#LopesWaiver – Why the NCAA should let the Lopes Play!

Posted on December 4, 2015 by Chad

#LopesWaiver — A repost of the case for the Lopes being eligible for the NCAA Tournament

(For David Griggs’ Puppet Ramblings and links to all our latest content, CLICK HERE.)

Two years ago, the Grand Canyon Antelopes began their transition up to the Division I level.  Under NCAA rules, a team must undergo four transitional years before they can become a full-fledged member of D1.  In terms of men’s basketball, this means that a team is ineligible during those four seasons to compete in the NCAA Tournament (or the NIT Tournament for that matter).  Thus, during these four transitional years, a team’s only chance for postseason play must come from one of the other tournaments (CBI, CIT or the new Vegas 16).  The GCU Lopes have done exactly that, qualifying for the CIT in each of their first two seasons.  This year, they were our preseason selection to win the WAC regular season championship — but because they are still in transition, a return to the CIT (which is a tournament that we do have a ton of affection for here at HOOPS HD) is their cap again.  Unless, of course, we can get the rules changed.  That is what #LopesWaiver is all about.

The rules, as they are set right now, say the GCU cannot be in the NCAA or NIT this year or next, even if they win the WAC regular season title.  The WAC has determined that because GCU is ineligible, they will not be permitted to play in the WAC Tournament (though notably the NCAA does allow conferences to have ineligible teams play in conference tournaments and set rules for who receives the automatic bid if the ineligible teams wins).  We here at HOOPS HD find this rule fundamentally unfair.  A team that wins its league title should be given a shot at the automatic bid (and if they fall in the conference tournament, should get the automatic NIT bid).  Therefore, the Rule change is simple:

“Transitional teams that play a full Division I schedule, while ineligible for at-large consideration, will be allowed to participate in the NCAA or NIT Tournament if they automatically qualify for same as their conference’s representative.”

Let’s be clear, we are not asking for a special rule for Grand Canyon alone.  Abilene Christian, Incarnate Word, Mass-Lowell and Northern Kentucky are all transitional teams this year and should be given the same opportunity.  During a team’s first year of the four year transition, it is not required to play a full Division I schedule.  If it doesn’t, then it should clearly not be eligible for the national championship tournament.  However, if a team plays a full schedule against D1 competition and proves that it is the best team in its conference (as determined by the conference rules in giving out its automatic bid), they should be given a chance!

The NCAA has set forth its core values.  This is the list:

“The Association – through its member institutions, conferences and national office staff – shares a belief in and commitment to:

  • The collegiate model of athletics in which students participate as an avocation, balancing their academic, social and athletics experiences.
  • The highest levels of integrity and sportsmanship.
  • The pursuit of excellence in both academics and athletics.
  • The supporting role that intercollegiate athletics plays in the higher education mission and in enhancing the sense of community and strengthening the identity of member institutions.
  • An inclusive culture that fosters equitable participation for student-athletes and career opportunities for coaches and administrators from diverse backgrounds.
  • Respect for institutional autonomy and philosophical differences.
  • Presidential leadership of intercollegiate athletics at the campus, conference and national levels.”

[Source: http://www.ncaa.org/about/ncaa-core-values]

The NCAA believes in participation and the highest levels of sportmanship.  It believes in excellence in athletics.  And it believes in an inclusive culture that fosters equitable participation.  How is telling a group of student athletes that has competed and won at the highest levels of its conference that they are not allowed to be one of 68 teams with a chance to compete for the national championship supporting these values?  How is it sportsmanlike?  How does it promote excellence?  How is it inclusive and equitable??????  If you want the answer to that, just ask former Nebraska-Omaha track star Sami Spenner.  You can read her story here.

LET THE LOPES PLAY!  Tweet @ncaa! Call them!  Write them! The Rules are unfair to a great group of kids that have a legitimate chance this season to play well enough to earn what may be a potentially once-in-a-lifetime dream trip to the Big Dance, but because the NCAA is not promoting participation, sportsmanship, excellence and inclusive/equitable rules, the only way that Coach Majerele’s squad will be at a Tournament game is if they buy tickets.  This is not fair!

#LopesWaiver

Let the Lopes Dance!!!!

