Road teams had a fair amount of success on Saturday, and that doesn’t count a few close calls. Among the teams that had success were the only two undefeated teams in college basketball, as Auburn and San Diego State had tough road games they won to keep their records unblemished.
Auburn went to Mississippi State to take on a Bulldog team that didn’t have as good a run in non-conference as they had a year ago, or as many expected they would. Though they don’t have any earth-shattering losses – they did lose to Louisiana Tech and New Mexico State, but both have a good shot to win their conference – the resume-building wins were lacking. Their best wins came against Kansas State, Kent State, Tulane and Radford, none of who will be in the NCAA Tournament with an at-large bid unless Kansas State goes on an unexpected run in the Big 12 (and they started by losing at Oklahoma on Saturday).
The Tigers started slowly at the offensive end, and it looked like it might be a long day for them, something they have had a few of in that building – they entered the day just 2-15 all-time in Humphrey Coliseum. But they did something else: they shut down Mississippi State in the meantime. That let them hang in and then get the lead before the half was over, and they pulled away in the second half. The offense came around, with five players scoring in double figures led by J’Von McCormick with 28 points, and the Tigers left town with an 80-68 win.
Auburn played just their second true road game of the season, although they took on a different challenge along the way: good mid-majors. In non-conference, the Tigers turned back the likes of Georgia Southern, Davidson, South Alabama, Colgate, New Mexico, Richmond, Furman, Saint Louis and Lehigh. (I know some will debate the Atlantic 10 teams on the list; that’s another subject for another time.) A lot of power conference teams will barely touch one mid-major projected to win their league, let alone several. Now they come home to take on Vanderbilt and Georgia, so it’s not hard to envision them starting SEC play 3-0 before they go on the road again.
Later on, San Diego State took their undefeated mark into Logan against Utah State. The Aztecs have earned their stripes thus far, but the Aggies promised to be a different challenge and in their building. But the Aztecs got going first and led by seven at the break, then built the lead up in the second even as Malachi Flynn spent some time on the bench. At one point, they were up by 16 less than seven minutes into the half, and looked well on their way.
Then Utah State started to come alive, scoring the next eight points to cut the lead in half. They would get a point closer with under nine to play. At that point, San Diego State was simply the tougher team, hitting one back-breaking shot with the shot clock running down after another and then getting stops when they needed them most. Utah State would get no closer than seven, with the Aztecs getting the lead back up to 13 at one point late in the game in their 77-68 win.
San Diego State shot just under 51 percent from the field, including 9-20 from deep, and they slowed the Aggies as they shot 42.6 percent. Sam Merrill needed 21 shots to get his 26 points, while Neemias Queta had 15 points and 14 rebounds but still doesn’t look to be in prime form. The Aztecs had a well-balanced attack led by Flynn’s 22 points and Matt Mitchell’s 19, with the two combining to go 12-20 from the field including 5-9 from long range.
The Aztecs’ undefeated mark remains intact and includes a 4-0 start in the Mountain West. The two Nevada schools are nipping at their heels at 3-0, with the real surprise being that this is Utah State’s second conference loss. San Diego State could grab a comfortable lead in the standings before very long.
Side Dishes
For more on many of Saturday’s games, please see the Saturday Notes.
Iowa guard C.J. Fredrick left the Hawkeyes’ game against Penn State with an apparent ankle injury. The freshman played just 14 minutes in the tough loss and did not score, missing all four of his shots, and none of those minutes were in the second half.
Staying in the Big Ten, Michigan may not have Isaiah Livers for Sunday’s game at Michigan State as he continues to recover from a left groin injury. The Wolverines’ best shooter sat out last Sunday’s game and has been at practice this week, though how active is unclear. Livers is their top three-point threat and having a breakout junior season thus far.
West Virginia head coach Bob Huggins is likely to hear from the Big 12 office after he was critical of officials in the Mountaineers’ 60-53 loss at Kansas on Saturday. In his post-game press conference, Huggins referred to the officials as “those three blind mice” and cited a desire for consistency with the calls.
Tonight’s Menu
A full slate of Atlantic 10 action leads the way, while the MAAC is also busy among all the conference action.
- Right away the A-10 gets going with Richmond visiting Rhode Island and VCU going to George Mason (noon), with later action highlighted by Dayton going to Saint Joseph’s (1 p.m.) and Davidson at Duquesne (2 p.m.)
- A big rivalry game is on tap in the Big Ten as Michigan State hosts Michigan (1:30 p.m.), and later on Minnesota hosts Northwestern (7:30 p.m.) and Illinois hosts Purdue (8 p.m.)
- The MAAC slate is highlighted by Siena visiting Rider (2 p.m.)
- An underrated matchup in the Horizon League is on tap as Northern Kentucky goes to Oakland (3 p.m.)
- The lone Big East game on the slate is Xavier hosting St. John’s (4:30 p.m.)
- In the Pac-12, Oregon State visits Colorado (6 p.m.) and USC goes to Washington (10 p.m.)
