News, Notes, and Highlighted Games: Sunday, Dec 18th

NEWS AND NOTES

-It wasn’t a very busy week leading in to Saturday due to so many schools having exams, but that was made up in full force with a full slate of games yesterday.

-We begin with Kentucky and North Carolina out in Las Vegas.  Both teams were ranked in the top ten.  I do not recall a year where we had nearly as many out of conference games between highly ranked teams as we’ve had this year.  It was a high scoring, highly skilled, and very entertaining affair with both teams going after the kind of win that could land them on the #1 line.  Kentucky led for most of the game, but UNC was always within reach, and they actually came back to get the lead in the final minutes.  The lead changed several times after that with North Carolina having a chance to tie it with a three at the buzzer, but they came up short.  It was a huge win for Kentucky, and considering it was away from home, it may be the biggest win they get (minus maybe winning at Louisville) until the NCAA Tournament begins.

-There were two other games that featured two ranked teams, and you could have seen both of the others with the same ticket.  Butler led Indiana the whole way, and it looked liked they were going to run away with it, but the Hoosiers came back and had a chance with less than a minute to go.  However, the Bulldogs held on.  When you look at Butler’s profile, it not only screams protected seed, it screams a #2 or maybe even a #1 seed.  They’ve beaten Arizona and Indiana on neutral floors, Cincinnati on their home court, Northwestern who’s a tournament caliber team (more on them later), and also have a nice true road win against Utah.

-In the other game, Purdue picked up one of their biggest wins of the year up to this point as they overcame a double digit Notre Dame lead in their comeback win.  Despite the loss, I’m still very high on this Notre Dame team, and they will certainly have opportunities in ACC play to pick up the kinds of wins they need to earn a really good seed.

-Creighton trailed for much of the second half against 2-10 Oral Roberts, and they held on to win by just one point as they avoided what would have been a very damaging loss.  Throughout his career, Greg McDermott’s overall record in the final ten regular season games is below .500, so Creighton was playing the way McDermott teams typically play in late February or March, which was kind of surprising to see.  But, they avoided the loss, and are still among the nation’s unbeaten.

-USC also survived a scare against Troy, and also trailed for much of the game, and it was still in doubt with less than a minute to go, but they held on to win and remain unbeaten.

-Xavier picked up a home win against Wake Forest, but it wasn’t easy.  In fact, not much has been easy for Xavier.  They’ve been holding serve and winning the games you would expect them to, but if there is such a thing as the eye test, they’re really not passing it.

-Arizona picked up a nice win against Texas A&M in Houston.  Arizona has been clobbered with injuries, so when you consider that they could turn out to be really strong once they’re back at full strength.

-Georgetown got a big road win at Syracuse.  I’m starting to think that this was more damaging for Syracuse than it was helpful for Georgetown.  Truth be told, neither have looked all that good all that often this year.  Syracuse continues to play their old Big East rivals, but they’ve lost to Georgetown the last two years, and to UConn this year as well.  But, they also made the Final Four last year, so you can’t say they “lost everything” by playing the games.

-Memphis picked up a very nice road win against Oklahoma.  The Tigers are 8-3, they appear to be getting better, and they could make some noise in the AAC this year.

-Arkansas got a big win against Texas in Houston.  They’re now an impressive 9-1, whereas Texas’s tailspin is continuing.  It’s not unusual to see Shaka Smart team’s get off to a slow start, but it is somewhat alarming that they haven’t quite gotten in rhythm yet.

-Kansas State went into Denver, and absolutely blew Colorado State’s doors off.  I may have to concede the fact that the Rams are not as good as I thought.  K State is suddenly 10-1 and you have to pay attention to them as conference play draws nearer.

-Northwestern narrowly defeated Dayton up in Chicago in a game that was never really close except in the first minute of play (and maybe not even that long) and the last minute of play.  For about 36 of the 40 minutes Northwestern had a very comfortable lead.  It’s a nice win for the Wildcats, and one that their profile needed.  As for Dayton, it’s not a bad loss, but their margin for error is now thinner.

-Wichita State, who we all liked and felt was on the verge of cracking the Top 25….will NOT be cracking the Top 25.  Oklahoma State went into Wichita, and absolutely drilled them.  The final margin was 93-76, but the game really wasn’t even that close.

-Middle Tennessee needed a big win to go from being inside the bubble to very safely inside the bubble.  They didn’t get it at VCU, but if you watched the game and know how hard it is to win at VCU, then you saw a very well played, close, and exciting game that seesawed back and forth.  Middle had a chance to tie at the buzzer, but came up short.  The broadcast wasn’t all that good, but the game itself was excellent.  As for VCU, it was a win that they desperately needed given that they’d hit the skids recently.

-Chattanooga needed a win (or perhaps needed not to lose) at Vanderbilt today.  If the Mocs don’t win out, or lose more than one game the rest of the way, I think they’ll need the automatic bid to make the NCAAs.  Winning at Vandy isn’t easy, but making the tournament isn’t easy because it requires winning games that aren’t easy to win in order to get there.

-A shoutout to UMBC, who lost at home today to Towson by just one point.  They lost their previous game to Richmond in overtime.  Despite the two straight losses, I still feel they are the most improved team in college basketball, and can be a force in the America East conference.

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES

-MIAMI OH AT UCF.  UCF is coming off a rather surprising loss and needs to rebound today.

-HOLY CROSS AT RHODE ISLAND.  Rhode Island needs to put together a long string of wins just to upgrade their profile to the point to where it looks like they belong in the NCAA Tournament again.

-FORDHAM VS RUTGERS (Hoops Holiday Festival, Madison Square Garden).  A win gets Rutgers to 11-1.

-FAIRFIELD AT NC STATE.  NC State shouldn’t have too much trouble at home against Fairfield, and will improve to 9-2 on the year with a win.

-CLEMSON VS ALABAMA (Birmingham AL).  This is a big game in the sense that both teams have managed to hold serve, but that’s all they’ve managed to do and they still have a lot of work to do if they want to land in the NCAA Tournament.

-GONZAGA VS TENNESSEE (Nashville TN).  This may be a big mismatch, but Tennessee has looked surprisingly good at times this year, and they’ve looked tough at home. so the Zags won’t be able to just walk all over them, even with this game being a few hours away in Nashville.

-JOHN BROWN (nondiv1) AT BAYLOR.  Buy game

-TEXAS SOUTHERN AT TCU.  Buy game

-NORTHEASTERN AT MICHIGAN STATE.  Buy game