Under the Radar Game of the Day – Monday, January 19, 2015: Louisiana-Monroe at Louisiana-Lafayette

Louisiana-Monroe at Louisiana-Lafayette, 8:15 PM Eastern, No TV

The UTR game of the day returns to Lafayette, Louisiana tonight for a battle for first place in the Sun Belt Conference that (once again) does not involve preseason favorite Georgia State.  The host Ragin’ Cajuns enter tonight’s game at 4-2 in Sun Belt play and 10-7 overall, good enough to be tied for second place with Georgia Southern.  They are looking to snap out of a two game losing streak, having fallen to Georgia Southern in an UTR Game of the Day matchup last week and South Alabama over the weekend.  Despite the two losses, they can jump back into a first place tie with a victory tonight.

The Warhawks of Louisiana-Monroe have quietly taken over first place in the Sun Belt heading into tonight’s game.  They enter at 11-6 overall and 5-1 in conference play, with their five wins having come in their last five games.  The Warhawks are led offensively by Tylor Ongwae and Marvin Williams.  Ongwae has scored in double digits every game this season, and eclipsed the 20 point mark in 13 of 16 contests.  Williams has been coming on strong in recent games, having scored in double digits in 4 of the last 5, including topping 20 points twice.  Both players will need to perform well tonight for the Warhawks to claim their best road conference win of the season to date.

 

 

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Highlighted Games for Sunday, Jan 18th

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-INDIANA AT ILLINOIS (Big Ten).  Both teams are good, but both still have a lot of work to do if they want to feel safe in March.

-SAINT JOHN’S AT DEPAUL (Big East).  Road wins in this league come at a premium, but this is one of the more winnable road games the Johnnies could have.  They’ve had a good year, but are just 1-3 in league play and really need to pick this one up.

-LOYOLA IL AT SOUTHERN ILLINOIS (Missouri Valley).  Loyola is much improved, and has an outside shot at landing inside the bubble if they can finish strong.

-VIRGINIA TECH AT NORTH CAROLINA (ACC).  UNC has improveda  lot as the year has gone on, and I don’t think they’ll have too much trouble picking up this one at home.

-OREGON AT WASHINGTON (Pac Twelve).  Most outside the region probably don’t realize it, but the temperature of this rivalry is pretty high.  It’s also a very important game on paper as well.  Both are on the bubble, and despite a great start to the season, Washington is just 1-3 in league play, so there is a sense of urgency for both teams

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Under the Radar Game of the Day – Sunday, January 18, 2015: St. Francis (BK) at St. Francis (PA)

St. Francis College (Brooklyn) at St. Francis University (Pennsylvania), 2:00 PM Eastern, free streaming at necfrontrow.com

It is the battle of the St. Francis schools this afternoon as the UTR Game of the Day returns to the Northeast Conference.  The St. Francis (Brooklyn) Terriers will be in Loretto, Pennsylvania to take on the Red Flash from St. Francis (Pennsylvania).  The Terriers are coming off of a win Friday evening at Robert Morris and will be looking to sweep their trip through PA today.  They currently sit at 4-1 in NEC play and 10-8 overall.  KenPom continues to have the Terriers rated as the best team in the Northeast Conference.

The Red Flash are also 4-1 in conference, meaning that the winner of today’s game will improve to 5-1 and move into a tie with Bryant for first place in the conference standings.  SFPA is 10-6 overall with the top RPI among NEC teams at 99.  The Red Flash had four players with double digit scoring in their win over Sacred Heart Friday night and will be looking to continue their balanced attack in this afternoon’s contest.  Whichever St. Francis team wins today will have an advantage moving forwards through the NEC season in pursuit of the regular season title and home court advantage throughout the NEC tournament that comes with it.

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Under the Radar Game of the Day – Saturday, January 17, 2015: Eastern Washington at Sacramento State

For the rest of today’s highlighted action, CLICK HERE.

Eastern Washington at Sacramento State, 10:00 PM Eastern, free streaming at bigskyconf.com

The UTR Game of the Day heads to Sacramento, California tonight as first place is on the line in the Big Sky Conference.  The Eastern Washington Eagles enter tonight’s game at 13-4 overall and 4-0 in conference play.  They have the top RPI, BPI and KenPom ratings in the conference, with the RPI sitting at a very solid 55.  Their most notable win, of course, was back in November at Indiana.  The Eagles’ four losses have all been respectable as well: at SMU, at Washington, at Cal and at Sam Houston State.  While even winning out might not be enough for the Eagles to be in any serious at-large bid conversations should they slip in in the Big Sky tournament, a solid seed for an Under the Radar team, possibly as high as the 13 line, may be within their grasps.  And we should not forget that winning the Big Sky regular season title will give the Eagles the added advantage of getting to host the conference tournament, and thus getting the best shot at winning the automatic bid.

