NEWS AND NOTES
-The game that most people were most looking forward to was pretty good for a half, and then blown open at the beginning of the second half. Kentucky just blew Tennessee’s doors off, and even though it was a home game it was still one of the more impressive showings we’ve seen out of any team this year. Tennessee could still end up on the #1 line, and they will face Kentucky at least once more prior to Selection Sunday, but the cement isn’t dry on their #1 seed just yet.
-Michigan pulled off a rather decisive and impressive win against Maryland. I’d say they’re over their little stumble against Penn State from earlier in the week.
-Texas Tech absolutely blitzed Baylor. It’s not surprising that they won, but it is a little shocking that they blew them off the court, even though they were at home. I’d say Texas Tech is now playing like a protected seed, and their remaining games give them a pathway to it.
-You could not have scripted a more fitting ending to a game being played between Louisville and Clemson than the one we saw yesterday. Clemson has a history of losing heartbreakers, and Louisville has a sudden proneness to blowing leads. Louisville led by 7 with less than a minute to go, and after several mistakes Clemson ended up with a last second shot that would have won them the game, but missed it. Like I said…so fitting for both teams!. On paper it’s a nice win for Louisville, but they need to figure out how to navigate the last few minutes of a basketball game. And Clemson…just needs some better luck!
-Iowa State was another team that was just unbelievably impressive yesterday. They went into Kansas State and basically had a comfortable lead from tip to buzzer. I think this Iowa State team is a protected seed caliber team. I hope others will start to come around to that after yesterday’s performance.
-LSU followed up their huge win at Kentucky with a near road loss at Georgia, but managed to hold on.
-Iowa was down 2 at Rutgers and threw up a desperation shot from the corner that was well defended. The shot was so bad and so off the mark that it grazed the backboard….and then went in. They escaped what would have been a somewhat damaging loss and ended up with another road win.
-Oklahoma finally pulled themselves out of their tailspin with a decisive win at TCU. TCU has a win at Iowa State, but not much else. I think they still have some work to do if they want to safely make the field. That goes for Oklahoma as well, who is still 5 games below 500 in league play.
-Alabama, who is on the bubble, lost big at home to Florida, who isn’t. That’s not a good loss.
-Indiana lost again. They are now just 4-10 in Big Ten play and have lost 10 of their last 11. At what point do we finally decide they’re not an NCAA Tournament team?
-VCU blew open a big lead against Dayton, then blew the lead, but managed to hold on for a one point win. If any team out of the A10 is going to land inside the bubble, it’s VCU.
-Temple held on for a one point overtime win at South Florida. They are squarely on the bubble, so every game they play has a pivotal feel for it. South Florida isn’t a tournament team, but they’re still decent and the Owls should get some credit from the committee for beating them on the road.
-Wofford blew out UNC Greensboro, who some felt was the second best team in the SoCon. The Terriers have clinched first place in the conference, and with three games remaining I think they’ll be inside the bubble and make the NCAAs no matter what happens in the conference tournament if they’re able to win two of them.
-Washington trailed Washington State for most of the game, and seemed to be heading toward a loss that would crush their resume, which is already a little flimsy, but they got the lead in the final minutes and held on to win 72-70
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES
-OHIO STATE AT MICHIGAN STATE (Big Ten). Ohio State is coming off a somewhat surprising loss to Illinois, and although they’re still reasonably safe they are below 500 in league play and aren’t likely to win today, so that sense of urgency should be going up a little bit. Michigan State is still on pace to land in the top two lines barring a collapse.
-WICHITA STATE AT CINCINNATI (American). Cincinnati should land in the top half of the bracket so long as they’re able to hold serve the rest of the way, and that of course means winning at home against non-tournament caliber teams.
-HOUSTON AT TULANE (American). This is a huge mismatch between a Houston team that will likely end up as a protected seed, and a Tulane team that’s winless in conference play.
-SETON HALL AT CREIGHTON (Big East). Seton Hall seems to have fixed whatever was wrong. This one won’t be easy given that it’s a road game, but if they were to pull it off they’d be 4-1 in their last five games, above 500 in the conference, and pick up their 3rd true road win.
-VILLANOVA AT SAINT JOHN’S (Big East). This is a fun match up between a Villanova team that’s in first place and who’s only league loss came after a missed shot at the buzzer that would have won them the game at Marquette. The Johnnies also have some really big wins, but they don’t always play up to their ceiling. I bet they are jacked for today’s game, though, and it should be fun.