NEWS AND NOTES
-For Chad Sherwood’s UTR Game of the Day – CLICK HERE
-It was a very chalky Thursday and Friday with almost nothing happening that was unexpected. This Saturday appears to be lacking in showcase games, but I’ve been doing this at different places and in different formats for many years, and as odd as it sounds, the Saturdays that look like a bunch of blah going in oftentimes turn out to be the craziest days. So today may end up being far more exciting than what we expect.
A PUPPET’S PREDICTION
-IOWA STATE AT OKLAHOMA (Big Twelve). Oklahoma is fresh off their upset win at West Virginia, and don’t look now, but they’re actually starting to kick it in gear a bit. They’ve won two straight, both against likely tournament teams, and prior to that they went into Kansas and actually played them rather tough and managed to take a lead into the second half. This is a winnable game for them today, as is their next game against Texas. If they get to 10-9 when they host Florida, they’ve got a shot at making a charge at the bubble. It happens every year. We saw Wisconsin do it last year. Could Oklahoma be a team that thunders down the stretch after struggling for the first half of the season?? THE PUPPET IS CALLING IT!! THE SOONERS WILL DANCE!!
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES
-VANDERBILT AT FLORIDA (SEC). Florida is a solid first ballot team as long as they hold serve the rest of the way, which means winning home games against teams with losing records.
-GEORGIA AT TEXAS A&M (SEC). Georgia is trying to string together the wins they need to make a run at the bubble. This is not so much a win they need, but rather a loss they cannot have.
-NEBRASKA AT RUTGERS (Big Ten). Nebraska was flirting with the tournament for about a week, and I suppose it’s still possible for them to make it, but it will take a huge finish to the season.
-PENN STATE AT PURDUE (Big Ten). Penn State has a lot of work to do, and missed out on what would have been a nice win against Indiana the other night, but if they pick up this win it would be a huge boost to their NCAA Tournament resume.
-NORTH CAROLINA AT BOSTON COLLEGE (ACC). BC is much better this year, but knocking off North Carolina is probably still miles beyond their capabilities.
-SYRACUSE AT NOTRE DAME (ACC). There are times Syracuse plays like a tournament caliber team, and other times where they are atrociously bad. Even when they’re at their best, they’re still not as good as Notre Dame is at home.
-PROVIDENCE AT VILLANOVA (Big East). Nova has looked like a #1 seed all season long, and I don’t expect that to change today, but even if they do drop the game they’re still very likely to end up on the #1 line.
-TEXAS AT KANSAS (Big Twelve). Kansas has looked like one of the best teams in the country all year long, and perhaps they are the best team in the country. They shouldn’t have too much trouble at home against a Texas team that has played well in a lot of games, but ultimately won very few of them.
-LOUISVILLE AT FLORIDA STATE (ACC). It’s a showcase game between two likely protected seeds. If Louisville were to pull this off it’d be the best win on their profile up to this point. They’ve beaten some good teams, but not in true road games.
-WAKE FOREST AT NC STATE (ACC). I don’t think either of these teams will end up in the discussion, but some at Hoops HD like them, so we’ll go ahead and highlight it.
-GEORGIA TECH AT VIRGINIA (ACC). Georgia Tech just dropped a thriller against Virginia Tech, and had they won that I would be saying their profile was lookling like that of an NCAA Tournament team. I’ll say the same thing if they can find a way to win this one, but that’s much easier said than done.
-OKLAHOMA STATE AT TEXAS TECH (Big Twelve). Oklahoma State is still winless in conference play, and given how well Texas Tech has played at home this season that could very easily continue. Texas Tech is probably inside the bubble right now, and will stay there so long as they hold serve in games like this.
-BUTLER AT DEPAUL (Big East). Butler hasn’t been the best road team this year, but they shouldn’t have too much trouble picking this one up.
-ILLINOIS AT MICHIGAN (Big Ten). I fell both these teams are currently on the outside looking in, so both need to come into this with a sense of urgency.
-MARQUETTE AT CREIGHTON (Big East). Creighton was having a dream season before losing Maurice Watson Jr. to a torn ACL in their last game. It will be interesting to see how they do in their first game without him against a Marquette team that’s looking for a big win to land them inside the bubble. Marquette blew chances to win at Seton Hall and Butler, so it’s not out of the realm of possibility that they win in Omaha today.
