NEWS AND NOTES
-For Day 2 of our Championship Week Video Notebook – CLICK HERE
-For Jon Teitel’s outstanding interview with Jackie Stiles – CLICK HERE
-For Chad Sherwood’s UTR Game of the Day – CLICK HERE
-Losing at Kentucky didn’t hurt Vandy in the sense that you don’t get dinged for losing games like that, but it did hurt in the sense that Vandy is in a position where they need to win big games to land inside the bubble. Last night was a big game where they had a lead most of the way and were still in a position to win the game with less than two minutes to go, but came up just short.
-Congrats to Purdue who clinched an outright first place finish in the Big Ten. Doing it on their home court against Indiana had to make it feel even better.
-Iowa State and Oklahoma State went down to the wire with Iowa State picking up another big win and holding on to second place in a very strong Big Twelve. I think we all need to start looking at moving Iowa State way up the seed list. Perhaps we already have.
-Duke knocked out Florida State at home. Duke was already ahead of Florida State, so beating them at home probably doesn’t move them up that much nor does it ding Florida State all that much.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES
-AUBURN AT GEORGIA (SEC). Georgia has a very small chance of getting in. They’ll essentially need to win out, go deep in the SEC Tournament, and beat some pretty good teams along the way.
-ARKANSAS AT FLORIDA (SEC). Arkansas appears to be safely inside the bubble, and despite the loss to Kentucky, Florida is still in pretty good shape to earn a protected seed. This would be another nice win on the profile of both teams.
-MICHIGAN AT NORTHWESTERN (Big Ten). Michigan could really use another road win, but there isn’t a whole lot of reason to panic. If they win this game there is almost no reason to panic. Northwestern, on the other hand, may need to panic if they don’t pull this one off. This is a hugely important game for both teams, and the loser will really be sweating going into the weekend.
-RHODE ISLAND AT SAINT JOSEPH’S (Atlantic Ten). Rhode Island will likely be considered if they win out and do well in the conference tournament, but even if they do all that I still feel they have a weak case.
-BOSTON COLLEGE AT NOTRE DAME (ACC). Notre Dame is in good shape and just needs to hold serve.
-VCU AT DAYTON (Atlantic Ten). I think both teams are reasonably safe, especially Dayton who has a decent shot at ending up in the top half of the bracket if they win out, but they’re not locked in yet simply because going into the tank would mean losing to several sub-level tournament teams. But, if they only games they lose the rest of the way are to each other, then they should be okay. VCU appears to need this one more than Dayton does. If the Flyers do get this one, then they are the outright first place finisher.
-OLE MISS AT ALABAMA (SEC). Some are still projecting Alabama to be close to the field, and I suppose it’s possible that they could make it, but they’ll really have to kick it in gear down the stretch.
-TEXAS AT TEXAS TECH (Big Twelve). Texas Tech has an outside shot at best, and if they lose this game they probably won’t even have an outside shot.
-MICHIGAN STATE AT ILLINOIS (Big Ten). Some are saying that if Illinois wins their last two and avoids an early loss in the Big Ten Tournament that they’ll get a serious look, and I guess I agree with that, but I’m not sure I agree with them being good enough to do it. Michigan State is inside the bubble, but they more games they win the easier they will breathe.
-LOUISVILLE AT WAKE FOREST (ACC). Wake is still within reach of bubble, at at some point they’ll need a notable win to break them through. Winning this game would certainly help. Louisville is looking like they’ll end up as a protected seed, and could still land as high as the #2 line.
-KANSAS STATE AT TCU (Big Twelve). This game has a very bubblicious feel to it. Many had been projecting TCU in, but they’ve lost five straight, and although none of them were particularly bad losses, it’s rough that they weren’t able to pull out a win in at least one of them. K State is in a major tailspin as well and not being able to pick up a road win against a team that’s clinging to the bubble may cause them to lose their grip and slip out of the picture.
-MARQUETTE AT XAVIER (Big East). This is another high stakes game between two teams who desperately need to shore up their resumes. Xavier has lost five straight, and while none were bad losses, they’re also falling backward toward the bubble. A tournament team should be able to win at home against a team that is likely in the lower half of the bracket. Xavier needs this one bad. Marquette has been playing a little better, including a rather decisive win against Xavier just a few weeks ago, but a win would really help cement them into the field.
-WASHINGTON STATE AT USC (Pac Twelve). USC is coming off a loss to Arizona State. That’s just not good. They really need to be able to beat sub NIT teams at home like Wazzu. To fail to do so would also not be good.
-WASHINGTON AT UCLA (Pac Twelve). UCLA should end up as a solid protected seed if they hold serve in their final two regular season games.