NEWS AND NOTES
-For Chad Sherwood’s UTR Game of the Day, which involves one of the best UTR rivalries in college basketball – CLICK HERE
-It was a rather chalky night with Kentucky, Florida, Purdue, Notre Dame (albeit a little more exciting than expected), Dayton, Michigan State, and VCU winning as expected. Virginia Tech was able to get their first win without Christ Clarke, which is noteworthy.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES
-ARKANSAS AT SOUTH CAROLINA (SEC). South Carolina is on cruise control and will safely make the field and be in the top half of the bracket if they hold serve the rest of the way. Arkansas has really gone into a tailspin and will need a very strong finish in order to make the field.
-XAVIER AT PROVIDENCE (Big East). Xavier doesn’t really have any bad losses, but they don’t have much in the way of good wins either. Road wins always make the profile look better because they’re usually not easy to come by. Providence isn’t a tournament team but they have played well at home this year.
-MARYLAND AT NORTHWESTERN (Big Ten). Northwestern is coming off one of their biggest wins in program history where they beat Wisconsin on the road, and is not only on pace to make the NCAA Tournament, but on pace to land in the top half of the bracket. Maryland has hit a bit of a skid, but they’re stillin great shape and should also be wearing white in the Round of 64. The crowd should be out in full force for this one. It’s two solid tournament teams looking for a quality win.
-IOWA STATE AT KANSAS STATE (Big Twelve). Both teams are safely inside the bubble and appear to be on pace to make the tournament, but both also have room to improve their resumes. This would be a quality win and a resume enhancer for whichever team pulls it off.
-CINCINNATI AT SOUTH FLORIDA (American). Cincinnati is coming off a loss to SMU, but it’s only their third of the season and they’re still in great shape and will stay that way if they hold serve. This is a very winnable road game that they should be able to pick up.
-WICHITA STATE AT SOUTHERN ILLINOIS (Missouri Valley). I think Wichita State is reasonably safe for a bid if they win out through the regular season and avoid a loss in the quarters of the MVC Tourney. They’ve been good on the road all year long and should be able to pick up this one as well.
-FORDHAM AT RHODE ISLAND (Atlantic Ten). Just in case that if for some reason y0u’re not done with Rhody, I suppose they have a small chance at an at-large if they win out.
-GEORGIA TECH AT MIAMI FL (ACC). It is to the point to where every game these two teams play feels like a must win. Tonight is no different. Both are right on the bubble, this game has an extremely pivotal feel to it, and it’s one that they both need.
-NORTH CAROLINA AT NC STATE (ACC). This is a rivalry game, but it is an incredibly lopsided rivalry game. UNC should be able to pick this one up despite being a road team. The Tarheels have a very backloaded schedule and can even end up as high as a #1 seed if they avoid losses in games like this and pick up several big wins down the stretch.
-CREIGHTON AT SETON HALL (Big East). Seton Hall is right on the bubble, but they still have a really good chance at landing on the right side of it, especially if they can pick up a win like this. Creighton is still trying to stabilize their profile to show they can win big games after losing Mo Watson and a win in a game like this would do just that.
-SAINT JOHN’S AT BUTLER (Big East). Butler appears to be on pace for a protected seed if they hold serve. The Johnnies are nowhere near the NCAA Tournament, or for that matter the NIT, but they are a very surprising 6-7 in the Big East and have exceeded expectations in league play.
-INDIANA AT MINNESOTA (Big Ten). Indiana is now outside our bubble, and they need road wins and quality wins to get things turned around. A win tonight would help in both of those categories. Minnesota will end up on the top half of the bracket if they keep winning at the clip they have been.
-DUKE AT VIRGINIA (ACC). This is another ACC match-up between two teams that are likely to end up as protected seeds. What else is new? Virginia, while good, has currently lost three of their last five games, including an overtime loss to their rivals Virginia Tech in their last game, and could use a win like this to get things turned around. Duke has actually strung together several wins and is looking to keep up that momentum. This would be their biggest road win of the season so far, and go a long way toward enhancing their tournament profile.
-OKLAHOMA STATE AT TCU (Big Twelve). TCU is right on the bubble and has been a home court hero. Oklahoma State has won some big road games, but this will still be a challenge for them and yet another big win for them.
-TULANE AT SMU (American). SMU is coming off a big win against Cincinnati and are currently tied for first place in the conference and heading for the top half of the bracket. This will probably end up looking a lot like a buy game. In fact it may end up looking a lot worse.