News, Notes, and Highlighted Games: Wednesday, Dec 9th

Posted on December 9, 2015 by David Griggs

Below is a quick rundown of all of tonight’s college hoops action.

NEWS AND NOTES

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

-I do not mean for this to sound like faint praise.  I’d like to congratulate the Fordham Rams and first year coach Jeff Neubauer on their seventh win in a row last night.  If I heard it right during the broadcast, it is their longest winning streak in over forty years.  I realize that they’ve played weaker opponents, and that they have a long way to go before they’re considered an NCAA Tournament caliber program, but for the first time in my lifetime Fordham appears to be going in the right direction, and they have a fantastic new head coach.

-The highlighted games last night weren’t nearly as exciting.  West Virginia had a fantastic first 18 minutes, and Virginia had an even more amazing final 22 minutes to win the game going away.  After being thoroughly amazed at how well West Virginia was doing against Virginia’s defense, I was doubly amazed at how UVA adjusted and shut down the Mountaineers after that.  They said during the broadcast these two will now be playing home and home.  And to that I say……IT’S ABOUT FREAKIN’ TIME!!!!!

-Maryland sprinted ahead of UConn, and UConn did their best to try and sprint back, but came up short.  UConn is a good team, but they really don’t have a signature win yet.

-Michigan was blasted by the ineligible SMU Mustangs.  Michigan might be in trouble.  It’s not that they won’t have the chances to build up their paper.  It’s that they may not have a good enough team to take advantage of their chances to build up their paper.

-Gonzaga struggled to put away Montana, and that was sort of a head scratcher.  Gonzaga has looked good at times, but they can’t seem to look like a top ten caliber team for an entire 40 minutes.  Could we be overrating them??  Given my track record in the past of looking at them as a Final Four caliber team more times than I’d like to remember, and having them come up short, the answer to that question is probably…….probably.

 

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES

-BOSTON COLLEGE AT PROVIDENCE.  This isn’t a buy game, but it’ll probably end up looking like one.

-HOFSTRA AT SIENA.  Hofstra is a very respectable 6-2, and although Siena probably isn’t a team that’ll land inside the bubble, they are tough to beat at home so Hofstra should get some credit for the win if they pull it off.

-VALPARAISO AT INDIANA STATE.  Valpo has a profile that’s good enough to make the NCAA Tournament, but they’ll have to come close to winning out in order to sustain it.

-NEBRASKA AT CREIGHTON.  This is a rivalry between two teams with records that are decent, but not great, and that have a ton of work to do if they want the committee to be looking at them in March.

-YALE AT ILLINOIS.  Illinois has a lot of catching up to do, and if they don’t start doing it soon they may end up so far behind that they’re unable to catch up.

-FRESNO STATE AT ARIZONA.  Fresno State has a decent record and is much improved, but they’re probably in over their heads against an Arizona team that’s coming off a hugely impressive win at Gonzaga.

-UTAH STATE AT BYU.  This is a big rivalry game between two teams who desperately need a big win right now.

-UNLV AT WICHITA STATE.  UNLV is off to a great start and already has some quality wins in the bank.  Wichita State should be solid once they get back to full strength, but they have a ton of work to do in order to play their way back into a position where the selection committee will look at them.

-DAYTON AT VANDERBILT.  Vandy is really strong and could contend for a protected seed.  Dayton is looking like a team that will land inside the bubble, and this would be a fantastic win for their profile if they’re able to pull it off.

-MILWAUKEE AT WISCONSIN.  Wisconsin is playing much better now and shouldn’t have too much trouble improving to 7-3.

 

BUY GAMES

-Howard @ Purdue.  Howard is a good MEAC team, but this is a tall order
-Eastern Kentucky @ Kentucky
-IPFW @ Indiana
-UMES @ Michigan State
-Coppin State @ Kansas State
-Holy Cross @ Kansas
-SIUE @ Southern Illinois
-Eastern Washington @ Davidson
-Incarnate Word @ California

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Under the Radar Game of the Day – Wednesday, December 9 – Hofstra at Siena

Posted on December 9, 2015 by Chad

Under the Radar Game of the Day: Hofstra at Siena, 7:00 PM Eastern, Time Warner Sports-New York/espn3

The UTR Game of the Day heads up the New York State Thruway to the great city of Albany, New York tonight (hey, I was born there!) as the Hofstra Pride travel to take on the Siena Saints in a matchup between potential contenders in the CAA and MAAC.  Hofstra enters tonight’s game with a record of 6-2, including a win at the Paradise Jam tournament over Florida State.  Their two losses both occurred in the same event, falling to South Carolina and Indiana State.  They were able to bounce back after those losses, however, and claim a pair of road victories over Atlantic Ten teams, St. Bonaventure and La Salle, before knocking off Appalachian State over the weekend in a game played at Madison Square Garden.  The Pride feature a balanced scoring attack, and have had as many as six players in double figures in scoring in a single game so far this season.  Tonight’s game, and next weekend’s trip to their neighbors at Stony Brook, are the toughest remaining non-conference games on their slate, and there is very little margin for error if the Pride want to make a case for an at-large bid at the end of the season — but the talent and potential to be in the hunt for such a bid is certainly present on this team.

