Highlighted Games for Wednesday, Jan 8th

-VILLANOVA AT SETON HALL (Big East). I look for Nova to continue to blow through the league and earn a seed on the top two lines.

-SOUTH CAROLINA AT FLORIDA (SEC). The Gators will be undermatched in the majority of their conference games, including tonight.

-KANSAS AT OKLAHOMA (Big Twelve). Oklahoma has played well lately, and Kansas is coming off a disappointing loss, but I still think the Jayhawks are the better team and can get it done tonight. If Oklahoma wins, it will go a long way as far as landing them on the right side of the bubble.

-SAINT JOSEPH’S AT UMASS (Atlantic Ten). UMass is having a banner season, and should be able to take care of business at home tonight.

-HARVARD AT UCONN. This is a game that UConn suddenly needs to win. They’re coming off of two straight losses, and really need to take care of business against a good team at home.

-WAKE FOREST AT VIRGINIA (ACC). No one is talking about Wake, but they’re 11-3 and now have a big win against North Carolina. If they win tonight, you have to start looking at them as a legit team. Virginia, on the other hand, isn’t looking nearly as legit as many thought they would be.

-GEORGETOWN AT PROVIDENCE (Big East). Georgetown could use a decent road win on their profile.

-RICHMOND AT SAINT BONAVENTURE (Atlantic Ten). Richmond has a lot of work to do if they want to make the field. Winning at Saint Bona, who has yet to lose at home, would be a start. It’s the kind of game that the Spiders need to win.

-OHIO AT KENT STATE (MAC). These are two of the better teams in the MAC. Both could be dangerous NCAA teams, but both would need to blow through the MAC schedule to even have a shot at making it if they don’t win the conference tournament.

-TOLEDO AT WESTERN MICHIGAN (MAC). Toledo has just one loss, but they still have a small margin for error. If they can go through league play and only lose one game, I think they’ll be safe for a bid regardless of what happens in the conference tournament. With that in mind, they need to take care of business every single night, including tonight.

-MINNESOTA AT PENN STATE (Big Ten). Minney is off to a good start and could get another decent conference road win tonight. Penn State isn’t a tournament caliber team, but they are tough to beat at home.

-ILLINOIS STATE AT WICHITA STATE (Missouri Valley). It’s the same story every night for the rest of the season. Wichita will be undermatched and simply needs to hold serve.

-MISSISSIPPI STATE AT KENTUCKY (SEC). Mississppi State is much improved from last year’s pitiful team, and is off to a respective 10-3 start, but they aren’t likely to a level where they can win a road game like this one.

-GEORGIA AT MISSOURI (SEC). A win for Mizzou gets them to 13-1.

-INDIANA STATE AT DRAKE (Missouri Valley). See here: https://hoopshd.com/2014/01/08/small-conference-game-of-the-day-january-8-2/

-ILLINOIS AT WISCONSIN (Big Ten). The Illini are having a much better year than expected, but this is an extremely tall order against one of the nation’s best. Wiscy is one of those temas who is competing for a #1 seed.

-TEXAS AT OKLAHOMA STATE (Big Twelve). Okie State has been somewhat disappointing, but they’re still very good and shouldn’t have too much trouble at home tonight.

-COLORADO AT WASHINGTON STATE (Pac Twelve). Colorado hasn’t played that many true road games, but they’ve won the two that they have played and probably won’t be challenged that strongly tonight.

-MIAMI FL AT NORTH CAROLINA. UNC has been bi-polar all season long, and really cannot afford a slip-up in a game like this.

-NEW MEXICO AT WYOMING (Mountain West). This is the kind of road game that New Mexico should be expected to win.

-ARKANSAS AT TEXAS A&M (SEC). Arkansas is 11-2, but still hasn’t gotten the attention of the national media. That’s largely because they are just 1-2 in road games. This is the kind of game that they should be expected to win if they’re a tournament team.

-UTAH AT WASHINGTON (Pac Twelve). Washington has had an unspectacular season, but they played great on the road in their last two games. Utah has a good record, but it has come against a weak schedule, so they need to come in with a sense of urgency despite only having two losses.

-BOISE STATE AT SAN DIEGO STATE (Mountain West). San Diego State is coming off a huge win at Kansas, and has had a tremendous season so far. Boise has a good record, but no good wins and could really use this one.

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