It’s Saturday!! Every Saturday during the college basketball season is huge!! Here is a rundown of today’s action.
NEWS AND NOTES
-So Fridays are normally lighter nights, but not yesterday! Michigan trailed Iowa by double digits for seemingly the entire game and ended up suffering their second loss of the season whereas Iowa picked up what was probably their biggest win of the season.
-Buffalo jumped out to an early double digit lead against Bowling Green, but it slowly melted and Bowling Green ended up building a double digit lead of their own in the second half. Buffalo came back, but wasn’t able to get the win. Bowling Green now has a half game lead over Buffalo in the East Division of the MAC, so it should be a very exciting race the rest of the way.
-Yale, who we just got done praising, was blown out by Harvard as they suffered their first Ivy League loss. We are just three games into Ivy League play, and only one team is 3-0, and that’s Princeton. Penn, who was a perfect 4-0 in the Big Five, is now 0-3 in Ivy League play after losing at Cornell.
-Wisconsin picked up a nice home win against Maryland after trailing for a large portion of the game.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES
-SAINT JOHN’S AT DUKE. Last year the Johnnies beat Duke and Villanova! What a year! The problem is they beat virtually no one else and miss the tournament by a mile. They’re better this year, and this is the kind of game that could really catapult them onto the national stage, but it’s much easier said than done.
-VIRGINIA TECH AT NC STATE (ACC). In short, both teams have bloated records, but both have also been eating off the pastry cart. They need some meat on their resume, and the winner of this game will finally have some.
-GEORGIA TECH AT FLORIDA STATE (ACC). After stumbling a little bit at the start of conference play, Florida State seems to have hit their stride and has another winnable home game today.
-SETON HALL AT BUTLER (Big East). Seton Hall has some really good stuff on their resume, but they need to avoid a collapse in conference play. A win today gives them another road win, and evens out their record in Big East play, so it would be a huge stabilizer.
-RUTGERS AT OHIO STATE (Big Ten). Ohio State has been on a bit of a skid. They really can’t afford to lose this one at home because, quite frankly, it’s probably their most winnable remaining game.
-OKLAHOMA AT WEST VIRGINIA (Big 12). Oklahoma has taken a few steps back, but is still in relatively decent shape. This is a winnable conference road game for them, and if they can pick this one up they should be back on a pretty solid track.
-MIAMI FL AT VIRGINIA (ACC). A winnable home game for a UVA team that is on pace to land on the #1 line.
-NORTH CAROLINA AT LOUISVILLE (ACC). Right now both teams are looking like protected seeds, and it’s hard to say just how high up the seed list they can go. Louisville won the first meeting in a blowout, but since then UNC has been playing a lot better. They’ll need to play a lot better to pick this one up on the road.
-TEXAS AT IOWA STATE (Big 12). Texas is coming off a huge win against Kansas that they really needed, but since this is a road game I think this one will help them out even more if they’re able to pull it off. That is a VERY big if. Iowa State is playing like a protected seed and has gotten better as the season has gone on.
-NEBRASKA AT ILLINOIS (Big Ten). Nebraska has not looked like an NCAA Tournament team in the last couple of weeks. They can still turn it around, but they cannot afford to lose this one on the road to an Illinois team that isn’t good, but has still shown some signs of life recently.
-PROVIDENCE AT DEPAUL (Big East). I would describe both of these teams as being on the outside looking in, but because of the opportunities they have remaining they can still play their way in.
-MISSISSIPPI STATE AT OLE MISS (SEC). This has always been a fun rivalry, but it is infinitely more fun when both teams are gunning for the NCAA Tournament like they are this year. Bragging rights are on the line. A conference win is on the line. A quality win is on the line. It’s a big game!
