Under the Radar Game of the Day – Friday, January 30, 2015: Yale at Columbia

Posted on January 30, 2015 by Chad

For out latest Bracket Rundown podcast, CLICK HERE.

Yale at Columbia, 8:00 PM Eastern, American Sports Network

At long last, the Ivy League moves into its regular season conference play tonight, being the last conference in the country to truly do so.  While almost every Ivy team has played two league games so far (other than Penn and Princeton who have only played one), those games are against their “travel partners”.  Beginning tonight, and lasting for six weeks, the Ivy begins its normal Friday-Saturday schedule of conference games.  Our UTR Game of the Day heads to New York City as the Columbia Lions host the Yale Bulldogs as the battle to see if anyone can dethrone Harvard (which already has one conference loss, at Dartmouth) begins.

Heading into the season, tonight’s two opponents appeared to be the most likely candidates to take a run at the Crimson.  Yale enters tonight’s game with a 13-6 overall record and a 2-0 mark in conference, having swept their games against Brown.  Yale most notably picked up a huge road victory at defending national champion Connecticut on December 5.  While have lost six games, one was a double overtime loss to in-state rival Quinnipiac, another was a double overtime loss at Vanderbilt, and they were competitive in losses at Providence and at Albany.  We can also certainly forgive the Bulldogs for their loss at “the people’s team”, NJIT — a game that yours truly attended.  Yale’s best player, Justin Sears, suffered an injury very early in that game and did not return.

Tonight, Yale takes on the Columbia Lions, who split their first two Ivy League games of the season with Cornell.  The Lions are 9-7 overall without any wins of true note.  They also have a couple of bad losses, including the Cornell game and a loss at home to Loyola-Maryland.  Columbia did take on the same UConn team that Yale beat, but lost that game by 15 points.  Perhaps the best game the Lions played all season was a 56-46 loss at Kentucky — a game that the Lions hung around in, perhaps mostly because UK seemed to sleepwalk through the first 30+ minutes of it.  If the Lions are going to take a shot at contending with Harvard this season, they will need a win at home tonight over Yale, and may need to win their return trip to Yale later this season as well.  If either of these teams can actually dethrone the Crimson and capture the Ivy League’s automatic bid, it would break one of the longer NCAA tournament droughts in existence.  Columbia has not been in the field since 1968, while Yale has danced since 1962.

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Bracket Rundown: January 29th

Posted on January 30, 2015 by David Griggs

Joby, David and Chad build the latest Hoops HD S Curve, and banter about who they fell would be in the NCAA Tournament if the season ended today, as well as what seed they believe they would get.

 

To check out the the teams after they have been bracketed – CLICK HERE

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

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Highlighted Games for Thursday, Jan 29th

Posted on January 29, 2015 by David Griggs

NEWS AND NOTES

-For our most recent Under the Radar Video Podcast from last night – CLICK HERE

-For a viewing guide of tonight’s games, and all of the games this week, check out Matt Sarzyniak’s site by – CLICKING HERE

-We are hoping to record our Bracket Rundown Podcast this evening, as well as build our most recent bracket projections, so be on the lookout for that.

-I have always been outspoken about how overvalued I thought Duke was, and my reason for that is because they were merely decent and not great on the road.  That is NOT the case this year.  Despite the loss to Notre Dame last night, they took a top ten team to the wall in a true road game.  This is on top of earning road wins at Wisconsin and Louisville.  I’m no less impressed with Duke than I was before despite the loss.  If anything, I could still see them on the #1 line.

 

TONIGHT’S HIGHLIGHTED GAMES

-WESTERN KENTUCKY AT LOUISIANA TECH (Conference USA) (***Spotlight Game***).  It’s both a Hoops HD Spotlight Game, and Chad Sherwood’s UTR Game of the Day.  If there is one game you should watch tonight, it’s this one.  CLICK HERE TO READ CHAD’S WRITE UP. 

-DEPAUL AT PROVIDENCE (Big East).  Providence appears to be safely inside the bubble for now.  De Paul is way outside, but has played better despite a loss in their last game, and can get there if they can string together several wins.  That’s much easier said than done, though.

-MICHIGAN STATE AT RUTGERS (Big Ten).  This is the kind of game Michigan State has to be able to win.

-DAYTON AT UMASS (Atlantic Ten).  Dayton has had a solid season so far, but they’re not to a point to where they can just sit back and relax.  UMass isn’t a tournament team, but they do have a good home record, so Dayton will get some credit if they’re able to win.

-MARYLAND AT OHIO STATE (Big Ten).  Maryland needs some road wins if they want to solidify themselves as a protected seed, and Ohio State needs some wins just to breathe some life into their profile.

-UCONN AT CINCINNATI (American).  UConn is outside the bubble and needs to start stringing together wins just to avoid missing the field.  Cincinnati’s profile is pretty solid, but it certainly has some room for improvement.

-PORTLAND AT GONZAGA (West Coast).  It’s a conference game that will seem like a buy game.

-KENTUCKY AT MISSOURI (SEC).  Kentucky looks to remain atop the rankings and stay on track to get the overall #1 seed.

-UTAH AT UCLA (Pac Twelve).  This is a winnable road game for the Utes, who look like a solid protected seed.

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Under the Radar Game of the Day – Thursday, January 29, 2015: Western Kentucky at Louisiana Tech

Posted on January 29, 2015 by Chad

For our latest Under the Radar podcast, CLICK HERE.

