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NEWS AND NOTES
-Villanova needed overtime, but survived against Creighton to stay unbeaten in the Big East and hold on to their two game lead. Creighton was without starter Ty-Shon Alexander in this game, but they missed a chance to win in regulation after hitting only one of three free throws following a Nova foul on a 3-point attempt by the Bluejays.
-Wisconsin picked up another nice road win by knocking off Minnesota. That’s six straight wins for the Badgers. Whatever was causing them to slump a few weeks ago has been fixed.
-LSU picked up what is arguably their best win of the season by knocking off Mississippi State in overtime in a game that seesawed back and forth. They now have two really nice road wins on their resume, and their stock is continuing to rise.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES
-HOUSTON AT UCF (American). Houston has blown through the season, but this is one of the more challenging games they have left on their schedule. As good as they’ve been, this would be their best true road win of the season up to this point, so it would help out their resume. UCF is right on the bubble and could really use a big win like this to help out their resume, so there is quite a bit at stake for both teams.
-CINCINNATI AT MEMPHIS (American). Cincinnati will likely end up in the top half of the bracket just so long as they continue to hold serve. Winning at Memphis won’t be easy, but it’s still the kind of win you’d expect a first ballot team to be able to pull off.
-PENN STATE AT OHIO STATE (Big Ten). Ohio State is in relatively good shape, but only relatively. If they lose this game, which would be a home loss to a non-tournament team, then it would really hurt them. It would also drop them to just 4-7 in conference, which is not a good pace to be on, so they really need to hold serve.
-WASHINGTON STATE AT ARIZONA STATE (Pac Twelve). Arizona State is hovering around the bubble, so it really wouldn’t be good to lose at home to a team that’s as craptacular as Wazzu is.
-SAN FRANCISCO AT GONZAGA (West Coast). If San Francisco wants any shot at all at an at-large bid, then I think they need to win this game. If they lose, but win all the rest, that still won’t be enough. It’s far easier said than done. Gonzaga started off strong, and appears to be getting even stronger as the season goes along.
-IOWA AT INDIANA (Big Ten). The Hoosiers ended a seven game losing streak in the most surprising way possible with a win at Michigan State. They can really get completely turned around in the right direction if they can follow that up with a win tonight against Iowa. Iowa is a team that’s improved as the year has gone on, and another road win on their resume would raise their stock even more.
-WASHINGTON AT ARIZONA (Pac Twelve). Washington is unbeaten in the Pac Twelve and playing like they belong in the top half of the bracket. If they can pick up two wins on this road trip (or really even just one) they’ll be running down hill the rest of the way.
UNDER THE RADAR
SAMFORD AT UNC GREENSBORO (SoCon). UNCG is still in the hunt for first place, and is just one game back of Wofford.
-WOFFORD AT EAST TENNESSEE STATE (SoCon). This is one of the tougher games that Wofford has remaining. If they can pick this one up I think it strengthens (or at least verifies) their case for an at-large bid if they don’t win the SoCon Tournament.
-BELMONT AT EASTERN KENTUCKY (Ohio Valley). Same story with Belmont. If they win out I think the committee will take a serious look at them even if they don’t win the conference tournament.
-MARSHALL AT NORTH TEXAS (Conference USA). CUSA is a logjam, and these are two of the teams that are in the mix.
-EASTERN ILLINOIS AT MURRAY STATE (Ohio Valley). I’m not as big on Murray State as I was a few weeks ago. A win tonight would be just their third against a div1 team with a winning record.
-OLD DOMINION AT UAB (Conference USA). Two more teams, particularly Old Dominion, that can make quite a bit of noise in CUSA.
-JACKSONVILLE STATE AT UT MARTIN (Ohio Valley). Jax State is in a four horse race for first place in the OVC.
-UTRGV AT GRAND CANYON (WAC). GCU is in a tie for first place, and has most of their toughest games behind them. They have a path to a first place finish.
-IDAHO AT MONTANA (Big Sky). Despite some setbacks, Montana looks to be the best team in the Big Sky and can remain on pace for a first place finish if they hold serve tonight.
-NEW MEXICO STATE AT CAL STATE BAKERSFIELD (WAC). New Mexico State is in a tie for first place, and CSUB is just one game behind them. This one should be a fun one. This is a very critical road trip for the Aggies with Grand Canyon awaiting them on Saturday as well.