Small Conference Game of the Day: January 17

Posted on January 17, 2013 by Chad

As college football has ended, the NFL is winding down towards the Super Bowl, and conference play is well under way, the eyes of the sports world are starting to focus more and more on the greatest sport out there – college basketball.  With that in mind, it is time to kick off the “Small Conference Game of the Day.”

For this season’s inaugural game, we have three great choices.  Valparaiso is playing at Detroit (in a nationally televised game nonetheless) in a game that could help eventually decide the Horizon League regular season championship.  South Dakota State is at Western Illinois tonight as well, in a game involving a matchup of the defending Summit League champions and the upstart Leathernecks.  However, for tonight’s game we are going to the Ohio Valley Conference.

Eastern Kentucky has been one of the most surprising teams, not only in the OVC, but possibly in the entire country so far this season.  Preseason prognosticators saw the Ohio Valley as a two team race, between perennial mid-major powers Murray State and Belmont (who just moved over to the OVC from the Atlantic Sun this season).  Eastern Kentucky was in fact picked by some to finish dead last in the OVC’s Eastern Division.  Instead, EKU is sitting at 14-3 overall and 4-0 in conference.  Their only losses to date have come at West Virginia, at Illinois, and at North Carolina A&T (ok, that last one is not really defensible).  The Colonels do not have any marquee non-conference wins (the best being a home win over Towson), but did send a message through the OVC that they are legitimate by winning at Murray State 77-65 last week.

Tonight, EKU gets to take on arguably the best team in the OVC, Belmont.  Belmont is 13-4 on the season including questionable losses to Northeastern and Central Florida, but also has solid wins at Stanford, and homes wins over good teams from South Dakota State and Middle Tennessee.  This is the first of two meetings between EKU and Belmont, and a win tonight by Belmont will go a long way to cementing them as the team to beat come conference tournament time.  On the other hand, a win by Eastern Kentucky tonight will go a long way to sending notice to the league that the Colonels are legitimate contenders.  In any event, the OVC has clearly changed from the one-team show that Murray State has been putting on the past few seasons to a legitimately intriguing league with at least three teams capable of not only winning the league title but also making some noise come NCAA tournament time.

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Highlighted Games for Saturday, January 12th

Posted on January 12, 2013 by David Griggs

-MINNESOTA AT INDIANA (Big Ten). Both these teams are heavyweights, and Minnesota stepped up big in their last road game. Right now, both these teams look like clear protected seeds, and both could challenge for a #1 seed. These are the kinds of games the teams on the top lines win.

-DUKE AT NC STATE (ACC). NC State had huge expectations coming into the year, and although they haven’t done quite as well as they had hoped so far, they still only have two losses and are at home for a huge rivalry showcase game. Duke is the most tested team in the country, and they’ll likely be tested again in this one.

-OKLAHOMA STATE AT OKLAHOMA (Big Twelve). BEDLAM!!!!!!!!!!! For the first time in a long time, the Bedlam game features two teams who could end up in the Dance. Okie State has some big wins already, and although Oklahoma is less proven, their record is solid and they could add a much needed quality win to their profile today. Throw in the fact that it’s a rivalry game and it has all the ingredients of being a good one.

-COLORADO STATE AT SAN DIEGO STATE. Colorado State has a good record, but doesn’t have any really good wins just yet. They’re still in good shape, though. San Diego State is a very good team and should be a protected seed if they do well in conference play. This one, like most MWC games, should be fun.

-GEORGETOWN AT SAINT JOHN’S (Big East). Both teams are coming off losses, including a blowout loss at home for Georgetown to Pitt. As good as a year as Georgetown has had, they’re still looking for their first true road win.

-CINCINNATI AT RUTGERS (Big East). Rutgers is coming off of two big wins and has a lot of momentum built up. I wouldn’t be surprised if they get a third one today. If that happens, I’d have to say they’d currently be inside the bubble. Cincinnati is coming off a home loss to Notre Dame and could use a big road win themselves.

-VILLANOVA AT SYRACUSE (Big East). As bad as Nova has looked at times, their record is 11-4 and a solid win like this could really put them in the picture.

