Here’s the Bracket Racket for this week! And we’ve got it in combo with the highlighted games for the day:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDNIcFSy8uw
-SAINT JOHN’S AT XAVIER (Big East). Xavier had some decent wins out of conference, but no great ones. Saint John’s did less than they did. Both teams need a strong showing in league play if they want to dance.
-KENT STATE AT PRINCETON. These are two teams with good records, but who still don’t have much in the way of quality and have a razor thin margin for error between now and the end.
-OHIO STATE AT PURDUE (Big Ten). Purdue hasn’t excited anyone yet, but they are 10-3 and have looked good when I’ve seen them. If they win this one, they’ll turn some heads. Ohio State has looked good, but they haven’t played a tough OOC schedule.
-DUKE VS ELON. This game is in Greensboro. Elon is likely the best team in the SoCon, but they’re overmatched today. It’s a real #1v#16 seed feel to this game. Well, maybe 2 v 15.
-SETON HALL AT PROVIDENCE (Big East). Providence didn’t register any bad losses OOC, but they didn’t get any good wins either. That’s the story for most Big East teams. They’ll need to do well in conference if they want a bid.
-EASTERN MICHIGAN AT SYRACUSE. This is a pretty good Eastern Michigan team that has taken on some top power conference opponents. They’ve beaten none of them, though, and this is perhaps their toughest game yet.
-GEORGE WASHINGTON AT KANSAS STATE. These are two teams that have done respectively well OOC, but that no one is talking all that much about. K State got off to a terrible start, but has been good since. GW has just one loss, and has some decent wins on their profile as well. Both these teams are good enough to establish themselves, and whoever wins this will have another quality win on their resume.
-INDIANA AT ILLINOIS (Big Ten). Both teams have good records, and Illinois has a nice win against Missouri, but I get the feeling that neither has established themselves as a tournament team yet, and will have to fight in conference to do it, so even though it’s the first game of league play, it still has a pivotal feel to it.
-MICHIGAN STATE AT PENN STATE (Big Ten). Penn State isn’t a likely tournament team, but they are certainly good enough to play the role of spoiler at home, especially against a Michigan State team that hasn’t looked overly impressive all of the time. The Spartans better be on upset alert for this one.
-LOUISVILLE AT UCF (AAC). Louisville has had a bad couple of days. They lost to their big rivals, and then they lost two contributing players (one to injury, and one to suspension). UCF is 8-3, and although they’ve played a weak schedule, Louisville hasn’t beaten any solid teams away from home. A win for Louisville would be their biggest to date.
-UNC WILMINGTON AT NORTH CAROLINA. UNC shouldn’t have too much trouble against their cross state foes today.
-DEPAUL AT GEORGETOWN. Georgetown REALLLY needs to finish at least four games above .500 and avoid bad losses in order to feel safe. I would consider losing at home to DePaul to be a bad loss.
-MEMPHIS AT SOUTH FLORIDA (AAC). Memphis should be able to win this without too much trouble. They need a solid showing in league play.
-NEBRASKA AT IOWA (Big Ten). Nebraska’s program is trending up, but Iowa’s program is up. They should be able to take care of business at home.
-VILLANOVA AT BUTLER (Big East). Nova has an excellent profile and will likely be favored in all their remaining games. They will really get a test today from what appears to be a good Butler team. Butler’s problem is that they came close to winning some big games, but didn’t actually do it.
-MARQUETTE AT CREIGHTON (Big East). Creighton did okay OOC, but can’t afford to slip up in conference play. Marquette has been disappointing so far and really needs an impressive showing. This is a pivotal game for them.