Small Conference Game of the Day – November 20

Posted on November 20, 2013 by Chad

The Battle of the Boulevard, Round 2.

Belmont and Lipscomb – two heated rivals that have been competing against each other since 1953, from two schools that are not much more than a stone’s throw away from each other in Nashville, Tennessee.  The basketball rivalry between these teams began when both were NAIA schools, and has continued as both teams moved to Division II and eventually Division I.

When Rick Byrd took over the head coaching job at Belmont back in the 1980’s, Lipscomb was the dominant team in the rivalry, then at the NAIA level.  The Bisons were coached at the time by the legendary Don Meyer, who won 923 career games and held the record for most wins by a collegiate head coach until surpassed by Coach K in 2011.  The balance of power has clearly shifted between these two teams since they both moved to NCAA Division I.  Lipscomb is still searching for its first NCAA tournament bid while Belmont has become almost a perennial participant in March Madness, first out of the Atlantic Sun Conference (where Lipscomb still remains), and now these past two season in the Ohio Valley.  Despite the two teams being in different conferences, the rivalry continues, this year with a home and home series.  The rivalry perhaps gained even more intensity this season when long-time Rick Byrd assistant at Belmont, Casey Alexander, took over the reins as head coach of Lipscomb.  Belmont already won the first game, 87-83 on November 8 at Lipscomb’s court.  Tonight at 8:00 PM Eastern, Belmont hosts the rematch (live streaming through ovcsports.com).

This season was supposed to be a rebuilding one for Belmont.  After barely sneaking by in the first round of the Battle of the Boulevard and then losing by 8 at Richmond to start the season, that appeared to be the way the team was headed.  After all, they did lose Ian Clark to the NBA after last season.  However, things quickly turned around when they pulled out a 1 point home court victory over a solid Indiana State team last week (Indiana State followed that up by winning at Notre Dame).  And of course, what Belmont did just two days ago at North Carolina, beating the Tar Heels 83-80, cannot be understated (even if the UNC team was short-handed).  JJ Mann has been leading the way so far for Belmont, a 6-6 combo guard/forward who has averaged 19.5 points per game so far, including dropping 28 on the Tar Heels.

Lipscomb is off to a 2-2 start, with wins over non-D1 Oakland City and Tennessee State, while losing their first game to Belmont and a game at Vanderbilt.  Martin Smith is probably their best player, but he is only 5 for 19 on the season from 3 point range, and needs to pick up his scoring if the Bisons are going to have success.  Lipscomb’s best chance for a victory tonight will come if Belmont is still hung-over from their huge win in Chapel Hill.  However, given the intensity of this rivalry it would be a complete shock if Belmont lost.  The Bruins should not only be up for this game, but should find a way to win it handily.

 

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Small Conference Game of the Day – November 19

Posted on November 19, 2013 by Chad

The SCGD returns tonight after a few days off (in part due to a technical glitch on my end that resulted in last night’s SCGD between Drexel and Elon never getting posted).  However, tonight we turn to a road game for an undefeated team against a home team that has yet to win on the year.  The game is the Atlantic Ten’s St. Bonaventure Bonnies traveling to Albany to take on the Siena Saints (7:00 PM Eastern).

Siena enters tonight’s game without a win on the season.  They lost their first game of the season against cross-town rival Albany, then dropped road games at Vermont (a preseason pick to begin among the best teams in the America East) and at La Salle by only four points.They have been led so far by junior forward Rob Poole, who has averaged nearly 20 points per game in their first three contests.

St. Bonaventure, on the other hand, has been one of a handful of A-10 teams that has gotten off to a strong start (in fact only Duquesne has lost more than once so far).  The Bonnies are 3-0, with all three wins coming at home and perhaps the best of which was a home victory over another in-state rival, Canisius, by a commanding 86-64 score last time out.  Tonight’s game is their first road contest in what is an awfully weak non-conference slate that only sees them leaving the state of New York twice, once for an exempt tournament in which their best possible opponent would be a finals matchup with Louisiana Tech, and once for a trip to Wake Forest.  Keep an eye on center Youssou Ndoye for St. Bonaventure.  This 7 foot tall junior from Senegal is averaging close to a double-double so far.  He has also blocked 6 shots, including 4 against Abilene Christian.

The Bonnies are primed to put together a strong record, but will clearly need to win games in conference play to get any serious at-large consideration.  The best news for Mark Schmidt’s team is that they will get plenty of chances to do that in the A-10, which in the early-going at least, appears to be a very solid league.

