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

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

-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

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

-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

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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Highlighted Games for Friday, Nov 28th

-TENNESSEE VS KANSAS (Orlando Classic).  Kansas has looked like the better team, but it’s a chance for Tennessee to get a huge OOC win.

-BUTLER VS GEORGETOWN (Battle 4 Atlantis).  These teams are in the same conference, but this is not a conference game.  Butler looked impressive on Wednesday, but sluggish yesterday against Oklahoma.  Georgetown played great in a losing effort against Wisconsin.  These teams will see each other again, and this should be a quality win for whoever pulls it off.

-SANTA CLARA VS RHODE ISLAND (Orlando Classic).  Rhode Island was run off the floor by Kansas and needs to rebound by getting this win today.

-UTEP VS XAVIER (Wooden Legacy).  Both teams come into this game undefeated, and Xavier has looked really good in some of their games this season.

-JAMES MADISON AT OHIO STATE.  This is technically a buy game that Ohio State should win, but at 4-1 James Madison shouldn’t be a complete pushover.

-PENN STATE AT BUCKNELL.  I don’t think Penn State is good enough to make the NCAA Tournament, but for now a win improves them to 6-1.

-YALE AT PROVIDENCE.  Yale has just one loss and has played pretty well, and Providence is undefeated and has looked very strong as well.  A win for the Friars gets them to 6-0.

-OKLAHOMA VS WISCONSIN (Battle 4 Atlantis).  With the exception of the second half at Creighton, Oklahoma has looked very impressive this year.  Wisky has looked even better.  They’re ranked #2, and I think they’re well deserving of it.  It’s a neutral floor game between two teams who should safely make the field.

-MINNESOTA VS GEORGIA (PRESEASON NIT).  Both teams come in at 3-2 and need some notable wins away from home.

-SFA VS AUSTIN PEAY (Las Vegas Invitational).  Essentially SFA is out of strikes and probably needs to win out, which they should be able to do, just to get into the NCAA Tournament conversation.

-MIDDLE TENNESSEE VS CINCINNATI (Emerald Coast Classic).  Cincinnati comes in unbeaten, but also untested.  Middle comes in with just one loss, but no real quality wins.

-CHARLESTON SOUTHERN AT FLORIDA STATE.  Again, this is a buy game, but Charleston Southern has just one loss and already has one win against a power conference team, and Florida State has really struggled so far.

-SAINT JOHN’S VS GONZAGA (Preseason NIT).  This game is at MSG, which is where Saint John’s plays most of their home games, so don’t be surprised if the committee treats this as a true road game for Gonzaga.  Josh Perkins is out with a broken jaw, but even without him Gonzaga appears to be the superior team.  Both come in unbeaten, but Gonzaga has looked a lot better.

-HOLY CROSS AT SYRACUSE.  Holy Cross comes in unbeaten and already has a big win on their profile against Harvard.  It’s a very tall order, but if they could pull off a win in this one they’re suddenly very far inside the bubble.

-HIGH POINT AT CLEMSON.  Clemson already has two losses to Big South teams.  High Point comes in at 4-1 on the year.  Clemson better be ready.

-BOISE STATE AT NC STATE.  NC State hasn’t lost yet, and Boise has just one loss, and some decent (albeit not great) wins on their profile, so both come in with a lot of momentum.

-VANDERBILT AT RUTGERS.  It’s Vandy’s first true road game, but a win gets them to 5-0.

-BRADLEY VS TCU (Corpus Christi Coastal Classic).  This won’t last, but TCU does come in at 5-0.

-NORTH CAROLINA VS FLORIDA (Battle 4 Atlantis).  This is the fifth place game, but that doesn’t matter.  It’s two ranked teams playing on a neutral floor.  Neither has looked particularly strong in this tournament, but whoever pulls this off will leave with a quality win.

-MEMPHIS VS INDIANA STATE (Las Vegas Invitational).  Memphis was run off the floor in the second half against Baylor last night, and is looking less and less like an NCAA team.

-OLE MISS VS CREIGHTON (Emerald Coast Classic).  We’re not that excited about Ole Miss, but they have just one loss and if they can knock off a ranked Creighton team it will pivot their season big time toward them looking good.

-MICHIGAN STATE VS MARQUETTE (Orlando Classic).  Marquette’s only good game this year was last night’s win against a pretty decent (at least so far) Georgia TEch team.  Tonight is a much taller order.

-LA SALLE VS VIRGINIA (Barclay’s Center Classic).  Both teams come in unbeaten, but Virginia clearly appears to be the superior team.  Still, it’s a chance for La Salle to get a huge statement win if they can pull the upset.

-MISSISSIPPI STATE VS SAINT LOUIS (Corpus Christi Coastal Classic).  I’m not really that big on either team, but both come in with good records.

-UCLA VS UAB (Battle 4 Atlantis).  UCLA hasn’t looked good at all in this tournament, and although they played Florida close the other night, UAB really hasn’t either.  The winner puts a neutral floor win on their profile and at least goes home with some momentum.

-BAYLOR VS ILLINOIS (Las Vegas Invitiational).  Both teams come in unbeaten, and I think both are better than what we were expecting coming into the year, so this should be a good game, and a quality win for whoever pulls it off.  Don’t be surprised if we see both of these teams safely in the field.

LONG BEACH STATE VS WASHINGTON (Wooden Legacy).  Washington comes in at 4-0, and although Long Beach has three losses, they’ve played a killer schedule and have looked pretty good.  Don’t be surprised if the Beach pulls this off.

