This week, David and Chad look at the situation at UAB with the school dropping its football program, and the potential impact it could have on basketball. They also go through and look at all the UTR teams that are off to a good start and talk about whether or not they are for real. We then go through this week’s top ten, and preview the notable upcoming match-ups.
And for all of you radio lovers out there, below is an mp3 version of the show….
PUPPET RAMBLINGS
-More often than not, I feel that Duke is overvalued. They are a top five caliber team at home, and since they play so many home games they oftentimes look like a top five caliber team. In the past, they have been only decent (if that) in true road games. For instance, last year they were 4-5 in true road games, and the only NCAA Tournament team they beat was Pitt. That’s not bad, but it’s not top five, which is where they are generally ranked. In the NCAA Tournament, they faced Mercer away from home, and lost that as well. The year before they were just 5-4 on the road, had to sweat out wins against weak teams such as Wake Forest and Boston College, and again only had one win against a tournament team, and that was North Carolina.
Well, last night, they get a MONSTER road win, and I was VERY impressed. Do not be surprised if it is the best true road win that any team is able to manage. That is a solid, #1 seed caliber win. Wow!
-Colorado State is now 7-0. Someone needs to make sure their fans are aware of that. Last night, they were hosting UTEP, who is another good team, and the place looked half empty. When you’re unbeaten and hosting a good team, you should be rammed full (pun intended). Colorado State did win the game.
-Wichita State’s regular season winning streak that dated back to March of 2013 is now over. They jumped out ahead of a very good Utah team on the road, but just couldn’t hold on. I’m still sold on them being a very good team. I was more impressed with Utah than disappointed in Wichita State. Beating ranked teams on the road is not easy to do.
-Louisville’s defense is very impressive. They picked up a big win against Ohio State, who looked awful early, but was able to fight their way back in it despite being on the road. Again, I’m more impressed with Louisville, particularly defensively, than discouraged about Ohio State after that one.
TONIGHT’S HIGHLIGHTED GAMES
-LSU AT WEST VIRGINIA. West Virginia is off to a fantastic start, and LSU is off to an okay start. If LSU wants to kick down the door to the NCAA Tournament then these are the kinds of wins they need on their profile.
-BAYLOR AT VANDERBILT. Both teams come into this game with just one loss, and Baylor has looked rather impressive this year.
-WESTERN ILLINOIS AT AKRON. Akron has two losses and I don’t know how much we like their at-large chances at this point, but they are down to having very few (if any) strikes left and cannot afford a loss like this.
-GREEN BAY AT GEORGIA STATE. Fantastic game tonight. Read all about it here in our UNDER THE RADAR GAME OF THE NIGHT.
-ARKANSAS AT IOWA STATE. Two teams that are in the rankings and looking for a win of note. Arkansas, who has been terrible on the road in recent years, already has a notable road win at SMU. This will likely be an even bigger challenge.
-TCU AT OLE MISS. Chances are there is nothing to see here, but TCU is currently unbeaten and Ole Miss has just one loss, and that was the season opener.
-SAN DIEGO AT SAN DIEGO STATE. This appears to be a mismatch, but oftentimes this is a better game than what you would expect.
Green Bay at Georgia State, 7:00 PM Eastern, No TV
The UTR Game of the Day heads south tonight, to Atlanta, Georgia for a matchup between two of the better Under the Radar teams this season, Green Bay and Georgia State. The Green Bay Phoenix have been particularly impressive so far this season, with their lone loss coming at Wisconsin. They already have registered wins over two other teams that we have been tracking this year, Evansville and Florida Gulf Coast, en route to winning the Gulf Coast Showcase championship. Their 5-1 start is the program’s best in 23 years. Keifer Sykes has led the way so for Green Bay, averaging 18 points per game.
Georgia State will be placing their 14 game home court winning streak on the line in this game, the first of two against Green Bay this season (the two teams will play again in Green Bay on December 27). The Panthers enter at 5-2, with their losses having coming at Iowa State and at Colorado State. They are led by R.J. Hunter, Ryan Harrow and former Louisville standout Kevin Ware, whose injury in the 2013 NCAA tournament served as a rallying point for the Cardinals in their run to the national championship. Other than their two games with Green Bay and a trip in two weeks to Old Dominion, the Panthers will not have the chances to make a mark in non-conference play, meaning that tonight’s home contest is pretty much a must win if they want to be in the discussion for an at-large bid.
