Yesterday, like all Saturdays, was another roller coaster of a day.
-I’m going to start off in the SoCon (of all places) because the Furman v Wofford game was not the biggest thing that happened yesterday, but it was the biggest thing that happened that almost no one is talking about. Furman received a ton of well received accolades after their wins at Loyola Chicago and Villanova, and how they cracked the Top 25. Wofford took on even more heavyweights out of conference, but wasn’t able to pick up any wins against teams that will likely land in the top half of the bracket, but they’ve beaten pretty much everyone else, and the metrics love them. The win yesterday, which was a thriller that seesawed back and forth, put them a full three games ahead of Furman in the SoCon standings, and I just don’t see Furman catching them. If Wofford continues to blow through the league, I’m guessing that there will be room for them inside the bubble, especially since we’ve been told here at Hoops HD by some people that we think would know that there is an incentive to identify good teams from outside the normal multi-bid leagues.
-There are no more undefeated teams. Virginia and Duke seesawed back and forth as you would expect, but the Blue Devils came up with some huge defensive stops in the final minutes and held on to win by just 2. It’s very likely that one or both these teams could end up on the #1 line. For Virginia, the loss may be more rare than you think. Everyone remembers their loss to UMBC, but people forget that they were 47-3 in their last fifty games coming into yesterday, and were 24-1 in their last 25 ACC games, which is a pretty good league.
-Michigan also went down for the first time at Wisconsin. Throughout the year Wisky has looked good at times, bad at other times, and decent most of the time. I didn’t think they had it in them to knock off the Wolverines, but they did. It’s probably their biggest win of the season up to this point even though the win came at home.
-Tennessee really had to sweat out Alabama at home yesterday, but barely held on to win. Otherwise we’d have had three of the top four teams lose in the same day, and I don’t recall the last time that happened.
-Kansas has an amazing profile when you look at their wins, but they also have losses on there that you typically don’t see from #1 seeds. Yesterday, they went on the road and lost to a West Virginia team that may struggle to make the NIT, let alone the NCAAs. Most at Hoops HD keep wanting them on the #1 line, and that will probably be the case again this week, but I for one just don’t see it.
-Baylor has really turned a corner, and got a huge home win yesterday against Texas Tech. The Bears are healthy again and have suddenly won three of their last four with the only loss being a close one to Kansas.
-Kentucky got a really nice road win at Auburn to help further their case for a protected seed. Auburn’s next win against a team that’s likely to make the NCAA Tournament (without the auto bid) will be their first. As great as everyone thinks they are, they still haven’t beaten a good team.
-Oklahoma knocked off Texas in the first edition of the Red River Shootout. It was a nice win for a Longhorns team that’s been kind of schizophrenic this year.
-Indiana may be in some trouble. They have now lost four straight, and things aren’t about to get any easier. Purdue beat them rather handily yesterday in the season’s first edition of that rivalry. With games at Northwestern, Michigan, at Rutgers, and at Michigan State on the horizon, Indiana is looking at a stretch where they could easily drop seven out of eight games.
-UCF has got to be the least exciting and most ignored 14-3 team from a multi-bid conference in history. They won against Tulsa yesterday, but barely, and no one is really all that excited about them despite their bloated record.
-Stony Brook got another road win yesterday at Maine, but it was a much bigger struggle than expected. Nevertheless, they got the W, and still have more road wins than any other team in the nation.
-A few other fun notes. There are no more unbeaten teams, but there is still one winless team (at least against div1 opponents). Maryland Easter Shore, Alcorn State, and Southern each picked up their first div1 wins of the season yesterday, making UNC Asheville the only D1 team without a D1 win.
-North Alabama won at the buzzer yesterday to improve to 4-1 in ASun play. Not only is North Alabama a transitional team, but it is their FIRST YEAR of the transition! That is a rather remarkable start.
-FLORIDA STATE AT BOSTON COLLEGE (ACC). This is a very winnable road game for the Noles, which is kind of important since it would only be their second of the year so far.
-PROVIDENCE AT MARQUETTE (Big East). Providence has the talent to put together the type of run that could land them in the NCAA Tournament, but for now they are just 1-3 in league play and although they’ve played well in some of those losses they are still in a bit of a tailspin.
-ILLINOIS AT IOWA (Big Ten). This is a very winnable road game for the Hawkeyes, and it’s important that they hold serve and don’t miss the low hanging fruit.