Under The Radar 11/14

Posted on November 15, 2013 by David Griggs

In this addition, we discuss the big game between Saint Mary’s and North Dakota State, and how important it is for the Bison’s at-large hopes. The West Coast Conference has just one loss so far, which should help what already appears to be a very good Saint Mary’s team build their tournament resume. Manhattan had what looked to be a big win against La Salle, but then struggled to get past Columbia whereas La Salle struggled in their second game, so how much will that win help them?? The Atlantic Sun appears to have three good teams, but only one managed any sort of a statement win. UC Santa Barbara pulled off one of the most surprising results of the season so far, and the rest of their out of conference schedule will give them the chances they need to build their NCAA Tournament resume. All that, and more, in this week’s addition.

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2013-2014 Big Ten Student Media Preview

Posted on November 14, 2013 by Chad

Welcome to the first of two 2013-2014 Student Media Conference Previews!

First up: the Big Ten. 

I talked with student sport media members from all of the Big Ten Schools (with apologies to Iowa and Purdue), because quite simply it would be really cool and fun to get the students’ perspective.

You can enjoy to the entire mega-preview podcast or listen to each team’s preview individually.

Thanks to all who participated:
  • Darius Thigpen – President of Scarlet and Gray Sports Radio at Ohio State University
  • Andrew Hayes – Host of Impact Izzone for Impact 89FM Sports at Michigan State University
  • Daniel Wasserman – Basketball Beat Reporter for the Michigan Daily at University of Michigan
  • Jack Baer – Basketball Beat Reporter for the Daily Cardinal at Wisconsin University
  • Will Chukerman – Managing Editor for IUSportCom at Indiana University
  • Jonathan Hettinger – Staff Writer for the Daily Illini at University of Illinois
  • Jace Frederick – Basketball Beat Reporter for Minnesota Daily at University of Minnesota
  • Joshua Walfish – Sports Editor for the Daily Northwestern at Northwestern University
  • Zach Tegler – Sports Editor for the Daily Nebraskan at University of Nebraska
  • Zach Neiner – Basketball Reporter for the Daily Collegian at Penn State University

 

Enjoy:

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HoopsHD Midweek Report – 11/14/13

Posted on November 14, 2013 by Johnny Basketball

HHDpodsWe take a break from the full smorgasbord of basketball this opening week to talk about some of the results that we’ve seen so far this year, including:

  • Michigan State and Kansas’ victories in Chicago and the implications for all four teams involved
  • The enforcement of the new rules and the implications of that enforcement on game flow so far
  • The surprising results from the first week, including Wisconsin’s big win, VCU’s bigger win, Stanford’s loss to BYU, and UCSB knocking off UNLV

We also preview the games for the rest of the week and upcoming weekend, and give our most impressive items from Week 1.

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Merit Rankings for Wednesday, November 13th

Posted on November 13, 2013 by David Griggs

-Listed below is my Merit List Rankings. It is not a ranking of who I deem the best teams to be at this point in the season like your typical Top 25. It is merely a ranking of who I think has done the most on the court.

I don’t think VCU is the #3 team in the nation. I don’t think UC Santa Barbara is the #5 team in the nation. I don’t think Louisville, , Kentucky and Ohio State are completely outside the Top 25 (or Top 30). However, in looking simply at merit, none of those teams have done anything yet.

-What is the basis for these rankings?? Merit. Nothing more. Nothing less. How do I determine merit?? It’s how good I think their wins and losses will look on a team’s NCAA Tournament resume. That’s why Louisville and Kentucky are nowhere to be found. They’re both very good teams, but have nothing of quality on their resumes at this point in time.

 

RANKINGS

  1. KANSAS – Neutral floor win against Duke
  2. MICHIGAN STATE – Neutral floor win against Kentucky
  3. VCU – Road win against Virginia
  4. BYU – Road win against Stanford.  Home win against Weber State
  5. UC SANTA BARBARA – Decisive road win against UNLV
  6. WISCONSIN – Neutral win against Saint John’s.  Home win against Florida (FL not at full strength).
  7. OREGON – Neutral floor win against Georgetown
  8. UCONN – Neutral floor win against Maryland
  9. BAYLOR – Neutral floor win against Colorado.  Home win against South Carolina
  10. MANHATTAN – Road win at La Salle.  2-0 road record.
  11. NORTHERN COLORADO – Road win at Kansas State
  12. OKLAHOMA – Neutral floor win against Alabama
  13. SAINT MARY’S – Home wins against Louisiana Tech and Akron
  14. XAVIER – Home win against Tennessee
  15. CALIFORNIA – Home win against Denver
  16. KENT STATE – Road win against Temple
  17. UMASS – Neutral floor win against Boston College.  Home win against LSU
  18. UCLA – Home win against Drexel
  19. CINCINNATI – Home win against NC State
  20. NEBRASKA – Home win against FGCU
  21. TEXAS – Home win against Mercer
  22. RICHMOND – Home win against Belmont
  23. DUKE – Home win against Davidson
  24. GONZAGA – Decisive home wins against Bryant and Colorado State
  25. PROVIDENCE – Home win against Boston College
  26. USC UPSTATE – Road win against Virginia Tech
  27. SAINT FRANCIS U – Road win against Miami
  28. HARVARD – Neutral floor win against Holy Cross
  29. ORAL ROBERTS – Road win against Tulsa
  30. WICHITA STATE – Home win against Western Kentucky
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Small Conference Game of the Day – November 13, 2013

Posted on November 13, 2013 by Chad

The Centenary Award.  An annual award handed out by the staff here at HoopsHD.com to the worst team in college basketball.  It began three seasons ago when Centenary College in Louisiana finished the season 1-29 and then promptly drop down out of Division I hoops after years upon years of struggling to be competitive at this level.  In 2012, the award went to the Towson Tigers (who have had a remarkable turnaround since then which will certainly be highlighted in an upcoming SCGD) and last season it was given to the NCAA record 0-28 Grambling State Tigers.

