Salle probably won’t end up anywhere close to the NIT.

-LSU AT HOUSTON.  Houston has just one loss, but their schedule has been atrociously weak.  LSU has looked the complete opposite of good all season long despite their talent.  They have the capability of turning it around, but even if they do they’ll have a lot of work to do.

-UTEP AT WASHINGTON STATE.  Both teams have solid records, but have played schedules that are kind of weak.  In a nutshell, it’s two teams who have racked up wins against weaker teams that are now playing each other.

-ALABAMA AT CLEMSON.  Both teams come in 5-2, but both also have a ton of work to do if they want to be in the NCAA Tournament picture come March.

-MISSOURI AT ARIZONA.  Missouri has five wins, which is more than I thought they’d have at this point.  I still think they’re way overmatched today going against an Arizona team that can contend for a protected seed.

-OMAHA AT GRAND CANYON.  The Team of the People looks to improve to 8-1!!  This is an interesting game as Omaha just completed the transition process, and Grand Canyon is in year 3 of it.

 

BUY GAMES

-Coppin State @ Fordham
-Judson College (nondiv1) @ Milwaukee
-Saint Peter’s @ Seton Hall
-SELA @ Florida State
-Morehead State @ Pittsburgh
-Louisiana Monroe @ West Virginia
-Arkansas Pine Bluff @ Iowa State
-Chicago State @ Northwestern

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Under the Radar Game of the Day – Sunday, December 13: Maine at Boston College

Posted on December 13, 2015 by Chad

Under the Radar Game of the Day: Maine at Boston College, 5:00 PM Eastern, espn3

Despite the fact that Yours Truly will be attending Monmouth’s lone non-conference home game of the season today (vs Wagner, 2:00 PM Eastern, espn3), the UTR Game of the Day simply could not pass up such a perfect matchup in Boston this evening, as two teams that apparently are not major college programs will be matching up.  The visiting team today comes from one of two states that has never put a representative into the NCAA Tournament.  Given that the other state does not have a D1 program (Alaska), the state of Maine is truly unique.  Unfortunately, the state’s streak is likely to continue this season as their Black Bears are off to a 2-6 start including losses to Dartmouth, Wagner and LIU-Brooklyn.  Their two wins both came at home, against Central Connecticut and Longwood, both sub-300 rated programs.  The Black Bears have a shot for their first non-conference road win since December 2013 today, however, as they travel down I-95 to Boston.

Maine’s opponent tonight is a team that stands at 3-6 on the season, having lost 6 games in a row including a home game to UMass-Lowell and a neutral court game to Santa Clara.  Their wins have come against Central Connecticut St Francis-Brooklyn and Harvard.  While their court has markings that indicate they are a member of the ACC, we here at Hoops HD are still trying to actually determine what conference they are in, because the program has not sniffed an NCAA tournament berth in six years.  Of course, this team is Boston College, a program that has spiraled downwards almost uncontrollably since replacing Al Skinner as their head coach, and this season seems to be more of the same.  The team did suffer a rough stretch last week after a food poisoning incident at a Chipotle, but should be back at or near full strength for today’s matchup.  Unfortunately, that may not even be enough for the Eagles.  Today’s game should be a close one, and the mere fact that we are saying that when an ACC team plays a team from the middle or bottom of thee America East is not a good sign for the direction this program is taking.  Perhaps Jim Christian can find a way to rebuild the Eagles, but his first two years at the helm have not been good so far.

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Under the Radar Game of the Day – Saturday, December 12: Stony Brook at Northeastern

Posted on December 12, 2015 by Chad

Under the Radar Game of the Day: Stony Brook at Northeastern, 4:00 PM Eastern, caa.tv

For David’s News, Notes and Highlighted Games for today, CLICK HERE.

The UTR Game of the Day heads to Boston this afternoon as the Colonial Athletic Association’s Northeastern Huskies play host to the America East’s Stony Brook Seawolves.  Northeastern enters the game today with a solid record of 6-3, but given the preseason expectations that this team had, the record is somewhat disappointing.  The highlight of the Huskies season so far was a huge win at Miami against a Hurricanes team that had seemed unstoppable heading into that game.  Unfortunately, the Huskies gave back most of what they gained by winning that game in their three losses, at Miami (Ohio), at Western Michigan and at Detroit — none of which look like they will be anywhere close to being NCAA tournament caliber teams.  Northeastern needs to stop their current two game losing streak today, against a solid Stony Brook team, especially with a home date at Matthews Arena against the #1 team in the nation, Michigan State, coming up next weekend.

