With David away for 7-10 years (parole possible by tomorrow with good behavior), I have been nominated to fill in for him and provide all of today’s highlighted games along with the UTR Game of the Day . . . so here goes:
– SMU at CINCINNATI: With head coach Mick Cronin’s medical issues now forcing him out for the rest of the season, we will find out how the Bearcats react against Larry Brown’s underachievers.
– PITT at NC STATE: Both teams have good records without wins of note, will need to prove themselves in conference play.
– KANSAS STATE at OKLAHOMA STATE: This K State team may be the worst team in the Big XII. Okie State has only lost twice but has yet to beat a solid tournament contender.
– VILLANOVA at SETON HALL: The Pirates knocked off St. John’s on New Year’s Eve and will look to make a huge statement today with the undefeated Wildcats coming in.
– MINNESOTA at MARYLAND: The Terps continue to surprise and if they keep winning may be contending for even more than just a B1G championship. Minnesota has yet to prove it is a legitimate NCAA tournament caliber team.
– SYRACUSE at VIRGINIA TECH: The Orange are down somewhat this year, and therefore cannot afford slip-ups in games like this one, which would be their first win on the season outside of New York state.
– CONNECTICUT at FLORIDA: The Gators have almost no margin for error after literally beating themselves last time out. UConn’s resume could use some solid victories, though they will be favored to win the American’s automatic bid with the conference tournament in Hartford this year.
– TEXAS at TEXAS TECH: A team that believes it may be a contender for a #1 seed needs to roll in a game like this one.
– XAVIER at DePAUL: The Blue Demons have had more of a pulse this season then they have in the past 10 or so combined. That being said, Xavier is looking like a tournament team and needs road wins to boost their resume.
– PROVIDENCE at MARQUETTE: The Golden Eagles may be rebuilding, but this year will be a long one. The Friars need to win games like this if they want to contend for a tournament spot.
– MICHIGAN at PURDUE: Michigan finally won a game in an overtime thriller over Illinois. They would give everything they built from that win back with a loss today, although Purdue did show some grit in their win over Minnesota.
– GEORGIA TECH at NOTRE DAME: The Irish have a bloated record but need to compile more quality wins. Georgia Tech may have a pulse as well, having done enough out of conference to not be totally sunk yet.
– ILLINOIS at OHIO STATE: The Buckeyes may have the best team without a quality resume in the entire country. Their non-conference wins were all without note and the loss earlier this week to Iowa stung. They need to start turning things around today against an Illinois team that is desperate for quality wins as well.
– BAYLOR at OKLAHOMA: Almost every game in Big XII play this season is going to feel like a matchup between two top teams and this one is no exception.
– BUTLER at ST. JOHN’S: Chris Holtmann has been named permanent head coach at Butler. However, the Bulldogs have slipped recently after some early season success and the Johnnies are looking to rebound from the loss at Seton Hall. This could be a tough game for Butler.
– BOSTON COLLEGE at DUKE: Apparently BC is in the ACC. That’s about all we can say about them.
– WEST VIRGINIA at TCU: TCU’s undefeated record should come to an end today, even though they are at home. If they do find a way to win, I will retract most of the negative things I have said about them all season.
– CREIGHTON at GEORGETOWN: Creighton is playing the way we expected them to all season — not very good. Georgetown is looking to bounce back from the loss at Xavier.
– VIRGINIA at MIAMI: The Hurricanes have lost 3 of 5 including a blowout home loss to Eastern Kentucky. All of that can be erased today as they take on one of the best teams in the entire country.
– IOWA STATE vs SOUTH CAROLINA (in Brooklyn): Iowa State’s final non-conference game should net them another win away from home, as long as Angry Frank doesn’t walk away happy.
– PENN STATE at RUTGERS: RU has a chance for their first ever B1G conference win.
– OREGON STATE at OREGON: The Civil War featuring a Ducks team that has no glaringly bad marks on their resume yet. A loss today would be such a mark.
– COLORADO STATE at NEW MEXICO: The Rams put their undefeated record on the line at one of the toughest places for a road team to play in the entire country.
– NORTH CAROLINA at CLEMSON: You may be able to count the total number of times Clemson has ever beaten UNC on one hand. That number should not increase today.
– GONZAGA at PORTLAND: Every WCC road game for the Zags will be their opponent’s biggest home game of the year. That being said, they still shouldn’t lose any of them.
– SAN DIEGO STATE at FRESNO STATE: The Aztecs struggled at home with Air Force earlier this week and need to start playing a lot better if they want to contend for the Mountain West championship.
– BYU at SAN FRANCISCO: BYU still looks like a team that is good enough for an at-large bid, but they need to winn games like this one to be there.
UNDER THE RADAR GAME OF THE DAY
Wofford at Samford, 3:00 PM Eastern, American Sports Network (check local listings)
Today’s UTR Game of the Day comes from Birmingham, Alabama, where the best team in the city (at 7-8 their record is far superior to that other Birmingham team), the Samford Bulldogs, host the Wofford Terriers in SoCon play. Samford is already 0-2 in conference play from early December, though the Bulldogs have won four straight heading into today’s game. The Bulldogs are led by Derius Jones-Gibson and Christian Cunningham.
Wofford (9-4) was the preseason pick to win the SoCon and has played up to that ranking so far this season. The Terriers have already posted a home win over Iona and a road win over North Carolina State, though they were blown out of the buildings in each of their last two games (at West Virginia and at Duke). Due to a scheduling quirk, the Terriers did not play any early December conference games, making today’s contest their first of the season against the SoCon. All indications are that they will dominate the league; however, there is a reason they play the games. Wofford needs to take each game one at time, starting with today’s trip to Birmingham.
Highlighted Games for Monday, Jan 5th
For the most recent edition of the Bracket Racket Podcast – CLICK HERE
For Chad Sherwood’s UTR game of the night – CLICK HERE
For the latest Bracket Projection – CLICK HERE
TONIGHT’S HIGHLIGHTED GAMES
-NOTRE DAME AT NORTH CAROLINA (ACC). Notre Dame has a bloated record and has looked pretty good, but this is by far their toughest test of the year up to this point. Both teams are in the rankings, and both appear to be tournament bound, so it’s a chance to add a quality conference win to the profile.
-WEST VIRGINIA AT TEXAS TECH (Big Twelve). WVA has been impressive this year. It’s never easy to win on the road, and although this won’t be either, it is still one of their more winnable conference road games.
-TEXAS STATE AT GEORGIA STATE (Sun Belt). If Georgia State wins out they may have a shot at landing inside the bubble, but anything short of that and they’re likely needing the automatic bid.
-INDIANA AT MICHIGAN STATE (Big Ten). Indiana has looked more impressive than expected so far, and Michigan State has been more disappointing than expected. It’s a big game for both teams.
-WRIGHT STATE AT GREEN BAY (Horizon League). Green Bay has a shot at an at-large if they win out, but anything short of that and they’ll really be cutting it close.
-OKLAHOMA AT TEXAS (Big Twelve). This is the first edition of the Red River Shootout. It’s a conference rivalry between two ranked teams, so it should be fun.
-NEBRASKA AT IOWA (Big Ten). Iowa is having a much better year than expected, and Nebraska is doing much worse. Nebraska has not looked like an NCAA Tournament team at any point this year, and they need a win like this to turn things around. Iowa, on the other hand, has looked very good.
-SELA AT SFA (Southland). Even winning out for SFA may not be enough, but they should at least get a look if they run the table in league play.