Highlighted Games for Wednesday, February 18th

NEWS AND NOTES

-We will be recording our Under the Radar Video Podcast tonight, so be on the lookout for that.

TONIGHT’S HIGHLIGHTED GAMES

-EAST CAROLINA AT TULSA (American).  Tulsa is outside the bubble and needs to put together a string of wins down the stretch just to get into the discussion.

-XAVIER AT CINCINNATI.  This is an out of conference game that is helping fill out ESPN’s Rivalry Week.  Both teams appear to be inside the bubble, but neither are entirely safe, so in addition to being a rivalry, this game means just as much on paper as it does off paper.   Both are also coming off losses, so a win in a rivalry game could really give either team some momentum.

-LOUISVILLE AT SYRACUSE (ACC).  Louisville will be without Chris Jones, and although depth is an issue for the Cardinals, playing well is oftentimes an issue for the Orange.  Louisville is still looking like they’ll end up with a protected seed.

-VIRGINIA TECH AT MIAMI FL (ACC).  Miami is right on the bubble and simply cannot afford to lose to a weak team at home.

-DAVIDSON AT GEORGE WASHINGTON (Atlantic Ten).  Both teams are on the outside looking in right now, and need to string together some wins just to get themselves into the discussion.

-WISCONSIN AT PENN STATE (Big Ten).  Wisky continues to look better and better as the season goes on.  If the season were to end now they’d be seriously considered for a #1 seed.

-UMASS AT RHODE ISLAND (Atlantic Ten).  It’s Bubble Night in the Atlantic Ten as we have two more teams on the outside looking in, but should have a chance if they’re able to put together a strong run down the stretch.

-NORTHERN IOWA AT LOYOLA IL (Missouri Valley).  I think UNI is good enough to end up as a protected seed.  I wouldn’t be surprised if they won out, and yes I know that would involve winning at Wichita State’s Round House.

-IOWA STATE AT OKLAHOMA STATE (Big Twelve).  Both teams are in the rankings and appear to be solidly in the field.

-NORTH CAROLINA AT DUKE (ACC).  Off paper, this is hyped as the nation’s biggest rivalry.  On paper, it’s important as Duke is fighting for a #1 seed and UNC is fighting for a protected seed.

-PROVIDENCE AT DEPAUL (Big East).  Providence has been very schizophrenic this year, but still appears to be in good shape.  DePaul has proven to not be the easiest place in the world to win, so it won’t be a walk in the park for Providence.

-UCLA AT ARIZONA STATE (Pac Twelve).  UCLA is right on the bubble and could really use this conference road win.  That’s one reason to highlight this game.  Another reason is because Arizona State is playing at h0me, and that means we get to once again see the greatest thing in the history of all sports fandom….THE CURTAIN OF DISTRACTION!!!  Normally I hate it when refs call too many fouls, but not in the second half of Arizona State home games.

-NORTHWESTERN AT MINNESOTA (Big Ten).  Minney is outside the bubble, and this isn’t the kind of win that would help them all that much, but it is the kind of loss that would kill them.

-MISSOURI AT ARKANSAS (SEC).  Arkansas is who Missouri plays during Rivalry Week now.  That’s nice.  They used to play Kansas, but that went away.  CLICK HERE to read a piece on how I feel about that.  As for this game, Missouri is so weak and Arkansas is so strong at home, it may end up looking like a buy game when it’s all over.

-COLORADO STATE AT FRESNO STATE (Mountain West).  Colorado State has a rather small margin for error.  We always say that tournament teams need to win against non NIT teams on the road, so a loss would not be good.

-BOISE STATE AT UNLV (Mountain West).  Back in November, we would have been very excited about this game.  Now, it’s a Boise team who is on the bubble and trying to end up on the right side of it taking on a UNLV team that may not even be headed to the NIT.

-COLORADO AT OREGON (Pac Twelve).  Oregon is another bubble team, and losing at home to a non tournament team would not be good for them.