It’s a very busy and exciting day in college basketball!! Below is a rundown of all the action.
NEWS AND NOTES
-For Chad Sherwood’s UTR Game of the Day between North Dakota and Weber State – CLICK HERE
-Michigan picked up another big win as they knocked off Wisconsin at home. That definitely helps their case, but the Wolverines still need to pick up one or two more road wins to really help solidify their resume.
-Gonzaga, Arizona, Oregon, and Saint Mary’s all picked up wins on Thursday.
-VCU knocked off Richmond on Friday, which isn’t too shocking, but it was a nice road win in a rivalry game for a team that has a rather small margin for error.
-Akron fell at home to Kent State, and Valparaiso fell on the road to Oakland. Whatever small hopes those teams had for an at-large is likely gone now.
-Cal also fell at Stanford on the road in a game they really could have used.
SURVIVAL BOARD – CLICK HERE to see the entire board
-EASTERN ILLINOIS (OVC) – Mathematically eliminated if they lose OR if both Tennessee State and Southeast Missouri State win
-AUSTIN PEAY (OVC) – Mathematically eliminated if they lose to SIU Edwardsville AND if both Tennessee State and Southeast Missouri State win
-CENTRAL CONNECTICUT STATE (Northeast) – Mathematically eliminated if they lose to Robert Morris
-ORAL ROBERTS (Summit) – Mathematically eliminated if they lost at South Dakota and IUPUI wins on Sunday at Denver
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES
-CLEMSON AT MIAMI FL (ACC). Miami has hit their stride and despite a weak OOC Schedule appears to be on pace to make the NCAA Tournament. Clemson has a lot of close losses to a lot of good teams and still has work to do, but it is still definitely possible for them to end up on the right side of the bubble and make the field. This is the kind of game they have to win, though.
-NOTRE DAME AT NC STATE (ACC). Notre Dame has a solid profile and should easily land in the top half of the bracket, and perhaps with a really good seed if they’re able to finish strong. This is a winnable road game against an NC State team that’s basically been blown out in six straight games (leading to Mark Gottfried’s eventual dismissal at the end of the season).
-TULSA AT CINCINNATI (American). Cincinnati is on cruise control and should be able to blow through this one at home and sustain what is currently a good resume.
-NORTHERN IOWA AT WICHITA STATE (Missouri Valley). Northern Iowa has improved as the season has gone along, but not to the point to where they have much of a chance of beating Wichita State on the road. Wichita is good enough to win out and if they do they should be safely inside the bubble. (Note from John S – keep in mind that Northern Iowa won at Wichita last year and turned a similarly “meh” season into a run that led to winning the MVC. Shockers beware.)
-VILLANOVA AT SETON HALL (Big East). Nova is on pace to land on the #1 line, and Seton Hall is just inside the bubble and could really use a big time win like this on their profile. That’s much easier said than done despite the fact that they are at home. Seton Hall will be opening up the upper deck and is expecting a 16K+ crowd for the afternoon.
-MISSOURI AT TENNESSEE (SEC). If the Vols want any shot at all at landing inside the bubble then they need a strong finish. Losing at home to Missouri would be the exact opposite of that.
-WAKE FOREST AT DUKE (ACC). Wake Forest has been on the fringe of the bubble all year long, but the lack of anything even remotely resembling a quality win has kept them on the wrong side of it. They need to win a game like this in order to change the complexion of their resume. Duke just keeps improving, and it’s now to the point to where even a #1 seed is not totally out of the question if they’re able to finish strong.
-VIRGINIA TECH AT LOUISVILLE (ACC). Virginia Tech looks to be safely inside the bubble, and Louisville looks to be safe for a protected seed. It’s a chance for Virginia Tech to pick up a quality road win which would be a huge improvement to their resume, and for Louisville to stay within reach of a first place finish.
-KANSAS AT BAYLOR (Big Twelve). Both teams are potential #1 seeds. Baylor won the first meeting between these two and currently has the stronger profile, but Baylor has been projected on the #1 line for most of the season and can take another big step toward making that a reality if they’re able to beat the Jayhawks at home.
-HARTFORD AT NEW HAMPSHIRE (America East). The Team of the People!! After what has been a frustrating season with multiple close losses, they still have a good chance at finishing in the top half of the conference standings and hosting a tournament game in the quarterfinals.
-FLORIDA AT MISSISSIPPI STATE (SEC). Florida continues to win, but they lost their starting center for the season on Monday which is a really disappointing setback for a team that was having such a good year. This would be a nice road win if they’re able to pick it up. Mississippi State is a long way from being a tournament team, but they do play well at home.
-KANSAS STATE AT TEXAS (Big Twelve). K State is in a bit of a tailspin having lost six of their last seven, and even thought hey are the road team in this one they still need to win it. Texas is not even an NIT team, so if K State is a tournament team this is the kind of road game they need to be able to win.
-TEXAS TECH AT WEST VIRGINIA (Big Twelve). Texas Tech has some big wins, but it’s safe to say they are home court heroes. They need road wins if they want to land inside the bubble. This wouldn’t just be a road win, but rather a road win on steroids. Put pulling it off is much easier said than done. West Virginia is on pace to end up as a protected seed.
