NEWS AND NOTES
-For our latest Under the Radar Video Podcast – CLICK HERE
-For Chad Sherwood’s UTR Game of the Day – CLICK HERE
-For Jon Teitel’s interview with Ed Ratleff – CLICK HERE
-Kansas has a big game today against Vanderbilt that you’ll read about below. Cheick Diallo has still not been cleared to play by the NCAA. The only good news is that he hasn’t been denied eligibility yet either, but the NCAA has been reviewing this case for months and has still not made a decision. Whether he is or is not going to be cleared, the amount of time this is taking is completely outrageous. He was given a waiver that permitted him to travel to Maui with the team, which is a good sign because the NCAA likely would not have granted it had they thought the prognosis was negative regarding his eligibility. But, here it is the last day of the tournament, and they STILL haven’t ruled. WHAT THE HELL IS TAKING SO LONG??!!? Initial eligibility, on the surface, is rather simple. A player needs 16 core classes from high school in specific subjects such as English, Natural Science, Math, and Social Science, they need a GPA that’s calculated from only those core classes and not from other “fluff” courses that they may have taken, and they need to meet a minimum score on the ACT or SAT. They also need to show that they have never played as a professional in any way, shape, or form before. Where students get into trouble is if there is a question over what is or isn’t a core class, or over what does or does not constitute playing as a professional and it can take some time to sort out. But, the key word there is “SOME” time. IT HAS BEEN MONTHS!!!! MONTHS!!!!!!!!! This is grossly unfair to Diallo, the Kansas team, and the Kansas fans in that order. Whatever it is that’s causing the uncertainty of his eligibility should not take months to figure out.
-We have two other great games today, that you’ll also read about below. Now, with the excitement and electricity that we saw out of the Maryland v Georgetown game last week, which is a series that had been dormant for over two decades, can we all agree that out of conference games between brand name regional opponents is a good thing?? So, it’s good that we get to see Gonzaga v Washington and Texas v Texas A&M again today. What’s unfortunate is that these are not regular events that are played in front of packed houses of insanely excited fans. Both are actually one time events that are part of an exempt tournament that’s being played in another country. We love these events, but for games like this, they need to be played in front of thousands of screaming fans, not hundreds of rich drunk tourists in a resort’s ball room in another country.
-UT Arlington picked up another huge win last night against Memphis. It was Arlington’s second surprising road win. Ohio State, who they beat earlier in the week, picked up their second surprising home loss when they fell to still unbeaten Louisiana Tech.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES
**EDIT** When I initially posted the rundown of today’s games, I did not realize that Gonzaga and Washington HAVE, in fact, agreed to resume the series!! There is now a four year home-and-home in place.
-WASHINGTON VS GONZAGA (Battle 4 Atlantis) (***Spotlight Game***). The rivalry is back!! It’s a damn shame that it’s only sort of back, and that it’s being played in another country at 9am Pacific Coast time instead of on campus. This was a great series that Washington ended about eight years ago. Their reasoning was that they wanted to play a more national schedule, and the implication was that they gained little from playing Gonzaga. Even though Gonzaga won eight out of nine (or something like that), Washington was far more relevant in that stretch then they have been since the series stopped. That’s not to imply that playing Gonzaga was the only reason they were good, but it is to point out that they don’t “gain nothing and lose everything” by playing it. If the Maryland v Georgetown game taught us anything, it should be that OOC games between regional opponents are good things. So, that’s the off paper story. On paper, both teams come into this unbeaten, and Washington already has a notable win away from home against Texas. Gonzaga hasn’t really been tested yet other than the first half of the Pitt Game, which was ultimately cancelled.
-TEXAS VS TEXAS A&M (Battle 4 Atlantis). (***Spotlight Game***) These two rivals have not played since TAMU left the Big Twelve for the SEC. Both are good programs. Both play in front of half empty houses quite frequently prior to conference play starting. Hmmmm….Let’s think about this. Who could these two teams play that would generate interest amongst the fans?? It has been mentioned earlier, but I mention it again because it can’t be mentioned enough. These are the kinds of games we need in November and December. And, it’s great that they’re playing, but we need them ON CAMPUS!! Not as a one time event that’s part of an exempt tournament in another country. If this were a regular game, the arena would NOT be half empty. Anyway, TAMU appears to be good, but hasn’t had a strong test yet. Texas is still adjusting to Shocka Smart’s system and has not yet picked up a big win, so it’s an important early season game both on and off paper.
-VANDERBILT VS KANSAS (Maui Invitational). Both teams have looked good this season, and this is a chance to pick up a very impressive win away from home for whoever pulls this off. Kansas is still without Cheick Diallo and is uncertain when he’ll be available. The reason they are uncertain is because the NCAA sucks when it comes to doing things the effect other people, namely student athletes, in a timely manner.
