NEWS AND NOTES
-For the UTR Game of the Day featuring North Dakota and North Dakota State – CLICK HERE
-For Jon Teitel’s interview with Hall of Famer Ann Meyers-Drysdale – CLICK HERE
-For the bracket projection from Jon Teitel where he attempts to forecast what the NCAA Selection Committee would do – CLICK HERE
-For the bracket projection from David Griggs where he selects his own personal bracket – CLICK HERE
-We will be recording The Hoops HD Report tonight and there is MUCH to discuss, so be sure you tune in to that.
-My biggest criticism of Duke was that they had yet to beat an NIT caliber team in a true road game. That is no longer the case. They picked up a HUGE road win last night at Miami, where they were extremely impressive. Duke came out ice cold to begin the second half, they fell behind, the crowd was going crazy, and the last thing I expected was for them to compose themselves, rebound, come back, and win the game. I know they had some huge OOC wins, but in my opinion this was hands down Duke’s biggest win so far.
-Boston College pulled a mild stunner at home against Florida State. So far, Clemson is the only team that has beaten BC at Chestnut Hill, but by the same token this is not as bad a loss for FSU as it would be in recent years.
-They weren’t the only ones. Kansas may have gotten the biggest singular road win of the season last night at West Virginia. We had been critical of Kansas, particularly for dropping some home games that we almost never see them lose, but they picked up an enormous one last night.
-Michigan had to sweat out Maryland and be helped out by a foul called in the final seconds (which IMHO was the correct call) in order to escape with just a one point win at home. This was surprising considering how impressive they looked on Saturday at Michigan State.
-Butler continues to look amazing at home and mediocre on the road. Providence continues to pretty much look the same. It’s no surprise that Providence beat Butler at home. While both Maryland and Butler are both stockpiling a large quantity of losses, Butler has a few quality wins (namely Ohio State, Villanova and Marquette) to offset that a bit.
-Penn State, who I once thought of as a potential tournament team, is NOT a potential tournament team. Minnesota and Nebraska both have a faint pulse, and the Huskers were fortunate to hold off last-place Illinois thanks to a buzzer-beating 3 to win their game in Lincoln.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES
-CLEMSON AT NORTH CAROLINA (ACC). Fun fact: Clemson has never won at North Carolina. Never. Not ever. Not even once. They come into this game in the middle of their best season in recent memory, but this is still probably the toughest game they played all year. UNC hasn’t always looked the part away from home, but they’ve looked the part enough of the time to indicate that they are really damn good. They’re also not away from home tonight. There at home. Where Clemson has never won. Never. Not ever. Not even once.
-WISCONSIN AT PURDUE (Big Ten). Purdue is now ranked #3 in the nation and is flirting with the #1 line. Wisconsin comes in at just 9-9 and having lost two in a row. This just isn’t their year.
-CINCINNATI AT UCF (American). Cincinnati won’t have all that many chances at improving their resume the rest of the way, but this is a road game that could actually help build it a little bit. UCF is at least an NIT team, and it should be a decent road win for the Bearcats.
-LOUISVILLE AT NOTRE DAME (ACC). The win at Florida State completely turned around Louisville’s resume and they can build it up even more if they can win this one on the road agains an Irish team that isn’t a protected seed, but should still be able to make the NCAA Tournament.
-GEORGIA AT LSU (SEC). This game has a pivotal bubblicious feel for both teams.
-VANDERBILT AT MISSISSIPPI STATE (SEC). I still have Mississippi State outside the bubble, but they are close enough to it to reach it, especially if they’re able to heat up in conference play. Having said that, they’re just 1-3 in the league right now.
-NORTHERN ILLINOIS AT BUFFALO (MAC). I think this Buffalo team is REALLY good. They may be good enough to blow through the MAC, and if they are then they could end up flirting with the bubble given what their RPI will likely be.
-OKLAHOMA AT KANSAS STATE (Big 12). K State is coming off a missed last second shot against Kansas that could have won them the game and changed the entire complexion of their resume and their season. They’re at home against a top five Oklahoma team that is gunning for the #1 line.
-KENTUCKY AT SOUTH CAROLINA (SEC). Kentucky still has work to do to end up as a protected seed, but I do think the team is continuing to get better and they’ll certainly get their chances in conference play to get the wins that they need. South Carolina is coming off of a win at Georgia and can certainly play spoiler at home again.
-PITTSBURGH AT SYRACUSE (ACC). Syracuse cannot afford to lose this one. It’s really that simple. They are just 1-4 in ACC play, and this is the most winnable ACC game remaining on their schedule.
-OLE MISS AT TEXAS A&M (SEC). Will Texas A&M FINALLY win an SEC game? It’s one thing to lose to 5 probable NCAA Tournament teams in your conference (Florida and LSU at home and Alabama, Kentucky and Tennessee on the road), but losing to Ole Miss would be more crippling.