-MINNESOTA AT INDIANA (Big Ten). Both these teams are heavyweights, and Minnesota stepped up big in their last road game. Right now, both these teams look like clear protected seeds, and both could challenge for a #1 seed. These are the kinds of games the teams on the top lines win.
-DUKE AT NC STATE (ACC). NC State had huge expectations coming into the year, and although they haven’t done quite as well as they had hoped so far, they still only have two losses and are at home for a huge rivalry showcase game. Duke is the most tested team in the country, and they’ll likely be tested again in this one.
-OKLAHOMA STATE AT OKLAHOMA (Big Twelve). BEDLAM!!!!!!!!!!! For the first time in a long time, the Bedlam game features two teams who could end up in the Dance. Okie State has some big wins already, and although Oklahoma is less proven, their record is solid and they could add a much needed quality win to their profile today. Throw in the fact that it’s a rivalry game and it has all the ingredients of being a good one.
-COLORADO STATE AT SAN DIEGO STATE. Colorado State has a good record, but doesn’t have any really good wins just yet. They’re still in good shape, though. San Diego State is a very good team and should be a protected seed if they do well in conference play. This one, like most MWC games, should be fun.
-GEORGETOWN AT SAINT JOHN’S (Big East). Both teams are coming off losses, including a blowout loss at home for Georgetown to Pitt. As good as a year as Georgetown has had, they’re still looking for their first true road win.
-CINCINNATI AT RUTGERS (Big East). Rutgers is coming off of two big wins and has a lot of momentum built up. I wouldn’t be surprised if they get a third one today. If that happens, I’d have to say they’d currently be inside the bubble. Cincinnati is coming off a home loss to Notre Dame and could use a big road win themselves.
-VILLANOVA AT SYRACUSE (Big East). As bad as Nova has looked at times, their record is 11-4 and a solid win like this could really put them in the picture.
-BUTLER AT DAYTON (Atlantic Ten). Dayton needs some big wins if they want to be considered. Butler has some good wins already, and can tack on another notable road win to what is already a good resume.
-VIRGINIA AT CLEMSON (ACC). Virginia is looking very bubbly right now, and cannot afford to lose to a non-tournament caliber team, even if it is on the road.
-MARQUETTE AT PITTSBURGH (Big East). Both teams have decent records and a few decent wins, but still have work to do.
-KANSAS STATE AT WEST VIRGINIA (Biog Twelve). Bob Huggins faces his former team. West Virginia hasn’t looked all that good this year, but they still have just one home loss, so it won’t be a cakewalk for K State.
-ILLINOIS AT WISCONSIN (Big Ten). Illinois is coming off of a loss, and has another tough road game today. Wiscy needs some big wins to help solidify their profile.
-SAINT LOUIS AT TEMPLE (Atlantic Ten). Temple is incredibly schizophrenic. They beat Syracuse and nearly won at Kansas, but then lost to Xavier and Canisius. They face a SLU team that really needs a big win to help solidify their profile.
-CHARLOTTE AT RHODE ISLAND (Atlantic Ten). A win for Charlotte gets them to 14-2.
-UCLA AT COLORADO (Pac Twelve). This is a hugely pivotal game for Colorado, who can pick up a notable win and improve to 2-2 in the league, or drop a winnable game at home and fall to just 1-3. UCLA has looked good lately and can pick up a nice conference road win in this one, which would be another step in the right direction. Both teams have looked like tournament teams at times, but both still have work to do.
-CONNECTICUT AT NOTRE DAME (Big East). This is just the second true road game for UConn, but that doesn’t matter too much since they’re not eligible for the tournament. Notre Dame is off to a good start and can pick up another win of note in conference.
-RICHMOND AT LA SALLE (Atlantic Ten). Both teams have modest records and could still play their way in with a strong showing in conference, but right now these look more like NIT teams than NCAA teams.
-NORTH CAROLINA AT FLORIDA STATE (ACC). These are two more teams that could play their way in, but at the moment look more like NIT teams than NCAA teams.
