Highlighted Games for Tuesday, Dec 2nd

Posted on December 2, 2014 by David Griggs

-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.

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Under the Radar Game of the Day – Tuesday, December 2

Posted on December 2, 2014 by Chad

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.

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Under the Radar Game of the Day – Monday, December 1

Posted on December 1, 2014 by Chad

Check out the latest Bracket Racket podcast here:  https://hoopshd.com/2014/12/01/bracket-racket-12-1-14/

Oral Roberts at Weber State, 9:00 PM Eastern, watchbigsky.com

Welcome to the inaugural 2014-15 season Under the Radar Game of the Day (formerly known in prior years as the Small Conference Game of the Day or SCGD).  The UTR Game of the Day will focus on fun and/or intriguing matchups taking place among teams that are not in the major conferences.  In other words, we will not be focusing on the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 or SEC.  We will also probably not be featuring any games from the American, Big East, Atlantic Ten or Mountain West.  Instead, we will be looking at the little guys, the teams that are Under the National Radar, but certainly on ours.

Tonight we begin our season in Ogden, Utah as the defending Big Sky champion Weber State Wildcats will be hosting the Summit League’s Oral Roberts Golden Eagles.  Weber State has gotten off to a slow start so far this season, with only 2 wins in 5 contests, and one of those wins coming against a non-D1 foe.  They finished in 7th place in the Paradise Jam, losing games to Illinois State and LSU before finally scoring a win against Nevada.  The Wildcats have been led so far this season by Jerome Bolomboy who averaged 17 points and 10 rebounds during the trip to the Virgin Islands.

Weber will be welcoming in Scott Sutton’s ORU team that has returned to the Summit League this year after two rather disappointing seasons in the Southland Conference.  The Golden Eagles were our preseason pick to win the Summit, though they are also out to a slow start at 2-3, including a 24-point loss to Louisiana-Lafayette during the MGM Grand Main Event in Las Vegas.  The Golden Eagles’ other two losses were at Oregon State and at Missouri, though they do have a home win over Tulsa to their credit.  Keep an eye on Obi Emegano, who has been leading the way so far for the Golden Eagles, averaging 18.4 points per game.

This game could be exactly what both teams need in 0rder to begin turning their seasons in the right direction.  Weber State has a trip to Texas-Arlington followed by an intriguing home matchup against BYU coming over the next two weeks while ORU will return home after this game for contests with Missouri State and New Mexico State.   Whoever wins this game will certainly have momentum as we move into the month of December.

 

OTHER ACTION

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-NEBRASKA AT FLORIDA STATE.  Florida State comes in at a rather disappointing 3-3, and although Nebraska is 4-1, they haven’t played a tough schedule and could use a win away from home.

-TEXAS SOUTHERN AT BAYLOR (Buy Game)

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Bracket Racket 12.1.14

Posted on December 1, 2014 by Johnny Basketball

HHDpodsOn this edition of the Bracket Racket, we break down the games of note from this past week, including Arizona-SDSU, Butler-Everyone, and Virginia-Rutgers (yes, seriously). We also talk about Florida’s troubles, Minnesota’s lack of non-conference wins, and the Big East’s impressive showing thus far.

We then spend a decent amount of time breaking down the ACC-Big Ten Challenge, highlighting games such as Syracuse-Michigan, Ohio State-Louisville, Illinois-Miami, and the big one of the week, Duke-Wisconsin. We all make our predictions (HINT: It’s a pretty close call between these two conferences) before moving on to the remaining games of the upcoming week.

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Highlighted Games For Sunday, Nov. 30th

Posted on November 30, 2014 by David Griggs

-TEXAS AT CONNECTICUT.  Both teams come into this game ranked.  Texas has looked pretty good, but this is by far their toughest test of the year so far, so we’ll see if they’re really the #7 overall team.

-ARMY AT DUKE.  This is a buy game, but Army is unbeaten.  I think they’re way overmatched, but they do appear to be one of the better teams in the Patriot League.

-KANSAS VS MICHIGAN STATE (Orlando Classic).  Two solid teams that could end up on the #4 line or better.  We had out doubts about Michigan State, but they’ve looked pretty strong so far.

-PROVIDENCE AT KENTUCKY.  Providence is unbeaten and has looked really strong, but Kentucky is ranked #1, deservedly so, and it’s going to be tough for anyone to beat them on their home court.

-VALPARAISO AT PORTLAND (Challenge In Music City).  Valpo is 6-1 and Portland is still unbeaten, so the winner of this is off to a great start with a lot of momentum built up.

-HARTFORD AT YALE.  Neither team is expected to end up inside the bubble, but for now both have good records.

-STANFORD AT DEPAUL.  Both come in with just one loss, but Stanford has been the more impressive team.

-RICHMOND AT NORTHERN IOWA.  I really like this Northern Iowa team and expect that they’ll remain unbeaten after beating a pretty good Richmond team at home.

-IONA AT ARKANSAS.  Iona has just one loss, and that came at Wofford, but they don’t have any wins of note yet.  If they pull this one off, it will go a long way toward helping their at large chances.  Arkansas has looked really impressive this year.

-TENNESSEE VS MARQUETTE (Orlando Classic).  Both these teams need this one to build up some momentum.