UNDER THE RADAR GAME OF THE DAY
Hartford at Vermont, 7:00 PM Eastern, uvmathletics.com
The UTR Game of the Day had a lot of great destinations to choose from tonight, including the huge showdown between Northeastern and Harvard, and an intriguing matchup between Yale and Bryant, not to mention our adopted team (NJIT) on the road at UMass-Lowell. However, it is tough to pass up a trip to one of the most Under the Radar college cities in the country: Burlington, Vermont. You just can’t beat a walk down Church Street Marketplace or along the shores of Lake Champlain. And one cannot go to Burlington without grabbing a meal at the Skinny Pancake, taking a tour of the Magic Hat Brewery, or taking a short drive to the Ben and Jerry’s ice cream factory. If the weather is nice enough, a ferry ride across the lake and a trip to Plattsburgh, NY is worth it just for the chance to grab a couple Red Hots with Michigan sauce.
After all that packed into a day, the best way to cap it off is to attend the first America East conference game of the season as preseason favorite Hartford comes to town to take on the defending regular season champion Catamounts. Vermont is 3-2 so far this year, but undefeated in two home contests coming into tonight’s game. Harftord, on the other hand, enters the game at 5-2, including a road win over a Quinnipiac team that beat Vermont their last time out. The Hawks have never made an NCAA tournament. If they are able to pick up a road win tonight in Burlington, they will definitely be sending an early message to the entire conference that they are a legitimate contender to Dance this season.
OTHER HIGHLIGHTED GAMES
Temple at St. Joe’s — A Philadelphia Big 5 showdown between two teams that need quality wins.
Butler at Indiana State — A road test for the surprising Bulldogs against an in-state rival.
Northeastern at Harvard — A huge Boston showdown between two of the top Under the Radar teams so far this year. Don’t be surprised if Harvard is back in the top 25 soon.
Michigan State at Notre Dame — Two teams that have played even better than expected so far this season.
Virginia Tech at Penn State — Hey, it’s part of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
Iowa at North Carolina — The Tar Heels look to be too much for the Hawkeyes on paper.
Yale at Bryant — A battle in New England between teams that should be near the top of their conference standings.
Old Dominion at George Mason — ODU is off to a surprisingly good start and will look to add another scalp tonight.
UNLV at Arizona State — I am not yet ready to give up on the Sun Devils, who don’t have any overly bad losses yet. UNLV has not played well, which is not too surprising given their youth.
Villanova at La Salle — The second half of a Big 5 doubleheader on CBS Sports Network, the Wildcats should roll in this one.
Auburn at Texas Tech — The first game of the SEC/Big 12 Challenge. Ever hear of Can’t Miss TV? This may be Can’t Watch TV.
New Mexico State at New Mexico — A huge rivalry matchup. With the Lobos down this season, this game could go either way.
Virginia at Maryland — If Dez Wells were healthy, this would be a great game. Without him, the Cavaliers should win without too much trouble.
Georgia Tech at Northwestern — Northwestern is undefeated at home, but only by getting a last second win over North Florida and an overtime win against Elon. The Yellow Jackets are slightly (and maybe only slightly) better than those two teams.
Duke at Wisconsin — If you aren’t excited about this game, you probably need to get to the hospital because you may be dead.
San Francisco at Colorado — What David would call a buy game, though the Dons have played tough so far this year.
Montana at California — If Cal is a tournament team, they need to roll the Grizzlies here.
Loyola Marymount at USC — If Andy Enfield is a legitimate head coach, USC needs to roll in this one too.
Idaho at Washington State — Buy game
CS-Fullerton at UCLA — Buy game
Mississippi Valley State at Oregon State — Buy game
Concordia at Oregon — Why does an alleged major program schedule non-D1 regular season games?
Wichita State at Utah — Don’t go to bed after the Duke-Wisconsin game. This should be another great one, and may be one of Wichita’s best non-conference games all season (though they are in the Diamond Head Classic and could get another good game or two there).
-OHIO STATE AT LOUISVILLE. This is easily the biggest test for either team so far, and it will be one of the bigger tests either program has out of conference. Both teams are looking to be protected seeds, and these are the kinds of games they need to win. Louisville is a site for the round of 64/32. Unfortunately for Louisville, they can’t play there, but it wouldn’t be a bad place for Ohio State to land.
-ILLINOIS AT MIAMI FL. Both teams are in the rankings, and both really should be despite beginning the season without a whole lot of national interest. I think both of these teams will land way inside the bubble, and it’s a chance for both of them to pick up a quality win.
