CLICK HERE for our Championship Week Video Notebook: Day 2
NEWS AND NOTES
-Last night started off with some good news for bubble teams – Xavier lost at Butler and may have struck out at least as far as at-large seeding goes. They would still clinch at least a bye into the Big East quarterfinals with a home win against St. John’s on Saturday – it would also be the 37th consecutive season of at least a .500 conference record.
-The biggest game came from a completely unexpected source. Duke had to sweat out Wake Forest at home and got a really fortuitous bounce at the end when a potential game-winner from Wake rimmed out. The fact that Duke is a #1 seed with Zion Williamson, and sweating out Wake Forest at home without Zion Williamson is….shocking. I know he’s good, but they’ve got other players who are also good. You’d think they’d at least be good enough to not have to sweat out a team that’s outside the top 100 at home.
-It is official. Kansas will not win the Big 12 regular season title thanks to their loss at Oklahoma. They are looking like they will not be a protected seed either unless they make a deep run in the Big 12 Tournament next week.
-Minnesota was another bubble team that helped itself immensely with a win at home against Purdue. The loss drops the Boilers into a three-way tie with Michigan and Michigan State in the Big 10 standings.
-The basketball Iron Bowl went to Auburn last night – they got a decent road win at Alabama and puts the Tide squarely on the fence going into their regular season finale at Arkansas.
-Florida State also won a crucial game at home against Virginia Tech – the Noles are now the best team below the Big 3 of Virginia, Duke and North Carolina in the ACC. Their odds of getting a protected seed got better.
-Kentucky and Buffalo both had to sweat out games on the road, but ended up winning nonetheless.
-MARQUETTE AT SETON HALL (Big East). This is suddenly a very pivotal and rather crucial game for Seton Hall. They have some big wins, but with a schizophrenic profile that has an equal share of questionable losses, an overall record of just 16-12, and already being two games under .500 in Big East play, they need some stability on their resume. This one is huge. It’s a big game for Marquette as well if they want to end up as a protected seed.
-LSU AT FLORIDA (SEC). LSU has a chance to finish first in the SEC, and some feel has an outside chance of playing their way all the way up to the #1 line. The Gators are squarely on the bubble. Strangely enough, their biggest win of the season was against LSU, but they’ve got a little more work to do if they want to make the field and beating them for a second time would certainly help.
-IOWA STATE AT WEST VIRGINIA (Big 12). This is a winnable road game for an Iowa State team that still has a shot at a protected seed if they can finish strong. They’re a respectable 5-5 in true road games, so picking the low hanging fruit here would certainly help.
-GEORGETOWN AT DEPAUL (Big East). Some feel that Georgetown still has a path to the NCAA Tournament, and perhaps they do, but that path does not involve them losing to DePaul. Whatever small chance they have will be gone (without the auto-bid, that is) if they don’t win this one.
-OHIO STATE AT NORTHWESTERN (Big Ten). Ohio State could REALLY do without a loss in this one. They’re in the field for now, but this is the kind of game that could have them really sweating on Selection Sunday if they end up losing it.
-CLEMSON AT NOTRE DAME (ACC). Clemson is squarely on the bubble, so every game has a pivotal feel to it. This is a winnable road game and they need to take advantage of it.
-GEORGIA TECH AT NC STATE (ACC). NC State doesn’t have the strongest of resumes either. It is important that they hold serve at home.
-OKLAHOMA STATE AT BAYLOR (Big 12). Baylor should be able to hold serve in this one. They’re pretty much a virtual lock for the tournament minus a massive meltdown and are just playing for seeding now.
-OREGON STATE AT WASHINGTON (Pac Twelve). The loss to Cal last week may have burned up all of Washington’s remaining strikes. They need to take care of business at home tonight, and win their final regular season game this weekend as well.