News, Notes, and Highlighted Games: Saturday, Jan 28th

NEWS AND NOTES

-Xavier fell to their crosstown rivals Cincinnati on Thursday night, which isn’t a bad loss in and of itself, but they will be heading into February with just one true road win and no wins of any kind against a team that’s solidly in the field.  Their resume will need some upgrading before Selection Sunday or else they may be sweating on that day.

-Oregon got a big road win against a Utah team that’s on the fringe of the bubble and had been playing better as of late.  Oregon is a good team, but they don’t have that many road wins at this point in time so this was a very nice edition to their tournament resume.

-Michigan absolutely blasted Indiana and picked up a big win that they really needed.  They still have some work to do if they want to be safely inside the bubble come March, but last night was definitely a good start.

-Dayton missed a rare chance to pick up a quality win on Friday night when they fell at VCU.  The loss won’t hurt them that much in and of itself, but they have so few chances at statement wins that their margin for error is very small, and at the very least this win would have given them a little bit of breathing room.

SPOTLIGHT GAME

-KANSAS AT KENTUCKY.  This game was a thriller last year and has all the makings of being another great game this year.  It’s more of a litmus test than anything else.  Both teams are almost certain to end up as protected seeds, and it’s possible that both could end up on the #1 line, but with the Midwest being in Kansas City and the South being in Memphis they’re not even competing for the same placement when it comes to where the committee is likely to send both of them.  It’s always fun when top five teams get together, so it should be fun today.

OTHER HIGHLIGHTED GAMES

-TEXAS A&M AT WEST VIRGINIA.  This appears to be a rather big mismatch.  West Virginia is looking like a protected seed and TAMU looks like they’ll be lucky to make the NIT, not to mention TAMU is just 1-3 on the road.

-WISCONSIN AT RUTGERS (Big Ten).  I think Wiscy will be a conference frontrunner and will likely end up as the protected seed.  This is a winnable conference road game for the Badgers.

-NOTRE DAME AT GEORGIA TECH (ACC).  This is a very intriguing match-up between a Notre Dame team that is looking like a protected seed, and a Georgia Tech team that’s right on the bubble and that has played very well at home, especially since conference play began.

-CLEMSON AT PITTSBURGH (ACC).  Both teams are hovering right around the bubble and desperately need this win, and probably several others as well.

-FLORIDA STATE AT SYRACUSE (ACC).  Florida State is trying to rebound from a blowout loss at Georgia Tech earlier this week in what looks like a very winnable road game for them.

-NORTH CAROLINA AT MIAMI FL (ACC).  North Carolina looks like they could end up as high as the #1 line, and the more road wins they pick up the better.  Miami FL is right on the bubble and really needs a high profile win to give their resume a much needed boost.

-FLORIDA AT OKLAHOMA.  Oklahoma doesn’t have a tournament profile, but they are capable of playing at a high level and are not a team that Florida can afford to look past.  It would actually end up being a nice road win for the Gators if they’re able to pull it off.

-LSU AT TEXAS TECH.  Texas Tech is right on the bubble and needs to hold serve in home games against non-tournament teams, which is what LSU appears to be.

-KANSAS STATE AT TENNESSEE.  This would be a nice road win for K State, who at this point only has two.  This won’t be easy, but it also won’t be as challenging as what they’ll face for most of the rest of conference play.

-PROVIDENCE AT MARQUETTE (Big East).  Marquette is really on a roll and has another winnable conference game today.

-MARYLAND AT MINNESOTA (Big Ten).  Maryland has a bloated record, but doesn’t have much in the way of good wins.  They have a lot of decent ones, but this would arguably be their most impressive of the season if they’re able to pull it off.  It’s also a big game for the Gophers, who are in somewhat of a slump and need a good win to pull them out of it.

-DEPAUL AT CREIGHTON (Big East).  Creighton has lost two straight since losing Mo Watson for the season, and really needs to take care of business in this game because it is their most winnable remaining game.

