For the rest of today’s highlighted action, CLICK HERE.
UC-Davis at UC-Irvine, 10:00 PM Eastern, espn3
The UTR Game of the Day heads to Irvine, California tonight for a first place battle in the Big West Conference. Entering play tonight, UC-Davis, UC-Irvine and Long Beach State are locked in a three way tie for first place at 6-1 in league play. With Long Beach scheduled to host UC-Riverside tonight, this game may decide which team remains tied with the 49ers at the top of the standings and which one will have to start playing catch up.
The UC-Davis Aggies are currently 16-4 on the season, though have done so against the #290 Strength of Schedule in the country (as opposed to Long Beach’s #38 SOS). Regardless of their SOS this has already been the most successful season in Davis’ short D1 history and they can build on that with a road victory tonight. Given that they already have a head-to-head win over Long Beach under their belts, a win tonight will also give the Aggies the early lead in the battle for any potential Big West conference tournament seeding tiebreakers. Corey Hawkins has been leading the way for Davis this season with 59 made three pointers and double digits in scoring every game out so far.
UC-Irvine is currently 13-8 overall with the best BPI and KenPom ratings in the conference (though they are behind Long Beach in the RPI). The Anteaters, who like UC-Davis are seeking their first ever NCAA tournament appearance, enter tonight’s contest on a six game winning streak. Irvine’s recent success has been especially surprising given the continuing injuries that have kept their 7-6 300 pound big man, Mamadou Ndiaye, out of the lineup. The Anteaters have been led by the combined efforts of Will Davis, Alex Young and Luke Nelson, and will need solid games from all three tonight in order to remain tied for first place.
Highlighted Games for Wednesday, Feb 4th
LINKS
-For Chad Sherwood’s UTR Game of the Day – CLICK HERE
-For our latest Under the Radar Podcast – CLICK HERE
TONIGHT’S HIGHLIGHTED GAMES
-COLORADO STATE AT WYOMING (Mountain West, Front Range) (***Spotlight Game)***. This is probably the game of the night. It’s two bubble teams that are in the same conference, so it’s important on paper. It’s a rather bitter rivalry as well, so it’s important off paper. The first game was fun to watch, and tonight’s should be as well.
-OHIO STATE AT PURDUE (Big Ten). Purdue is way outside the bubble now, but they’ve been playing well and they have a long stretch of winnable games in front of them. With the way they’re playing and their upcoming schedule, don’t be surprised if they end up in the picture. Ohio State, on the other hand, could use a road win to boost their profile.
-GEORGIA TECH AT DUKE (ACC). Duke is playing like one of the best teams in the country right now, and shouldn’t have any trouble tonight.
-BOSTON COLLEGE AT NOTRE DAME (ACC). Notre Dame continues to pile up wins, but the weak OOC schedule still drags them down somewhat. They shouldn’t have too much trouble pulling this one off tonight.
-MARQUETTE AT VILLANOVA (Big East). Nova continues to look like a #2 seed caliber team, and Marquette continues to look like a team that won’t get close to the NIT.
-SAINT BONAVENTURE AT DAVIDSON (Atlantic Ten). Davidson is outside of the bubble and running out of strikes. Losing to yet another non-tournament team will kill them.
-TEXAS A&M AT OLE MISS (SEC). HUGELY important game between two bubble teams in the SEC. It’s possible that one or both will get in, but depending on how it plays out it’s possible that one or both will also miss the field, so this is a very high stakes game.
-VCU AT GEORGE MASON (Atlantic Ten). I remember when this was a CAA rivalry game. It’s VCU’s first game since the injury, and it will be interesting to see how they respond.
-OKLAHOMA STATE AT TEXAS (Big Twelve). Texas is on a downward spiral, but only somewhat because none of their losses have been bad. With that being said, they need to pick this one up at home in order to come out of it.
-WICHITA STATE AT BRADLEY (Missouri Valley). This is a very winnable road game for Wichita State.
-TCU AT BAYLOR (Big Twelve). TCU is just 1-7 in league play, but they are tougher to beat than what their conference record indicates. This is turning in to a nice little rivalry and it should be another fun one tonight.
-PENN STATE AT MARYLAND (Big Ten). Maryland shouldn’t have too much trouble picking up the win and improving to 7-3 in league play.
-KANSAS STATE AT TEXAS TECH (Big Twelve). I’m still not seeing it in Kansas State, but the rest of the Hoops HD contingency does. One thing that’s for certain is that they need to win tonight.
-CREIGHTON AT XAVIER (Big East). Creighton is in a complete nose dive and I don’t expect Xavier to have too much trouble picing this one up at home.
-PROVIDENCE AT GEORGETOWN (Big East). These are two of the better teams in the league….at least on most nights. Providence is very schizophrenic and you’re never sure what they’ll do. Nevertheless, both teams appear to be safe right now and have a chance to add another quality conference win to their profile tonight.
-WASHINGTON AT OREGON (Pac Twelve). Both teams are on the outside looking in and need to win this one if they want any shot at all.
-SAN DIEGO STATE AT NEVADA (Mountain West). It’s never easy to go on the road, but it’s one that I think SDSU should be able to pick up.