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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News, Notes, and Highlighted Games: Monday, Dec 7th

Posted on December 7, 2015 by David Griggs

Below is a rundown of today’s college hoops action

NEWS AND NOTES

-We will be recording our Hoops HD Report Video Podcast this evening.  Be on the lookout for it.

-The updated Bracket Projections are complete and will be posted later this afternoon.

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

 

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES

-OKLAHOMA VS VILLANOVA (Pearl Harbor Classic).  These are two teams that will likely end up as protected seeds going at it on a neutral floor.  To date, it’s the biggest test for both teams.

-WESTERN ILLINOIS AT IOWA.  This is technically a buy game, but Western Illinois’s paper is really good right now with a 6-1 record and a road win at Wisconsin.  If they pull off the upset tonight they’ll have quite a bit of money in the bank saved up for getting an at-large bid.

-NORTHEASTERN AT WESTERN MICHIGAN.  Northeastern suffered another damaging loss in their last game and needs to rebound.  They can’t afford too many strikes if they want to land inside the bubble.

-BELMONT AT LIPSCOMB – Chad Sherwood’s UTR Game of the Day – CLICK HERE

-OREGON VS NAVY (Pearl Harbor Classic).  Oregon comes in with just one loss, but they have yet to win a game away from home.  Navy is a very respectable 7-2 right now, but they haven’t beaten a team anywhere close to the caliber of Oregon, yet.

-IDAHO AT USC.  A win for the Trojans gets them to a surprising 7-2, which is a much better start than what we were expecting.

 

 

BUY GAMES

-IUPUI @ Purdue
-VMI @ Butler
-Brown @ Georgetown
-Buffalo @ Iowa State
-Biola (nondiv1) @ San Diego State

Posted in News and Notes | 1 Comment

Under the Radar Game of the Day – Monday, December 7: Belmont at Lipscomb

Posted on December 7, 2015 by Chad

Under the Radar Game of the Day: Belmont at Lipscomb, 7:30 PM Eastern, espn3

The Battle of the Boulevard.  When leaving Belmont University’s campus in Nashville, make a left onto Belmont Boulevard and head south.  Less than three miles down the “Boulevard”, on your left hand side, you will reach Lipscomb University.  There are very few Division I colleges located closer to one another than these two long-time rivals, and tonight, the teams renew their rivalry once again, in Lipscomb’s Allen Arena.  The two teams have been playing since both were NAIA schools, with the first game dating back to December 11, 1953 (a 72-53 Lipscomb victory).  The most famous games in the series were a 124-105 Lipscomb win in 1990, in a game played at Vanderbilt’s Memorial Gymnasium and in 2006, when Belmont pulled out a thrilling overtime win, 74-69, in a matchup in the Atlantic Sun conference tournament championship game.  Since Belmont moved to the Ohio Valley Conference, the two teams have met twice almost every year.  This is the second of their two games this season — Belmont won the first one last week by a score of 105-89.

Belmont is 5-4 on the season so far, almost disappointing for a team that was picked preseason to win the Ohio Valley Conference.  However, none of their losses have been bad ones by any means (at Arizona State, at Evansville, at BYU and at Valparaiso).  Their top win (other than in round 1 of this season’s Battle) was at Marquette to start the season.  Despite a record just barely over .500, Rick Byrd’s squad has looked good enough to run through the OVC, where their biggest competition will probably come from Murray State, a team that lost a lot off of last season’s conference regular season championship squad.

Lipscomb enter tonight’s game at 3-7, with only two of those wins coming over Division I competition.  Despite the Bisons’ struggles so far this season, there have been some bright spots, including the recent play of Josh Williams.  Williams has scored 17, 21, 20 and 13 points his last four times out and is starting to emerge as one of the team’s top scoring threats.  He will be looked upon, along with his teammates, to help lead the Bisons to victory tonight.  And despite the fact that, on paper at least, Belmont appears to be the stronger team this season, never count out the underdog home team in a rivalry as heated as this one is.  We fully expect a tough competitive game that could come right down to the wire.

 

 

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