-BUTLER AT DAYTON (Atlantic Ten). Dayton needs some big wins if they want to be considered. Butler has some good wins already, and can tack on another notable road win to what is already a good resume.

-VIRGINIA AT CLEMSON (ACC). Virginia is looking very bubbly right now, and cannot afford to lose to a non-tournament caliber team, even if it is on the road.

-MARQUETTE AT PITTSBURGH (Big East). Both teams have decent records and a few decent wins, but still have work to do.

-KANSAS STATE AT WEST VIRGINIA (Biog Twelve). Bob Huggins faces his former team. West Virginia hasn’t looked all that good this year, but they still have just one home loss, so it won’t be a cakewalk for K State.

-ILLINOIS AT WISCONSIN (Big Ten). Illinois is coming off of a loss, and has another tough road game today. Wiscy needs some big wins to help solidify their profile.

-SAINT LOUIS AT TEMPLE (Atlantic Ten). Temple is incredibly schizophrenic. They beat Syracuse and nearly won at Kansas, but then lost to Xavier and Canisius. They face a SLU team that really needs a big win to help solidify their profile.

-CHARLOTTE AT RHODE ISLAND (Atlantic Ten). A win for Charlotte gets them to 14-2.

-UCLA AT COLORADO (Pac Twelve). This is a hugely pivotal game for Colorado, who can pick up a notable win and improve to 2-2 in the league, or drop a winnable game at home and fall to just 1-3. UCLA has looked good lately and can pick up a nice conference road win in this one, which would be another step in the right direction. Both teams have looked like tournament teams at times, but both still have work to do.

-CONNECTICUT AT NOTRE DAME (Big East). This is just the second true road game for UConn, but that doesn’t matter too much since they’re not eligible for the tournament. Notre Dame is off to a good start and can pick up another win of note in conference.

-RICHMOND AT LA SALLE (Atlantic Ten). Both teams have modest records and could still play their way in with a strong showing in conference, but right now these look more like NIT teams than NCAA teams.

-NORTH CAROLINA AT FLORIDA STATE (ACC). These are two more teams that could play their way in, but at the moment look more like NIT teams than NCAA teams.

-VIRGINIA TECH AT GEORGIA TECH. These are two more teams that could play their way in, but at the moment look more like NIT teams than NCAA teams.

-BYU AT SANTA CLARA (West Coast). These are two more teams that could play their way in, but at the moment look more like NIT teams than NCAA teams.

-HOUSTON AT SOUTHERN MISS (Conference USA). Both teams have good records, but overall have weak profiles. For either to have a chance they’ll have to pretty much blow through the conference.

-FRESNO STATE AT NEW MEXICO (Mountain West). New Mexico is coming off a big win against UNLV and should have an easy time against what looks to be the weakest team in the league.

-TEXAS A&M AT KENTUCKY (SEC). Kentucky barely survived at Vandy in their last game. TAMU has a good record, but it was amassed against a weak schedule and they’re likely way overmatched today.

-SOUTH FLORIDA AT LOUISVILLE (Big East). South Florida needs a big win, and beating a potential #1 seed on the road would certainly suffice.

-KANSAS AT TEXAS TECH (Big Twelve). This is just Kansas’s second true road game, but it isn’t likely to be much of a test.

-VCU AT SAINT BONAVENTURE (Atlantic Ten). VCU needs to be on upset alert. Saint Bona has just one home loss and is capable of playing up.

-FLORIDA AT LSU (SEC). LSU is coming off a rather surprising and damaging loss to Auburn and needs to rebound quickly if they want ot get back on track. Florida is likely a protected seed, and although LSU has a lot of work to do, they are currently unbeaten at home, so it would at least be a notable win.

-ARIZONA AT OREGON STATE. Arizona is coming off their first loss of the season. Oregon State’s program is going in the right direction, but it doesn’t appear that they’re quite yet to the NCAA Tournament level. Still, if they manage a win in this one it would really help boost their profile.

-AIR FORCE AT UNLV (Mountain West). Air Force has a solid record, but is still very unproven and will probably be overmatched in most of their league games. UNLV is coming off a loss to New Mexico in what was an exciting game and needs to rebound to avoid dropping to 0-2 in the league.

