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Check out Chad Sherwood’s SCGD here: https://hoopshd.com/2014/01/18/small-conference-game-of-the-day-january-18-2/

SPOTLIGHT GAMES

-PITTSBURGH AT SYRACUSE (ACC). Pitt has racked up a good record against a weak schedule, so this is by far their toughest test of the year. It’s still hard to say how good the Panthers are. Even if they manage to play well in a losing effort in this game I’ll have a little more respect for them, but as of now they really haven’t done anything that’s all that noteworthy.

LOUISVILLE AT UCONN (AAC). Both teams appear to be safe right now, but not nearly as far up the seed list as many were expecting. Louisville still doesn’t have a big win this year.

-OKLAHOMA STATE AT KANSAS (Big Twelve). I think Oklahoma State is good, but Kansas is looking like the best team in the Big Twelve right now and I don’t think they’ll drop this one at home.

OTHER HIGHLIGHTED GAMES

-TOLEDO AT AKRON (MAC). This is a tough road test for the Rockets. If they want any hope at all of being on the bubble, they pretty much need to win out.

-TENNESSEE AT KENTUCKY (SEC). We currently have Kentucky in, and Tennessee right on the bubble, so this is a huge game for the Vols.

-SMU AT UCF (AAC). SMU is having their best season years, and is squarely on the bubble right now. They need to take care of business on the road against a UCF team that doesn’t look like it will make the field.

-FLORIDA STATE AT VIRGINIA (AAC). Both teams have been inconsistent, but both also appear to be solidly in the NCAA picture, so it’s a potential good resume win for both teams.

-BOSTON COLLEGE AT NORTH CAROLINA (AAC). One never knows what UNC is going to do.

-SETON HALL AT GEORGETOWN (Big East). Georgetown can’t afford to drop this one.

-WEST VIRGINIA AT KANSAS STATE (Big Twelve). K State has been solid at home and shouldn’t have too much trouble winning today.

-MANHATTAN AT FAIRFIELD (MAAC). If Manhattan wins out they may have a shot at landing inside the bubble, but anything short of that likely won’t be enough.

-ARKANSAS AT GEORGIA (SEC). Arkansas is right on the bubble and needs to take care of business against non tournament teams on the road. The road is where they Razorbacks have struggled, and they really need to show they can win a game like this.

-MISSISSIPPI STATE AT TEXAS A&M (SEC). Both teams have good records, but lack good wins. I’m not convinced that either will make it, but they’ve both done enough to warrant keeping an eye on.

-OKLAHOMA AT BAYLOR (Big Twelve). Both teams are solid, and both could use this win to improve their resume.

-USC AT COLORADO (Big Twelve). Colorado needs to adjust to life without Dinwiddie to demonstrate to the committee that they can win without him.

-NC STATE AT DUKE (ACC). Duke has struggled this year, but they should be able to get this one at home.

-ALABAMA AT MISSOURI (SEC). Mizzou has struggled big time in the past week, even at home against weaker teams. They cannot afford to let that continue and need to take care of business today.

-FORDHAM AT SAINT LOUIS (Atlantic Ten). SLU is steamrolling right now and a win will get them to 17-2 overall.

-LEMOYNE-OWEN (nondiv1) AT MEMPHIS. Seriously??

-NORTHWESTERN AT INDIANA (Big Ten). Indiana is coming off of a huge win against Wisconsin, and does not want to offset that with a bad loss today.

-DAYTON AT RICHMOND (Atlantic Ten). Dayton is really bubbly right now. Richmond has been somewhat disappointing and doesn’t look like a tournament team, but they’re still tough to beat at home, and one of the things Dayton MUST do is win on the road.

-INDIANA STATE AT WICHITA STATE (Missouri Valley). Indiana State appears to be the second best team in the MVC, and I have them just outside the bubble. If they can win this one, it will put them safely inside of it for now.

-DEPAUL AT VILLANOVA (Big East). Nova is still in the hunt for a #1 seed and needs to hold serve in this game.

-FLORIDA AT AUBURN (SEC). The Gators appear to be the best team in the SEC and shouldn’t have too much trouble picking this one up on the road.

