NEWS AND NOTES
-Iowa continues to struggle to make a case that they are a protected seed. After leading for most of the game at Indiana it slipped away in the final few minutes and the Hoosiers picked up a hugely important 67-65 win.
-After struggling against a rather weak Valpo team on Saturday but pulling out the win, Drake was basically run off the court yesterday. Valpo won 74-57 in what was a really unimpressive showing for the Bulldogs. I still think they are inside the bubble, but due to playing a weak overall schedule (through no real fault of their own) their margin for error is somewhat small.
-Loyola Chicago is right behind them. They managed to hold off Evansville and remain in the hunt for an at-large bid.
-Boise State lost again to Nevada. It was a disaster of a weekend for the Broncos and it has certainly set them back.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES
-SMU AT EAST CAROLINA (American). I’ve almost given up on SMU, but not quite yet. This should be an easy road win, but having said that ECU did manage to beat Houston last week, so…
-OREGON STATE AT COLORADO (Pac 12). Colorado is slipping a little bit, but they are still inside the bubble. They need to hold serve today. A win doesn’t help so much as a loss would be another setback.
-MIAMI FL AT NORTH CAROLINA (ACC). North Carolina is playing better than they have all season and as a result their resume is getting better. They should be able to hold serve today.
-NEBRASKA AT MINNESOTA (Big Ten). We sound like a broken record when saying this, but Minnesota is amazingly good at home and awful on the road. They should win, but it won’t really help them much.
-OHIO STATE AT MARYLAND (Big Ten). Ohio State has cracked our #1 line, and will stay up there if they can pick this one up on the road. It won’t be easy, though. Maryland has been playing better and their resume has been getting better, and this is a chance for them to give it another nudge.
-OKLAHOMA STATE AT KANSAS (Big 12). Kansas is in a bit of a tailspin whereas Oklahoma State has been playing really well. They’ve been playing well all season, really. A win would look good on either team’s resume, so it should be another fun one.
-GONZAGA AT BYU (West Coast). It is perhaps Gonzaga’s most difficult remaining game, and I still don’t expect them to have too much trouble winning it. BYU is safely inside the bubble and a loss won’t change that. A win will jump them up a few seed lines, though!
-SAN JOSE STATE AT SAN DIEGO STATE (Mountain West). San Diego State is still in relatively good shape despite a few setbacks, and will remain that way so long as they continue to hold serve.