Stony Brook enters play today with a record of 4-3, though two of those losses are easily excusable (at Notre Dame and at Vanderbilt).  In fact, the Seawolves looked good in the Vanderbilt loss, taking the Commodores to overtime before falling.  Their only other loss also came on the road, by one point at Western Kentucky.  The biggest black mark on the Seawolves record so far is the lack of wins, as only two of their four victories cam against D1 competition.  They can certainly improve their profile a ton with a win in Boston today.  Stony Brook will look for another huge effort from senior Jameel Warney, who turned in an amazing stat line two games ago in a home win over Princeton.  In that game, Warney scored 26 points, had 15 rebounds, 8 blocks, 5 assists and a steal.  If he can be anywhere close to the good today, the Seawolves have a great chance to pick up the road victory.

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News, Notes, and Highlighted Games: Saturday, Dec 12th

Posted on December 12, 2015 by David Griggs

Below is a rundown of all of today’s college basketball action on another busy Saturday.

NEWS AND NOTES

-Pitt played a buy game against Eastern Washington last night, and Valpo visited Chicago State.  Both Valpo and Pitt won without too much trouble.

-For our most recent Under the Radar Video Podcast – CLICK HERE

-For the Hoops HD Report from earlier this week – CLICK HERE

 

SPOTLIGHT GAMES

-CINCINNATI AT XAVIER.  This is a huge rivalry game between two teams that are in the rankings.  On paper, it’s a great win for whoever wins it, but it’s not a damaging loss at all for whoever doesn’t.  Off paper, it’s for bragging rights.  Being in the same city means the fans are at each others throat and the players see each other a lot in pickup games and summer leagues.  This is the one official game that they play against each other, and it generally gives us a playground type atmosphere.  It should be fun.

 

OTHER HIGHLIGHTED GAMES

-OHIO STATE AT CONNECTICUT.  UConn has looked good at times this year, but they need notable wins on their profile.  Unfortunately, Ohio State has looked terrible this year to the point to where it’s not the kind of win the selection committee would give UConn a whole lot of credit for.

-AUBURN VS MIDDLE TENNESSEE (in Nashville).  Auburn has just one loss on the year, but this game will likely present a challenge.  Middle Tennessee has looked strong at times, and they’re not going to be easy to beat at home.

-LOUISIANA LAFAYETTE AT LOUISIANA TECH.  LA Tech hasn’t lifted a whole lot of weight, but they are 7-1 and can keep the momentum going with a win against an in-state rival today.

-MARQUETTE AT WISCONSIN.  This is a rivalry game between two teams who could desperately use a big win.  Wiscy is coming off a rather surprising loss to Milwaukee, and while Marquette stands at 7-2 they haven’t beaten anyone of note outside of a very disappointing LSU team.  In short, it’s a game between two teams that don’t like each other and that both really need to win.

-ORAL ROBERTS AT OKLAHOMA.  Oral Roberts is off to a very good 8-2 start and just got a big win against crosstown rival Tulsa.  Chances are they’re swinging way over their heads in this one, but if they were to do the impossible and pull off the upset it’s the kind of win that can get them into the NCAA Tournament even if they fail to win the Summit League tourney.  Oklahoma has looked like a #1 seed all season long.

-TENNESSEE AT BUTLER.  Tennessee has a long way to go.  Butler, on the other hand, is in the rankings and looks like they may be a protected seed.

-UNC WILMINGTON AT GEORGETOWN.  Fascinating game here between an unbeaten Wilmington team and a Georgetown team that’s much better than their record indicates.  Georgetown lost their season opener to Radford in double overtime, which was a surprise.  Since then, they’ve lost away from home to two top ten teams by a combined total of six points.  That’s rather remarkable, and I think they will end up very high in the rankings with a very healthy seed before the season end.  Wilmington is unbeaten, but also untested.  We’ll learn something about them today.