-KENTUCKY AT FLORIDA (SEC). Florida hasn’t looked all that good this season, and Kentucky is playing like a #2 seed. But, Florida has a little bit of momentum going. They’ve won three out of four, and are coming off a feelgood win against a pretty good Ole Miss team, so they have a little bit of momentum built up. It’s also a huge showcase game for them. If they can win this one, it may finally get their motor kickstarted. They still have the chances they need to play their way inside the bubble even though they’ve been rather sucktacular up to this point.
-TEXAS TECH AT KANSAS (Big 12). Kansas has not been the same since losing Azubuike, and have lost three of their last four. For the most part they’ve been able to hold serve at home, but they haven’t played anyone that’s quite as good as this Texas Tech team probably is. Having said that, Texas Tech doesn’t have any wins on their resume that are as good as this one would be, so it’s a big opportunity for them as well.
-AIR FORCE AT COLORADO STATE (Mountain West, Front Range). We at Hoops HD Love the Front Range!!! It’s….anyway, next game.
-UCLA AT WASHINGTON (Pac Twelve). Washington is a good and solid tournament caliber team out of the Pac Twelve, and they are probably the only one. They’re unbeaten in league play and should be able to continue to hold serve today.
-SAVANNAH STATE AT DELAWARE STATE (MEAC). The Team of the People!! They have a winnable road game today.
-SAN FRANCISCO AT SAINT MARY’S (West Coast). This game probably has NIT implications and not NCAA Tournament implications, but both teams do have a shot at making it. They’d need to basically beat everyone other than Gonzaga, and then pick up at least one win against Gonzaga, but they do have a path to landing inside the bubble.
-UNLV AT UTAH STATE (Mountain West). Utah State has hit some speedbumps, but they’re still within a game of first place and could still make enough noise to get the committee to at least look at them.
-INDIANA AT MICHIGAN STATE (Big Ten). Indiana has just fallen apart. A way to turn that around in a hurry would be to knock off Michigan State on the road, but that’s far easier said than done. Michigan State is looking like a solid top ten team and will stay that way if they can continue to hold serve.
-BOISE STATE AT NEVADA (Mountain West). The first time these two met Boise State nearly pulled the upset. Winning at Nevada is an entirely different animal, though. Nevada should skate into the top half of the bracket as long as they continue to win at the clip that they have been.
-ARKANSAS AT LSU (SEC). As amazing as this is, LSU can improve to 8-0 in the SEC with a win today. They haven’t taken on Kentucky or Tennessee yet, but they’re still off to a great start.
-TEMPLE AT TULANE (American). Temple is squarely on the bubble, and this would be a really bad loss for them even though it’s a road game.
-SYRACUSE AT PITTSBURGH (ACC). Syracuse has been schizophrenic, but they are still in very good shape to make the NCAA just as long as they avoid a complete meltdown. Pitt could still play their way in, but they need some more big wins, and they need some road wins. They can’t win on the road today, but it would still be a nice win.
-KANSAS STATE AT OKLAHOMA STATE (Big 12). I am not a believer in Oklahoma State, but the metrics really like them despite the fact that they don’t even have a winning record. K State has a very nice profile, but has also shown that they’re capable of tripping up against lower caliber teams.
-GEORGE MASON AT VCU (Atlantic Ten). It’s the Patriots vs the Rams!! BIIIG GAME THIS WEEKEND!!! (footnote to Chad Sherwood for making that observation). VCU needs to dominate the rest of the way to have any sort of a chance at making the dance.
-TENNESSEE AT TEXAS A&M (SEC). Tennessee is ranked #1 and on track to end up as a #1 seed. This is yet another winnable road game for them.
-SAN DIEGO AT GONZAGA (West Coast). San Diego’s program is definitely going in the right direction! They’ve had some nice wins this year! I don’t think they can beat a top five team on the road, though.
-TCU AT BAYLOR (Big 12). This is turning in to a fun conference rivalry. TCU REALLY needs some meat on their resume, and beating a team that’s been playing as well as Baylor would certainly give it to them. As for the Bears, they’ve won five in a row and just seem to keep getting better and better. They are well on pace to make the NCAA Tournament.