The Siena Saints are currently sitting at 5-4 on the season, having dropped 2 of their last 3 to teams that they probably should have beaten (at Cornell and at St. Peter’s).  Their other two losses were at Duke and at Wisconsin, and the Saints should certainly not be penalized for those.  They also have picked up wins away from home against Bucknell and Radford, a pair of teams that should contend for their conference’s championships.  Siena will look for a big game tonight from Brett Bisping.  Bisping put up an amazing stat line of 16 points at 18 rebounds in the Cornell loss.  He also registered 16 points and 16 rebounds in the Bucknell win.  If he is able to be anywhere close to that dominant down low against the Pride tonight, the Saints could be poised for the home victory.

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News, Notes, and Highlighted Games: Tuesday, Dec 8th

Posted on December 8, 2015 by David Griggs

NEWS AND NOTES

–CLICK HERE To watch the latest Hoops HD Report, where we discuss the Big Ten/ACC Challenge, the strength of the ACC and Big Twelve, preview this week’s big match-ups, and more  If you’re not watching the Hoops HD Report, then you need to be!!!!

-For Chad Sherwood’s UTR Game of the Day between Grand Canyon and Southern – CLICK HERE  #LopesWaiver

 

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES

-WEST VIRGINIA VS VIRGINIA (Jimmy V Classic).  These two teams need to play regularly.  It’s one of many OOC match ups that isn’t a fixture game, but should be.  It should be a great game considering the style of play both teams run, and how strong they’ve looked this year.  It’s very possible that both end up as protected seeds, so this is a chance to pick up a high quality win away from home.

-NORTHERN IOWA AT GEORGE MASON.  Northern Iowa is coming off a rather decisive loss to Richmond, but still has a pretty good overall profile and has the chance to add a road win to it tonight.

-HOUSTON AT RHODE ISLAND.  Houston is unbeaten, but they have played one of the weakest schedules imaginable and this is easily one of their toughest tests of the year so far.

-PENN STATE AT GEORGE WASHINGTON.  Penn State has a respectable record, but they haven’t won many games against teams like this.  GW appears to be solid and already has some good wins on their profile.

-FLORIDA AT MIAMI FL.  Florida is just 6-1, but this is their first really big test of the season.  If they win I think it establishes them as a solid tournament caliber team.  It’s also a rivalry game, so it should be a fun one.

-WINTHROP AT GEORGIA.  Georgia is off to a sluggish start, but they are good enough to end up having a big year if they can kick it into gear.  The opportunities to build a strong profile are still definitely there.  Winthrop enters this game with just one loss, and this could be a signature win for them if they can pull off the upset.

-AIR FORCE AT OHIO STATE.  We haven’t stuck a fork in Ohio State yet, but we’re getting there.  So far this season, Air Force has actually looked like the better team.

-IONA AT TULSA.  Both teams have the capability of being good, but both have a ton of work to do, which gives this game kind of a pivotal feel.

-MICHIGAN AT SMU.  SMU is unbeaten, and if they weren’t on probation we’d be talking about how this is an important OOC match up between two teams that will likely play in the NCAA Tournament and who could use a big win on their profile.  As it stands, that’s only true for Michigan.

-EVANSVILLE AT ARKANSAS.  Not a whole lot of love for Evansville yet, but a win gets them to 8-1 on the year, as well as gives them their second true road win of the year.

-MARYLAND VS CONNECTICUT (Jimmy V Classic).  This is a big game between two teams that should end up safely inside the bubble.  You get the sense that UConn could use the win a little more simply because they don’t have a huge win on their profile yet, and they have fewer opportunities than what Maryland will have.

-TCU AT WASHINGTON.  A win for the Huskies gets them to a respectable 6-2.

 

BUY GAMES

-Colgate @ Syracuse
-Wright State @ Xavier
-LIU Brooklyn @ Fordham
-LSU Shreveport (nondiv1) @ Louisiana Tech
-Bradley @ UT Arlington
-UTSA @ Texas
-San Jose State @ Marquette
-Northwestern State @ Baylor
-Stony Brook @ Notre Dame
-Montana @ Gonzaga

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Under the Radar Game of the Day – Tuesday, December 8: Southern at Grand Canyon

Posted on December 8, 2015 by Chad

Under the Radar Game of the Day: Southern at Grand Canyon, 9:00 PM Eastern, COX-7, free streaming at cox7.com

For our latest HOOPS HD Report video podcast, CLICK HERE.