-IOWA STATE AT TEXAS (Big Twelve). I have Texas outside the bubble, so this would be a huge win for the Longhorns if they can pick this one up.

-UCLA AT UTAH (Pac Twelve). Utah has played such a weak schedule that you pretty much have to ignore their bloated record. If they can’t win a game like this at home then they probably aren’t good enough to build their profile up enough to impress the committee.

-WAKE FOREST AT CLEMSON (AAC). Clemson is outside the bubble, but they may be able to reach it if they continue to string wins together.

-WASHINGTON STATE AT CALIFORNIA (Pac Twelve). Cal looks like a tournament team and should be able to hold serve at home.

-GONZAGA AT LMU (West Coast). Gonzaga has a small margin for error, and although LMU is not a tournament team, they may be tough to beat at home.

-CINCINNATI AT SOUTH FLORIDA (AAC). Cincinnati looks very good and should be able to add another road win to their profile tonight.

-MICHIGAN AT WISCONSIN (Big Ten). Michigan has been playing a lot better lately, but this is a huge order. I think they’re a solid tournament team and that their profile will continue to improve, but I don’t think they have it in them to beat one of the best teams in the country on the road.

-UNLV AT SAN DIEGO STATE (Mountain West). I’m so big on San Diego State that I think they’ve got a shot at the #1 line. They’ll have to win out to get there, though. Either way, this is a very good team.

-UMASS AT ELON. Strange out of conference game. UMass has struggled, but has managed to keep winning. It’ll be interesting to see what they do on the road against what appears to be the best team in the SoCon.

-NEW MEXICO AT FRESNO STATE (Mountain West). New Mexico is coming off a home loss to UNLV, and they’ve done very little that is noteworthy this year. If they drop this game, they’re going to be in real trouble.

-GEORGE WASHINGTON AT SAINT BONAVENTURE (Atlantic Ten). I think this is a road game that is tougher than it may appear. I really like this GW team and believe them to be solidly in the field right now, but their margin for error is far from infinite. Saint Bona, on the other hand has played some good ball, but come up just short in several of their games. They should be up for this one at home and could really make GW sweat.

-MICHIGAN STATE AT ILLINOIS (Big Ten). Illinois has had a horrible week and needs a big win to right the ship.

-CREIGHTON AT PROVIDENCE (Big East). Creighton has looked tough lately, but much of what they’ve done has come at home, so they need a solid road win to round out their profile and prove they aren’t just home court heroes.

-UTAH STATE AT BOISE STATE (Mountain West). Boise is good, but they did not challenge themselves out of conference and as a result don’t have any really notable wins. Their margin for error is small.

SOUTHERN UTAH at WEBER STATE, 9:00 PM Eastern (no TV)

The SCGD heads to Ogden, Utah tonight for a Big Sky battle between the Thunderbirds of Southern Utah and the Wildcats of Weber State.  Well, maybe the word battle is not the best to use here…as this game is not exactly projected to be anything more than a romp by Weber State.  KenPom is presently projecting a 23 point blowout by the Wildcats, and there is no real reason to believe he is wrong.

So why would a game that should be no contest be the SCGD?  As has been mentioned here several times, HoopsHD annually presents the “Centenary Award”, an award given to the worst team in Division I.  Last year’s award was easily given to a winless Grambling State team.  Although Grambling did manage a win against a non-D1 foe earlier this season, they have been the frontrunners to repeat all season long.  Until now.

Southern Utah is 1-13 on the season, with the lone victory being an 85-78 win over non-D1 Southwestern Arizona back on November 8.  They Adjusted Offense is the worst in Division 1 according to KenPom and their Adjusted Defense is not much better (342 out of 351).  These numbers have resulted in SUU sliding past Grambling to become KenPom’s worst team in D1, knocking Grambling out of a spot that they have held for almost two years.  While the margin of difference in ratings between the two teams is negligible, it is pretty clear that unless one of them wins a game, the Centenary Award battle will be close the rest of the season.

