NEWS AND NOTES
-Yesterday, in short, was awesome!!
-For today’s UTR Game of the Day between Army and Navy – CLICK HERE
-TCU forced overtime against Oklahoma with a shot at the buzzer, which followed a three point shot by Oklahoma that put them ahead in the final seconds. It was close throughout OT before the Sooners finally pulled away and picked up the big win. TCU is now 1-4 in the Big 12 conference, and that alone has you holding your nose a little bit, but I must say that yesterday was the most impressed I’ve been with this team all year. Winning on the road against a top ten team is not easily done. In fact there are teams that end up with #1 seeds that don’t have any true road wins against top ten teams. TCU almost got one. If they play like that they’ll get the wins they need to land safely inside the top half of the bracket.
-Syracuse fell at Florida State in double overtime in another game that was hugely exciting. Syracuse still has some work to do and this win REALLY would have helped them.
-Probably no tournament implications, but Duquesne held on to beat La Salle in triple overtime and improve to 4-1 in the A10. With a minute to go it was looking like it was going to be a Quadrupler, and when that happens, no matter what two teams are playing, it gets mentioned here! We’ve only had two quadruplers so far.
-Texas Tech beat West Virginia at home 72-71 for one of their biggest wins of the year. The loss doesn’t hurt West Virginia at all, but it would have been a true road win against a top ten team and helped make a strong case that they aren’t just a #1 seed, but perhaps the overall #1 seed. They’ll have other chances though. The game also didn’t go into overtime, which makes it one of the lesser exciting games of the day.
-Kansas State and Kansas seesawed back and forth, which was surprising given how much better Kansas appeared to be. K State had a shot to win at the buzzer, but it didn’t go down and Kansas survived. For a team that typically never looses a home game, Kansas came very close t losing their THIRD.
-Michigan went on the road and picked up a huge win against their rivals Michigan State. Off paper, it shoots Michigan way up the seed list and you have to start asking if they are now gunning for a protected seed given how they’ve been playing lately. It also makes you think that Michigan State is not a #1 seed caliber team when you look at their last three games. Off paper, the Wolverines have the bragging rights.
-Arizona State followed up their home loss to Oregon by having to sweat out Oregon State and barely holding on for the win. A loss would have been rather crippling for a team that had recently looked like a #1 seed.
-In the other Pac Twelve game in Arizona, Oregon put up a tremendous effort against Arizona, and for a time I was thinking how we’d be talking about how the Ducks went from having a resume that didn’t even resemble an NIT team to a team that could be inside the bubble in just 48 hours, but Arizona did hold on and get the win. Oregon may be back, though. They played really well in their last two games and if they play like that the rest of the way their resume will be strong come March.
-Clemson bounced back from their loss at NC State with a home win over a ranked Miami team. Clemson is now winning close games instead of losing them, which has got to be a welcome change from recent seasons.
-Notre Dame missed what would have been a game winning tip in against North Carolina, which would have been a really nice boost to a resume that needs stabilizing. For the Tarheels it was another nice road win.
-Wichita State won at Tulsa, which isn’t noteworthy. They BARELY escaped, though. It was alarming for a Wichita team that should be as good as their ranking, but hasn’t looked like it at all times.
-Creighton visited Xavier in another game between two ranked teams. This one did not go into overtime. In fact Xavier had pretty much blown it open before halftime.
-Florida…..good grief! Every time I’m ready to praise them as being back on track and playing like a protected seed, they go out and lose to a non-tournament team. They fell at Ole Miss yesterday.
-Georgia was unable to get it done at home against South Carolina in a game that was somewhat of a surprise.
-Texas lost a thriller at Oklahoma State, and suddenly they are in some trouble. They need wins, and although this was a tough game to get on the road, it was perhaps less tough than your typical Big 12 road game this year.
-Arkansas had a big lead on Mizzou, then blew it, but then came back to get the win in a game they really needed. It’s one that really could have helped Mizzou as well. It’s not the first time the Tigers have had their hearts broken this year.
-Stanford still has a ton of work to do, but they’ve had a really good week. They picked up a true road win at Washington, which was their second straight true road win, and their fourth straight win overall to improve to 10-8 on the year and 4-1 in Pac Twelve play. They host the Arizona schools this upcoming week, and if they can get one or both of those then they’ll really be in business.
-LSU lost at home to an Alabama team that desperately needed a win. It was not the expected result if for no other reason than both teams seemed to be going in different directions.
-Boise State got a big win against San Diego State in a game that was neck and neck the entire way. It was a big missed opportunity for the Aztecs and although they’re not completely sunk, they’re not in the best of shape either and they won’t have an opportunity for a resume win as good as this the rest of the way with the exception of their game at Nevada.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES
-HOUSTON AT EAST CAROLINA (American). Houston needs to go on a run just to get on the fringe of the bubble, but it’s not impossible.
-NORTHWESTERN AT INDIANA (Big Ten). I feel compelled to highlight this game just to make mention of how there is no reason to highlight it.
-NC STATE AT VIRGINIA (ACC). NC State has added some big home wins to their resume against Duke and Clemson, but they need to win some games on the road if they want to make the field. Granted, they don’t need to win this game (if they do then they’re suddenly WAAAYYY inside the bubble), but they need to do a little more than just be a home court hero.
-OHIO STATE AT RUTGERS (Big Ten). Ohio State is one of the hottest teams in the conference all of a sudden, and they continue to improve as the season goes along. They can add a road win to their resume today.
-UTAH AT USC (Pac Twelve). Both teams are desperate and both really need this win.