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Puppet Ramblings: Friday, Dec 4th

Posted on December 4, 2015 by David Griggs

David Griggs Rants and Raves about College Hoops

DG
Now that the exempt tournaments are mostly over, Fridays are typically slower days.  That gives me a chance to rant and rave after I wake up and have a few drinks.  Some weeks it might be a few minutes of video or audio that you should DEFINITELY watch or listen to.  Other weeks it will be journaling that you should DEFINITELY read.

First, some important links that you should DEFINITELY check out.  In fact, do this first, and then come back and read the rest of my ramblings.  You need to do both, but in that order!!

Under the Radar.  This is our latest weekly podcast that focuses on the 23 conferences that are not regular multi-bid leagues.  There have already been some great stories this year such as Grand Canyon being undefeated, Monmouth having a fantastic start to the season with wins away from home against UCLA, USC, and Notre Dame, UT Arlington getting some big notable wins, Little Rock being unbeaten, Valpo looking like an at-large team, and so much more.  We cover all that in our most recent edition.  CLICK HERE TO CHECK IT OUT!! DO IT NOW!!!

Throwback Thursday.  This is a fantastic new weekly series where John Stalica (@jstalica78) looks back at pivotal moments throughout the history of college basketball.  This week, we go back to the 1986 NCAA Tournament, which is important because it was only the second year the field had been set at 64, and it was perhaps the first time we saw how magical the NCAA Tournament could be in that format.  Two #14 seeds won for the first time ever, and both made the Sweet Sixteen.  Duke had their first deep NCAA Tournament run under Mike Krzyzewski, and faced Louisville in the National Championship game, which still rates as one of the highest watched tournament games of all time.  CLICK HERE TO CHECK IT OUT!!

Chad Sherwood’s UTR Game of the Day.  Ehh, you know what??  You can skip this one.  Nobody likes Chad very much.  But, here’s the link anyway.  Tonight’s other big games are listed there as well.  MONMOUTH @ CANISIUS, and OTHER HIGHLIGHTED GAMES

Call from the Hall.  This is another fantastic series of interviews written and conducted by Jon Teitel.  This week he interviews Ohio State and Boston Celtics legend John Havlicek.  CLICK HERE TO CHECK IT OUT!!, and CLICK HERE FOR AN INDEX OF ALL OF HIS PREVIOUS INTERVIEWS

 

SCHEDULING, AND ATTENDANCE, AND WHY BOTH NEED TO GET BETTER

-Most of the general public, even the part of the general public that likes college basketball, seems to be largely unaware that the season does actually start in November, and that many of the most important games of the year are actually played prior to conference play beginning.  We see the vast majority of games played in front of half empty houses.  Sometimes the buildings are so empty you wonder if the arena manager even remembered to unlock the doors to let the people in.  So, fans need to start buying tickets.  What happens now shapes what happens later.  When you see an early season game between Valparaiso and Oregon, that’s a big game.  It’s a chance for Valpo to get a statement win, and it’s a chance for Oregon to sustain themselves in the rankings.  When a ranked team is hosting an unbeaten team, that’s an important game.  Now, having said that…..

One of the reasons that arenas are empty for a lot of games is because of the sheer volume of games that are terrible to watch.  College basketball, more than any other sport on Earth probably, consists of the majority of good teams wanting to ease into their seasons.  Opening Day in baseball is huge.  For some teams it’s one of the few days the stadium sells out.  The start of the NFL season is a big deal.  College football, for the most part, opens with much fanfare and much anticipation.  College basketball??  Louisville is playing Samford.  Maryland is playing Mount Saint Mary’s.  Villanova is playing Fairleigh Dickinson.  UConn is playing Maine.  It’s no wonder fans don’t anticipate the start of the college basketball season.  There’s nothing to anticipate!!  And, the vast majority of the out of conference schedule is like that.  But…

The smattering of games that are not like that do fill up.  The Big Ten/ACC Challenge games were great.  Virginia went to George Washington and it was a great atmosphere.  Maryland and Georgetown renewed their series, and it was one of the greatest atmospheres I’ve ever seen at a November basketball game.  It can be done!

There are two things that need to happen.  Opening Night of college basketball needs to be a huge day on the sports calendar, and we need to schedule the kinds of games for that night that will give it intrigue.  The way it is now, all that night really does is help out people who are suffering from insomnia.  The vast majority of games put you to sleep.