-SAMFORD AT LOUISIANA TECH.  A win for LA Tech gets them to 5-1.

-SOUTH ALABAMA AT MIAMI FL.  Buy game.

-MONMOUTH AT MARYLAND.  Buy game

-UT MARTIN AT NEBRASKA.  Buy game.

-NORTH TEXAS AT ARKANSAS.  This is a buy game, but North Texas does come in at 4-1.

-UNC GREENSBORO AT INDIANA.  Buy game.

-PACIFIC AT COLORADO STATE.  They haven’t really been tested, but a win for Colorado State gets them to 5-0

-NORTH DAKOTA AT UTAH.  Buy game.

 

 

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Highlighted Games and Notes for Thursday, Nov 27th

For our most recent Under the Radar Video Podcast – CLICK HERE

 

PUPPET RAMBLINGS

-We said going into the week that at least one team that was way outside the national scene would jump on to it by doing well in an exempt tournament, and although we’re just one game into it, Butler appears to be that team.  They are currently not receiving votes in either poll, but suddenly have a decisive win away from home against a top five North Carolina team, and have another game today against a pretty good Oklahoma team.  If they can pick up just one more win, they’ll be in great shape.

-Arizona got a big win against a very good San Diego State team last night to win the Maui Invitational.  San Diego State is ranked #15, but I think they’re even better than that and will end up being ranked higher than that by the end of the year.  As good as everyone thinks this win is for Arizona, it’s probably going to end up being even better.  San Diego State isn’t going to lose many, and Arizona beat them on a neutral floor.

-Indiana fell to Eastern Washington the other night.  People are calling it an upset, and it is, but not to the degree it’s being made out to be.  Eastern Washington is one of the best teams, if not the best, in the Big Sky.  It shouldn’t be a surprise that they’re able to go on the road and beat an Indiana team that most of us were expecting to miss the NIT.

-Northern Iowa has blasted through the Cancun Challenge, and knocked off Northwestern and Virginia Tech in the process.  Those aren’t upsets either.  In fact, had Northern Iowa lost either of those games, it would have been an upset.

-I make mention of this below, but it is important to remember that to the selection committee, all of these bracketed exempt tournament games are merely looked at as neutral floor games.  UCLA is playing North Carolina.  It’s in the loser’s bracket, but nothing on either team’s profile will indicate that they played each other in the loser’s bracket.  It is merely two teams that are currently ranked that are playing each other on a neutral floor.

-I hope everyone has a safe and Happy Thanksgiving!!  I’ll be eating KFC, drinking Wild Turkey, and watching college hoops all day!!  Who could ask for a better day!!

 

HIGHLIGHTED MATCH-UPS

-SANTA CLARA VS TENNESSEE (Orlando Classic).  I’m not sure what to make of this Tennessee team yet, but we’ll learn a lot about them in this tournament.

-BUTLER VS OKLAHOMA (Battle 4 Atlantis).  This is the match-up that most were expecting to see in the loser’s bracket.  Both teams managed big wins against ranked teams, and have a shot at another big win today.

-KANSAS VS RHODE ISLAND (Orlando Classic).  I like this Rhody team, and they come in unbeaten, but they’ve got a very tall order today.  Having said that, these are the kinds of wins that solidify teams as tournament teams.

-PRINCETON VS UTEP (Wooden Legacy).  UTEP comes in at 2-0, and if they can pick up three wins away from home in this tournament it will go a long way toward landing them inside the bubble.

-GEORGETOWN VS WISCONSIN (Battle 4 Atlantis).  Both teams are unbeaten and already have some notable wins on their profile.

-SAN DIEGO VS XAVIER (Wooden Legacy).  Xavier is unbeaten, and has looked impressive against Murray State and SFA, who are both pretty good.  This is their first game away from home, and it comes against a USD team with a lot of experience.

-ILLINOIS VS INDIANA STATE (Las Vegas Invitational).  Illinois is unbeaten, and Indiana State has just one loss.  We weren’t that big on Indiana State coming into the year, but if they can pull off a win in a game like this it will really boost their profile.

-MICHIGAN STATE VS RIDER (Orlando Classic).  Michigan State shouldn’t have too much trouble.

-NORTH CAROLINA VS UCLA (Battle 4 Atlantis).  You know you haven an intriguing tournament when you have two ranked teams going at it in the loser’s bracket.  The thing to remember is that to the selection committee, this is nothing more than a neutral site game.  The fact that it is occurring in the loser’s bracket of a tournament does not make it any less meaningful.  It’s the same as if they were meeting in a regular season game that was not part of a tournament.

-MARQUETTE VS GEORGIA TECH (Orlando Classic).  Marquette has looked pitiful this year.  Georgia Tech, on the other hand, comes in at 3-0.

-LONG BEACH STATE VS WESTERN MICHIGAN (Wooden Legacy).  Long Beach has played a killer schedule and comes in at 2-3.  We weren’t too excited about Western Michigan, but they do come in at 3-1 and if they can do well in this tournament and pick up some notable wins away from home they could start to stand out.

-FLORIDA VS UAB (Battle 4 Atlantis).  Florida lost a thriller to Georgetown, and UAB was squashed by Wisconsin in the first game.

-SAN JOSE STATE VS WASHINGTON (Wooden Legacy).  Washington comes in at 3-0.

-BAYLOR VS MEMPHIS (Las Vegas Invitational).  We weren’t that high on Baylor, but they do come into this 4-0.  Memphis is just 1-1 and hasn’t looked that great this year.

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