This season Grambling is among the favorites to repeat, though South Carolina State, UMBC, UMKC, and Alabama State may also be in the mix as well.  However, today’s SCGD column is not about this year’s Centenary Award.  Rather, it is about the team that started it all, the Centenary Gentleman.

The Gents biggest claim to fame came back between 1972-1976 when NBA Hall of Famer Robert Parish played for the school….if in fact he ever did play there. The NCAA does not acknowledge any of his statistics because he and five other players were ruled ineligible academically, a ruling Centenary never agreed with.  As a result, Parish played for four seasons, averaging 21.6 points and 16.9 rebounds, and leading the school to an 87-21 record during his career.  But according to the NCAA’s official statistics, which only count the statistics of eligible players, Parish never played a game.

Recent years have been much more difficult for the Gents, though since their drop down in division they did post a .500 11-11 record in 2011-12 before dropping back last season to 9-15.  Tonight, they kick off their 2012-13 season with a road trip to take on the Bulldogs of Louisiana Tech.  Tech began their season Friday night with a loss at St. Mary’s, though they still look to be one of the top teams (on paper at least) in the new 16-team Conference USA.  The Gents should not be much of a problem for them tonight.  However, the SCGD could not pass up the chance to highlight Centenary during one of two games against D1 opponents they will play this season (they are also at Louisiana-Lafayette on December 17).

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Highlighted Games for Tuesday, November 12th

Posted on November 12, 2013 by David Griggs

-MIT AT HARVARD (***GAME OF THE DAY!!!***). I’m a little disappointed that Chad did not make this his SCGD. Therefore, I’m giving it top billing.

-KENTUCKY AT MICHIGAN STATE. A #1 vs #2 matchup is always fun. Both are solid teams, both look to be aiming for the #1 line, and winning a game like this is what can get a team up there.

-KANSAS AT DUKE. Pretty much the same scenario as Kentucky vs Michigan State. Two teams that could end up being #1 seeds who can get a huge win.

VCU AT VIRGINIA. Both teams are ranked and both appear to be solid tournament teams. This is a great early season matchup between two contrasting styles. It should be fun to watch.

-FLORIDA AT WISCONSIN. Wiscy looked very good in their opener against Saint John’s, whereas a very shorthanded Florida team struggled against North Florida in their first game. It could be a long night for the Gators.

-DENVER AT CALIFORNIA. I believe Denver is an NCAA Tournament caliber team. This is the kind of game they need to win if they want to end the season inside the bubble. It’s early, but it’s still a high stakes game.

WEST VIRGINIA AT VIRGINIA TECH. These two teams haven’t always played. Three or four years ago it would have been a fun game. This year, VA Tech looks really bad and West Virginia is still trying to get themselves back to being a tournament caliber team.

-SOUTH CAROLINA TAT BAYLOR. Baylor beat what appears to be a pretty good Colorado team in their season opener. South Carolina won their opener as well, but this will be a much tougher test.

-NC STATE AT CINCINNATI. NC State appears to be down this year, and Cincinnati is a team that I feel is underrated.

-MANHATTAN AT COLUMBIA. A crosstown matchup between two teams that won their opener. Keep an eye on Manhattan. I think they’re a solid tournament caliber team. The problem is that their schedule is weak so their margin for error is small.

-OHIO AT OHIO STATE. This is a buy game, but it’s interesting enough to warrant mention with the other games. Ohio has been a consistent MAC contender, but they lost four starters from last year’s 24 win team and appear to be at the bottom of their talent cycle. Ohio State, once again, is a top ten caliber team.

-SOUTH ALABAMA AT TEXAS. Both teams are 1-0 and Texas beat a pretty good Mercer team in their first game.

-MONTANA AT MINNESOTA. A pretty good Big Sky team going up against a rebuilding Big Ten team.

-DREXEL AT ILLINOIS STATE. I like this Drexel team and think they’re worth keeping an eye on. This would be a nice early season road win.

-TENNESSEE AT XAVIER. I think Tennessee is a tournament caliber team, and I think Xavier could be. It’s a good early season game that should allow us to learn something about both teams.

 

BUY GAMES

-Long Island @ Indiana

-Hofstra @ Louisville.

-Grambling @ Marquette.

-Fresno State @ Pitt. Not much is expected of Fresno, but they did win their opener.

-South Carolina State @ Michigan.

-Morgon State @ Towson. A Baltimore crosstown matchup.

-Fordham @ Syracuse.

-Utah Valley @ Oklahoma State. Utah Valley has won their first two games. If they can win this one, then they’ll have my attention.

-Western Illinois @ Nebraska.

-Quinnipiac @ La Salle. La Salle needs to rebound from their opening loss to Manhattan.

-Oakland @ UCLA.

-UCSB @ UNLV.

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