-INDIANA STATE AT WICHITA STATE (Missouri Valley). Wichita State’s profile is very weak, but I still feel their team is good enough to win out and that the committee will strongly look at them, and likely take them, if they do.
-MICHIGAN STATE AT INDIANA (Big Ten). The best way I can describe both teams is that I do not think either of their profiles match their ceiling of potential. It’s a big game between two teams that could both end up better than what they currently are.
-ARIZONA AT UCLA (Pac Twelve). This may be the biggest showcase game of the year in the Pac Twelve. I still think of UCLA as being a #1 seed, but they need to be able to win a game like this in order to get it.
-CINCINNATI AT TULANE (AAC). Cincinnati is clearly the class of this conference and actually has a shot at running the table. I don’t expect them to get much of a challenge from Tulane despite them being the road team.
-DREXEL AT UNC WILMINGTON (Colonial). UNC Wilmington won what I believe was their toughest remaining game last night at Charleston. They are good enough to run the table, and if they do they should make the NCAA Tournament regardless of what they do in the conference tournament.
-WISCONSIN AT MINNESOTA (Big Ten). I really like this Wisconsin team, and have been very surprised by how good Minnesota is despite them losing a few games recently. This is a match-up between two good teams and a chance to add a nice quality win to the resume.
-SOUTH CAROLINA AT KENTUCKY (SEC). South Carolina just picked up a nice win against Florida, but as good as they are winning on the road against a team that could end up on the #1 line will be no easy task. If they do pull it off, they’ll be safely inside the bubble.
-STANFORD AT OREGON (Pac Twelve). Oregon is getting better and better as the season goes along, and I’m not expecting them to have too much trouble at home in this one.
-WEST VIRGINIA AT KANSAS STATE (Big Twelve). Kansas State has had some incredibly frustrating losses against really good teams that, had they won, they wouldn’t just be inside the bubble but probably in on the first ballot. West Virginia is coming off a surprising home loss, but as good as they are they haven’t always been the best road team. All those variables make this one interesting.
-HOUSTON AT SMU (American). Houston lost a heartbreaker the other night against Memphis, and the door for them to make the field is closing. If they can pull of the upset in this one it will at least remain ajar for a little longer.
-FRESNO STATE AT NEVADA (Mountain West). We keep saying that if Nevada wins out they’ll be on the bubble and the committee will look at them. We will keep saying that until they lose.
-MIDDLE TENNESSEE AT FLORIDA ATLANTIC (Conference USA). Like we always say, Middle is inside the bubble and I think they’ll remain there if they run the table in the regular season.
-UTAH AT WASHINGTON (Pac Twelve). Utah still has work to do, but they appear to be getting better as the season goes along and have another winnable conference road game today.
-PORTLAND AT GONZAGA (West Coast). This is a conference game that will feel a lot like a buy game. Gonzaga is a likely #1 seed, and Portland will likely miss the CIT.
-BAYLOR AT TCU (Big Twelve). HUGE game tonight! TCU played a great game at Texas Tech earlier this week. Despite the loss, they showed (or at least they showed me) that they are capable of playing well in games that are tough to win. Tonight they’re at home against a highly ranked team and if they can pull off the upset it will make them something that they haven’t been in decades. It will make them nationally relevant.
-MIAMI FL AT DUKE (ACC). I haven’t been all that impressed with Miami this season, but they are close enough to the bubble to where a win in a game like this could change the complexion of their profile and land them in the field.
-LSU AT ARKANSAS (SEC). I’m still not a believer in Arkansas, but as long as they hold serve in games like this they will continue to hover around the bubble.
-UMKC AT NEW MEXCIO STATE (WAC). I think New Mexico State can and will win out, and if that happens the committee should at least look at them if they lose in the conference tournament.
-CALIFORNIA AT OREGON STATE (Pac Twelve). Cal needs some good wins if they want to get the attention of the committee. Winning at Oregon State would not qualify as a good win, so that makes this a game they can’t really afford to lose.
-PEPPERDINE AT SAINT MARY’S (West Coast). Saint Mary’s will safely make the field just as long as they hold serve.