Highlighted Games for Thursday, Feb 5th

-TULSA AT HOUSTON (American).  Houston is coming off a win against UConn, which was their first conference win of the year.  Tulsa is still unbeaten in league play, and can pick up their 7th true road win of the season.

-IOWA AT MICHIGAN (Big Ten).  Iowa is inside the bubble, and Michigan is a mile away from it.  They’ve dropped a number of close games, and that’s what has made the difference.

-AUBURN AT LSU (SEC).  LSU is still in good shape, but they don’t want to lose at home to what appears to be a non-NIT team.

-NORTH TEXAS AT WESTERN KENTUCKY (Conference USA).  If WKU can win out I think they’ve got a chance, but it’s only a chance, and anything short of that pretty much assures they need the automatic bid.

-CINCINNATI AT SMU (American).  SMU is solidly in the field and appears to be getting better and better.  Cincinnati is close to the bubble, especially after losing at East Carolina over the weekend.  A win like this would be huge for their resume.

-UCLA AT STANFORD (Pac Twelve).  Stanford appears to be right on the bubble and simply can’t afford to lose this game.

-GONZAGA AT SANTA CLARA (West Coast).  Gonzaga has been blowing through the West Coast, and I don’t think that’s going to change tonight.

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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.

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Under the Radar Game of the Day – Wednesday, February 4, 2015: Detroit at Valparaiso

For our most recent Under the Radar podcast, CLICK HERE.

Detroit at Valparaiso, 8:00 PM Eastern, espn3

The Valparaiso Crusaders will be trying to stay in a tie for first place in the Horizon League tonight as they host the Detroit Titans in our UTR Game of the Day.  Valpo enters tonight’s game with a record of 20-4 overall and 7-2 in the Horizon.  They have an RPI of 87, BPI of 84 and KenPom rating of 57.  As we discussed in last night’s podcast, this team has an outside chance to get on the Selection Committee’s radar for an at-large bid, but in order to do so cannot afford a loss before the conference tournament.  Of course, winning out during the regular season would also give the Crusaders home court advantage for the conference tournament and a bye into the semifinals, meaning they would probably be favored to win it, even over the likes of Green Bay and Cleveland State, whom they are tied with at the top of the conference standings for now.

Detroit enters today’s game a somewhat disappointing 4-5 in conference play and 11-13 overall.  Their RPI is now at 206, while their BPI is 172 and KenPom is 170, all numbers a lot worse than we had expected for this team.  While they did beat a solid Toledo team and played well against Wichita State, conference losses to Wright State and Milwaukee have really set this team back in the past couple of weeks.  The Titans are led by Juwan Howard, Jr. who has been in double digits in scoring all but twice this season.  Despite their record, the Titans can still be a very dangerous team for the top contenders in the Horizon League the rest of the season, and should give Valpo all they can handle tonight.

 

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Under the Radar: February 3rd

Chad and David once again run through all of the 26 non-power conferences, go through their UTR Top Ten, and preview this week’s upcoming notable games.

 

And for all of you radio fans out there, below is an mp3 version of the show…

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Highlighted Games for Tuesday, Feb 3rd

NEWS AND NOTES (and Links)

-We will be recording our Under the Radar Podcast tonight instead of tomorrow night due to conflicts.

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

-For our most recent Bracket Racket Podcast – CLICK HERE

 

TONIGHT’S HIGHLIGHTED GAMES

-SAINT JOHN’S AT BUTLER (Big East).  The Johnnies desperately need a big win to stabilize their profile and keep it from crashing.  Winning at Butler would certainly do it.  Butler’s profile is looking more and more like a protected seed.

-INDIANA AT WISCONSIN (Big Ten).  Both teams look like tournament teams.  Wisky looks like a #2 seed, and Indiana looks like they’re inside the bubble, but definitely with room to improve.  This is the kind of win that would skyrocket the Hoosier profile.