-DUKE AT WAKE FOREST (ACC).  Duke is slumping and needs to string together some wins to get back within reach of earning a protected seed.  A road win against Wake would actually do a lot to shore up their profile.  Wake, on the other hand, is right on the bubble and could really use a win like this on their resume.

-EAST CAROLINA AT MEMPHIS (American).  Memphis may be about out of strikes, but if they win out the committee should at least take a look at them.

-ARKANSAS AT OKLAHOMA STATE.  This is one of the more important games in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge because both teams are right on the bubble and are competing for limited spots in the tournament.  Both need to come into this game with a huge sense of urgency.

-TEXAS AT GEORGIA.  Georgia is outside the bubble and needs a really strong finish to end up on the right side of it.  They certainly need to hold serve in games like this.

-IOWA STATE AT VANDERBILT.  This would be a nice road win for an Iowa State team that could use another true road win on their resume.

-UNC WILMINGTON AT WILLIAM & MARY.  UNCW continues to blow through the conference and will end up safely making the field so long as they keep it up.

-NEW MEXICO AT NEVADA (Mountain West).  Nevada has just four losses, and if they win out they should get a good look from the committee, but even that may not be enough.  The last time these two met it was one of the more dramatic comebacks and finishes of the season, so hopefully the second leg is exciting as well.

-ILLINOIS AT PENN STATE (Big Ten).  Illinois has a lot of work to do if they want to land on the right side of the bubble.  Winning on the road against Penn State will help, but they’ll have to do a lot more than that between now and the end.

-AUBURN AT TCU.  TCU is right on the bubble and needs to hold serve against sub-level tournament teams, especially at home.

-BAYLOR AT OLE MISS.  It’s unfortunate that these two teams are matched up.  If the Big Twelve and SEC matched the teams up a few weeks in advance as opposed to the beginning of the season they probably wouldn’t have been.  It’s a chance to for Baylor to pick up another road win against an Ole Miss team that looks to be headed to the NIT at best.

-LOUISIANA TECH AT MIDDLE TENNESSEE (Conference USA).  Louisiana Tech likely won’t be at full strength after getting into a little scuffle with UAB in their last game, but winning at Middle Tennessee would have been a tall order anyway.  Middle continues to dominate the league and should safely make the tournament if they keep it up.

-OREGON STATE AT UTAH (Pac Twelve).  Utah is right on the fringe of the bubble and can’t afford to lose what is technically a conference game, but practically a buy game.

-BUFFALO AT AKRON (MAC).  I really like this Akron team and think they’re good enough to win out, and if they do I’m thinking the selection committee will take them regardless of what happens in the conference tournament.

-OHIO STATE AT IOWA (Big Ten).  Ohio State still has a lot of work to do, but if they can pick up this road win, which would be their fourth of the season, it would be another step in the right direction.

-GEORGETOWN AT BUTLER (Big East).  Butler is coming off a very nice road win against Seton Hall, and appears to be have a solid protected seed caliber profile.  A win at home today gets them to a very impressive 19-3 on the year.

-SOUTH CAROLINA AT MISSOURI (SEC).  This is a winnable road win for a South Carolina team that appears to be cruising toward the NCAA Tournament.

-NEW MEXICO STATE AT UTAH VALLEY (WAC).  New Mexico State can improve to 20-2 on the year and continue their dominance of the WAC.

-OREGON AT COLORADO (Pac Twelve).  Oregon just picked up a huge road win against Utah earlier in the week and should be able to add another road win to their profile tonight.  The Ducks seem to be cruising toward a protected seed.

-GONZAGA AT PEPPERDINE (West Coast).  Gonzaga is blowing through conference play and will likely be ranked #1 in both polls if they can finish off Pepperdine tonight.

-SAINT MARY’S AT SANTA CLARA (West Coast).  SMC is cruising toward the NCAA Tournament and should get in on the first ballot if they continue to hold serve.