NEWS AND NOTES
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-Auburn suffered their first loss of the season as they fell to Alabama 83-64 in a game that they were never really in. It’s tough to win on the road, and Alabama had been playing really well lately and while they’re not in any brackets now, they will be soon if they keep playing like they have been. But, I think this sort of confirms that Auburn is good, but not #1 seed good.
-Kentucky was another top ten team from the SEC that lost on the road. After a late surge in the final minute to tie the game and making us all think it was going into overtime, South Carolina banked in a three-pointer just past mid-court to pull off the upset win. Despite the loss, I still think Kentucky is playing better now than they did in November and is continuing to improve.
-The Butler v Seton Hall game was fantastic to watch, and you have to take your hats off to Seton Hall who fell behind on the road against a very good Butler team, but came back and outscored them in the second half by 18pts to pick up the win. Seton Hall was slow out of the gate, but they are running at full speed now and are playing well enough to finish at the top of the Big East. Butler has been a surprise team this year, and I think they’ll be able to bounced back from this one.
-Virginia has now lost three straight. There is no shame in losing on the road at Florida State, who is a legitimate top ten team, but you get the sense that the Hoos are losing their grip and are running the risk of landing outside the bubble.
-Wichita State lost their second game of the year as they fell at Temple 65-53. Temple’s defense was smothering and in the last few minutes they just pulled ahead.
-Georgetown picked up a big home win against Creighton 83-80. Georgetown, despite all the turmoil and all the guys who have left the team, have continued to win and are looking more and more like they’re going to be dancing this March.
-Marquette absolutely blew Xavier off the court in an 85-65 win. I think it’s time to start thinking of Marquette as a tournament caliber team, and to stop thinking of Xavier as one.
-Minnesota picked up another really nice win as they held on to beat Penn State at home 75-69. Road wins in the Big Ten have not been easy to come by.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES
-CINCINNATI AT MEMPHIS (American). Memphis has been struggling. They barely escaped with a win against South Florida and had lost two straight prior to that. It’s important that they hold serve at home tonight against a Cincinnati team that is currently outside the bubble.
-UTAH AT ARIZONA (Pac 12). Utah is sort of hovering around the bubble and could really use a win like this at home. Arizona’s biggest issue is that they don’t have any road wins, and while they can’t fix that tonight they still need to hold serve.
-OREGON AT WASHINGTON STATE (Pac 12). This should be a winnable road game for the Ducks, which would keep them on a pace to end up as a protected seed.
-COLORADO AT ARIZONA STATE (Pac 12). Colorado is in fairly decent shape, but picking up a road win will always help the resume. Arizona State right now is way outside the bubble and would need to put together a long string of wins to get back into the conversation.
-SAN DIEGO AT BYU (West Coast). BYU is having a good year and is solidly in the tournament discussion. They just need to hold serve tonight.
-CALIFORNIA AT USC (Pac 12). At 13-3 USC definitely has a path to the NCAA Tournament. The biggest thing they are lacking are quality wins, and that won’t get fixed tonight, but they still need to hold serve against a Cal team that is improved, but in the grand scheme of things still not very good.
-SANTA CLARA AT GONZAGA (West Coast). Santa Clara is coming off a really big win at Saint Mary’s, which was easily their biggest of the year. Going on the road to face Gonzaga is infinitely tougher and the win would be infinitely bigger. Even Chad would have to pay attention to them if they’re somehow able to win this one!
-OREGON STATE AT WASHINGTON (Pac 12). Washington is in a complete tailspin and unfortunately it doesn’t look like they’re coming out of it. Oregon State is flirting with the bubble and can help themselves out again if they’re able to get this one on the road.