-SFA AT MEMPHIS. If SFA wants any chance at all of making the NCAA Tournament without the automatic bid, they need this win. Even that may not be enough.
-PITTSBURGH AT INDIANA. I don’t expect either team to end up inside the bubble, but for now they both have decent records.
-UMASS AT LSU. Both teams have gotten off to decent, but not great, starts, and could really use this one.
-SYRACUSE AT MICHIGAN. Michigan didn’t look great in their first few games, but they appear to have improved. Syracuse just has one loss, but they still haven’t had a strong statement win like this would be. It’s a good early test for both teams.
-VCU AT ILLINOIS STATE. Illinois State is a bit of a snake put, and VCU is off to kind of a sluggish start. VCU has a tendency to improve as the season progresses, though, so I still think they’re fine.
-MIDDLE TENNESSEE AT BELMONT. I’m a little surprised this game didn’t get the UTR game of the day. Belmont has won six straight since losing the season opener, and continues to look like one of the better teams in the OVC. With games against VCU and Butler on the horizon, they have a shot at landing inside the bubble.
-DENVER AT WYOMING. UTR Game of the Day. CLICK HERE
-BYU AT UTAH STATE. This has turned into quite a rivalry game, and it’s a game both teams really need to right now. As I like to say, this one means a lot on and off paper.
-NORTHERN ILLINOIS AT DEPAUL. Most likely, nothing to see here, but both teams currently have good records with each having just one loss.
-NC STATE AT PURDUE. Most likely, nothing to see here, but NC State is unbeaten and Purdue has just one loss.
-SOUTH FLORIDA AT ALABAMA. It’s hard to get excited about this game, but both teams currently have just one loss.
-WRIGHT STATE AT EVANSVILLE. The Aces have just one loss.
-NIAGARA AT SAINT JOHN’S. Buy game, but a win gets the Johnnies to 5-1.
-STONY BROOK AT CINCINNATI. It’s a buy game, but Stony Brook has looked good so far this year.
-MINNESOTA AT WAKE FOREST. Minney cannot afford to lose this game.
-PINE BLUFF AT AKRON. Akron can improve to 5-2 with a win.
-MOUNT SAINT MARY’S AT SETON HALL. Buy game. Seton Hall is unbeaten.
-LOUISIANA TECH AT NORTHWESTERN STATE. This isn’t a buy game, but it’s a game against a weak team that LA Tech cannot afford to lose.
-TX ARLINGTON AT TEXAS. Buy game
-OMAHA AT KANSAS STATE. It’s a buy game, but it’s an interesting one.
-LAMAR AT IOWA STATE. Buy game.
-GARDNER WEBB AT ARIZONA. Buy game.
-SELA AT GONZAGA. Buy game.
Denver at Wyoming, 9:00 PM Eastern, ROOT Sports/themw.com
The UTR Game of the Day heads to Laramie, Wyoming tonight — one of the toughest places in the country for a visiting team to play. The Cowboys will be hosting Joe Scott’s Denver Pioneers, a team that has, for the past few years, significantly underachieved. The Pioneers will be looking for a road win to try to get their season headed in the right direction.
While teams from the Mountain West tend not be true Under the Radar teams, we do occasionally focus on them, especially those in the middle and lower portions of the conference standings that are not getting national attention. Wyoming is out to a perfect 6-0 start on the season, including a 56-33 home drubbing of Colorado and a three point home win over WAC favorite New Mexico State. The Cowboys have not, however, left Laramie yet this season. A trip Friday night to SMU will change that, and could put them on the national radar if they sweep their two games this week.
Denver, two years ago, was a team we thought would win the WAC’s tournament bid. While the Pioneers ran through the conference regular season at 16-2, they turned around and got upset in their first game in the WAC tournament. Last season, Denver moved to the Summit League and, at least in the preseason, looked like a team that would challenge North Dakota State for the conference title and maybe even be in contention for an at-large bid. Instead, they went 16-15 overall, 8-6 in conference, and ended their season with an 83-48 loss to North Dakota State in the Summit League tournament.
For these reasons, despite looking like a contender for the conference title this season, it is tough to actually pick the Pioneers to finish at the top of their league. Denver is 3-2 so far on the season, having beaten three sub-250 teams at home while losing their only two road tests (at Belmont and at St. Mary’s). With non-conference tests against Northern Iowa, Stanford and Colorado State still to come, the Pioneers will definitely have the chances to prove that last season was just a fluke. And they will need to prove that they can win tough road games if they want to build the confidence to contend for a league title and an NCAA tournament bid.
