-NEW MEXICO AT SAN DIEGO STATE (Mountain West). A showcase game between what is perhaps the MWC’s two best teams. Both have been in the rankings this year, and both are playing for a protected seed. Expect a great atmosphere for this one.
-LA SALLE AT VCU (Atlantic Ten). This game is showcased because VCU is coming off a loss and needs to rebound. La Salle is coming off their biggest win of the year against Butler, which has put them in the vicinity of the bubble. If they win this game, they’re going inside the bubble.
-SYRACUSE AT VILLANOVA (Big East). Nova won a big game earlier this week against Louisville. IF they win a second monster game, they will probably win the award for most improved profile over the past week. With just one loss, Syracuse is a strong candidate for a #1 seed.
-LOUISVILLE AT GEORGETOWN (Big East). Louisville has lost two straight, and suddenly doesn’t look like the national title contenders many (myself included) thought they were. Georgetown got a much needed win earlier in the week, and could really help themselves out with a big win today. Both teams have a lot to gain in this one.
-NOTRE DAME AT SOUTH FLORIDA (Big East). ND is 15-4 on the season, but just 1-1 in true road wins, and they need to improve that part of their profile.
-OHIO STATE AT PENN STATE (Big Ten). As winnable of a Big Ten road game as there could possibly be for Ohio State.
-WEST VIRGINIA AT OKLAHOMA STATE (Big Twelve). Okie State is on the bubble and can’t afford a loss to a team that clearly is not a tournament team, especially at home.
-MARYLAND AT DUKE (ACC). Duke was beaten badly at Miami, FL earlier this week and is looking to rebound. Maryland has a solid record, but not much in the way of solid wins, especially away from home. This would push them pretty far inside the bubble if they’re able to pull it off.
-KANSAS STATE AT IOWA STATE (Big Twelve). Iowa State has a spotty resume, which includes a very damaging loss to Texas Tech in their last game, but they do have some decent wins. They’re also unbeaten at home, and nearly beat Kansas earlier this season. K State lost to Kansas earlier this week and is looking to rebound with a big road win.
-ALABAMA AT TENNESSEE (SEC). Alabama has a lot of work to do and a very small margin for error, but they have been playing well the past few weeks and can continue to inch closer and closer to the bubble if they keep winning.
-MINNESOTA AT WISCONSIN (Big Ten). Minnesota has struggled lately, and although Wisconsin lost their last game they’ve been looking a lot better. Both could really push themselves forward with a win today.
-MARSHALL AT MEMPHIS (Conference USA). At 15-3, Memphis should be inside the bubble so long as they don’t stub their toes too many times between now and the end.
-CHARLOTTE AT GEORGE WASHINGTON (Atlantic Ten). A win gets Charlotte to 17-3 and keeps them near the top of the Atlantic Ten. They still don’t have any really big wins, though.
-PROVIDENCE AT MARQUETTE (Big East). Marquette just had a six game win streak snapped in a close loss at Cincinnati, and shouldn’t have too much trouble with a Providence team that’s been struggling.
-NORTH DAKOTA STATE AT SOUTH DAKOTA STATE (Summit League). NDSU won the first game in a thriller and has played well since then, but is coming off their first conference loss. Neither team is likely to end up inside the bubble, but NDSU may get a look if they win out.
-WESTERN KENTUCKY AT MIDDLE TENNESSEE (Sun Belt). A win for MTSU gets them to 18-4 on the year. This is a conference rival, but WKU appears to be way overmatched on the road.
-SANTA CLARA AT SAN DIEGO (West Coast). At 15-6 Santa Clara is pretty far outside the bubble, but could play their way onto it if they can manage wins against the likes of BYU, Saint Mary’s and Gonzaga.
-OKLAHOMA AT KANSAS (Big Twelve). Oklahoma has looked good this year, but a win would absolutely skyrocket the value of their resume. Kansas is coming off a big road win and has looked like a #1 seed both on the court and on paper for most of the year.
-BAYLOR AT TCU (Big Twelve). Baylor is on the bubble and simply cannot afford to lose.
-UCLA AT ARIZONA STATE (Pac Twelve). UCLA picked up a huge road win in their last game at Arizona. Arizona State has a bloated record, but nothing impressive on it. They need a notable win such as this if they want to be taken seriously.
-BOISE STATE AT NEVADA (Mountain West). Boise got a much needed win in their last game and would do themselves a favor if they could avoid losing to a sub tournament team on the road.
