CLICK HERE for our most recent Under the Radar Video Podcast
NEWS AND NOTES
-Tennessee’s first game as the #1 ranked team matched them against Vandy, who has a lot of work to do just to get to the NIT. They got the win, but had to come from behind to do it at the end of regulation, and then win in overtime. The last two minutes of regulation might be the greatest combination of sloppy basketball and exciting basketball that I have ever seen in my entire life! There were multiple unforced turnovers, a flagrant foul, really bad passes, and just an all around performance that would have made the Three Stooges proud!
-The end of Providence v Xavier was sloppy, but not quite THAT sloppy. It was an exciting game that seesawed back and forth and that both teams desperately needed to win, but Providence ended up pulling it out. It’s just their second conference win of the season, and to get it on the road really helps out the Friars.
-TCU picked up their biggest win of the year (at least on paper) by knocking off Texas. It was a home win, but their resume was so flimsy that this is probably still the best win on it to date.
-I think the Atlantic Ten has completely eaten itself. Whatever little hope their was for VCU and Saint Louis to land inside the bubble is now almost completely gone after both lost to teams that are about a hundred miles from even making the NIT. VCU fell at Rhode Island, and Rhody didn’t really have to sweat at any point in the second half, and Saint Louis lost at Duquesne. Duquesne has now won five straight and is in a four way tie for first place. I don’t want this to sound like a backhanded compliment (even though I know it does) because Keith Dambrot has done an amazing job at a Duquesne program that has virtually no history of basketball success, or even basketball mediocrity. They’ve just been flat out terrible. But as improved as they are, they’re still not having the kind of season that would land them anywhere close to getting an at-large bid the NCAA Tournament, and yet they are your first place team!
-Purdue picked up a nice road win at Ohio State. Ohio State has yet to win a game in the year 2019. If this keeps up it may end up being just a so-so win for the Boilers.
-Oklahoma had to come from behind after falling behind big early, but got the win on the road against rival Oklahoma State to end a two game loosing streak.
-Stony Brook picked up their 10th true road win of the season, but barely. They needed overtime to beat an Albany team that is not even in the top 300.
-UC Irvine picked up an exciting win at Hawaii in one of the more exciting games of the night. It have been the toughest remaining game for the Eaters other than their trip to UC Santa Barbara, so if they continue to rack up wins they could end up pretty close to the bubble themselves.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES
-MICHIGAN STATE AT IOWA (Big Ten). This is a tough road test for a Michigan State team that’s in contention for a #1 seed, but they’ve been tested before and as tough as it is to win a road game like this, it’s the type of win that a #1 seed should be able to pull off.
-TULSA AT CINCINNATI (American). Cincinnati is inside the bubble and should remain there so long as they hold serve, which means avoiding losses to non-tournament caliber teams, especially at home.
-MEMPHIS AT TEMPLE (American). Temple is squarely on the bubble, so every game for them has a pivotal feel to it. Memphis has won seven of their last eight and has quite a bit of momentum built up coming into this game, so Temple better not overlook them.
-NC STATE AT LOUISVILLE (ACC). Both teams are in the rankings, but Louisville’s profile clearly looks to be better despite being the team that isn’t ranked as high. NC State’s best win of the season is probably a home game against Auburn, and that’s looking less and less impressive. A win in a game like this could really polish up their resume.
-MIAMI FL AT SYRACUSE (ACC). Syracuse has been bi-polar all year long, and one never knows what they’re going to do. They should be able to win this game at home, but they were beaten at home rather handily by Georgia Tech not that long ago. That was right before they went to Duke and won.
-ARIZONA AT USC (Pac Twelve). If Arizona wants any hope of being on the right side of the bubble, they need to basically win out.
-WASHINGTON AT OREGON (Pac Twelve). I want to like this Washington team. I want to say that I think they’re the best team in the Pac Twelve, and are deserving of an NCAA Tournament bid. This is a tough road test against a big rival. If they aren’t able to pull this off then it will be a lot harder for me to say that.
-PORTLAND AT SAN FRANCISCO (West Coast). San Francisco cannot afford any slip ups. In fact their schedule is so weak that simply winning all their games against teams that aren’t Gonzaga may not quite be enough.
-GONZAGA AT SANTA CLARA (West Coast). Gonzaga is a #1 seed caliber team. Santa Clara..well..isn’t.
UNDER THE RADAR
-SAMFORD AT WOFFORD (SoCon). Wofford has a top 30 net ranking, if they can finish in first place of the conference and either win out or come close to it my guess is that the committee will take them whether they win the conference tournament or not.
-CHATTANOOGA AT FURMAN (SoCon). Chattanooga has gotten hot since conference play began. Furman still has a strong resume, particularly because of their win at Villanova, but basically need to win every game the rest of the way to have a realistic shot at an at-large bid.
-TEXAS STATE AT GEORGIA STATE (Sun Belt). These look to be the two best teams in the Sun Belt, and it’ll be fun watching them go at it tonight.
-FLORIDA GULF COAST AT LIPSCOMB (Atlantic Sun). Lipscomb is trying to remain unbeaten in ASun play.
-UAB AT NORTH TEXAS (Conference USA). North Texas still has a bloated record and can improve to 18-2 overall if they can hold off UAB tonight.
-MARSHALL AT LOUISIANA TECH (Conference USA). This is a potentially tough road test for a Marshall team that’s looked really strong since league play began.
-BELMONT AT MURRAY STATE (Ohio Valley). This looked like it was going to be a showcase game for the OVC, but Belmont has dropped two league games already. Murray is strong, but to date they don’t have a win as good as this one on their resume, so if they want to make any sort of a case for themselves then they need this one.