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Highlighted Games for Tuesday, Nov 19th

Posted on November 19, 2013 by David Griggs

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES

-MEMPHIS AT OKLAHOMA STATE. This is the first big test for either of these teams. Both appear to be tournament caliber teams, and if their current rankings hold up they’ll be protected seeds, so it would be a very nice win for whoever pulls this off.

-EAST CAROLINA AT DUKE (Preseason NIT). East Carolina hasn’t lost yet, but they haven’t played in a game like this yet either.

-VANDERBILT AT BUTLER. Both teams are 2-0, but neither have looked all that good up to this point.

-DEPAUL AT MILWAUKEE. I don’t think either team will stay on the radar for much longer, but both teams come into this game with just one loss and DePaul does have a decent win against what should be a good Wright State team.

-BUCKNELL AT SAINT JOHN’S. We probably won’t be looking at these teams in another month or so, but for now it’s worth paying attention to.

-ARIZONA STATE AT UNLV. Even though it’s November, there is a sense of urgency to this game for UNLV. They haven’t looked good at any point this year, and they’re going up against an Arizona State team who isn’t expected to be good, but does come in 3-0.

-RHODE ISLAND AT ARIZONA (Preseason NIT). Arizona has looked tremendous so far.

 

BUY GAMES

-Texas Arlington @ Kentucky

-Iona @ Kanas.

-North Dakota @ Wisconsin. North Dakota will make some noise in the Big Sky, but chances are they’re overmatched tonight.

-Hofstra @ Richmond

-Hartford @ Louisville

-Delaware State @ George Washington. A win gets GW to 4-0.

-Georgia State @ Alabama

-Prairie View @ Texas A&M. Not all that big on TAMU, but a win does get them to 4-0.

-Seattle @ Boise State.

-Utah Valley @ Oregon.

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Bracket Racket 11/17/13

Posted on November 18, 2013 by Johnny Basketball

HHDpodsOn this edition of the Bracket Racket, we tackle the last few days of college basketball, including Iowa State’s win over Michigan, Belmont’s surprise victory in Chapel Hill, and Indiana State’s throttling of Notre Dame in South Bend. We also talk about the early successes and failures of several conferences, including a potentially overrated ACC, an overperforming Atlantic 10, and the dismay that fills one’s self when examining the Colonial Athletic Association’s accomplishments.

We also preview some of the upcoming games this week, including the big matchups between Memphis and Oklahoma State, Iowa State and BYU, and the start of the “real” holiday exempt tournaments.

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Highlighted Games for Sunday, Nov 17th

Posted on November 17, 2013 by David Griggs

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES

-YOUNGSTOWN STATE AT UMASS. Both teams are unbeaten and UMass has already registered wins against LSU and Boston College.

-STANFORD AT DENVER. This is a huge home game for a Denver team that appeared to be good coming into the year, but looked really bad in their game against Cal last week. They need some notable wins if they want to get the attention of the committee, and that means taking care of business against Stanford at home today. Stanford’s defense has been pretty bad, and they’ll have to pick it up if they want any chance of winning this one.

-INDIANA STATE AT NOTRE DAME. Indiana State may be good enough to play their way into the NCAA Tournament conversation, and a win today would certainly go a long way in helping their cause.

-LEHIGH AT HOUSTON. I’m not big on Houston, but they can get to 4-0 with a win.

-BELMONT AT NORTH CAROLINA. Belmont will be a force in the Ohio Valley, but they’re likely in way over their head today.

-MICHIGAN AT IOWA STATE. These are two tournament caliber teams, so it’s a chance for both of them to pick up a good win.

-TOWSON AT VILLANOVA. Both teams are unbeaten. Towson has undergone one of the biggest turnarounds in college basketball, and they could really explode onto the national scene if they’re able to pick this one up on the road.

-STONY BROOK AT INDIANA. I know this is a buy game, but considering how IU struggled against LIU Brooklyn, and considering how Stony Brook is a likely conference frontrunner in the America East I figured I’d put it in with the featured games.

-SOUTH CAROLINA AT CLEMSON. A rivalry game between two teams that desperately need to establish themselves and build up some momentum. South Carolina looked good in a losing effort against Baylor, and Clemson hasn’t really been tested yet.

-BOSTON UNIVERSITY AT UCONN. Both teams are unbeaten and UConn looked really good in their last game.

 

BUY GAMES

-South Carolina State @ Nebraska. A win for Nebraska gets them to 3-0.

-Long Beach State @ Kansas State. K State has struggled in their first two games and this could be a bigger fight than what many expect.