And…

Any team that generates the response or feeling of “I hate playing that team” is a team you need to play!!  I know the most attractive OOC games to schedule are the national showcases.  But, it’s impossible for any team to fill their entire schedule with those because they need between 11 and 13 games, and there are only so many opponents that would qualify as a national showcase game.  The next best team they can schedule is not a buy game, but rather a game against a team they don’t like to play.  The NFL, NBA, and MLB understand this.  The teams that hate each other are either in the same division, or routinely slated against each other.  If the NFL or NBA were in charge of scheduling college basketball games, we’d see all of the following match ups each and every year…

-Kentucky vs Indiana
-Kentucky vs Cincinnati
-Cincinnati vs Ohio State
-Ohio State vs Xavier
-Ohio State vs Dayton
-Xavier vs Dayton
-Saint Louis vs Missouri
-Kansas vs Missouri
-Kansas vs Wichita State
-Texas vs Texas A&M
-Syracuse vs UConn
-UConn vs Boston College
-Belmont vs Vanderbilt
-Memphis vs Vanderbilt
-Memphis vs Arkansas
-Memphis vs Louisville
-Louisville vs Indiana
-Notre Dame vs Michigan
-West Virginia vs Pittsburgh
-West Virginia vs Virginia
-Maryland vs Duke
-Georgetown vs George Washington
-Creighton vs Wichita State

I could go on, but you get the idea.  ALL of those games would generate a huge buzz, and it would generate it at a time of the season (now) when there isn’t much of a buzz.  Sadly, very few coaches seek out those kinds of games.  But, you know what??  The ones that do are actually better off for it!!  Virginia is perhaps the best example.  They play home and home against regional teams, such as George Washington, Old Dominion, VCU, James Madison, and William & Mary.  They’ve even lost some of those games, yet their program has continued to grow since they’ve been doing it.  Bruce Pearl, who has his flaws but has also successfully built up two programs (Milwaukee, Tennessee) and is working on his third (Auburn), seeks out those games as well.  While at Tennessee he sought out series with Memphis, Middle Tennessee and Chattanooga, and at Auburn he has signed a long term series with UAB.  He understands that it engages and excites the fans, and at the end of the day even if Tennessee or Auburn loses, Chattanooga and Middle Tennessee still wouldn’t command the front page of the newspaper moving forward.  They’d be playing against Sun Belt and SoCon teams on secondary networks, whereas Tennessee would be playing on national television in a power conference, so the Vols were still the “Big Brother.”  And, last but not least, a team really isn’t relevant until they’re someone else’s Super Bowl.  They should embrace that role, not run from it!  Doing so challenges them more and prepares them more for conference play.

So, just to recap, it’s more excitement for the fans at a time of the season where the sport needs to be more excitement, it’s a bigger challenge for the players that prepares them more than most of your boring buy games, and the “Big Brother” teams really have way more to gain than to lose by doing it.  I WANT ALL OF THE ABOVE GAMES TO BECOME REGULAR NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER GAMES!!!  PUPPET MANDATE!!!

 

OFFICIATING (Last one, I promise)

-Last, but certainly not least, people have been complaining about how tightly games have been officiated.  I get it, but the officials are doing it right.  The game was simply becoming too physical.  College basketball should not look like a combination between a rugby scrum and a rock fight, which is what it was by the time last season was winding down.  In fact, had last year’s NCAA Tournament been officiated the way the game was played throughout the 1980s and 1990s when it was far more popular, nearly every team would have fouled out all of their players in about five minutes.  Too much physicality limits the skill, finesse and the flow of the game.  The referees need to keep calling the fouls the way they have been until the players adjust.  Period.  That is what will make the game better.  Clobbering someone should not be a common defensive strategy.  I know it’s painful to watch for now, and it may take until January before we start seeing the overall benefit.  But, vegetables don’t always taste good either.  In the long run this will make the game so much better.

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Under the Radar Game of the Day: Friday, December 4: Monmouth at Canisius (and other Highlighted Games)

Posted on December 4, 2015 by Chad

Under the Radar Game of the Day: Monmouth at Canisius, 7:00 PM Eastern, espn3

For our most recent Under the Radar video podcast, which includes a length discussion of the Monmouth Hawks, CLICK HERE.

Daniel Pillari.  Louie Pillari.  Tyler Robinson.  Greg Noack.  Four players that have combined for under four minutes of game time so far this season (and all of the from Daniel and Tyler).  And yet these four kids have made national headlines for the Monmouth Hawks.  They are the “Monmouth Bench”.  If you have not seen them yet, you have probably been living under a rock.  But just in case you haven’t, here it is:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkv2XI6n9qs

It is fun.  It is entertaining.  And here at HOOPS HD we fully support and endorse anything that makes the GAME even more FUN!!

