Under the Radar Game of the Day: UC-Irvine at Hawai’i, 1:00 AM Eastern (Friday morning), OC Sports/bigwest.tv
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By this time of year, it is rare to find teams that are scheduled to play each other twice in conference regular season play that have not already had one of their two games. It is even rarer to find a situation where those two teams also happen to be the top two teams in the conference. But that is exactly what we have had happen so far this season in the Big West, where UC-Irvine and Hawai’i have clearly pulled away from the rest of the pack and established themselves as the top teams in the conference. And tonight, with a 1:00 AM Friday morning tipoff on the East Coast (8:00 PM tonight on the islands), the two teams finally meet for the first time as both try to make a case for themselves as the potential regular season champions and top seed in the Big West Tournament (they will meet again in Irvine on Saturday the 20th).
The host Rainbow Warriors of Hawai’i enter play tonight at 7-1 in conference play and 18-3 overall. Their RPI is 92, BPI is 71 and KenPom rating is 60. Although they failed to pick up any top 100 wins on the season so far, they looked solid hosting the Diamond Head Classic in December where they defeated Northern Iowa and Auburn and lost by only 3 points to Oklahoma. Their other two losses (at Texas Tech and at home to Long Beach State) were by no means awful. The lack of top wins, however, will probably keep this team out of the at-large bid conversation. If they can sweep both games from Irvine, win the balance of their regular season games and make it to the Big West Tournament finals, there may be a case to be made though. The ‘bows are led by Stefan Jankovic who has had four double-doubles on the season. If he has that type of performance tonight, Hawai’i has a great shot to be sitting alone in first place tomorrow morning.
The Anteaters of UC-Irvine are 7-1 in conference play and 18-6 overall. They have the best RPI in the league at 60, but lower BPI (102) and KenPom (99) numbers than their rival. None of their losses have been awful, all coming against top 100 competition other than a loss at UCSB, who is ranked 101 in the RPI. The Anteaters’ RPI number is actually helped up by two of their losses — at Oregon and at Kansas. As with Hawai’i, they lack in quality wins and if they want to make an at-large bid case they will probably need to win every game from now until the Big West finals. The Anteaters have a solid roster, including guys that can shoot from long range such as Luke Nelson, but when you talk about preparing for this team, you have to talk about Mamadou Ndiaye. The 7-6 300 pound beast down low is a true force capable of altering a team’s gameplan — because if you don’t he could easily be posting triple-double quality numbers with points, rebounds and blocked shots. On top of that, it is no longer a guarantee that you can just foul him and have him miss from the line as Ndiaye has improved his free throw shooting from 43% two years ago as a freshman to 64% this year. Hawai’i needs to be ready to deal with him tonight, or it will be the Anteaters celebrating sole possession of first place.
News, Notes, and Highlighted Games: Wednesday, Feb 10th
Below is a rundown of tonight’s action, as well as a look back at last night.
NEWS AND NOTES
-For Chad Sherwood’s Under the Radar Game of the Day between South Dakota State and Omaha – CLICK HERE
-Xavier fell behind 19-4 for the start of their game against Creighton, and proceeded to go just 1-for-20 from beyond the arc in what turned out to be a decisive loss to a team that isn’t likely to finish anywhere near the field. Chances are this will knock them off the #1 line, unless they’re able to win out and win the Big East Tournament.
-Miami got a big home win against a Pittsburgh team in a game that came down to the wire. Miami continues to look like they’ll end up as a protected seed.
-West Virginia made a few runs at Kansas last night, but for the most part the Jayhawks kept them at arms length and ended up picking up the win at home. Both teams were in the top ten, so I don’t think it really moves either team since Kansas was at home and more highly ranked.
-Dayton needed to overcome a double digit deficit at home against Duquesne in the final five minutes to pull out a close 76-74 win. They are very safely in the field, but a loss like that at home can knock a team off the #4 line.
-Last, but definitely not least, Purdue and Michigan State played an overtime thriller with Purdue holding on to pick up one of their most notable wins of the year. A road win like this for the Spartans would have been huge because the only thing that’s really missing from their profile is a big time road win against highly ranked team.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES
-BUTLER AT SETON HALL (Big East). This game has an extremely pivotal feel for a Butler team that’s right on the bubble, and still below 500 in the Big East. Seton Hall’s profile appears to be healthier at the moment, but there is room for them to improve as well.
-LSU AT SOUTH CAROLINA (SEC). LSU continues to improve, and we now think they have played their way onto the bubble. A win in this game would give their profile a huge boost, which is something they still need since they’re still playing catch up after a rough start to the season. South Carolina scored a huge win over the weekend, so they come into this game with a lot of momentum.
-TEXAS A&M AT ALABAMA (SEC). TAMU has hit a bit of a skid having lost three of their last four. Tonight is a chance to pick up a conference road win and snap out of it.
-NEBRASKA AT WISCONSIN (Big Ten). Wiscy has really been playing well. I think they’ve played their way onto the bubble for now, and will likely play their way into the field if they keep it up. They have a winnable conference game tonight at home against a Nebraska team that is a respectable 6-6 in league play, but it’s still a game Wiscy should win.
-PROVIDENCE AT MARQUETTE (Big East). Providence has been very schizophrenic this year, which is pretty much how they were last year as well. This is a winnable road game for them, but no matter what the strength of the opponent is, one is never certain what Providence is going to do.
-SAINT JOSEPH’S AT GEORGE WASHINGTON (Atlantic Ten). This is a HUGELY important match up between two bubble teams. As far as the overall importance of actually making the NCAA Tournament, this is probably one of the most important games of the day.
-BAYLOR AT KANSAS STATE (Big Twelve). This is another hugely important game. Baylor is trying to play their way up to a protected seed, and these are the kinds of road wins that can help get them there. K State is trying to play their way into the field, and even though they have a lot of losses, none of them are all that bad. If they can hold serve at home and pick up a few road wins between now and the end they could actually sneak into the field.
-IOWA STATE AT TEXAS TECH (Big Twelve). Iowa State is another Big Twelve team that’s looking to end up as a protected seed. This is one of their more winnable road games, so they need to take advantage of it.
-MICHIGAN AT MINNESOTA (Big Ten). Michigan is solidly in the field, but they don’t have a lot of big wins on their profile, so they would be advised to avoid bad losses to teams like Minnesota.
-WASHINGTON AT UTAH (Pac Twelve). this is a huge important game for Washington because they are right on the bubble and they could use a big time road win like this. Utah is safely in the field and if they finish strong they should end up with a good seed.
-SAN DIEGO STATE AT FRESNO STATE (Mountain West). This won’t be the easiest road game for the Aztecs to win. If they win out, I think they should be safe come Selection Sunday, though.