NEWS AND NOTES
-USC looked good for about 36 minutes against TCU, but almost fell apart at the very end. TCU actually tied the game with less than ten seconds to go, but USC ended up scoring just before the final buzzer and holding on for an 80-78 in.
-Louisville and Michigan also picked up home conference wins, and Duke ran away from Virginia Tech in the second half on the road to pick up their first ACC win.
-Stephen F Austin wasn’t able to pick up the win at Alabama. The Tide were actually in control for most of the second half. I don’t want to say that’s a bad loss, but it was a missed opportunity for SFA to pick up another notable road win for their resume.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES
-MAINE AT CENTRAL CONNECTICUT (***Spotlight Game***). I did not think it could be done. I DID NOT THINK SO MUCH AWESOMENESS COULD BE PACKED INTO ONE ARENA!!!!!! We are dispatching Lee Delvecchio!!!!! That is….assuming he can stand all of the greatness that this game will give us!!!!
-PENN STATE AT OHIO STATE (Big Ten). Penn State has looked decent at times. Ohio State, in their last game at North Carolina, has looked as good as any team has all year. They can keep that momentum going, pick up a conference win, and hold on to their high ranking (which may get even higher) with a win today.
-ARIZONA AT BAYLOR. A really good road test for an Arizona team that’s been winning, but hasn’t always looked impressive. They’ll have to play better than they have up to this point to knock off this Baylor team. Both teams are ranked, both teams will likely be solidly inside the bubble, so this is a good resume building opportunity for both teams.
-FLORIDA AT BUTLER. This should be a fun one. Florida had huge expectations this year, but was slow out of the gate. They seem to be getting better, and if they can knock off an unbeaten Butler team that’s been kind of a surprise this year, I think it’s safe to say that they are most of the way back.
-WEST VIRGINIA AT SAINT JOHN’S (Big East/Big 12 Battle). WVU is 7-0, and has looked good at times, but still hasn’t won over all the doubters. They’ve got a decent resume, but not an outstanding one, and that won’t change even if they win today. Still, they would remain unbeaten on the year and add a true road win to their resume. Having said that, the Johnnies are 7-2, and a win for them kind of gives them some momentum as well.
-SYRACUSE AT GEORGIA TECH (ACC). Syracuse hasn’t looked all that strong this year and needs to string together some wins just to get into the conversation.
-BOSTON COLLEGE AT NOTRE DAME (ACC). This is a winnable home conference game for Notre Dame, which can get them to a very respectable 7-2 on the season.
-NC STATE AT WAKE FOREST (ACC). NC State is off to a decent start, but this is the kind of game that tournament teams are expected to be able to win. It’s a road game, but it’s a road game against a team that will most likely struggle to make the NIT.
-NEVADA AT AIR FORCE (Mountain West). Nevada has won four straight, including a decisive win over what appeared to be a decent Santa Clara team earlier in the week. If they can pick up this conference win on the road then they are certainly back on the right trajectory.
-NEBRASKA AT CREIGHTON. This is an in-state rivalry with a fair amount of heat. Creighton is sitting at a decent 6-2, but they still have work to do. Failing to beat a Nebraska team at home that isn’t likely to finish anywhere near the NCAA Tournament would be considered a setback.
-VILLANOVA AT SAINT JOSEPH’S (Big Five/The Holy War). This is a rivalry. I guess. It’s probably more of a feud at this point, and Nova clearly has the upper hand, and leg, and everything else.
-BYU AT UNLV. BYU just let one get away against rival Utah earlier in the week. They need to start stringing together some wins if they want to end up on the right side of the bubble. A road win at UNLV would certainly help.
-NEW MEXICO STATE VS WASHINGTON STATE (Game in Spokane WA). New Mexico State has won their last two and appears to be getting back on track despite still being short handed. This should be a winnable game for them despite the continued limited roster.
-ARKANSAS STATE AT TULSA. We haven’t talked much about Tulsa, but they are 7-1. Arkansas State isn’t that bad either with a 6-2 record. Now neither one have really been seriously tested, but this is still a game that’s worth keeping an eye on.
-DELAWARE AT GEORGE WASHINGTON. Delaware is 9-0, but they haven’t played the toughest of schedules, and that going to GW isn’t exactly going to toughen it up all that much. Still, a win keeps them amongst the unbeaten.