By the way, Monmouth has been a pretty darn good team on the court as well.  Entering tonight’s game, the Hawks are 4-2 with wins away from home over UCLA, USC and Notre Dame, three of the biggest name brands in college sports.  And oh yeah, they did something at UCLA (namely winning) that a certain program named Kentucky could not even do!  The Hawks have two losses, neither of which was awful by any means (at USC — a loss they have already revenged and a neutral court loss to a very good Dayton team).  Five non-conference games still remain, including a trip to Georgetown and their lone early season home game (December 13 vs Wagner, tickets still available!).  However, before the Hawks get to those games, they will be spending this weekend in Buffalo, New York for a pair of early season conference games, at Canisius tonight and at Niagara on Sunday.

The Canisius Golden Griffins enter play tonight with a 2-3 record, coming off of an overtime loss last weekend over Western New York Big Four rival Buffalo.  They will present a balanced scoring attack to the Hawks, as five players were in double figures in scoring last time out, led by Kassius Robertson’s 43 points and Phil Valenti’s double-double.  The Griffins finished 11-9 in MAAC play last season and would like to servce notice to the conference that they intend to move up in the standings this year.  They could certainly do so with a victory in tonight’s game.

On the court, Monmouth has been led by one of the most exciting payers this season, 5-8 Justin Robinson.  Robinson may be one of the smallest players every time he takes the court, but that hasn’t slowed him down one bit.  He has scored at least 22 points in every game since the opener, and amazingly added in 7 rebounds in the USC victory last time out.  And Robinson is not alone, as the teams does have size and talent, including the likes of Deon Jones, Zac Tillman and Micah Seaborn.  All of the pieces for a fun and exciting season are certainly here.  And when you add in the best non-playing bench in college hoops, we can very easily call Monmouth thee most entertaining story to come out of the MAAC in quite some time.  Now it is up to the team to make certain that they can turn this excitement into wins and the eventual goal of an NCAA Tournament berth.  Oh…and just how much fun would the Monmouth Bench guys be in March Madness?

 

OTHER GAMES OF NOTE

-KANSAS STATE AT GEORGIA.  K State has just one loss, but I think their record is more impressive than their team.  If they win tonight I’ll change my mind about them, though.  Georgia is a team that I thought would be good, and they still might be, but like last year they had a sluggish November and have a lot of work to do.

-PITTSBURGH VS DUQUESNE.  The City Game!  This is a very one sided rivalry, but the atmosphere for this is always more venomous than what most outsiders probably realize.  Duquesne is actually decent this year at 6-1, and a win in this game would be their biggest statement win since….I can’t even remember!

-ARKANSAS AT WAKE FOREST.  I like this Wake team.  They’ve done some good things on paper already and can improve to 6-2 tonight.

-SAINT JOSEPH’S AT COLUMBIA.  If Joe’s is gonna show us anything this year, this is the kind of game they’re expected to win.

-ALABAMA AT SOUTHERN MISS.  If there is any such thing as a “Road Buy Game” then that’s what this practically is.

-NORTHERN ILLINOIS AT MISSOURI.  Northern Illinois is unbeaten, and Missouri has really struggled this year.  Could be interesting.

-OREGON AT UNLV.  I wasn’t expecting much from UNLV this year, but as of now they’re 6-1 with some impressive wins and will probably be the toughest test for an unbeaten Oregon team so far, since this is the first “sort of” road game for the Ducks (it is being played in Vegas, but at the MGM Grand).

 

BUY GAMES

-Saint Francis University @ Maryland
-Jackson State @ Louisiana Tech
-Samford @ Texas

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Under The Radar: December 4th

Posted on December 4, 2015 by David Griggs

Chad and David begin by highlighting the Team of the People, which is the still undefeated Grand Canyon Antelopes.  They have been filling their arena, they beat a good Central Michigan team tonight, and they travel to Louisville this weekend.  They’re also ineligible for the NCAA Tournament due to being a transitional team, and we are petitioning the NCAA to get them a waiver.  #LopesWaiver

Monmouth is another team that was discussed at length.  They have wins at UCLA, and against Notre Dame and USC on a neutral floor.  Those are three notable wins away from home, which is more than what a handful of tournament teams typically get.  Their bench has been hugely entertaining as well, and we think this team can contend for a spot in the NCAA Tournament whether they win the MAAC Tourney or not.