-SAINT LOUIS AT SAINT BONAVENTURE (Atlantic Ten). SLU’s resume looks like the resume of a bubble team, so every game feels pivotal. Here’s a chance to pick up a road win.
-STEPHEN F AUSTIN AT NORTHWESTERN STATE (Southland). SFA has just one loss on the season, but other than Oklahoma they are severely lacking in quality wins. Northwestern State currently has just one home loss so SFA needs to be on upset alert. If they win, hopefully the committee will give them some credit seeing as how well Northwestern State has played at home. (Small Conference Game of the Day, perhaps??)
-DEPAUL AT PITTSBURGH (Big East). Pitt shouldn’t have too much trouble winning. They’ve looked solid lately. A loss at home against DePaul would hurt.
-LSU AT KENTUCKY (SEC). I believe that Kentucky is currently outside the bubble and needs to play their way in. They also need to avoid losses to non-tournament teams at home.
-BUCKNELL AT HOLY CROSS (Patriot League). Bucknell is 16-4, but they may be out of strikes. They may need to win out just to get onto the bubble.
-SOUTHERN MISS AT TULSA (Conference USA). Not many people are paying attention to them, but a win gets Southern Miss to 17-4.
-VANDERBILT AT MISSOURI (SEC). Missouri has been disappointing this season, but not at home. They shouldn’t have much trouble today. If they do, they’re in serious trouble.
-XAVIER AT SAINT JOSEPH’S (Atlantic Ten). Many have Xavier on the bubble. Why, I’m not sure, but if they want to stay there they need to beat other teams that are outside the bubble…like Saint Joe’s.
-TEMPLE AT BUTLER (Atlantic Ten). Temple has been very schizophrenic. They have wins against Syracuse and a near win at Kansas, and losses to Saint Bonaventure and Canisius. They struggled against lowly Penn earlier this week. Butler should be back at full strength and is looking to rebound from an upset loss at La Salle.
-NORTH CAROLINA AT NC STATE (ACC). NC State is unbeaten at home, and UNC could use some big road wins. This is a huge rivalry game, and although both have something to gain, UNC needs it a little more.
-BUFFALO AT AKRON (MAC). At 14-4, Akron is looking very good and could even play their way onto or inside of the bubble if they keep it up.
-WASHINGTON AT OREGON (Pac Twelve). Oregon has looked very impressive this year, and is probably the best team in the Pac Twelve.
-USC AT ARIZONA (Pac Twelve). Arizona fell behind big early to UCLA and just couldn’t catch all the way back up. They shouldn’t have too much trouble rebounding today.
-BELMONT AT EASTERN KENTUCKY (Ohio Valley). These two squared off less than two weeks ago, and Belmont won. Both teams have just four losses, but Belmont’s resume is a little better. In fact, they should be on the bubble if they win out. EKU has not lost at home, so this is perhaps Belmont’s highest level potential win remaining on their schedule. Another SCGD candidate, perhaps??
-OLE MISS AT AUBURN (SEC). It isn’t always pretty. In fact, it rarely is pretty. Ole Miss continues to win, though, and remains in the rankings. They should make the dance if they can avoid bad losses the rest of the way. Playing in the SEC does prevent several opportunities for bad losses…..like today’s game.
-FLORIDA AT MISSISSIPPI STATE (SEC). This should be a mismatch and an easy win for Florida, who at times looks like a Final Four team, even if their resume doesn’t quite reflect it.
-SAN FRANCISCO AT GONZAGA (West Coast). Gonzaga shouldn’t be challenged too much in this one.
-BRADLEY AT WICHITA STATE (Missouri Valley). Wichita struggled in their last game, but came back to win. They shouldn’t have too much trouble in this one at home.
-LOUISIANA TECH AT UTAH STATE (WAC). As crazy as this sounds, Louisiana Tech can clinch first place in the WAC if they win their next two games. Utah State isn’t a tournament team, but they are good and are tough to beat at home. These are two of the better teams in the conference, and since a win gets LA Tech to 18-3 they’re going to start to get some looks.
-AIR FORCE AT WYOMING (Mountain West/Front Range). Wyoming is 15-3 with some good wins and is having an NCAA Tournament caliber season. From a bragging rights standpoint, they’re 3-0 in the mythical Front Range conference and can win that championship as well.
-BYU AT PORTLAND (West Coast). BYU’s margin for error is basically non-existent. If they lose this game, then we won’t be writing about them anymore.
Griggs
The WAC has an 18 game schedule this season, so La Tech is going to need a few more wins then two to clinch. However, if they win their next two there is little chance anyone will catch them.