-SYRACUSE VS CHARLOTTE (Battle 4 Atlantis). Syracuse is unbeaten, but untested. This tournament can serve as an OOC resume builder if they’re able to take care of business and pick up some wins.
-WESTERN KENTUCKY VS DUQUESNE (Gulf Coast Showcase). I’m not entirely sold on Duquesne yet, but they do have just one loss on the year and they can slowly start to build a profile if they can continue to pick up wins in games like this.
-SAMFORD VS IDAHO (Mean Green Showcase). Both teams have been horrible in recent years, but both appear to be much improved early on this year. Both come in 4-1 and Samford just knocked off North Texas, who is hosting this event.
-SOUTH DAKOTA STATE VS CLEVELAND STATE (Cancun Challenge). South Dakota State hasn’t faced a big test yet, but a win today does get them to 6-0.
-HIGH POINT AT GEORGIA. This is a buy game, but it gets highlighted because Georgia, while good, is off to a very slow start and needs to rebound, and High Point is off to a better than expected 3-1 start.
-INDIANA VS UNLV (Maui Invitational). Both teams have been somewhat disappointing in this event, and this game has a rather pivotal feel to it as both try and end things on a high note, especially for UNLV who doesn’t have as many opportunities at notable wins as Indiana will have.
-ILLINOIS STATE VS TCU (Cancun Challenge). Illinois State’s record is an unimpressive 2-3, but they played really well against Maryland the other night and between that and their other games have shown that they have the potential to have a big year. If they beat TCU tonight and even their record at 3-3, they’ll be in fairly good shape.
-YALE AT DUKE. Yale is one of the better teams in the Ivy League, and Duke is one of the better teams in the nation. It’s a mismatch, but it’s still a game of interest due to Yale being a potential tournament team.
-LA SALLE AT PENN (Big Five). I don’t know if either team will play their way into relevance, but La Salle is currently unbeaten and Penn has just one loss. And, it’s a Big Five game, so it gets highlighted.
-WAKE FOREST VS UCLA (Maui Invitational). It’s a resume game between two teams that need to do some resume building.
-MONTANA AT NORTH DAKOTA STATE. I’m a little shocked this wasn’t Chad’s UTR game of the day. I think that both teams have an outside shot at best of landing on or in the bubble, but it’s still a good early season match up.
-MARYLAND VS RHODE ISLAND (Cancun Challenge). It’s at times like this that I hate Rhode Island is injury ridden for the season. It’s still a great test and opportunity for them, but it will be much harder for them to take advantage of it. Maryland, while unbeaten, hasn’t exactly been running over their opponents the way you would expect a top seeded team to, so don’t be surprised if they have to sweat this one out.
-AIR FORCE AT COLORADO (Front Range). Both teams come in with just one loss.
-CONNECTICUT VS MICHIGAN (Battle 4 Atlantis). Michigan struggled big time against Xavier in their last game. If they want to show that they are for real then they need to pick up some wins in this tournament. UConn, who plays in a decent but not great conference, could use this tournament as a huge resume builder as well.
-CREIGHTON VS UMASS (Men Who Speak Up Main Event). I’m not expecting big things out of either team this season, but as of now UMass is unbeaten and Creighton has just one loss.
BUY GAMES
-Vermont @ Florida
-Arkansas @ Oregon
-American @ VCU
-Cornell @ Pittsburgh
-Lehigh @ Virginia
-Hampton @ William & Mary
-Dubuque (nondiv1) @ Northern Iowa
-Prarie View A&M @ Wisconsin
-Mississippi Valley State @ BYU
-Nicholls State @ New Mexico
News, Notes, and Highlighted Games: Thursday, November 26th
Below is a rundown of today’s action, along with a few news and notes
NEWS AND NOTES
-For Chad Sherwood’s Under the Radar Game of the Day – CLICK HERE
-HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!! I hope everyone has a safe and happy Thanksgiving Day, and that you get to enjoy some football and basketball with the family. Hey, if you’ve had too much Holiday Spirit (something I’m quite familiar with) it’s best to just park it on the couch and watch some basketball.
-Indiana did not have a great trip out in Maui losing two of three games to teams like Wake Forest and UNLV, who are questionable teams at best. Fortunately for them, the Big Ten will allow them the opportunities they need to not only make the NCAAs, but still end up as a protected seed. But, it was a missed opportunity, and the rest of their OOC schedule only provides them with one or two more chances at statement wins going in to conference play.
-CHEICK DIALLO HAS BEEN CLEARED TO PLAY FOR KANSAS!!! I’d like to thank the NCAA for their promptness and their sense of urgency to get a young man cleared that, seeing how he was cleared, shouldn’t have had to miss any games in the first place!! Kansas won the Maui Invitational last night with a win over a very strong Vanderbilt team.