-MISSOURI AT OLE MISS (SEC). Ole Miss has a good record, but needs some good wins if they’re going to get the attention of the committee.

-BELMONT AT UT MARTIN (Ohio Valley). If Belmont can run through the Ohio Valley regular season they may end up inside the bubble.

-STEPHEN F AUSTIN AT ORAL ROBERTS (Southland).  A win for Stephen F Austin will get them to 14-1, and chances are they’ll be favored in all their remaining games.

-MIDDLE TENNESSEE AT LOUISIANA MONROE (Sun Belt). If MTSU can run through the Sun Belt regular season they could end up inside the bubble.

-ARMY AT BUCKNELL (Patriot League). If Bucknell runs through the Patriot League, they could end up inside the bubble. Had they beaten Missouri we’d already be talking about them as an at-large team.

-MOREHEAD STATE AT EASTERN KENTUCKY. Eastern Kentucky just blew out Murray State at Murray State to improve to 13-3. They only have one really bad loss, so one has to wonder what their profile will look like if they’re able to run through the OVC. That would mean beating Murray (which they’ve already done) and Belmont.

-WYOMING AT NEVADA (Mountain West). Wyoming just lost their first game of the season in a thriller against Boise, and is now looking to rebound. Nevada doesn’t look like a tournament team, but they are 8-1 at home.

-TCU AT BAYLOR (Big Twelve). Baylor cannot afford to lose to non-tournament teams at home.

-MEMPHIS AT UAB (Conference USA). Memphis has avoided bad losses, but they’re lacking good wins and won’t have many opportunities to get them, so they have a small margin of error.

-SAN FRANCISCO AT SAINT MARY’S (West Coast). SMC’s margin for error is virtually zero because they lack quality wins and won’t get too many opportunities between now and the end.

-MURRAY STATE AT AUSTIN PEAY (Ohio Valley). Murray State may be out of chances. Anything short of winning out likely won’t be enough.

Griggs

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Highlighted Games for Wednesday, Jan 9th

Posted on January 9, 2013 by David Griggs

MINNESOTA AT ILLINOIS (Big Ten). This is a game between two teams that currently look like protected seeds. Illinois is at home, and they’ve been tested more than Minnesota has, but Minney is still a very good team. They’ve only played two true road games, though, so I’m not ready to anoint them a true top ten team (even though they’re currently ranked #8th) until they do something on the road.

-BOISE STATE AT WYOMING (Mountain West). This is a game between teams that have looked like solid NCAA teams, but who both still have quite a bit of room to improve their profile. Wyoming is unbeaten, but many voters still aren’t believing in them. It will be interesting to see how this game goes tonight.

-UNLV AT NEW MEXICO (Mountain West). Both these teams are in the rankings and are looking to build up their resumes, and to jockey for position on the MWC standings.

-DAYTON AT VCU (Atlantic Ten). VCU continues to roll through the season. Dayton has played well, but they need a win like this on their profile if they really want to solidify themselves as an at-large team.

-RUTGERS AT SAINT JOHN’S (Big East). Rutgers is looking solid all of a sudden, and Saint John’s just won a big game at Cincinnati. Rutgers is just 1-3 on the road and could use some more road wins.

-IOWA STATE AT KANSAS (Big Twelve). Kansas appears to be a #1 seed caliber team. Iowa State is in search of statement wins. They may be overmatched today, though.

-NEBRASKA AT MICHIGAN (Big Ten). Michigan has looked as good as anyone in the country and shouldn’t be challenged at home tonight.

-SYRACUSE AT PROVIDENCE (Big East). Providence has had a so-so year, but they do only have one loss at home so far, so it’s not going to be a cakewalk for the Orange.

-LOUISVILLE AT SETON HALL (Big East). Seton Hall hasn’t been overwhelming, but they are unbeaten at home, and it could be a tough test for the Cardinals.

-BUTLER AT SAINT JOSEPH’S (Atlantic Ten). The preseason Atlantic Ten favorite is hosting the midseason Atlantic Ten favorite. Saint Joe’s really needs a strong showing in conference if they want to even be considered, and a win tonight would really help.

