NEWS AND NOTES
-For John Stalica’s UTR Game of the Day, which is a really good one between Stony Brook and UMBC – CLICK HERE
-Virginia needed overtime to get by NC State picked picked up yet another road win against a ranked team. NC State has had some really close games this year and are just a few points away from having a much better resume.
-It was mostly chalk for most teams in the top half of our bracket with Kentucky, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, and Buffalo all winning rather easily.
-The most notable result of the night was Texas’s home won over Kansas. Texas had lost five of six coming into last night, including a loss to a Georgia team that just isn’t that good. Texas’s resume is all over the place. They have wins against North Carolina, Kansas, Kansas State, and Purdue, but also have losses to Georgia, and Radford.
-I think Lipscomb is for real, and if the Selection Committee doesn’t consider them as an at-large caliber team, then they really should. They absolutely blew Liberty off the floor last night, and take over sole possession of first place in the ASun. It was Liberty’s first home loss. Lipscomb also won at TCU, which is TCU’s only home loss. That’s a really good resume.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES
-MARQUETTE AT BUTLER (Big East). Marquette is one of two Big East teams that is running away from the rest of the conference and running toward a protected seed. Butler, on the other hand, needs a few big wins just to get within reach of the bubble.
-OLE MISS AT FLORIDA (SEC). This is a winnable, but hardly an automatic win, for an Ole Miss team that on pace to make the NCAA Tournament. They’ve lost two straight and this would be a good win to get the momentum turned around.
-VIRGINIA TECH AT MIAMI FL (ACC). VA Tech is coming off what I think is their most impressive win of the season, and has another winnable road game tonight against a Miami team that very little has gone right for this year.
-WEST VIRGINIA AT IOWA STATE (Big 12). Iowa State is looking more and more like a protected seed and needs to hold serve at home tonight against what is perhaps the weakest team in the conference this year.
-RICHMOND AT SAINT LOUIS (Atlantic Ten). If SLU wins out, then they’ve got a chance. I don’t think it’s even anything more than that. It’s not a guarantee. It is just a chance.
-INDIANA AT RUTGERS (Big Ten). Some say Indiana is in a tailspin. Others have described it as a death spiral. They simply cannot afford to lose at Rutgers. If they do then I’d have to say that their chances of making the NCAAs are less than half.
-PROVIDENCE AT SETON HALL (Big East). Both teams have some decent wins on their resume, but both still have a lot of work to do, which gives this game a very pivotal feel to it. Both teams need this one rather badly.
-VILLANOVA AT DEPAUL (Big East). Nova seems to have righted the ship once conference play started, and is unbeaten in league play. DePaul has had some moments, and we can safely say that they are much improved, but they still have a lot of weight to lift if they want to even come close to making the NCAA Tournament.
-LOUISVILLE AT WAKE FOREST (ACC). Louisville is on an absolute roll, they seem to be cruising toward a protected seed, and they have a winnable road game tonight against Wake.
-SYRACUSE AT BOSTON COLLEGE (ACC). One never knows what’s going to happen with Schizocuse. They should win this one rather easily, but who knows?
-SAINT JOHN’S AT CREIGHTON (Big East). This is another bubblicious Big East match-up between two teams that desperately need this win.
-MISSOURI AT AUBURN (SEC). Auburn doesn’t really have any good wins, but at least they have held serve against the teams they’re supposed to beat. It’s important that they keep doing that.
-LSU AT TEXAS A&M (SEC). LSU is still unbeaten in SEC play and their stock is definitely rising. They haven’t taken on the power of the conference yet, but for now they have a ton of momentum built up and this is another winnable road game for them tonight.
-ILLINOIS AT MINNESOTA (Big Ten). Minney looks to be a solid tournament team and should win this one rather easily. But, that is what I said the first time these two played, and Illinois just totally blew them out.
-FRESNO STATE AT WYOMING (Mountain West). If there is a team in the Mountain West other than Nevada with a shot at an at-large bid, it’s Fresno State. They basically can’t lose the rest of the way, but they have a very slim shot at it.
-USC AT WASHINGTON (Pac Twelve). Washington looks to be running away from the Pac 12, and should be safely in the NCAA Tournament as long as they continue to do so.