-XAVIER VS LONG BEACH STATE (Wooden Legacy).  These two faced each other earlier in the year, but that was on a neutral floor.  If Long Beach can pull off this one it’ll be their second notable win against a really tough schedule.

-CALIFORNIA AT FRESNO STATE.  A chance for Cal to pick up a road win and improve to 5-1.

-RHODE ISLAND VS GEORGIA TECH (Orlando Classic).  Both teams have just one loss and could use this win as a momentum boost.

-PORTLAND STATE AT OREGON.  It’s a buy game, but Portland State does come in at 4-0.

-UTEP VS WASHINGTON (Wooden Tradition).  Both teams come in unbeaten, and UTEP has a nice win against Xavier on their profile.  We weren’t expecting much out of Washington, but if they win this it’ll be impossible to ignore them.

-LIPSCOMB AT COLORADO.  Buy game.

-DELAWARE AT VILLANOVA.  Buy game.

-VMI AT MARYLAND.  Buy game.  Maryland can start off 7-0 if they pull out the wins.

-MONMOUTH AT SMU.  SMU has been kind of disappointing so far and needs to start turning it around.

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Highlighted Games For Saturday, Nov 29th

Posted on November 29, 2014 by David Griggs

VCU AT OLD DOMINION.  This is a rivalry game that has been a little lopsided recently, but Old Dominion is much improved this year.  Both teams come in 4-1 and it’s a chance for ODU to beat a rival, put a quality win on their resume, and continue to build momentum if they can pull the upset.

-NJIT AT DUQUESNE.  Duquesne is 2-0, but hasn’t really been tested yet.  NJIT has had a rough season and could really use any sort of a win to turn things around.

-UNC WILMINGTON AT DAVIDSON.  I don’t think either team is particularly strong, but as of now both have just one loss.

-UMASS AT HARVARD.  It’s a regional rivalry game between two teams that may end up inside the bubble.  UMass has looked good against some decent competition, but this would probably be their biggest win to date if they pull it off.

-TULSA AT WICHITA STATE.  I don’t expect Wichita to have too many problems remaining unbeaten.

-FAIRFIELD AT NORTHEASTERN.  Northeastern has a small margin for error and is coming off a rough loss to UMass, but should be able to rebound and improve to 5-1.

-GEORGE WASHINGTON AT SETON HALL.  I’ve been impressed with this GW team.  They lost at Virginia last week, but they still played pretty well.  Seton Hall is also unbeaten, so this is a big game for them too as both are looking to continue to build momentum.

-WOFFORD AT WILLIAM & MARY.  This is the best team in the SoCon visiting our preseason favorite to win the Colonial, and both only have one loss.  It’ll be hard for either team to end up inside the bubble, but it is possible.  To do it, they’ll have to win games like this, though.  Bill & Mary is unbeaten at home, and they aren’t likely to lose many, so even though they’re not a brand name team, the committee will give Wofford some credit if they’re able to pull this off.

-MIDDLE TENNESSEE VS CREIGHTON (Emerald Coast Classic).  Creighton had played well this year, but they haven’t won away from home yet and are coming off a loss to Ole Miss in this tournament.

-DRAKE AT PORTLAND.  Mentioned only because Portland is currently 4-0.

-GRAND CANYON AT CENTRAL MICHIGAN.  Grand Canyon is a transitional team, but they are perhaps the best team in the WAC.  Central Michigan is looking to stay unbeaten.

-WRIGHT STATE AT USC UPSTATE (Spartanburg Marriot Upstate Classic).  Wright State has lost two close ones in this tournament, and is now facing an Upstate team that is looking to improve to 6-1.

-BELMONT AT OHIO.  Belmont has won five straight since losing their season opener, and Ohio has looked good outside of their lost at FGCU.  Both teams have just one loss.

-NEW MEXICO STATE AT WYOMING.  A win for the Cowboys improves them to 6-0.

-CINCINNATI AT OLE MISS (Emerald Cost Classic).  Cincinnati is 5-0, but is untested, and Ole Miss has built up a 4-1 record against relatively weak competition minus their last win against Creighton (who may not be that good, but who was undefeated).  It’s one of the stronger tests either team has had up until now.

-MURRAY STATE AT VALPARAISO.  Murray State has been very disappointing this year, and has probably already played their way out of an at-large bid.  Valpo, on the other hand, is 5-1.

-EASTERN KENTUCKY AT BYU.  This is technically a buy game, but it may be worth watching as EKU comes in at 4-0.

-CAL POLY AT SAINT MARY’S  Saint Mary’s hasn’t been strongly tested, and they also haven’t left home yet, but a win gets them to 5-0.

-CHICAGO STATE AT NOTRE DAME.  Buy game.

-UIC AT DAYTON.  Buy game

-LONGWOOD AT IOWA.  Buy game

-NICHOLLS STATE AT MICHIGAN.  Buy game

-ALBANY AT UNLV.  Buy game.

-COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON AT WEST VIRGINIA.  Buy game

-MCNEESE STATE AT LSU.  Buy game.  LSU can improve to 4-2.

-COLGATE AT ARIZONA STATE.  Buy game

-ALABAMA STATE AT UTAH.  Buy game.

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