News, Notes, and Highlighted Games: Wednesday, Jan 20th

NEWS AND NOTES

-For Chad Sherwood’s Under the Radar Game of the Day, which should be a good one between two of the better teams in the Big South – CLICK HERE

-Joby’s Nitty Gritty Rankings have been updated.  CLICK HERE TO CHECK THEM OUT

-Due to the availability (or lack thereof) of many on the Hoops HD Staff, we will be recording both Under the Radar and our weekly Bracket Rundown Video Podcasts this evening, so be on the lookout for those.

-Yesterday was a very busy day in college hoops.  Xavier and Kansas became the second and third top five teams in about 24 hours to lose.  Xavier was by far the most surprising of the three results as they lost at home to a Georgetown team that appeared to be outside the bubble.  This win certainly helps the Hoyas, but they still have a lot of work to do.  It’s not too shocking that Kansas lost on the road to Oklahoma State, who they always seem to struggle against when they’re on the road, but the 19 point margin was rather shocking.

-Auburn is still nowhere near the bubble, but they picked up their second feel good win in a row as they knocked off rival Alabama.  The Tide are not out of the hunt yet by any means, but they really could have used that road win.

-Maryland needed overtime to beat Northwestern.  Maryland’s paper and Maryland’s eye test don’t seem to match Maryland’s ranking in the national poll.

-South Carolina trailed for much of the game, but pulled out a nice road win at Ole Miss.  Ole Miss isn’t a tournament team, but they’re tough to beat at home.

-Pitt got blasted at home by NC State.  Pitt needs to either put some more meat on their resume, or stop losing at home to non tournament teams.  Or, preferably both.

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES

-VILLANOVA AT SETON HALL (Big East).  Villanova is ranked in the top five, and is trying to avoid being the fourth top five team to lose this week.  They’re looking like the best team in the Big East right now, but have a tough road challenge tonight against a Seton Hall team that keeps getting better and better as the season goes along, and who only has one loss at home this year.

-NEBRASKA AT MICHIGAN STATE (Big Ten).  Michigan State needs to rebound from the blowout loss at home to Iowa.  This is one of the more winnable conference games they’ll play this year.  Nebraska comes in on a little bit of a streak, but they haven’t won any games anywhere close to this caliber.

-TEXAS AT WEST VIRGINIA (Big Twelve).  West Virginia continues to climb the rankings, and is coming off a very impressive performance at Oklahoma.  Texas has been playing better as well, but this is an extremely tall order.  If they were to get this one, then it would most likely catapult them inside the bubble.

-VIRGINIA TECH AT NOTRE DAME (ACC).  VA Tech has improved throughout the year and a win in this game would really give them some momentum.  Notre Dame is coming off a huge win at Duke, which greatly enhances their profile.

-WAKE FOREST AT NORTH CAROLINA (ACC).  UNC is ranked #2 and has been playing better and better as the season has progressed.  Wake got off to a good start, but has been disappointing in recent weeks and now has a lot of work to do just to get back into the tournament picture.

-DUQUESNE AT VCU (Atlantic Ten).  VCU continues to rack up wins, and in my opinion is playing better than anyone else in the A10 right now.

-DEPAUL AT MARQUETTE (Big East).  Marquette has really improved as the season has progressed.  They’re coming off a home loss to Xavier and need to take advantage of what is probably their easiest remaining game.

-INDIANA STATE AT SOUTHERN ILLINOIS (Missouri Valley).  I don’t think Southern Illinois has done enough to land them inside the bubble, but it is kind of hard to ignore a 16-3 overall record.

-WICHITA STATE AT NORTHERN IOWA (Missouri Valley).  Wichita State has really been playing well since getting all their players back, and I think they’ll be safe for a bid so long as they continue to blow through the conference.  Northern Iowa has two huge wins on their profile so they are capable of beating good teams, but they’ve given all that back and then some with multiple bad losses.

-KANSAS STATE AT BAYLOR (Big Twelve).  Baylor has drastically improved over the course of just a week.  They had two huge road wins last year that have greatly improved their resume.  They should be able to hold serve at home against a K State team that’s struggled on the road this year.

-MINNESOTA AT MICHIGAN (Big Ten).  Michigan is a very impressive 9-1 at home and shouldn’t have too much trouble against a Minnesota team that’s struggled all season long.

-COLORADO STATE AT AIR FORCE (Mountain West, Front Range).  We highlight this game only because we love mythical conferences, and we love the Front Range!

-MIAMI FL AT BOSTON COLLEGE (ACC).  BC actually has a winning record at home, but Miami still shouldn’t have too much trouble against them.

-FLORIDA STATE AT LOUISVILLE (ACC).  Louisville has yet to lose at home, but the only really good team they’ve beaten is Pittsburgh.  In fact, the only really good team they’ve beaten at any point is Pittsburgh.  Florida State may be the best team they’ve faced yet this season, so both teams could use this win in order to look more impressive to the committee.

-SAINT JOSEPH’S AT PENN (Big Five).  Saint Joseph’s is clearly the superior team and should be able to add another road win to their profile.  Having said that, the game is at the Palestra, but I don’t know how the event management will be set up and am not sure if it will be viewed as a true road game or a neutral site game. (This is a home game for Penn – John S.)

-TEMPLE v. LA SALLE (Big Five). This is actually the first part of the Big 5 doubleheader at the Palestra; La Salle will be the home team for this one. Temple still has faint hopes for an NCAA Tournament bid this year; the Surgeon General has advised them not to lose this one – rivalry or not.

-COLORADO AT WASHINGTON (Pac Twelve).  Colorado has been playing well, but this would be one of their better wins of the season if they can pull it off since it’s a road game against a Washington team that’s won four of their last five.

-UCLA AT OREGON STATE (Pac Twelve).  Both teams are on the outside looking in and have quite a bit of work to do.  Oregon STate appeared to be in control at Utah in their last game before completely melting down in more ways than one.