NEWS AND NOTES
-I believe I forgot to mention this at the time, but back on December 18th Clemson picked up a nice neutral floor win against Alabama. The game was in Birmingham and the crowd was partial to Alabama, so even though it was technically a neutral floor win it was much closer to a road game than a home game. I don’t know why I suddenly feel compelled to mention that.
-For Chad Sherwood’s UTR Game of the Day between Akron and Central Michigan – CLICK HERE
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES
-BAYLOR AT WEST VIRGINIA (Big Twelve) (***Potential Protected Seed Showcase!!!***). Both teams are in the top ten. Baylor is #1 for the first time in their history and they have some very big wins already, but this is probably their toughest game to date considering it is a true road game against a legitimately highly ranked team. Both look like they could end up as protected seeds and this would certainly be a high profile win for whoever it is that pulls it out.
-XAVIER AT VILLANOVA (Big East)(***Potential Protected Seed Showcase!!!***). These are two of the heavyweights from the Big East. At this point in time Nova is clearly the more proven team. Xavier has a good record and some decent wins, but no great ones. Pulling this off would certainly qualify as a great win. Perhaps the greatest single win that any team has managed up to this point.
-DUKE AT FLORIDA STATE (ACC)(***Potential Protected Seed Showcase!!!***). Both teams are highly ranked. Both are likely protected seeds and even possible #1 seeds, and this is the kind of game they need to be able to win in order to land on the #1 line. Florida State has actually looked like the better team and has built the better profile. Duke is also adjusting to life without Coach K, so it will be interesting to see what they can do against a good team in a hostile environment.
-KENTUCKY AT VANDERBILT (SEC). Kentucky can end up on the #1 line if they continue to blow through the SEC. This is also a good chance for them to pick up another true road win.
-SYRACUSE AT VIRGINIA TECH (ACC). Syracuse is the nation’s most schizophrenic team. Their good wins are really good, and their bad losses are atrocious. Outside of their win at Michigan Virginia Tech has struggled on the road, but they’ve been really tough at home. This is a big game and good opportunity for both teams.
-FLORIDA AT ALABAMA (SEC). Florida has been playing really well, but so has Alabama in their last couple of games. The Gators are the better team, but they’re also on the road, so this won’t be the easiest game for them to win.
-MISSISSIPPI STATE AT ARKANSAS (SEC). Arkansas is off to a good start, but they need a strong showing in conference in order to make the field, and they need to hold serve in games like this.
-KANSAS AT OKLAHOMA (Big Twelve). Kansas clearly looks like a #1 seed having won every game since the season opener, and should be able to pick up another road win in this one. When these two met last year, it was a much bigger deal.
-KANSAS STATE AT TEXAS TECH (Big Twelve). Both teams have shown some promise, but both still have a lot of work to do. This is a big game for both teams because this is the kind of game that both of them need to win.
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