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-Michigan State, despite being shorthanded, picked up a HUUUGE win at Michigan. That’s a #1 seed caliber win when you consider that Michigan was a top ten team that had not lost at home. The losses to Indiana and Illinois may still sink their chances for a #1 seed, but in reality the only difference between a #1 and a #2 is that they face a top 15 team in the Sweet Sixteen (if the chalk holds) instead of a top ten team, and they wear white in the Elite Eight. That was a HUUGE win by Michigan State, and an indicator that they can play with pretty much anyone under any circumstance.
-Villanova is now in a tailspin. They fell at Xavier yesterday, which was their fourth loss in five games, and went through a close to ten minute stretch where they didn’t score. Xavier has suddenly gotten a little warm. They’ve won four straight, including two away from home and two against likely tournament teams. Chances are they’ll still need the auto-bid to get in, but they’re playing well enough to where they may be able to break quite a few things between now and the end, and if they win out and win a game or two in the conference tournament on top of that, then who knows?
-Arizona State had way more trouble with Cal than they should have, but held on to win and avoided a loss that would have completely sank their ship.
-Minnesota had a winnable road game at Rutgers yesterday. Minnesota did not win at Rutgers yesterday. That was a bit of a setback, but Minney is still in reasonably good shape.
-NOTRE DAME AT FLORIDA STATE (ACC). Florida State just had an eight game winning streak snapped in a tough game at North Carolina. They should be able to bounce back with a rather easy game at home tonight.
-SAVANNAH STATE AT NORTH CAROLINA A&T (MEAC). The Team of the People is actually have a remarkable season considering that it is their last ever at the div1 level. They’re come off a loss to NC Central, but they’ve still won five of their last seven and are doing better than you could expect a team to be doing when they’ve literally had EVERYTHING taken away from them. I would LOVE it if they won the conference tournament!
-NJIT AT LIPSCOMB (Atlantic Sun). With Liberty losing over the weekend, Lipscomb has a clear path to the #1 seed and home court advantage throughout the ASun Tournament. Their hopes for an at-large are also barely flickering.
-OKLAHOMA AT IOWA STATE (Big 12). Oklahoma has played better the last couple of games and seems to have pulled themselves out of the tailspin they were in. If they can get this win on the road against Iowa State, they will have completely righted the ship. Iowa State is looking to bounce back from a loss at TCU. They’ve actually lost three of their last four games and could use a little stabilizing themselves.
-KANSAS STATE AT KANSAS (Big 12). Kansas just got absolutely blitzed at Texas Tech over the weekend, and while it certainly doesn’t crash their NCAA Tournament hopes, it may crash their hopes of earning a protected seed and finishing first in the Big 12. They are at home tonight against their in-state rivals . If K State wins this they’ll have a three game lead with just three games remaining. That’s much easier said than done, though. While Kansas has struggled away from home, they’ve still been very tough to beat at home.
-NOTHERN COLORADO AT MONTANA (Big Sky). Fun matchup out of the Big Sky between conference leader Montana, and a Northern Colorado team that’s had a good season and is just a couple games behind.