-The Battle 4 Atlantis has resurrected three rivalries that have been dormant for quite some time. Gonzaga knocked off Washington without too much trouble, and Texas A&M took care of Texas. Later today, we get to see Syracuse and UConn renew their long time rivalry. Hopefully those two will agree to play regularly in the near future.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES
-ALABAMA VS XAVIER (Advocare Invitational). Xavier is unbeaten and has looked impressive at times. Alabama has just one loss, but it was a blowout loss in the only game they’ve been tested in. The winner will move on to likely face some high caliber competition, and the loser will likely face less than high caliber competition in the loser’s bracket.
-TEXAS A&M VS GONZAGA (Battle 4 Atlantis). Both teams just won rivalry games against teams who’s series have been put on hold. TAMU just knocked off Texas, and Gonzaga just won against Washington. This is probably the biggest test for either team on the season so far, and it’s a chance to pick up a quality win away from home and build the NCAA Tournament resume.
-WICHITA STATE VS USC (Advocare Invitational). USC comes into this game unbeaten, and although all the wins have come at home and none were against high caliber teams, they weren’t all against cupcakes either. If they’re for real, we’ll get to see int his tournament. Wichita State is dealing with a short handed roster and this could prove to be a bigger test than expected.
-ARKANSAS VS GEORGIA TECH (Preseason NIT). I’m not expecting much out of either team, but they have decent records at this point in the year and can build up some momentum if they can do well in this tournament.
-SYRACUSE VS CONNECTICUT (Battle 4 Atlantis). This is another series that needs to resume in the regular season at campus sites, but at least we get a version of it, and it actually is a stakes game for both teams. Both are off to good starts at 4-0, and both could use a notable win away from home on their profile.
-BALL STATE VS UC IRVINE (Wooden Legacy). UC Irvine is unbeaten, and if they want to play their way into a position to be able to make the NCAA Tournament without needing to win the Big West Tournament, then it is hugely important that they do well in this tournament. This is their chance to get notable wins away from home, which I think they’re good enough to do. Boise had a rather bad loss to Montana to open the year, but has looked pretty decent since. This tournament is a chance for them to get some good wins on their profile, which is something they’re gonna need. I know it’s early, but this game really does have a pivotal feel to it.
-STANFORD VS VILLANOVA (Preseason NIT). I don’t think Nova is going to have too much trouble winning this tournament. I’m not expecting much from Stanford, but a win in a game like this could really spring board their season.
-RICHMOND VS WEST VIRGINIA (Las Vegas Invitational). I really like both these teams, but both have some work to do, particularly Richmond. This game, and this event, is a chance for them to get some much needed statement wins.
-WESTERN MICHIGAN VS STEPHEN F AUSTIN (Challenge in Music City). For Chad Sherwood’s UTR Game of the Day CLICK HERE
-NOTRE DAME VS MONMOUTH (Advocare Invitational). I really like this Notre Dame team, but today shouldn’t be a complete cakewalk as Monmouth already has a road win against UCLA.
-BOSTON COLLEGE VS MICHIGAN STATE (Wooden Legacy). We like picking on BC, and for good reason, but they come into this game 3-0 and have a win over a pretty decent Harvard team. I don’t think they’re anywhere close to as good as Michigan State, but if they pull the shocker today they will have made their statement and will have shut us up.
-TEXAS VS WASHINGTON (Battle 4 Atlantis). As it was pointed out by Lee Delvecchio, this is the second time these two have met this year. They’ve met in two different countries, and neither of them was the United States.
-IOWA VS DAYTON (Advocare Invitational). This tournament appears to have five strong NCAA Tournament teams in it, and three sub NIT teams in it. These are two of the tournament teams. That means, this is a hugely important game, especially for a team like Dayton, because winning it awards them the opportunity to likely play against good teams and build their profile, whereas losing it will give them just two blah games away from home.
-EVANSVILLE VS PROVIDENCE (Wooden Legacy). Both teams come in unbeaten, and both appear to be pretty good. It’s an early test for both teams and the winner will likely get to continue to face high quality competition, which is important for building an NCAA Tournament resume, especially for a team like Evansville who will have limited chances after this.
-CHARLOTTE VS MICHIGAN (Battle 4 Atlantis). Michigan is off to a rough start. They need to pick up two wins in the loser’s bracket and get out of here having at least won two games away from home.
-SANTA CLARA VS ARIZONA (Wooden Legacy). If this weren’t a tournament game, it would be a buy game. Santa Clara hasn’t won yet, and Arizona hasn’t lost yet.
-CALIFORNIA VS SAN DIEGO STATE (Las Vegas Invitational). Cal is off to a good start, but this may be their biggest test yet. I say “may be” because San Diego State is someone who we believed to be good, but they’ve been anything but impressive up to this point. This tournament is a chance for them to pick up a win or two of note and turn their season around.