Small Conference Game of the Day – February 15

Posted on February 15, 2014 by Chad

STEPHEN F. AUSTIN at SAM HOUSTON STATE, 4:45 PM Eastern, espn3

Stephen F. Austin has begun making some noise nationally recently with a gaudy overall record.  Entering play today, the Lumberjacks are 23-2 overall and 12-0 in Southland Conference play.  They are one of seven teams that remain undefeated within their conference.  While a gaudy record like this would normally have a team sniffing at a Top 25 ranking and in contention for an at-large bid should they slip in their conference tournament, SFA’s wins have come against pretty much the weakest competition out there.  In fact, the only top 150 wins that SFA has to date came over Towson and Sam Houston State both at home.  The only real challenge they have had all season was a game back in November at Texas…which they lost 72-62.

Given the weakness of their schedule, today’s trip to Sam Houston State (18-6 overall, 10-2 in conference) is actually SFA’s toughest game of the season to date (and the toughest they will have before postseason play).  The Bearkats are not by any means a great team this year, sitting with a 186 KenPom and a 113 RPI heading into the day.  However, they have opened up a two game lead over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi for second place in the Southland and are the most likely team to knock Stephen F. Austin off.  they will certainly have a chance to do just that today, as well as put themselves back in contention for a regular season title.

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Under the Radar and SCGD – February 14

Posted on February 14, 2014 by Chad

Tonight’s SCGD is Harvard at Columbia, 7:00 PM Eastern (no TV).  For more discussion about both teams, check out this week’s Under the Radar podcast.  In addition, David and I spend time discussing all of the single-bid conferences, reviewing who we feel will win the league, where they will be seeded, and just how dangerous each team will be in March.  We end with a discussion of the at-large chances for Toledo and for a couple of teams from Conference USA.  All of that plus our Under the Radar Top Ten list and a special preview of the David Griggs Valentine’s Day Special.

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Bracket Roundown: Feb 12th

Posted on February 13, 2014 by David Griggs

On this episode, Chad is joined by David and Kyle as they talk about the new rules for building the bracket, particularly how conference match-ups no longer have to be avoided until the Elite Eight.

Instead of ranking the teams as he felt they should be, David and Chad changed things up this week as he tried to guess what he felt the committee would do if the season ended today. Topics that were discussed was whether or not Wichita State would get a #1 seed despite a weak schedule, whether or not Kansas would get a #1 seed despite six losses, where a team like Louisville would land who is high in the rankings, but doesn’t have much of a profile, and whether or not there is room in the field for teams with poor records in conference play, but good profiles other than that.

All that, and more…

Here is Chad Sherwood’s SCGD:  https://hoopshd.com/2014/02/13/small-conference-game-of-the-day-february-13-2/

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Small Conference Game of the Day – February 13

Posted on February 13, 2014 by Chad

SOUTHERN MISS at UAB, 9:00 PM Eastern, CSS

Assuming that Birmingham melts enough after yesterday’s snowstorm, tonight’s SCGD will be heading there for one of Southern Mississippi’s toughest remaining tests in Conference USA regular season play tonight.  The Golden Eagles enter tonight’s game at 21-3 overall and 8-1 in conference, tied with UTEP for first place.  Our latest bracket projections (check out this week’s Bracket Rundown show which David Griggs will be posting later today) have them at a seed high enough to be in serious at-large consideration should they fail to win the automatic bid.  However, if they want to stay in at-large range they cannot afford any bad losses.  Given their remaining C-USA schedule, pretty much any loss would be arguably a bad one.

On the other side of things, the UAB Blazers at one point this season looked like a serious at-large bid contender.  They had solid wins over Nebraska and North Carolina and a heart-breaking double overtime loss to New Mexico.  Then the calendar flipped to 2014 and the bottom fell out.  Since January 1, UAB has suffered losses to Florida Atlantic, Florida International, North Texas and East Carolina, among others.  Bad loss upon bad loss has destroyed any NCAA tournament chances other than a championship in the C-USA tournament.  The Blazers sit at 14-9 overall but are only 3-6 in conference, all the way down in 11th place.  Finishing below 9th in the conference regular season standings would require UAB to win 5 games in 5 days in the C-USA tournament, a daunting feat that they do not want to be facing.  That makes tonight’s game and every game after it even more important as we head towards March.

