NEWS AND NOTES
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-Chalky night last night with Baylor, Kansas, and Florida State all winning.
-Maryland Eastern Shore’s Centenary Award chances to a major hit yesterday with them winning on the road at Delaware State. This could knock them out of the race entirely.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES
-DUKE AT BOSTON COLLEGE (ACC). Duke still has a path to the #1 line, but they can’t afford to drop any more games to sub-tournament caliber teams if they want to end up as a 1 seed.
-RUTGERS AT MARYLAND (Big Ten). Rutgers desperately needs a couple of road wins, and if they can get one today it will tremendously improve their resume, but winning at Maryland is a very tall order. The Terps are in contention for a protected seed, and need to hold serve in games like this in order to keep that within reach.
-AUBURN AT ARKANSAS (SEC). Auburn is coming off a big win against Kentucky and has another very tough test tonight on the road against an Arkansas team that appears to be inside the bubble. This is a win that both teams could use and that would look good on both resumes.
-UMASS AT RHODE ISLAND (Atlantic Ten). I think Rhody will make the NCAA Tournament if they can continue to hold serve.
-OHIO STATE AT MICHIGAN (Big Ten). It’s a rivalry game between two teams that look to be NCAA Tournament caliber teams. It’s also a win that would really help out both teams. Ohio State could use a road win, and Michigan can use it as a big bounce back win from a recent slump they were in.
-TENNESSEE AT ALABAMA (SEC). Alabama is still within reach of the bubble, but they absolutely need to hold serve in games like this in order to get inside of it.
-VIRGINIA TECH AT GEORGIA TECH (ACC). VA Tech has been in a bit of a tailspin, and really needs to get this win on the road. If they don’t then they will probably be outside of the field when we do our next projections.
-PENN STATE AT MICHIGAN STATE (Big Ten). Both teams are in the rankings. Michigan State looks like a solid protected seed, and Penn State appears to be within reach of one, especially if they can pick up a road win like this one tonight.
-MISSISSIPPI STATE AT KENTUCKY (SEC). Mississippi State has been playing much better, but playing on the road at Kentucky may be swinging over their heads. If they were to get a win like this it would boost the value of their resume through the roof. Kentucky looks like a solid protected seed and although they are coming off of a loss they are still a very dangerous team.
-XAVIER AT DEPAUL (Big East). Xavier’s win at Seton Hall completely changed the complexion of their resume. If they get another road win tonight then you have to start thinking of them as a team that’s inside the bubble. DePaul was tough out of conference, and has played well in a few games in conference, but with so few league wins the NCAA Tournament may be out of reach.
-OKLAHOMA AT TEXAS TECH (Big 12). Oklahoma has been struggling and is squarely on the bubble. A win like this would help them out a ton. Texas Tech has had their struggles, but has been playing a lot better in the last couple of weeks and should be able to hold serve at home in this one.