NEWS AND NOTES
-Things are starting to get back to normal at Hoops HD. We were hacked. That’s why things have been rather crazy around here. I want to apologize to anyone who was redirected to a website that they certainly didn’t intend to go to and also to anyone who attempted shared links to our content, and then had to deal with those who clicked on those links and were taken to a website that they did not want to go to. There will likely continue to be changes in the next few days, and we will be slowly working to restore some of the content that was lost. I particularly want to thank Galen Clavio from Crimson Cast who also works as our webmaster, and who went into all out Superman mode to try and get this resolved.
The people who contribute to this website all do a lot of work. Whether it’s helping out with the daily write ups, or appearing on the podcasts, or calculating the rankings for all 351 div1 teams, or posting bracketology, or doing interviews, or any number of things, the amount of work that our contributors do for absolutely no other reason than that they enjoy doing it is astounding. Because of that, you certainly hate when something like this happens and that they aren’t able to share their work. This is not a business. It’s more of a playground for a group of friends that really enjoy college basketball. Some people play fantasy sports, or online video games, or Dungeons and Dragons, or whatever. This website is what we do. When someone comes and takes a dump in the middle of your playground it’s rather annoying, but we are doing our best to get it cleaned up and keep it cleaned up.
-Well, we aren’t the only ones that had a bad day. Louisville had a worse one. In about a 24 hour period they were stripped of a national title, an additional Final Four, five additional NCAA Tournament wins, and they were then completely dump trucked by Duke. Louisville is squarely on the bubble, and right now I’d say their chances of getting in are less than fifty percent. What’s worse is that depending on how this FBI stuff plays out, it may be a while before they’re eligible to be in the NCAA Tournament again.
-Seton Hall and Providence had their game postponed due to slick floor conditions that made the court unsafe. They also play hockey in that building and the condensation on the floor made it too wet. The game will be finished this afternoon. Seton Hall leads by 9 early in the second half.
-Texas Tech, who I thought was a #1 seed caliber team, did not look like it at all yesterday. It’s tough to win at Oklahoma State, but it is the kind of game you’d expect a protected seed, let alone a #1 seed, to be able to win most of the time. They now fall back in the Big Twelve Standings and Kansas is still closer to winning it again.
-Virginia Tech picked up another nice win as they knocked off Clemson at home. Clemson is still in good shape, but they have been on a bit of a slide.
-Penn State REALLY needed to beat Michigan at home last night. Penn State did not beat Michigan at home last night. It was a nice road win for the Wolverines, and it puts Penn State in a position where they probably need the auto-bid to make the field.
-People try and act like Georgia is a bubble team. At times Georgia tries to act like Georgia is a bubble team. They certainly didn’t look like it last night as they fell at South Carolina.
-TCU picked up a really nice and pivotal road win at Iowa State. Their overall resume looks pretty good, and they are now 7-8 in a very tough Big 12 conference.
-It may be time for Texas to start sweating. They fell to Kansas State yesterday and are now just 6-9 in Big 12 play and have a rather schizophrenic resume.
-Vermont clinched first place and home court advantage for the America East Tournament with their win over Binghamton.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES
-PURDUE AT ILLINOIS (Big Ten). Purdue is cruising toward a protected seed and should get it if they can hold serve in their last two regular season games.
-UCONN AT CINCINNATI (American). Cincinnati had a rough week last week and has lost their last two, but relatively speaking they’re still in really good shape and will remain that way so long as they hold serve the rest of the way.
-GONZAGA AT SAN DIEGO (West Coast). I think Gonzaga can end up as a protected seed if they win out, which they are certainly good enough to do.
-ARIZONA AT OREGON STATE (Pac Twelve). This Arizona team is not without its deficiencies, but they are still really good overall and can still end up as a protected seed. Hell, they’re good enough to win out through the Pac Twelve Tournament and cause some damage in the NCAAs after that.
-HOUSTON AT MEMPHIS (American). Houston is in the rankings and moving further and further up our seed list.
-WASHINGTON AT STANDFORD (Pac Twelve). Washington is outside our bubble, but could still end up making the field with a strong finish and showing in the Pac Twelve Tournament.
-UCLA AT UTAH (Pac Twelve). This is a very bubblicious game for both teams. Both need to come into this with a huge sense of urgency.
-PEPPERDINE AT SAINT MARY’S (West Coast). SMC’s overall profile is weak. They’ve only got one really good win, and that is the win at Gonzaga. Still,they should cruise into the tournament if they’re able to win out.
-ARIZONA STATE AT OREGON (Pac Twelve). Arizona State is relatively safe, but this would still be a nice game to win since it would look nice on their resume.
UNDER THE RADAR
-WINTHROP AT UNC ASHEVILLE (Big South). This is a hugely important game as both teams are tied at the top of the Big South standings, and the first place team will host the conference tournament.
-SOUTH DAKOTA AT SOUTH DAKOTA STATE (Summit). This one is big because first place is on the line, and big because it is a rivalry, but in the grand scheme of the things it doesn’t mean much on paper. The conference tournament is at a predetermined site, which is fortunately in South Dakota, and it’s what happens in that tournament that matters. But, it should be a fun game tonight!
-ELON AT CHARLESTON (Colonial). Charleston is getting closer and closer to clinching first place in the Colonial.
-RIDER AT MONMOUTH (Metro Atlantic). Rider can clinch at least a share of first place with a win tonight.
-OLD DOMINION AT MARSHALL (Conference USA). Middle Tennessee has gotten most of the accolades from CUSA this year, and Western Kentucky has gotten all of the rest, but Old Dominion has had a very good season as well and still has a shot at ending up in first place.
-LOUISIANA AT TROY (Sun Belt). Louisiana can clinch at least a share of first place with a win tonight.
-MURRAY STATE AT EASTERN ILLINOIS (Ohio Valley). Murray is locked in to a first place tie with Belmont. Both have already earned byes into the semis of the conference tournament.
-BELMONT AT JACKSONVILLE STATE (Ohio Valley)(. Belmont is locked into a first place tie with Murray. Both have already earned double byes into the semis of the conference tournament.
-CHICAGO STATE AT NEW MEXICO STATE (WAC). New Mexico State will need the auto bid to make the field, but their next two games are winnable and they’ll clinch first place if they can pick both of them up.
-UC SANTA BARBARA AT UC IRVINE (Big West). UCSB is coming off a rather surprisingly decisive home loss to UC Davis, but is still in first place by a game.