Tonight’s game for the Eagles is at Sacramento State, and may be their toughest in-conference road game of the year (especially with traditional Big Sky powers Montana and Weber State both having down seasons).  At 10-6, the Hornets are the only other Big Sky team with a record more than one game over the .500 mark.  They are 4-1 in conference play so far, having dropped a game at Northern Colorado last weekend.  While the Hornets do not have any truly notable wins, they have been playing well so far in Big Sky play and were among our preseason favorites in this conference.  Even if the Hornets cannot stay close to Eastern Washington in the conference race this season, they should have a very good chance at a winning record, something they have never done at the Division I level (15-15 in 2005-06 was their best to date).  It may also get them consideration for a postseason berth in the CBI or CIT, which would be the program’s first ever D1 postseason tournament.  An upset win over Eastern Washington tonight would go a long way towards just such a finish.

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Highlighted Games for Saturday, Jan 17th

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HIGHLIGHTED GAMES

-DUKE AT LOUISVILLE (ACC) (***Spotlight Game***).  Both teams are potential #1 seeds, and both are playing for preferential geographic placements in the NCAA Tournament.  Duke has one huge road win already.  This would go a long way toward them getting a #1 seed if they picked up a second one.

-UTAH AT ARIZONA (Pac Twelve) (***Spotlight Game***).  I really like this Utah team, and if they can win today, I think it shows they belong at least on the #2 line, which is where they have them.  Both these teams are really good.  It should be a fun one.

-BYU AT SAINT MARY’S (West Coast) (***Spotlight Game***).  A very late and very bubblicious game tonight.  Both teams REALLY need to win this one.  Both are either on or outside the bubble, and both need quality wins.

-TULSA AT SOUTH FLORIDA (Conference USA).  I’m not sold on Tulsa yet at all, but they’ve played well in conference and if they go on a roll they may get close to the bubble.

-MARQUETTE AT XAVIER (Big East).  Xavier continues to be great at home and awful on the road.  They’re right inside the bubble and need to keep taking care of business on their home court, but until they win some road games they’re in real trouble.

-SFA AT ABILENE CHRISTIAN (Southland).  We say it all the time, but if SFA wins out they have a chance.

-TEXAS A&M AT LSU (SEC).  I like this LSU team, but they don’t always play up to their ceiling.  Still, I think they’re safely inside the bubble.

-SAINT LOUIS AT DAYTON (Atlantic Ten).  Dayton continues to take care of business and win the games they’re expected to win.

-NC STATE AT FLORIDA STATE (ACC).  I still think this NC State team has work to do, but they’ve looked much better lately.  This is a winnable road game for them.  Speaking of winnable road games…

-VIRGINIA AT BOSTON COLLEGE (ACC).  I like Virginia as a #1 seed caliber team and will be shocked if they have any trouble in this one.

-MIAMI FL AT NOTRE DAME (ACC).  Both teams are really good, and I think rather safely inside the bubble despite Miami’s inconsistent play at times.  Both teams come in with a lot of momentum.

-WICHITA STATE AT EVANSVILLE (Missouri Valley).  This isn’t likely to be a walk in the park for Wichita.  Evansville is a pretty good team who will likely be very tough to beat at home.

-VCU AT DUQUESNE (Atlantic Ten).  We have VCU on the #3 line, which seems high.  I can safely say if they lose this one we will not have them up there next week.

-OHIO STATE AT IOWA (Big Ten).  Both teams are good, but both have a lot of room for improvement.

-FLORIDA AT GEORGIA (SEC).  Georgia is right on the bubble and Florida is way outside of it.  Both teams really need this one.

-BAYLOR AT KANSAS STATE (Big Twelve).  This is one of the easier road games Baylor will have, and it’s not THAT easy.

-NJIT AT DARTMOUTH.  Our adopted and beloved team, which is also the team of all the people out there, NJIT, can improve to 11-9 with a win on the road today, and be on pace to make a postseason tournament.

-GREEN BAY AT DETROIT (Horizon League).  Green Bay is coming off a very damaging loss to Oakland.  They may be out of strikes as far as an at-large goes.  If they lose this one, they definitely will be.

-KENTUCKY AT ALABAMA (SEC).  Will Kentucky sleep walk and win, or will they win in a blowout??  Alabama is a respectable 12-4, and a high profile win like this will boost their profile.

-GONZAGA AT LMU (West Coast).  Gonzaga is looking like a #1 seed caliber team.

-MICHIGAN STATE AT MARYLAND (Big Ten).  Maryland is having a fantastic year and should get a huge home crowd for this one.  Michigan State is inside the bubble, but close to it, which is not where they’re used to being.  An upset win in a game like that would be huge for them, though.

-TCU AT TEXAS TECH (Big Twelve).  Are we still talking about TCU??  If they lose this game, we won’t be.

-EAST CAROLINA AT SMU (American).  SMU has improved as the year has gone on, and now appears to be the best team in the AAC.