-GEORGIA AT FLORIDA (SEC). Florida is a solid team that should end up as a protected Seed. Georgia has been good at times, but shouldn’t be much of a match for the Gators tonight.

-LA SALLE AT CHARLOTTE (Atlantic Ten). These are two teams with bloated records, but they both lack notable wins. Both have a chance to dance, but they need to do more to prove themselves.

-SOUTH CAROLINA AT MISSISSIPPI STATE. South Carolina is 10-3, but the record has been bloated up against weak teams, and this is just their second true road game of the year.

-SOUTHERN MISS AT RICE (Conference USA). At 11-4, Southern Miss may be the only CUSA team with a shot at landing close to the bubble outside of Memphis, and they’ll pretty much have to win out to do it.

-OLE MISS AT TENNESSEE (SEC). Ole Miss has a quiet 11-2 record, but there is a reason it’s quiet. They have not really been tested and still need a strong showing in conference to be considered.

-FLORIDA STATE AT MARYLAND (ACC). Maryland has won 13 straight, but for the most part was untested. Saying this is a pivotal game is probably overstating it because they will have other chances in conference, but it’s definitely the kind of game they need to win far more often than not if they’re a tournament team.

-UTEP AT TULANE (Conference USA). Tulane begins conference play at 12-3. Chances are nothing will come of it, but they’re worth keeping an eye on for now.

-VILLANOVA AT SOUTH FLORIDA (Big East). Both these teams have decent records, but still have a lot of work to do just to get within reach of the bubble.

-EASTERN KENTUCKY AT MURRAY STATE (Ohio Valley). Very interesting game tonight between two OVC teams with bloated records. The margin for error is basically zero for either team in regards for an at-large, but with Eastern KY, Belmont and Murray all having solid records, it should be a fun three horse race to watch, and the winner MAY be inside the bubble.

-GEORGIA TECH AT NC STATE (ACC). NC State has fallen off the radar somewhat, but they still have just two losses and should be a real force in conference play.

-EAST CAROLINA AT MEMPHIS (Conference USA). Memphis has avoided bad losses, but they’re seriously lacking in quality wins so their margin for error is small.

-SOUTHERN ILLINOIS AT WICHITA STATE (Missouri Valley). I wouldn’t be surprised to see Wichita end up as a protected seed along with Creighton.

-TCU AT OKLAHOMA STATE (Big Twelve). Welcome to the Big Twelve TCU!!! Chances are they’ll be missing CUSA after tonight.

-LSU AT AUBURN (SEC). LSU has a decent record at 9-2, but has amassed it against weak teams. They still have a lot of work to do.

-VIRGINIA AT WAKE FOREST (ACC). Virginia is coming off a nice win against North Carolina, but has some bad losses on their resume as well. They can’t afford to drop this one on the road.

-SAN DIEGO STATE AT FRESNO STATE (Mountain West). This is one of the more winnable road games SDSU has left, so they need to take care of business.

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Highlighted Games for Sunday, Jan 6th

Posted on January 6, 2013 by David Griggs

-SYRACUSE AT SOUTH FLORIDA (Big East). South Florida has a decent record, but to prove to the committee that they’re a good team they need notable wins. Playing a team like Syracuse at home is a big opportunity. As far as Syracuse is concerned, if they want to earn a high seed, they need to win road games like this one.

-IOWA AT MICHIGAN (Big Ten). Iowa racked up a big record out of conference, but they did it against predominantly weak teams. They played Indiana tough at home last week, but came up short. Today’s test at Michigan is even tougher. Having said that, Iowa needs to prove themselves, but losing back to back games against top ten teams isn’t going to hurt them. They will need good wins at some point if they want to dance, though.

-TEMPLE AT KANSAS. An out of conference resume game against two likely tournament teams. If Temple could pull off the win, it would really boost their seed, but a loss won’t really hurt them.

-WISCONSIN AT NEBRASKA. Wiscy could use a road win on their profile, and if they want to establish themselves as a tournament team they need to win games like this away from home. It isn’t going to be easy, but it is one of the more winnable conference road games.