-NEW MEXICO AT WYOMING (Mountain West). New Mexico is out to a very respectable 8-2 start and can keep that momentum going with a winnable conference road game today.
-UNC GREENSBORO AT RADFORD. UNCG still has a shot to land inside the bubble, but they have a very small margin for error. They certainly can’t afford slip ups in games like this.
-INDIANA AT WISCONSIN (Big Ten). Indiana wasn’t expected to do much this year, and even after their 7-0 start no one really took notice because all they were doing was winning buy games, but after their decisive win at home against Florida State earlier in the week you have to sit up and take notice. Now the question is what will they look like when they play on the road? Wisky has been somewhat disappointing so far this year and could use a bounce back win in a game like this. So, something at stake for both teams.
-ILLINOIS AT MARYLAND (Big Ten). Maryland clearly looks like the better team and will likely compete for a protected seed. They just need to hold serve in games like this, which are home games against teams that aren’t likely to make the field. Having said that, the Illini are 6-2 and if they could pull off an upset in a game like this it would catapult them onto the national stage.
-CALIFORNIA AT SANTA CLARA. It isn’t likely that neither team will be on the committee’s radar come March, but for now both have decent records and it should be an intriguing game.
-CINCINNATI AT XAVIER (Crosstown Shootout). A lot to unpack about this game. It’s two teams with good records, but who also haven’t really passed the eye test and still have a lot more questions than answers. It’s also a rivalry game. It’s also a seemingly neglected rivalry game this year considering it is being played at the exact same time that Cincinnati’s football team is playing against Memphis (another rival) in the AAC Championship game for a chance to go to a major New Years Six bowl game. So, half of the fans will likely be somewhat distracted. How the hell does that happen?? Speaking of that….
-MEMPHIS AT UAB. Memphis is trying to get to 8-1 and do it against their old CUSA rivals (or at least the closest thing they had to a rival at the time). It’s probably not as important as the Xavier v Cincinnati game, but it’s still a pretty important basketball game that would garner a fair amount of interest if it weren’t being overshadowed by the AAC Football game.
-FRESNO STATE AT UTAH STATE (Mountain West). A very winnable conference home game for Utah State.
-COLORADO AT KANSAS. Colorado is 7-0, and while they’ve managed to pick up some big wins, none are in the same universe as a win at Kansas would be. Both these teams are in the rankings, and both deserve to be there. This will be a pretty meaty win for whoever ends up pulling it out.
-HAWAI’I AT OREGON. Oregon is a solid 6-2 and still has a very high ceiling this year. Hawaii is decent, but probably doesn’t have it in them to pull off a road win of this caliber.
-ARKANSAS AT WESTERN KENTUCKY. Arkansas is 8-0, and although no one has gotten all that excited about them yet, they probably should if they’re able to pull off this win on the road. It’s not front page headline type of win, but it is still a tough game to win.
-MISSOURI AT TEMPLE. I’ve been very impressed with Temple this year, and feel that this is a very winnable game for them, which would get them to 7-1 and Temple will continue to warrant everyone’s attention.
-OLD DOMINION AT VCU. This is a very heated rivalry, and it’s usually an entertaining game, but this year’s edition will likely end up resembling a buy game.
-EAST TENNESSEE STATE AT NORTH DAKOTA STATE. This is a tricky road game for ETSU. North Dakota State isn’t likely to end up inside the bubble, but they are likely to win a lot of games at home this year, so if ETSU can pull it off the committee should give them some credit.
-MARQUETTE AT KANSAS STATE (Big East/Big 12 Battle). Both teams have decent records, but you get the feeling that both have sort of fallen behind the pack a little bit. They can still catch up, but there should be at least a slight sense of urgency to this game.
-GEORGETOWN AT SMU. This game may fly under the radar a little bit, but it really shouldn’t. SMU is unbeaten, and although they haven’t knocked off any real heavyweights, they haven’t all been home buy games either. Georgetown just got a huge road win at Oklahoma State despite suddenly losing two key players. This would be back to back road wins against unbeaten teams (at the time of the game) if they can pull this one off.
BUY GAMES (and equivalent games)
-CSU Bakersfield @ Ole Miss
-Fairleigh Dickinson @ Kentucky
-Central Arkansas @ Utah
-SEMO @ Drake
-Cleveland State @ Kent State
-American @ George Mason
-Louisiana @ Arizona State