Western Kentucky at Louisiana Tech, 7:00 PM Eastern, CBS Sports Network

The choice for UTR Game of the Day tonight could not have been easier as first place in Conference USA is on the line as the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers take on the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs in one of the conference’s biggest and most important games so far this season.  Western Kentucky has caught our attention (and may be turning a lot more heads if they keep winning), jumping out to a 7-0 start in C-USA play and a 14-5 record overall.  They have won 9 straight games and notably have already picked up wins over Ole Miss, Old Dominion and UTEP this season.  They also took Louisville to the wire, in a game much closer than its 9 point final margin of victory.  While an at-large bid would probably require the Hilltoppers to run the slate in CUSA regular season play, we are not writing them out of that conversation quite yet.

WKU’s opponent tonight is the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs, who enter the game at 6-1 in conference and 15-5 overall.  La Tech was our preseason pick to win CUSA and, at least since conference play began, has been playing up to that billing.  The Bulldogs’ biggest problem was their lack of quality non-conference games.  They were only able to schedule three (at Temple, at Syrcause, and at NC State), and lost them all.  In addition, a non-conference loss at Louisiana-Lafayette and a conference loss at North Texas have probably knocked them out of any serious conversation for an at-large bid.  However, if they want to get back into those talks, or at least make a run at the top seed in the CUSA tournament, the Bulldogs need to win and keep winning.  And they need to start tonight, at home, against the Hilltoppers.

 

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Under the Radar: January 28th

Posted on January 28, 2015 by David Griggs

Chad and David are back for this week’s edition of Under the Radar.  They start the show by talking about the efforts to have UTEP face Kentucky in Cole Fieldhouse next year for the 50th anniversary of when the two faced each other in the national championship, and how the game fell through.  After that, they run through all 23 Under the Radar conferences and discuss the standings, the different conference tournament formats and how the rest of the season will impact them, and the teams like Western Kentucky, Green Bay and SFA that could still end up inside the bubble.

 

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

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Highlighted Games For Wednesday, Jan 28th

Posted on January 28, 2015 by David Griggs

NEWS AND NOTES

-We will be recording our Under the Radar Podcast tonight and should have it posted either later on tonight or early tomorrow.  Be sure and check it out.

 

For a viewing guide of tonight’s games, and all of the games this week, check out Matt Sarzyniak’s site by – CLICKING HERE

TONIGHT’S HIGHLIGHTED GAMES

-SMU AT SOUTH FLORIDA (American).  SMU continues to look better and better as the season progresses, and they have another winnable conference road game tonight.

-SETON HALL AT MARQUETTE (Big East).  There is a real sense of urgency here for Seton Hall.  They’ve kind of hit the skids somewhat, and they’re facing a Marquette team that doesn’t appear to be anywhere close to the tournament.  It really is the kind of road game they need to be able to win.

-ALBANY AT VERMONT (America East).  Chad Sherwood’s UTR Game of the Day, and It’s a Good one.  CLICK HERE TO CHECK IT OUT.

-SOUTH CAROLINA AT LSU (SEC).  There doesn’t seem to be that much national interest in LSU, but they are a very strong team and should improve to 16-4 tonight.

-TEXAS TECH AT OKLAHOMA (Big Twelve).  Oklahoma has played a gauntlet schedule as of late, which is symptomatic of being in the Big Twelve.  To have a winnable game at home is a welcomed change.

-DUKE AT NOTRE DAME (ACC).  This is a very tough road test for Duke, but they already have road wins at Wisconsin and Louisville, and are CLEARLY  a #1 seed caliber team.  If they pick this one up it just furthers that point.

-LOYOLA IL AT WICHITA STATE (Missouri Valley).  Loyola has hit the skids since we last praised them, but they’re still much improved this year. Wichita remains high in the rankings and could potentially end up as a protected seed.

-OREGON STATE AT ARIZONA STATE (Pac Twelve).  With Oregon State being in the top half of the Pac Twelve, with a 5-2 league record and a 14-5 overall record, is it possible that….Nah.  Couldn’t be.  Could it??

-NORTHERN IOWA AT SOUTHERN ILLINOIS (Missouri Valley).  No road game is easy, but Northern Iowa is continuing to blow through the league and climb the rankings.

-KANSAS AT TCU (Big Twelve).  This is a showcase game for a TCU program that, while not good, is noticeably improving.  They’re coming off a frustrating and heartbreaking overtime loss to West Virginia, which would have given them that much more momentum coming into this one.  Expect a more electric crowd than what we’ve seen at TCU in quite some time.

-CLEMSON AT NC STATE (ACC).  NC State is pretty close to the bubble and can’t afford a home loss to a non-tournament team.

-LOUISVILLE AT BOSTON COLLEGE (ACC).  Get the snow shovels out!!  Louisville shouldn’t have too much trouble picking up this road win.  Getting in and out of town may prove to be the bigger challenge.

-GEORGIA TECH AT MIAMI FL (ACC).  Miami is in the rankings, and deservedly so.  They shouldn’t have too much trouble at home against a struggling (and that’s being nice) Georgia Tech team.

-INDIANA AT PURDUE (Big Ten).  Purdue has shown signs of life at several points this season, and they’re liable to be amped up for this rivalry game.  Indiana has had a big year and is a much better team than I thought they’d be, but this won’t be an easy road game for them.

-SAINT JOHN’S AT CREIGHTON (Big East).  Saint John’s needs this road win.  Pure and simple.

-OREGON AT ARIZONA (Pac Twelve).  Oregon has a very outside shot at making the field, and doing so would require them to win a string of games like this one.  Arizona is a top ten caliber team that will finish way up the seed list.

-STANFORD AT WASHINGTON (Pac Twelve).  Washington is shorthanded for the rest of the season, and Stanford has a solid but not outstanding profile.  Any conference road win would help it.

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