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Highlighted Games For Wednesday, Feb 12th

Posted on February 12, 2014 by David Griggs

-SYRACUSE AT PITTSBURGH (ACC). Pitt has not beaten a team that appears to be solidly in the field, and has had to sweat out some games against weaker teams. Syracuse is unbeaten, but this would still be one of their better road wins.

-SOUTH FLORIDA AT UCONN (American). UConn should be able to finish the season strong and hold serve on their profile.

-RICHMOND AT DUQUESNE (Atlantic Ten). I don’t think Richmond can overcome the injury and make the dance, but if they do it will mean being able to win games like this.

-GEORGE MASON AT UMASS (Atlantic Ten). UMass’s stock has gone down some, but they’re still a strong team and should be able to win at home tonight.

-GEORGE WASHINGTON AT VCU (Atlantic Ten). This is a great match up between two regional opponents that are both solidly in the field, but who can also still improve their profile. It means something both on and off paper.

BAYLOR AT TCU (Big Twelve). Baylor is just 2-8 in league play. If they can’t finish 8-10 in conference play I think they’re in real trouble.

-OHIO AT TOLEDO (MAC). Chad Sherwood’s SCGD.  See here:  https://hoopshd.com/2014/02/12/small-conference-game-of-the-day-february-12-2/

-PENN STATE AT INDIANA (Big Ten). Indiana simply cannot afford to lose this one.

-VILLANOVA AT DEPAUL (Big East). Nova shouldn’t have any trouble picking up another big conference road win.

-KENTUCKY AT AUBURN (SEC). Kentucky shouldn’t have too much trouble.

-TEXAS TECH AT OKLAHOMA (Big Twelve). Texas Tech has been playing great lately, but they still have a long way to go to even be close to the bubble. Oklahoma has been very tough to beat at home this season and should pick up another conference win tonight.

-DUKE AT NORTH CAROLINA (ACC). This is the biggest rivalry in college basketball, but it means something on paper as well. North Carolina seems to have pulled out of their tailspin and the could make a huge statement with a win tonight.

-UCF AT MEMPHIS (American). Memphis is in great shape and should hold serve tonight.

-LSU AT TEXAS A&M (SEC). LSU needs a solid finish if they want to be considered. They have some bad losses on their profile, and have a very small margin for error.

-STANFORD AT WASHINGTON (Pac Twelve). Stanford could use a solid road win, and a conference win. So, it’s a big game for them.

-NEW MEXICO AT BOISE STATE (Mountain West). New Mexico has been somewhat of a disappointment this year, but they’re still in good shape, and this would be a notable road win on their profile.

-CALIFORNIA AT WASHINGTON STATE (Pac Twelve). Cal simply cannot afford to lose this one

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Small Conference Game of the Day – February 12

Posted on February 12, 2014 by Chad

OHIO UNIVERSITY at TOLEDO, 7:00 PM Eastern, Time Warner Sports/espn3

Less than two weeks after the game of the year to date in the MAC, the same two teams matchup again tonight in Toledo.  Ohio pulled off at 95-90 overtime win at home back on February 1, and tonight’s rematch has a chance to be just as exciting of a game as that one was.

Ohio presently sits at 17-6 overall and 7-3 in conference, one game behind Akron and tied with Buffalo in the MAC’s East Division standings.  Toledo is 20-3 overall and 8-2 in conference, one game up on Western Michigan in the West Division.  While tonight’s game will not decide the regular season championship, it will certainly go a long way towards it.  Finishing with one of the top two records in the MAC is extra important as it gets the two teams byes into the conference tournament semifinals.  The third and fourth best records bye into the quarterfinals, while everyone else would have to play five games to win the automatic bid.  As there are five teams currently in the hunt for the conference championship, one of them will be relegated to having to do just that to win it.

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