-LIBERTY AT WINTHROP (Big South). This could have been the UTR Game of the Day, but if it’s not just one game separates the top three teams in the Big South Conference, and Liberty and Winthrop are two of the three teams. The first place finisher gets to host the conference tournament, so there is quite a bit at stake here.
-SAINT BONAVENTURE AT DAYTON (Atlantic Ten). Dayton is an NCAA Tournament team, which means they need to take care of business at home against NIT caliber teams. The Flyers have been playing well and should land safely inside the bubble if they’re able to hold serve.
-UT ARLINGTON AT GEORGIA STATE (Sun Belt). UT Arlington does have a very nice win on their profile as well as a healthy RPI. If they’re able to finish first in the Sun Belt, the selection committee will give them a serious look if they’re unable to win the conference tournament.
-COLORADO AT OREGON (Pac Twelve). Oregon is on pace to end up as a #2 seed and should be able to hold serve at home today.
-LSU AT ALABAMA (SEC). It isn’t likely to happen, but I suppose it is possible. If Alabama absolutely thunders down the stretch they have a chance of playing their way inside the bubble and making the field. Losing to a team BELOW Missouri in the standings will torpedo any such notion of at-large discussion.
-MICHIGAN STATE AT PURDUE (Big Ten). I’m starting to like Purdue’s chances of ending up as a protected seed more and more. Michigan State should be safe for a bid, but a win like this would go a long way toward making it more of a certainty.
-FLORIDA STATE AT PITTSBURGH (ACC). Pitt put together a pretty good resume out of conference, but has been abysmal in conference play. This is another winnable game for the Seminoles, who are on pace to end up as a protected seed and depending on how strong they finish they could end up as a #2 seed.
-PACIFIC AT GONZAGA (West Coast). Gonzaga is the #1 team and shouldn’t have any trouble landing on the #1 line if they win out. This game is practically a buy game.
-UNC WILMINGTON AT HOFSTRA (Colonial). UNCW needs to win out in order to have any chance at all of earning an at-large bid.
-OLE MISS AT ARKANSAS (SEC). Arkansas picked up a huge win earlier this week that, in my opinion, moved them safely inside the bubble. But they still need to hold serve at home in games like this.
-KENTUCKY AT GEORGIA (SEC). Kentucky has had a few hiccoughs this year, but is still a solid team that should end up as a protected seed. Winning at Georgia is not the easiest thing to do, but it’s the kind of game that a protected seed should win more often than not.
-TCU AT IOWA STATE (Big Twelve). I think Iowa State has improved quite a bit and I’m starting to like their resume more and more. TCU continues to remain on the fringe of the bubble, and one of the areas where they are lacking is road wins. This would arguably be their biggest win of the year if they’re able to pick it up.
-SMU AT HOUSTON (American). In my mind this is a huge game for SMU. As good as they appear to be, their best win away from home is arguably Memphis, who is tough to beat at home, but is still just an NIT team. Most of the teams on the #7 line or better will have multiple road wins against NCAA Tournament teams. So, with that in mind, this is an important game because it would arguably be their best true road win of the year. If they don’t get it then I could easily see the committee dinging them with their seed. Houston themselves is running out of chances for quality wins if they want to even be included in NCAA bubble discussions.
-MIDDLE TENNESSEE AT MARSHALL (Conference USA). If Middle Tennessee wins out through the regular season and avoids a loss in the quarterfinals of the conference tournament then I think their chances are reasonably decent to get an at-large.
-ARIZONA AT WASHINGTON (Pac Twelve). Arizona has lost just one conference game and is currently being projected as a #2 seed. Needless to say they are in great shape.
-OKLAHOMA AT OKLAHOMA STATE (Big Twelve). BEDLAM!!!!! I love this rivalry!! Although some years it’s better than others, and this is one of the years where it’s not. Oklahoma State’s profile keeps getting better and better, they have a lot of momentum built up, and they should be able to pick up this rivalry win at home and add to it.
-XAVIER AT MARQUETTE (Big East). Xavier is safely inside the bubble, but they certainly have room to improve their resume if they’re somehow able to get hot down the stretch. Marquette is right on the bubble and could really use this game to help them land on the right side of it. They have a couple of good wins, but have done little else outside of that.
-VIRGINIA AT NORTH CAROLINA (ACC). Virginia has lost four of their last six, and are in danger of making it five out of seven as they face a red hot North Carolina team. As well as UNC is playing, and as heavily backloaded as their schedule is, they actually have a path to a #1 seed if they can finish strong. Virginia, despite the tailspin, still appears to be in reasonably good shape for a protected seed simply because of how brutal the schedule has been.
-SOUTH CAROLINA AT VANDERBILT (SEC). South Carolina is coming off a loss, but is still in really good shape. This would be a decent win for them if they’re able to pull it off. Vandy has played well at home for most of the year.
-USC AT UCLA (Pac Twelve). This is a huge rivalry game between a USC team that appears to be on pace to land in the top half of the bracket, and a UCLA team that’s still in good position to get an at-large bid. On paper it’s a quality win for whoever pulls it off. Off paper it’s about bragging rights.
-SAINT MARY’S AT BYU (West Coast). Saint Mary’s doesn’t get many chances at quality wins, but this would be a nice road win on their profile. Don’t be surprised if BYU steps up and gives them a game.