-Santa Clara was able to keep it within a 20 possession game against Gonzaga last night, but came up just short in a 98-39 thriller!
-Michigan State, who I’m starting to like more and more, picked up what I thought was their biggest win of the year in a true road win at Iowa, and they were able to win rather convincingly. It was just the second home loss for the Hawkeyes. I still think to cement a #1 seed, Michigan State will have to beat a protected seed away from home, but I also think they’re capable of doing it.
-NC State stayed with Louisville, but couldn’t pull it off. NC State still has a flimsy overall resume, and a win last night would have really pumped it up, but they at least showed they could hang with a really good team in a true road game. Prior to last night they hadn’t really shown that they could.
-Wofford needed overtime for the second straight game, but was able to come from behind and hang on to beat Samford to remain unbeaten in SoCon play and stay in the discussion for an at-large bid. There were three lead changes in the final 20 seconds, so it was probably the most exciting game of the day. Samford had a chance to win at the end of regulation, but Wofford came up with a defensive stop to force overtime on a play where I guess the referees decided the contact did not warrant a foul.
-Belmont stepped up and beat Murray State rather convincingly, and looked absolutely amazing doing it. Belmont has two losses to Jacksonville State. Outside of that, their resume is fantastic. If it weren’t for those two losses we’d be talking about them being inside the bubble and not needing to win the OVC Tournament to make the NCAAs.
-Washington came from behind to pick up a big road win at Oregon in another thrilling game. They were fouled while taking a last second 3 from just over mid court, and sank all three freethrows to ice the win. The Huskies are now 6-0 in Pac 12 play and look to be the only team that’s in position to get an at-large at the moment.
-MICHIGAN AT INDIANA (Big Ten). Indiana is in a complete tailspin right now with five straight losses in games that for the most part were not close. It doesn’t get any easier tonight against a Michigan team that is in a bit of a slump themselves, but they’re in a slump by #1 seed standards, which means they’re still winning nearly all of their games.
-BUFFALO AT KENT STATE (MAC). This is a tough road game for Buffalo, who is trying to rebound from their first conference loss earlier in the week. It’s a showcase game for Kent State and the fans should be jacked. It should be a lot of fun to watch.
-BROWN AT YALE (Ivy League). These are two of the better teams in the conference, and this is the second meeting. If Yale can get this one they should be running down hill to a first place finish.
-BUTLER AT CREIGHTON (Big East). It seems like we say this about both of these teams whenever they play. Both are within reach of the NCAA Tournament, but both still have a lot of work to do.