-GEORIA AT KENTUCKY (SEC).  Georgia is coming off a disappointing loss, but as of now they still look pretty good.  Losing this game won’t hurt them, and winning it would catapult them so far inside the bubble that you can’t even say they’re on the bubble anymore.

-MISSISSIPPI STATE AT TENNESSEE (SEC).  This Tennessee team is squarely on the bubble.  I don’t even think they’re that good, but the Hoops HD consensus does.  One thing we can agree on is that losing at home to non-NIT teams like Mississippi State will get you very far outside the bubble very quickly.

-NORTHERN IOWA AT INDIANA STATE (Missouri Valley).  Northern Iowa is ranked #14, and I think they’re as good as their ranking.  We praised them all over the place last night after their decisive win against Wichita State.  For that reason, don’t be surprised if they stub their toes against the Trees tonight.

-DELAWARE STATE AT NJIT.  The team of the people is trying for their second win in just 24 hours!!!  A win will get them to 14-10 overall, and hopefully one step closer to a postseason tournament.  CIT, are you watching??!

-WEST VIRGINIA AT OKLAHOMA (Big Twelve).  Two ranked teams who could end up as protected seeds are facing off in the Big Twelve.  What else is new?

-LOUISVILLE AT MIAMI FL (ACC).  Louisville is a solid team that should safely end up as a protected seed.  Miami is the most inconsistent team I have ever seen in the history of college basketball.  Louisville could pull this off, or blow out Miami, or get blown out by Miami.  One is never sure.

-NC STATE AT WAKE FOREST (ACC).  NC State has a lot of work to do, but the opportunities are there for them to impress the committee.  Whether the ability is there or not remains to be seen.

-VIRGINIA TECH AT SYRACUSE (ACC).  Syracuse is on the bubble and can’t afford to lose at home to a non NIT team.

-SETON HALL AT DEPAUL (Big East).  Seton Hall appears to be pretty safe, but adding road wins never hurt anything.

-FLORIDA AT VANDERBILT (SEC).  If the Gators want any chance at all of landing inside the bubble, they need to win games of this caliber.

-SOUTH CAROLINA AT ARKANSAS (SEC).  Arkansas has had a great year and should be able to get this one at home tonight.

-RUTGERS AT ILLINOIS (Big Ten).  Illinois has a lot of work to do, and a loss today would hurt them tremendously.

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Under the Radar Game of the Day – Tuesday, February 3, 2015: Radford at High Point

For our most recent Bracket Racket podcast, CLICK HERE.

Radford at High Point, 7:00 PM Eastern, espn3

High Point, North Carolina is tonight’s UTR Game of the Day destination as the Big South-leading High Point Panthers welcome the second place Radford Highlanders in for a huge conference showdown.  High Point enters tonight’s game at 8-2 in conference play and 17-5 overall.  They have won 8 of their last 9 games, with the only loss in that stretch coming at Radford back on January 22.  The Panthers are led by John Brown, arguably one of the top Under the Radar players in the entire country.  Brown has only been held to single digit scoring twice all season, once in a home win over non-D1 Ferrum when he only played 18 minutes and the other time being last game out in a blowout win over Liberty.

Radford enters tonight’s game at 16-7 overall and 7-3 in conference, tied with Charleston Southern and UNC-Asheville for second place (and notably a game ahead of one-time conference favorite Coastal Carolina).  The Highlanders have won seven straight games after starting Big South play 0-3.  Javonte Green has been leading the way for Radford, scoring in double digits in every Big South game so far, including registering a double-double in the team’s first game against High Point.  His team will be looking for the season sweep of High Point tonight.  If they can pick it up, the Highlanders will be in great position to win any potential tiebreakers and try to make a run at the top seed on the Big South conference tournament.  Should they lose, High Point will open up a two game lead on them and Radford will clearly have their work cut out the rest of the season if they want to claim the conference regular season title.

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