-SYRACUSE AT CLEMSON (AAC).  I’m not overly impressed with Syracuse when I watch them play, but they keep winning, so they’re kinda hard not to like.

-MIDDLE TENNESSEE AT LOUISIANA TECH (Conference USA).  After last night’s discussion, we’ve decided that LA Tech is good enough to land on the bubble if they win out, and that they’re good enough to win out.  After we said that, they had to sweat out a rather mediocre UAB team at home.

-VANDERBILT AT MISSISSIPPI STATE (SEC).  Vandy is having a quiet year, but they’re 11-5 and can pick up another road win tonight.

-GEORGE MASON AT GEORGE WASHINGTON (Atlantic Ten).  Since winning the Diamondhead Classic, GW has had to sweat out several teams that are nowhere close to the field, but for the most part they’ve survived.

-BUTLER AT GEORGETOWN (Big East).  This is the second meeting between these two, but the first conference game.  Butler has been inconsistent this year, but they have some big wins away from home so their profile looks really solid.

-DAVIDSON AT RICHMOND (Atlantic Ten).  Davidson has a bloated record against a weak schedule, but they can still get onto the bubble.  This the kind of game they need to be able to win to do it, though.

-UNLV AT SAN DIEGO STATE (Mountain West).  SDSU is tough to beat at home, and UNLV has not looked good lately.  As much as a big win like this would turn their season around, it doesn’t look too likely right now.

-WEST VIRGINIA AT TEXAS (Big Twelve).  West Virginia continues to improve.  If they can pick up a road win like this it will really jack up the value of their resume.

-VILLANOVA AT PENN (Big Five).  Nova should roll.

-OKLAHOMA STATE AT OKLAHOMA (Big Twelve).  BEDLAM!!!!!  It happens twice a year, and it’s never boring!!  Both teams are in the rankings, and both could use a big win to boos their resumes.  To get a big win over a rival would feel extra good.  This one will be fun.

-WYOMING AT FRESNO STATE (Mountain West).  Wyoming is in the rankings, but the rest of their profile is somewhat underwhelming.  This is the kind of game that tournament teams are expected to win.

-NORTH TEXAS AT OLD DOMINION (Conference USA).  If ODU won out it would not surprise me.  They’re really good.

-TEMPLE AT CINCINNATI (American).  Temple is on the bubble, and needs this win.  Cincinnati is outside the bubble, and needs this win.

-PROVIDENCE AT CREIGHTON (Big East).  Providence is looking better, but this won’t be an easy road game for them.  There is no such thing in this league.

-NORTHWESTERN AT MICHIGAN (Big Ten).  Michigan has a lot of work to do if they want to make the field.

-SOUTH CAROLINA AT AUBURN (SEC).  We currently have South Carolina right on the bubble, and this is the kind of road game they need to be able to pull off if they want to make the dance.

-KANSAS AT IOWA STATE (Big Twelve).  It’s two highly ranked teams that should end up high on the s curve, both of whom seem to be improving as the year goes along.

-UCONN AT STANFORD.  A little showcase OOC action.  UConn needs this win, and several others, just to get back into the picture.  Stanford is inside the bubble and should be able to beat teams that are not at home.

-OLE MISS AT ARKANSAS (SEC).  Arkansas has been very good this season, especially at home.

-COLORADO STATE AT SAN JOSE STATE (Mountain West).  SJSU is a very weak opponent that Colorado State simply cannot afford to lose to.

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Under the Radar Game of the Day – Friday, January 16, 2015: St. Francis (Brooklyn) at Robert Morris

For our latest Bracket Rundown, CLICK HERE.

St. Francis College (Brooklyn) at Robert Morris, 9:00 PM Eastern, ESPNU

The UTR Game of the Day heads to Western Pennsylvania tonight as two of the four teams currently battling for first place in the Northeast Conference matchup in a nationally televised game.  The Terriers from Brooklyn’s St. Francis College enter tonight’s contest at 3-1 in NEC play and 9-8 overall.  Their KenPom rating of 157 is best in the Northeast Conference, though their most notable win was probably only a road win at Monmouth.  The Terriers are led offensively by Jalen Cannon, who has scored 19 points in each of his team’s last two games while pulling down 9 and 11 rebounds respectively.  He is a legitimate double-double threat every time out and may need to get there tonight for his team to win.

Robert Morris enters tonight’s game at 3-1 in conference and 7-9 overall.  The Colonials are coming off back-to-back road wins in conference play, at Wagner and at Central Connecticut.  Marquise Reed has been playing exceptionally well for them recently, including a 22 point effort against St. Francis (PA).  Also keep an eye on one of our favorite players (due to his name), Lucky Jones.  Lucky has scored 18 points in each of the last two games.  If both he and Marquise can put together solid games, the Colonials could take a step towards the top of the standings tonight.

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