-OLE MISS AT SOUTHEAST MISSOURI STATE.  If there is such a thing as a “road buy game” this is it.  I guess Ole Miss is looking to pad their road wins against a winless SEMO team.  It’s actually not a bad idea.

-EASTERN ILLINOIS AT WESTERN ILLINOIS.  Western Illinois is still at a very respectable 6-2 with the big win against Wisconsin on their profile.

-ARIZONA STATE AT KENTUCKY.  Arizona State has played decently well since their season opener, but they haven’t looked like they’re capable of beating Kentucky at Kentucky.  To be fair, almost no other team in the country really has either.

-UTAH AT WICHITA STATE.  Wichita State has looked a lot better since getting over their injuries, but they still have a ton of work to do.  I think they’re capable of making up the ground they lost, and a win today would be a huge start.

-SAINT MARY’S AT CALIFORNIA.  Saint Mary’s is unbeaten, but I think it’s safe to say that at least 100 teams would be unbeaten against the schedule they’ve played.  Today we get to see if they’re for real or not against a talented Cal team.

-GEORGE MASON AT JAMES MADISON.  JMU has been playing slightly better and a win today will get them to a respectable 8-3.

-ARMY AT AIR FORCE.  Neither team is likely to get anywhere close to the NCAA Tournament without the automatic bid, but it is an intriguing game between two teams who have played well this season and come into this with decent records.

-STONY BROOK AT NORTHEASTERN.  I highlight this game only to say that I think I’ve given up on Northeastern.  They can still get on or in the bubble, but they’ll have to practically win out to do it.

-RUTGERS AT GEORGE WASHINGTON.  GW has a win against Virginia and their only loss was a close game against Cincinnati.  They’re looking solid and a win today gets them to 9-1.

-NORTH CAROLINA AT TEXAS.  Texas is improving, but they still have a very long way to go.  North Carolina is looking for their first true road win of the season.

-KANSAS STATE AT TEXAS A&M.  Both teams come in with solid records and some pretty good wins.  It’s a real test for K State who’s only loss was to North Carolina in a game where they played pretty well.  It’s an old conference match-up renewed, and it’s a good opportunity for both teams.

-FLORIDA AT MICHIGAN STATE.  Florida has a good record, but doesn’t have any really big wins yet.  This is probably too tall of an order.  Michigan State is ranked #1, and they’ve looked like a #1 seed all season long.

-OREGON AT BOISE STATE.  Boise State has been somewhat disappointing this year, but winning a game like this against a ranked team at home could give them the emotional lift they need to turn their season around.  Oregon is good, but this is their first true road games, as well as one of their bigger tests so far.

-CHATTANOOGA AT DAYTON.  This is a huge opportunity for a Chattanooga team that’s won some big games  already.  A win today against a solid Dayton team that’s very tough to beat at home could make the difference between them making the NCAA Tournament or not if they fail to win the SoCon.  Dayton is coming off a big road win against Vanderbilt and already has an impressive profile at 7-1.

-EASTERN KENTUCKY AT MARSHALL.  I highlight this game for a reason that very few people will appreciate.  If only Jeff Neubauer were still at EKU for this one!

-UNLV AT UC RIVERSIDE.  UNLV is coming off the road loss to Wichita.  UC Riverside isn’t great, but they are unbeaten at home and, again, it’s a chance for UNLV to pad their road record.

-OREGON STATE VS KANSAS (in Kansas City).  The good news is that Oregon State is MUCH improved.  The bad news is that they were so bad before, that being much improved still doesn’t put them in the same universe as a Kansas team that will contend for a #1 seed.  It’s still a great test and opportunity for the Beavers in a game where they have nothing to lose.

-BYU AT COLORADO.  The Buffs aren’t getting a whole lot of attention despite being 7-1.  This is one of their bigger tests against a decent but not great BYU team who needs to win a game like this if they want the committee to notice them.

-MINNESOTA VS OKLAHOMA STATE (in Sioux Falls, SD).  Not much to see here.  Both teams have a lot of work to do, and more likely than not neither is capable of doing it.

-UC IRVINE AT UTAH STATE.  Utah State losing their best player certainly set them back.  UC Irvine probably won’t end up on the bubble either, but they are a respectable 6-3 and this would be a big road win for them if they can pull it off.  Chances are this will end up having NIT implications rather than NCAA implications, though.