-VIRGINIA TECH AT GEORGIA TECH. These are two more teams that could play their way in, but at the moment look more like NIT teams than NCAA teams.
-BYU AT SANTA CLARA (West Coast). These are two more teams that could play their way in, but at the moment look more like NIT teams than NCAA teams.
-HOUSTON AT SOUTHERN MISS (Conference USA). Both teams have good records, but overall have weak profiles. For either to have a chance they’ll have to pretty much blow through the conference.
-FRESNO STATE AT NEW MEXICO (Mountain West). New Mexico is coming off a big win against UNLV and should have an easy time against what looks to be the weakest team in the league.
-TEXAS A&M AT KENTUCKY (SEC). Kentucky barely survived at Vandy in their last game. TAMU has a good record, but it was amassed against a weak schedule and they’re likely way overmatched today.
-SOUTH FLORIDA AT LOUISVILLE (Big East). South Florida needs a big win, and beating a potential #1 seed on the road would certainly suffice.
-KANSAS AT TEXAS TECH (Big Twelve). This is just Kansas’s second true road game, but it isn’t likely to be much of a test.
-VCU AT SAINT BONAVENTURE (Atlantic Ten). VCU needs to be on upset alert. Saint Bona has just one home loss and is capable of playing up.
-FLORIDA AT LSU (SEC). LSU is coming off a rather surprising and damaging loss to Auburn and needs to rebound quickly if they want ot get back on track. Florida is likely a protected seed, and although LSU has a lot of work to do, they are currently unbeaten at home, so it would at least be a notable win.
-ARIZONA AT OREGON STATE. Arizona is coming off their first loss of the season. Oregon State’s program is going in the right direction, but it doesn’t appear that they’re quite yet to the NCAA Tournament level. Still, if they manage a win in this one it would really help boost their profile.
-AIR FORCE AT UNLV (Mountain West). Air Force has a solid record, but is still very unproven and will probably be overmatched in most of their league games. UNLV is coming off a loss to New Mexico in what was an exciting game and needs to rebound to avoid dropping to 0-2 in the league.
-MISSOURI AT OLE MISS (SEC). Ole Miss has a good record, but needs some good wins if they’re going to get the attention of the committee.
-BELMONT AT UT MARTIN (Ohio Valley). If Belmont can run through the Ohio Valley regular season they may end up inside the bubble.
-STEPHEN F AUSTIN AT ORAL ROBERTS (Southland). A win for Stephen F Austin will get them to 14-1, and chances are they’ll be favored in all their remaining games.
-MIDDLE TENNESSEE AT LOUISIANA MONROE (Sun Belt). If MTSU can run through the Sun Belt regular season they could end up inside the bubble.
-ARMY AT BUCKNELL (Patriot League). If Bucknell runs through the Patriot League, they could end up inside the bubble. Had they beaten Missouri we’d already be talking about them as an at-large team.
-MOREHEAD STATE AT EASTERN KENTUCKY. Eastern Kentucky just blew out Murray State at Murray State to improve to 13-3. They only have one really bad loss, so one has to wonder what their profile will look like if they’re able to run through the OVC. That would mean beating Murray (which they’ve already done) and Belmont.
-WYOMING AT NEVADA (Mountain West). Wyoming just lost their first game of the season in a thriller against Boise, and is now looking to rebound. Nevada doesn’t look like a tournament team, but they are 8-1 at home.
-TCU AT BAYLOR (Big Twelve). Baylor cannot afford to lose to non-tournament teams at home.
-MEMPHIS AT UAB (Conference USA). Memphis has avoided bad losses, but they’re lacking good wins and won’t have many opportunities to get them, so they have a small margin of error.
-SAN FRANCISCO AT SAINT MARY’S (West Coast). SMC’s margin for error is virtually zero because they lack quality wins and won’t get too many opportunities between now and the end.
-MURRAY STATE AT AUSTIN PEAY (Ohio Valley). Murray State may be out of chances. Anything short of winning out likely won’t be enough.
Griggs