-SMU AT CINCINNATI (American). Cincinnati can bloat out their bloated record even more, and shouldn’t have too much trouble holding serve and remaining on a good pace to make the NCAAs.
-ALABAMA AT AUBURN (SEC). Oh Boy! This is turning in to a fun basketball rivalry, and for the second year in a row both are probable tournament teams. Both also could really use a good win, especially Auburn who has yet to beat anyone that’s likely to make the field. This one means a lot both on and off paper.
-NEW MEXICO AT FRESNO STATE (Mountain West). Fresno State should at least get a look from the committee if they can keep winning at the clip they have been, but chances are they’ll have to get a win against Nevada in order to get a serious look.
UNDER THE RADAR
-WOFFORD AT THE CITADEL (SoCon). It’s still the same story with Wofford. If they’re able to win out or come close to it, then they should be inside the bubble.
-GEORGIA SOUTHERN AT GEORGIA STATE (Sun Belt). This one should be fun. It’s two of the better and more dangerous teams out of the SBC.
-NORTH TEXAS AT CHARLOTTE (Conference USA). North Texas is trying to keep pace in a logjammed CUSA
-HOFSTRA AT NORTHEASTERN (Colonial). Hofstra has dominated the Colonial. Northeastern has shown signs of life as well, and this could be their toughest remaining game prior to the conference tournament
-EAST TENNESSEE STATE AT CHATTANOOGA (SoCon). ETSU has two losses, but they’re still a team that could give Wofford fits.
-AUSTIN PEAY AT JACKSONVILLE STATE (Ohio Valley). There is one game separating the top four teams in the OVC, and Jax State can remain in sole possession of first place with a win tonight.
-NORTH ALABAMA AT LIPSCOMB (Atlantic Sun). Lipscomb is good enough to win out, and if they do then they should land inside the bubble.
-UT ARLINGTON AT TEXAS STATE (Sun Belt). Texas State is one of the teams that’s logjammed at the top of the SBC standings.
-VERMONT AT UMASS LOWELL (America East). Vermont has a clear run at first place, which would mean home court advantage in the conference tournament.
-CHICAGO STATE AT NEW MEXICO STATE (WAC). This is probably the most winnable game that New Mexico State will play all season
-UT MARTIN AT BELMONT (Ohio Valley). If Belmont wins out, I think the committee will take a serious look at them, and maybe even take them if they don’t win the conference tournament.
-HARTFORD AT STONY BROOK (America East). Stony Brook still has a ton of wins away from home, so they should land on the 12 or the 13 line if they’re able to keep playing at that clip and win the auto-bid. They have been struggling lately, though.
-YALE AT DARTMOUTH (Ivy League). This would be another road win for Yale, who may end up running away from the rest of the league.
-RICE AT OLD DOMINION (Conference USA). I can’t help but think that ODU would get the attention of the committee if they were able to dominate conference play the rest of the way, especially with the new scheduling structure in CUSA.
-SFA AT SAM HOUSTON STATE (Southland). This is probably the biggest rivalry in the conference, and if Sam Houston wins this I don’t think anyone in the league will catch them.
-MURRAY STATE AT TENNESSEE TECH (Ohio Valley). Murray State needs to win to keep pace in the conference standings.
-MONTANA AT MONTANA STATE (Big Sky). Montana looks to be the best team in the Big Sky, but it’s tight at the top, and this is a tough rivalry game on the road.
-UC IRVINE AT LONG BEACH STATE (Big West). UC Irvine is coming off a big win against UCSB and is now in the driver’s seat to finish in first place.
-GRAND CANYON AT CAL STATE BAKERSFIELD (WAC). There is a three way tie for first place, and these are two of the teams, so this has first place implications
-UC SANTA BARBARA AT HAWAII (Big West). Midnight Basketball!! (on the East Coast anyway). UCSB has a tough assignment after losing at home to UCI earlier this week. If they drop this one then catching the Eaters will be almost impossible.