For John Stalica’s latest bracket projection, CLICK HERE.

For the detailed breakdown of why Grand Canyon should be NCAA Tournament eligible, CLICK HERE and then join is in tweeting #LopesWaiver at the ncaa (@ncaa), WAC, national media, and anyone else you like!

The Grand Canyon Antelopes had a chance this past weekend to make national headlines and really help us kickstart the #LopesWaiver campaign.  Unfortunately, they came up a wee bit short in the trip to Louisville (and a decision has been made that we will never mention that game again).  The good news is that losing that game does nothing to change our opinion of where they will finish in the WAC this season.  Tonight, Thunder Dan’s squad, led by the likes of Joshua Braun, Gerard Martin, Dewayne Russell, De’Andre Davis, Grandy Glaze, Matt Jackson and more will have a chance to return to the victory column when they host the SWAC’s Southern University Jaguars.  This is the first of a three game homestand.  Tonight’s game (along with Sunday’s game against Omaha) is also a preliminary non-bracketed game in the Global Sports Classic, an event that will send the ‘Lopes to Las Vegas later this month to play Houston and either Wyoming or Marshall.

The ‘Lopes should not overlook Southern by any means.  Although the SWAC has been among the worst rated conferences over the past decade or longer, the conference as a whole has gotten off to one of its strongest starts in recent memory.  SWAC teams have already registered 7 non-conference true road victories against Division I competition, tieing the league’s highest total in at least that last 8 years, if not longer.  Southern has recorded two of those victories en route to their 5-1 start, including a shocker at Mississippi State.  Although we have been making a big deal this season of the #LopesWaiver campaign for GCU, Southern has finally been released from their own NCAA Purgatory, a story that we have been following here at HOOPS HD the last couple of seasons.  All of the school’s athletic programs were banned from postseason play for the last two years due to a complete failure by the university over a span of almost ten years to submit properly calculated APR data to the NCAA.  As a result of these issues, which were not the fault of the current students playing at the school, the kids at Southern were in the same spot the ‘Lopes currently are — being unable to compete for a championship due to no fault of their own.  The good news for Southern is that their blanket postseason ban is gone and their postseason eligibility has been restored.  For men’s hoops, it may be just in time as well, as this season’s squad seems poised to make a run at the conference title.

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The Hoops HD Report: December 7th

Posted on December 7, 2015 by David Griggs

Chad and the panel look back on what was a busy week in college basketball focusing primarily on the Big Ten/ACC Challenge.  In looking at the teams that could be protected seeds, they discuss Maryland and whether or not they’re an actual Final Four threat, Michigan State’s early success, and North Carolina, Duke, and Virginia’s big wins.  They also look at how Indiana has struggled, whether or not Wake Forest could make the NCAA Tournament, and go through all the other teams as well.

In the Big East, they talk about the big game coming up between Xavier and Cincinnati.  In the Big Twelve they talk about how there could be as many as five protected seeds.  They review UCLA’s big win over Kentucky and Arizona’s big win at Gonzaga, talk about how the Mountain West has struggled, and focus on Cincinnati and Connecticut as being the top teams in the AAC.  All that, and much more….

 

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

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Bracket Projections: Dec 7th

Posted on December 7, 2015 by David Griggs

Below is our latest Bracket Projections, updated by John Stalica (@jstalica78) on Monday, December 7th at 2pm, est

READ THIS FIRST!!

-It is important to understand that these brackets are CHECKPOINTS on CURRENT MERIT.  They are not a forecast of what I think things will look like in March, or for that matter how good I actually think teams currently are.

-For a write up of today’s highlighted games – CLICK HERE

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

 

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Comments/Remarks by Chad

As a new feature, I have decided to point out my personal reaction to the brackets being released by my colleagues (though as I have previously noted, any bracket before mid-January at the earliest is pure lunacy)

First, Butler just won at Cincinnati, yet John has Butler on the 7 line and Cincinnati on the 5 line.  Oh, and he lives in Cincinnati.  Hmmmmm……

Second, I do not see how Louisville merits a 6 seed.  I believe that they may prove to be 6 seed quality, but to date they have only played one team of note, Michigan State, and lost that game.  Quite frankly, I don’t see much in Louisville’s profile that is any better than Texas Tech’s (not that I feel Texas Tech is a tournament worthy team).

I also feel the Evansville is undervalued greatly as a 14 seed  – I would take what they have done over some of the 12 seeds like Alabama and Colorado.

Finally, I probably would have had Georgetown in my field, but I can understand the argument for leaving them out if this is based on merit to date alone.

 

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