RIVER CITY RUMBLE, Jacksonville at North Florida, 7:00 PM Eastern, CSS/espn3

Jacksonville, Florida is the site tonight of a fast developing rivalry series between A-Sun crosstown rivals known as the River City Rumble.  The North Florida Ospreys and Jacksonville Dolphins meet tonight for the first of two times this season, and these two fairly evenly matched teams should put on a great show.

Jacksonville is 4-2 in the A-Sun and 8-9 overall, with an RPI of 290 and a KenPom of 301.  They are led by Jarvis Haywood and Keith McDougald who are averaging 16.5 and 12.5 points per game respectively.  McDougald dropped 27 points against Florida Gulf Coast last week and as such is the reigning A-Sun Player of the Week.

UNF currently sits at 4-2 in conference and 10-9 overall, with a 189 RPI and 248 KenPom.  They are led by freshman Dallas Moore (12.4 ppg) and senior Travis Wallace (11.7 ppg, 7.2 rpg).  The Ospreys are coming off a home win over Stetson, and have already scored a home victory over conference favorite Mercer.  But even more than conference standings, tonight’s game is about the rivalry.

This is the 20th all-time meeting between Jacksonville and UNF, with the Dolphins holding a 15-4 series lead.  North Florida head coach Matthew Driscoll at one point refused to acknowledge this series as a rivalry, as the Dolphins won every game in it from 2007 through the end of the 2011 regular season.  That changed when the Ospreys defeated the Dolphins in the 2011 A-Sun tournament and followed that up with a sweep of the regular season meetings in 2012.  Jacksonville did bounce back last season, winning both games.  With 7 of the last 8 games between these teams having been decided by single digits, this has all the markings of another fun and exciting game in the River City.

On this edition, Chad and David run down their seed lists line by line and discuss the profiles of all the teams that are currently competing for a spot inside the bubble. There is disagreement right out of the gate as they debate whether or not Wichita State should be on the #1 line. They also take a close look at Kansas, and how they are underrated in the polls, and how they themselves could end up as high as a #2 or a #1.

Other teams that spark debate are Ohio State and Louisville. Both appear to be good teams, but neither have any real high caliber wins yet.

Green Bay gets some talk, as both feel they can land inside the bubble and avoid needing the automatic bid so long as they continue to blow through their conference.

All that, and much more!!

Check out Chad Sherwood’s SCGD Here:  https://hoopshd.com/2014/01/16/small-conference-game-of-the-day-january-16/

ELON AT DAVIDSON, 7:00 PM Eastern, Local TV only

Tonight is one of those nights…an evening where the SCGD simply has no idea which way to go with quite a few strong contenders for our game of the day.  Belmont and Eastern Kentucky have a huge battle tonight in the Ohio Valley, while Denver and surprising IPFW are battling in the Summit League.  There are also a number of stories swirling around the Oral Roberts at Abilene Christian game.  The ORU stories will be left for David Griggs’ column later today and will be featured in our next Under the Radar podcast, so for tonight’s game we will head to the battle among preseason favorites in the SoCon, as the Elon Phoenix take on the Davidson Wildcats.

Elon enters tonight’s game at 9-8 overall and 2-1 in conference.  Their KenPom rating of 156, RPI of 161 and BPI of 186 are all tops in the conference, though only by a narrow margin over Davidson.  The Phoenix’s best wins on the season have been over Columbia and Georgia State, neither of which is anything of particular note.  In fact, at this point in time it may take a complete dominance of the SoCon regular season and conference tournament for Elon to avoid a 16 seed in the NCAA tournament.  Simply winning the automatic bid without running through the league could put them in Dayton playing a First Four matchup.

Davidson was the preseason favorite in the SoCon this year, and proceeded to do absolutely nothing during the non-conference portion of their schedule to justify that.  The best game the Wildcats played so far this season was against the North Carolina Tar Heels, to whom them lost in overtime.  Of course, the Tar Heels have shown the ability to beat or lose to anyone in the country on any given night.  While Davidson is off to a 3-0 start in league play (and 7-10 overall), tonight is their first true challenge.  Should they win this game, they will be in good position for the rest of the season, especially given that the unbalanced league schedule results in the Wildcats only playing Chattanooga and Western Carolina (the only two other apparent contenders this season) once each.