It was a very busy week last week.  Chad and David run through all the conferences, preview this week’s action, and reveal this week’s UTR Top Ten

 

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

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Throwback Thursday: 1986 NCAA Tournament

Posted on December 3, 2015 by John Stalica

Click here for David Griggs’ write up of today’s slate of basketball

Also click here for Jon Teitel’s interview with Mel Nowell regarding his teammate John Havlicek

We continue looking at the evolution of the NCAA Tournament – one of our colleagues has suggested looking at the 1986 NCAA Tournament. And I absolutely agree – this was the 2nd year of the field including 64 teams. This was also the first season that the NCAA had a uniform 45-second shot clock; some conferences had experimental rules in prior seasons that would include a shot clock and/or the 3-point line (which did become official in all NCAA competition for the following season). In fact, on many of CBS’s telecasts in the mid-80s, they would put a disclaimer on the TV screen if the shot clock was not used in the game – click here for an example (this links to a DePaul-Notre Dame game in 1984).

The 1985-86 season was also noteworthy for several programs in the NCAA. For the Duke Blue Devils, this marked the first season under Mike Krzyzewski where Duke was a national power. For Kentucky, they said adios to the Joe B. Hall regime and introduced Eddie Sutton as their head coach. For the Indiana Hoosiers, their season would be chronicled by John Feinstein in his best-selling book A Season On the Brink (whose name will be explained later). The Hoosiers had a rare losing season in conference play the year before; they would come back and wind up finishing 2nd in the Big 10 behind eventual conference champion Michigan.

Since there would now be 32 first-round games scheduled, ESPN would have TV coverage of those games and would “whip around” to competitive games as they took place. One of the first stunners that took place would be Arkansas-Little Rock’s upset of Notre Dame in the first round in Minneapolis. Syracuse’s region lent itself to even more upsets; Cleveland State was a relative newcomer to the NCAA Tournament and immediately made a splash with their full-court press. With a team featuring Eric Mudd and Mouse McFadden, the Vikings would knock Indiana back to the brink (click here for NCAA On Demand’s coverage) and then defeat Saint Joseph’s to advance to the Sweet 16. Even more remarkable was the U.S. Naval Academy; the 7th-seeded Midshipmen featured Doug Wojcik and the future Admiral in David Robinson. The Middies beat Tulsa in their first-round game before scoring a decisive win against the hometown Orangemen. Navy would defeat Cleveland State in the Sweet 16 before falling to Duke in the Elite 8 amid chants of “Abandon Ship” from the Duke fans.

In the Southeast Regional, Kentucky earned the top seed and would eventually accomplish an NCAA first in the Sweet 16 by defeating Alabama for the 4th time in the season. (Cincinnati would duplicate the feat in 1992 with 4 wins over Memphis State). However, the Wildcats would not advance to the Final 4 because of the enigmatic Louisiana State Tigers. 11th-seeded LSU would actually win their 1st and 2nd-round games on campus against Purdue and Memphis State, respectively. Turnabout was fair play in the Sweet 16 since LSU would have to play Georgia Tech in Atlanta (at the Omni but not on Tech’s Thrillerdome). Georgia Tech entered the season with high expectations and a roster featuring John Salley and Mark Price, but were not able to overcome the Tigers. After defeating Kentucky in the regional final, the Tigers completed the rare feat of defeating the #1, #2 and #3 seeds in the same regional.

The Midwest region did not have as many upsets beyond Little Rock’s win over Notre Dame, but the Jayhawks had a relatively easy path while not facing a team seeded higher than 5th. Their wins over Michigan State and NC State came in front of a hometown crowd in Kansas City; there they would punch their ticket to the Final 4 in Dallas. In the West region, another SEC team would pull off a Cinderella run to help disrupt the region. Auburn would stun top-seeded St. John’s in the 2nd round in Long Beach, California; they would also beat UNLV before falling to the Louisville Cardinals in the Elite 8. Louisville advanced to the Final 4 for the 4th time in the 1980s; no other team was able to match that feat during that decade.