-WICHITA STATE AT BRADLEY (Missouri Valley). Bradley has just one home loss so far, and it was to Michigan. They’re 10-4 and although their profile doesn’t resemble a tournament team now, it will if they can win games like this and avoid bad losses. Wichita is playing for a protected seed, and if this is the kind of game they need to win in order to get it.

-NORTHWESTERN AT MINNESOTA (Big Ten). Minney hasn’t lost since playing Duke back in November, and they aren’t likely to lose today.

-COLORADO AT ARIZONA STATE (Pac Twelve). Arizona State has a good record, but no good wins at all. This would be their best win of the year by far if they pull it off. Colorado is coming off a heartbreaking and somewhat controversial loss at Arizona and could use a notable road win. So far, they have only one true road win and they’ll need to pick up some more.

-OREGON AT OREGON STATE (Pac Twelve). It’s a rivalry game. It’s a conference game. It’s two teams with good records that need notable wins, and this could potentially be one. It should be fun.

Griggs

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Bracket Racket 12/30/2012

Posted on January 4, 2013 by David Griggs

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/crimsoncast/2012/12/31/bracket-racket-123012

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Highlighted Games for Saturday, January 5th

Posted on January 4, 2013 by David Griggs

-OHIO STATE AT ILLINOIS (Big Ten). Illinois is actually the more accomplished team in this match up. Ohio State is still looking for their first notable win. Having said that, Ohio State appears to be every bit as good, if not better, than the Illini. A win like this would go a long way in establishing the Buckeyes.

-GONZAGA AT SANTA CLARA (West Coast). Santa Clara is coming off a loss at Duke, but they are a very good team that needs a notable win on their profile. Beating Gonzaga at home would certainly give them that. If they’re able to win a game like this and avoid bad losses the rest of the way, Santa Clara should be in the discussion. Gonzaga has just one loss and is looking like a protected seed, but this won’t be an easy road game for them to win.

-BUCKNELL AT MISSOURI. I think this is a very good Bucknell team that is an at-large caliber team, but they may be in over their heads today. Having said that, a win for Bucknell would not entirely shock me, and it would really boost the quality of their resume. They need a big win because they won’t have any opportunities in conference play to get them.

-OKLAHOMA STATE AT KANSAS STATE (Big Twelve). This is the conference opener between two good teams who will likely be dancing in March. This would be a good win for whoever pulls it off. Okie State has played in only one true road game and lost, so this would really help out their profile.

-LEHIGH AT VCU. These are two good teams that are somewhat under the radar. Lehigh has a good record, but is nearly out of chances of earning a high quality win. VCU has not lost since playing in the Battle for Atlantis tournament over Thanksgiving. Unlike Lehigh, they’ll have plenty of shots at quality wins as they get into conference play, so if Lehigh wants any sort of consideration at all, they’ll need to win this one.

-PITTSBURGH AT RUTGERS (Big East). Pitt is slightly more tested than Rutgers, but this is still their first true road game. Rutgers has not lost at home. Both need good wins on their profile, and both could use this one.

-INDIANA STATE AT CREIGHTON (Missouri Valley). Creighton continues to look like a protected seed when they play, and are coming off a big road win against Illinois State. Indiana State has potential, but in order to get the attention of the committee they’ll need a win in a game like this.

-VIRGINIA TECH AT MARYLAND (ACC). Maryland has won twelve straight since losing their opener to Kentucky. Virginia Tech has some decent wins, but still has a lot of work to do. This is another game between two teams who have big records, but still need to add quality wins to their profile.

-SETON HALL AT NOTRE DAME (Big East). Another game between two teams with good records, but that need good wins on their profile.

-SAINT JOHN’S AT CINCINNATI (Big East). Cincinnati is coming off a big win at Pitt, and with just one loss on the season appears to be in great shape.

-NC STATE AT BOSTON COLLEGE (ACC). NC State has just two losses, and one was on the road at Michigan. Maybe I was a little too quick to write them off. I still don’t think they’re anywhere close to the sixth best team, which is where they began the season, but perhaps they are the #16th best. I don’t expect them to have a whole lot of trouble today.