-NORTHERN IOWA AT NEW MEXICO.  This is a huge opportunity for UNI.  They have the big home win against North Carolina.  If they get a road win against a New Mexico team that’s looked pretty good this year, I think they solidify themselves (at least for now) as a tournament caliber team.

-UCLA AT GONZAGA.  UCLA has the big home win against Kentucky, but this is their first true road game.  Gonzaga had to sweat out their last game against Montana, and hasn’t looked quite as good as we expected them to this season.

-LITTLE ROCK AT DEPAUL.  Little Rock is unbeaten on the season, and the more they win, the more seriously we need to take them.  DePaul isn’t exactly a top notch team, but they are unbeaten at home.

 

BUY GAMES

-Bryant @ Providence
-Delaware State @ Michigan
-Youngstown State @ Purdue
-Eastern Michigan @ Louisville
-Mississippi Valley State @ Evansville
-UMES @ Maryland
-IUPUI @ Creighton
-McNeese State @ Indiana
-Western Carolina @ Davidson
-Manhattan @ Memphis

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Under the Radar Game of the Day – Friday, December 11: North Dakota State at North Dakota

Posted on December 11, 2015 by Chad

Under the Radar Game of the Day: North Dakota State at North Dakota, 8:30 PM Eastern, Midco Sports Network/Fox College Sports-Pacific/eversport.tv

For out latest Under the Radar video podcast, CLICK HERE.

Tonight marks the 289th time that North Dakota and North Dakota State will be matching up in men’s basketball, a series that dates all the way back to 1905.  UND currently holds a 159-129 overall series lead, though the Bison of North Dakota State have won 3 of the 5 matchups since the two teams moved up to the Division I level, including a dominating 71-42 win at home in Fargo last season.  Although this series has been played for well over 100 years, it currently is desperately in need of a name or a trophy.  On the football side, there was a nickel trophy that used to be competed for, but it has been de-commissioned at this time as it did include UND’s old logo on it.  Perhaps, now that UND has a new nickname, the Fighting Hawks, it is time to get something new developed for this long-time rivalry.

The visiting North Dakota State Bison enter tonight’s game with a record of 5-3.  Although the overall record is not bad, what they did their last time out was.  This past Sunday, the Bison went to Southern Mississippi and lost 74-62.  The Southern Miss team they fell to had been, before that game, particularly awful, with an 0-6 record that included a loss to non-D1 William Carey.  The Bison will need a lot stronger effort tonight, especially from guys like Paul Miller (held to a season low 15 points and only 3 rebounds against Southern Miss) and Malik Clements (only 5 points in the loss) if they want to pick up the road win over their in-state rivals and prove that they will be a contender in the Summit League again this season.

The Big Sky Conference’s North Dakota Fighting Hawks enter tonight’s game at 4-4, though only two of those wins have come against Division I opponents.  They did pick up a double overtime win at Bradley on Saturday and will be looking to build off of the momentum of that win tonight.  UND is led by Quinton Hooker, the junior who scored 20 points, to go along with 5 rebounds and 4 assists, in the Bradley victory.  Amazingly enough, the 20 point total for Hooker in that game was his season low, as he has scored as many as 31, and has put up some great stat lines, including a 29 point, 9 rebound, 6 assist and 2 steal effort against Bowling Green earlier this year.  If North Dakota State is unable to contain him, the Fighting Hawks could be in line for their 160th all-time win over the Bison.

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Under the Radar: Dec 10th

Posted on December 10, 2015 by David Griggs

Chad and David kick things off by focusing on the Summit League, particularly how impressive South Dakota State and Oral Roberts have been.  They also talk a little bit about how disappointing North Dakota State has been, especially their surprising loss at Southern Miss earlier this week.

They then run through all 23 UTR conferences.  Some of the things the discussion covers are Chattanooga’s big game coming up against Dayton and how it could make the difference of whether or not they land inside the bubble, Valpo’s impressive season so far, Monmouth suffering a bad loss at Canisius, Mercer’s impressive start, UT Arlington and Little Rock getting off to great starts as well, Wichita State being back at full strength, Northern Iowa’s Tournament Chances, the UTR Top Ten, and more….

 

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

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