When the Final 4 convened in Dallas, Louisville (headed by Milt Wagner and Pervis “Never Nervous” Ellison) would mark the midnight hour in LSU’s Cinderella season. The other game between Duke and Kansas was more competitive. It was also a rematch of the teams’ earlier meeting in the 1985 Preseason NIT. With Danny Manning in foul trouble for the Jayhawks, Duke was able to capitalize and advance to the national title game for the 3rd time. However, Krzyzewski would lament years later about not being able to use his bench more during the Kansas game. They were not quite as fresh down the stretch as Louisville would be on Monday night; the Cards would finish the Devils 72-69 to claim their 2nd national title in program history. Pervis Ellison would be named Most Outstanding Player.

Click here to see the official 1986 Final Four video.

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Under the Radar Game of the Day (and other Highlighted Games) for Dec 3: Belmont at Valparaiso

Posted on December 3, 2015 by David Griggs

Under the Radar Game of the Day: Belmont at Valparaiso, 8:00 PM Eastern, espn3

The UTR Game of the day heads to Valparaiso, Indiana as the Belmont Bruins and Valparaiso Crusaders will show the rest of the mid-majors and Under the Radar schools exactly what teams should do if they are having trouble scheduling strong competition.  The answer is NOT to schedule a bunch of cupcakes and non-D1 teams.  If the “big boys” refuse to play you, then you should all play games against each other.  Heck, go ahead and schedule a home-and-home series for the same season, putting two solid games against NCAA tournament caliber competition onto your non-conference schedule.  That is exactly what these two teams did, as they meet tonight at Valpo and will play again on December 28 in Nashville.

Belmont enters tonight’s game with a record of 5-3, although none of the three losses has been bad at all (at Arizona State, at Evansville and at BYU).  The Bruins main problem is that they are running out of chances to pick up key non-conference wins — something which could come back to haunt them even if they dominate the OVC like Murray State did last year.  With a win at Marquette being their best victory so far this season, the Bruins really need to win tonight and possibly a sweep these two games if they want to get any serious at-large bid consideration.  Craig Bradshaw is the player to keep an eye on for the Bruins, as he is a consistent double-digit scorer who dropped 26 points on BYU last week.

Valparaiso enters tonight’s game with a record of 6-2.  They had been rolling through the season with a nice home in over Iona and solid road wins at Oregon State and Rhode Island.  Then came this past Saturday when they visited neighboring Ball State and went home with a 69-66 loss.  The Crusaders did build up enough merit with their other victories that the Ball State loss will not be devastating, but they need to prove tonight that they can bounce back from that defeat and pick up a victory against a solid opponent.  As with Belmont, only the teams’ two games against each other remain on their non-conference schedules as tests against teams that look like they are NCAA tournament caliber.  Therefore, it is extremely important for Valpo to win at least one (if not both) of these games if they want to be considered by the Committee for a solid seed and possible at-large bid if needed.  Alec Peters was the one bright spot of the Ball State loss, scoring 28 points, and the Crusaders will need another solid effort from him and his teammates if they want to get the win tonight.

 

 

David’s Highlighted Games for December 3

-WESTERN MICHIGAN AT JAMES MADISON.  James Madison has gotten off to a somewhat sluggish start and missed some opportunities.  They’ll have to really play strong from here on out if they want to be in the conversation for an at-large come March.

-KENTUCKY AT UCLA.  Kentucky has never played at Pauley Pavilion before.  As good as they’ve looked this year, and as much as UCLA has struggled, they may not be welcomed back again any time soon.

-LONG BEACH STATE AT COLORADO STATE.  Colorado State has a lot of momentum going and can improve to 6-1 if they can knock off a fairly decent Long Beach State team.

-CENTRAL MICHIGAN AT GRAND CANYON.  This was a game we were really looking forward to before the season started.  The Team of the People have held up their end of the bargain!  They’re unbeaten!  Central Michigan….not so much.  This should still be a fun game to watch, but even though we thought CMU would be the superior team before the start of the season, now it’s the Lopes that are looking better.  #LopesWaiver

-USC AT UC SANTA BARBARA.  USC is a modest 5-2, which isn’t great, but it’s a lot better than what most of us were expecting.  This is their first true road game of the season, but it’s still a game they should win.

-NORTH TEXAS AT UT ARLINGTON.  UT Arlington still has a pretty healthy profile, and they’ll remain in pretty decent shape if they can rebound from the heartbreaking overtime loss to Texas.

-CENTRAL ARKANSAS AT OKLAHOMA – Buy Game

 

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