NEWS AND NOTES
-For our most recent Under the Radar Video Podcast – CLICK HERE
-For tonight’s UTR Game of the Day between South Dakota State and Omaha – CLICK HERE
-For Jon Teitel’s interview with Tre Mann – CLICK HERE
-Tennessee, Villanova, Texas Tech, Florida State, and Virginia Tech all won against sub-tournament caliber teams yesterday.
-Clemson, who was on the bubble, went on the road to Miami really needing to add another road win to their resume, and came up short. This loss will be another that haunts them if they land in the NIT instead of the NCAAs.
-UCF sprinted out to an early lead against South Florida and never looked back. It was one bubble team knocking off another, who happened to be their rivals.
-Perhaps the biggest result of the night was Liberty’s win at Lipscomb. Liberty basically led tip to buzzer, and although Lipscomb did try to mount a comeback, they didn’t shoot nearly as well as they normally do, and they forced up a lot of contested shots, which is something else we normally don’t see from them. The two are now tied atop the ASun standings, and it wouldn’t surprise me if they both won out and things stayed tied. Lipscomb isn’t dead by any means, but they aren’t nearly as alive as they were prior to the loss. The harsh reality is that for teams that play in leagues like this, virtually any conference loss is is a loss to a non-tournament team, which means it’s more damaging.
-NC State picked up a nice home win against Syracuse that they kind of needed. Syracuse is still in relatively good shape, but nowhere near being able to just put it on cruise control yet.
-Ole Miss picked up a really nice road win at Auburn, which helps them out. When you look at Auburn both on paper and on the court, nothing about them indicates that they are good enough to go past the Round of 64. I’m still expecting that the actual committee would take them, but I’m not at all convinced that they should. I mean, what has this team done?
-Seton Hall had a convincing win against Georgetown last night. After being on the ropes, the Hall has now won three of their last four and appears to be back on track. Although having said that, none of those wins came against anyone that is solidly in the field.
-Minnesota fell at Nebraska, which is a little rough because it was a winnable road game and it knocks them to just 6-8 in Big Ten play. I still think they’ll make it in, but they may be cutting it a little closer than they’d like to.
-One never knows what Arizona State is going to do. Last night, they lost at Colorado, adding yet another loss to a team that’s nowhere near the NCAA Tournament to their resume. I know they’ve got good wins, but if I’m arguing yay or nay on their inclusion, I’d personally rather argue nay. They can beat good teams, but they cannot beat bad teams consistently enough to suit me.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES
-HOUSTON AT UCONN (American). Houston has played their way into the top ten and has a clear path to a protected seed if they continue to blow through the conference. This is another winnable road game for them.
-ILLINOIS AT OHIO STATE (Big Ten). Ohio State is a probable tournament team, but they still need to hold serve in games like this where they are at home against someone with a losing record.
-GONZAGA AT LMU (West Coast). Gonzaga has blown through this league and that isn’t likely to change tonight.
UNDER THE RADAR
-NORTH TEXAS AT FLORIDA ATLANTIC (Conference USA) The top of CUSA is logjammed, and North Texas is right in that logjam.
-VMI AT WOFFORD (SoCon). Wofford is unbeaten in SoCon play, and we believe they are inside the bubble. They should stay there so long as they continue to hold serve.
-HOFSTRA AT CHARLESTON (Colonial). This game is interesting because Hofstra looks to be the best team in the Colonial, and Charleston is a good team that has underachieved in the Colonial, but gets the conference tournament in their own backyard. Well, the next door neighbor’s backyard, at least.
-UNC GREENSBORO AT FURMAN (SoCon). This game may be bigger than most realize. UNCG is right on a lot of bubbles, and this would arguably be their biggest win of the year on paper if they’re able to pull it off. Furman has just one home loss and as a young team are playing with more and more consistency down the stretch.
-BELMONT AT TENNESSEE STATE (Ohio Valley). It’s always the same story with Belmont. If they can win out I think the committee may take them even if they don’t win the OVC Tourney.
-MURRAY STATE AT AUSTIN PEAY (Ohio Valley). There is a three way tie for first place, and these are two of the three teams.
-MONTANA AT WEBER STATE (Big Sky). Montana is in first place by a game, but this is one of their tougher remaining games. If they win then Weber State won’t catch them, if they lose then chances are just one game will separate the top three teams going into the weekend.
-UC SANTA BARBARA AT UC RIVERSIDE (Big West). UCSB is just a game behind UC Irvine in the standings. It’s an uphill run, but it is still doable.
-NORTHERN COLORADO AT IDAHO (Big Sky). Northern Colorado is just a game behind Montana and is trying to keep pace.