-Louisiana Lafayette @ Baylor.

-Charleston Southern @ New Mexico.

-Robert Morris @ Kentucky. RMU is one of the better teams in the NEC, but they’re in over their heads today.

-Oakland a@ Gonzaga. This is a tough Oakland team despite the fact that they’re 0-3, but Gonzaga has looked really good this season and will likely overwhelm the Grizzlies.

 

GAMES INTENTIONALLY NOT MENTIONED

-Oregon State at Maryland.

Griggs

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Highlighted Games for Saturday, Nov 16th

Posted on November 16, 2013 by David Griggs

SPOTLIGHT GAMES

-OHIO STATE AT MARQUETTE. This is the first non-cupcake opponent for either team. Hopefully it’s not rained out this year.  It’s a game between two teams that will likely end up as protected seeds.

 

OTHER HIGHLIGHTED MATCH-UPS

-SETON HALL AT MERCER. Seton Hall Has squeaked out two wins, and Mercer dropped one at Texas that they really should have won. It’s not often that teams from power leagues travel to Mercer, and although I don’t think Seton Hall is all that good, they have not lost yet. It’s a big game for both teams, potentially on and off paper. Seton Hall could use a road win against a decent team, and Mercer could use a win of any kind over a team with a brand name.

-ARKON AT MIDDLE TENNESSEE. It’s too early to tell if these teams will be anywhere near the bubble come March, but both should be key players in their respective conferences.

-NORTHERN IOWA AT GEORGE MASON. I’m not that big on this George Mason team, but they have won their first two games and it will be interesting to see what they can do against a Northern Iowa team that appears to be fairly solid.

-TEXAS STATE AT ORAL ROBERTS. I’m not going to declare Oral Roberts a great team just yet, but to date they have a nice win at Tulsa and they hung with Kansas State.

-WEBER STATE AT COLORADO STATE. Both could potentially have big years, but neither has a win yet.

-CANISIUS AT SAINT BONAVENTURE. Not sure what to make of Saint Bonaventure, but Canisius is a team that many believe to be one of the front-runners in the MAAC. It will be interesting to see what they can do on the road in this one.

-SOUTH CAROLINA UPSTATE AT TENNESSEE. I think this is a good Tennessee team despite their loss at Xavier earlier in the week. USC Upstate is good as well, but they had to sweat it out against what appears to be a very weak Virginia Tech team. If they can get a win today it would likely end up being a solid win for their NCAA Tournament resume. Since it would be their second win against a “brand name” team, it should get them some national attention as well.

-SAINT FRANCIS U AT DAYTON. I don’t think either team is that good, but as of now both are 2-0.

-HAWAII AT MISSOURI. A win for Missouri will get them to 3-0.

-CREIGHTON AT SAINT JOSEPH’S. I’m not that big on Saint Joe’s, but I will be if they can pull off a win in this game. Both teams come in at 2-0.

-GEORGE WASHINGTON AT MANHATTAN. Manhattan started things off with a win at La Salle, and although at the time it looked like an underwhelming win at Columbia, after last night it’s looking a little better. They have a very weak schedule, so their margin for error is small. GW comes into this game 2-0, but they beat up on two cupcakes so this is their first real test.

-MINNESOTA AT RICHMOND. I’m big on Richmond although no one else really is. If they’re good, then they should be able to beat a mediocre team at home. Minnesota does come into the game 2-0 and did manhandle a pretty decent Montana team, but this is their first real test.

-WISCONSIN AT GREEN BAY. Wisconsin has looked good in their first two games. Green Bay is believed to be the best team in the Horizon League and they’ve got a chance to take on a heavyweight in-state opponent at home. This one should be fun.

-PRINCETON AT BUTLER. Both teams come in 1-0.

-SAINT LOUIS AT SOUTHERN ILLINOIS. I’ve been downplaying SLU, but a win does get them to 3-0.

-DRAKE AT SAINT MARY’S. I really like what this SMC team has done in their first three games. I think we’ll be seeing them in the top 25 at some point this year. The voters just need to figure out how good they are first.

-VIRGINIA AT DAVIDSON. Davidson should be a front-runner in the SoCon, but they were absolutely crushed by Duke in their first game and are likely over matched again today.

 

BUY GAMES

-Tennessee State at Wichita State. A win gets the Shockers to 3-0.

-Appalachian State at Cincinnati. A win gets the Bearcats to 3-0.

-Siena at La Salle. A win puts La Salle at 2-1.

-Marist at Providence. A win for Providence gets them to 3-0.

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