-MIAMI, FL AT GEORGIA TECH (ACC). I really like both these teams. Georgia Tech has looked good, but could really use a win of note on their resume. This is a winnable conference home game that a tournament team should be expected to win so we should learn something about them.

-SAINT BONAVENTURE AT COLORADO STATE. Colorado State is off to a 12-2 start and should be able to make the NCAAs with a strong showing in conference play. Saint Bonaventure is good, but not quite NCAA good.

-GEORGETOWN AT MARQUETTE (Big East). Marquette has a good record, but they need a good win.

-PURDUE AT MICHIGAN STATE (Big Ten). Michigan State is off to a good start, and Purdue is…well…not. The Spartans shouldn’t have too much trouble picking up a conference win at home.

-LMU AT SAINT MARY’S (West Coast). Saint Mary’s has a good record, but their lack of quality wins has given them a small margin for error the rest of the way.

-UTAH AT ARIZONA (Pac Twelve). Arizona is coming off an exciting overtime win against Colorado. They’re unbeaten with a smattering of good wins and shouldn’t be challenged too strongly today.

-WAKE FOREST AT DUKE (ACC). Duke isn’t likely to be challenged very often as they go through ACC play, especially not at home against Wake Forest.

-TEXAS AT BAYLOR (Big Twelve). I think Baylor is a good team, but they really need a strong showing in conference and really can’t afford to lose a game like this at home.

-OKLAHOMA AT WEST VIRGINIA (Big Twelve). West Virginia has not been impressive at all this year, but they are unbeaten at home and we should see an electric crowd in this game for their first ever Big Twelve game. Oklahoma has a decent record, but needs some substance on their profile. A road win today would help.

-FLORIDA STATE AT CLEMSON (ACC). Both of these teams are trying to remain relevant.

-NORTHERN IOWA AT ILLINOIS STATE (Missouri Valley). Illinois State is a very dangerous team, but at 9-5 they still don’t have a resume that is up to NCAA Tournament standards. They must avoid losses to non-tournament teams the rest of the way.

-UAB AT DAYTON. Dayton looks very much like a bubble team right now, and cannot afford to lose at home to non-tournament teams.

-BELMONT AT TENNESSEE TECH (Ohio Valley). If Belmont can win out, they should be in the discussion.

-MURRAY STATE AT SOUTHEAST MISSOURI STATE (Ohio Valley). Murray’s margin for error is practically zero. They will likely be challenged throughout conference play, especially on the road. SEMO is 6-1 at home so far.

-IDAHO AT UTAH STATE. Utah State has just one loss on the year. We’ve seen this movie before. They’ve run up a big record against a weak schedule, and are always in the discussion, but never a certainty.

-BYU AT SAN FRANCISCO (West Coast). BYU looks like a bubble team and has a very small margin for error.

-NORTH DAKOTA STATE AT UMKC (Summit League). With just three losses on the year, NDSU may get a look at the selection committee if they’re able to win out. Chances are they’ll be favored in all but one of their remaining games.

-MIDDLE TENNESSEE AT SOUTH ALABAMA. MTSU has just four losses, but they don’t have any real quality wins. Still, they should be favored in nearly all their remaining games and if they win out they should get a serious look from the committee.

-STANFORD AT UCLA. I was very quick to write off UCLA, but they don’t look all that bad on paper. A win today gets them to 12-3 overall and keeps them unbeaten in conference.

-BETHUNE COOKMAN AT LSU. As bad as the SEC is, LSU should make quite a bit of noise once they get into conference play. They shouldn’t be challenged in this one today.

-SOUTH CAROLINA STATE AT SOUTH CAROLINA. A win for the Gamecocks will get them to 10-3 going into conference play.

-EASTERN MICHIGAN AT UMASS. UMass hasn’t made a whole lot of noise, but a win will get them to 10-3.

-NEW ORLEANS AT BUTLER. Butler appears to be way undermatched in this one.

-CAL STATE BAKERSFIELD AT UNLV. UNLV remains in good shape and likely won’t be challenged today.

-WALLA WALLA (nonvdiv1) AT BOISE STATE. Boise has just two losses and appears to be an NCAA Tournament caliber team. This is a complete throwaway game, though.

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