NEWS AND NOTES
-For John Stalica’s UTR Game of the Day between Western Carolina and UNC Greensboro – CLICK HERE
-San Diego State pulled away from New Mexico last night for the 82-59 win, and to become the first team to clinch a first place finish in their conference. Congrats to them for winning the regular season Mountain West, broought to you by ConExpo Con/AGG!!
-Dayton jumped out to a 17-0 lead on Rhode Island, and that was pretty much it. The Rams were never really in the game, and Dayton won impressively 81-67.
-Maryland REALLY had to sweat at home against Nebraska, but ended up hanging on for a less than impressive 72-70 wins. Still, a win is a win, and the Terps were able to hold serve and stay well within the range of a protected seed.
-They weren’t the only ones. LSU had to sweat out Missouri, and actually needed to come from behind in the second half to pull out an 82-78 win, but did manage to avoid their third straight loss.
-Penn State picked up another very impressive road win as they knocked off Purdue yesterday. The Nittany Lions look to me like they are the best team in the Big Ten now that they’ve won seven straight.
-Illinois limped through the entire first half against Michigan State, but came from behind in the second half, got the lead, and were in a position to win the game, but couldn’t quite get it done. The Spartans picked up a 70-69 huge road win that they desperately needed after being in a bit of a free-fall prior to last night.
-Arkansas went on the road to Tennessee and got blown out. That’s not good when you’re on the bubble.
Syracuse dropped a bubblicious game to NC State 79-74, which seems like it will knock the Orange further outside the bubble while it inches NC State back towards it.
-Virginia won in overtime against a Notre Dame team that was looking for its fifth straight win and a big road win on their resume. From our estimation this helps UVA stay inside the bubble, and keeps Notre Dame outside of it for now.
-Utah State picked up a tough road win at Colorado State that they probably deserve a little more credit for than what they will actually get. Colorado State’s resume is unimpressive, but they had won seven of eight going into last night and had been playing really well.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES
-CREIGHTON AT SETON HALL (Big East). Creighton continues to play well as they go through the conference, and their resume keeps improving. This is probably their toughest remaining game, so if they can pick up a win here, the skies the limit. Seton Hall continues to look like a top ten team and is on pace to end up as a #2 seed, especially if they can continue to blow through the conference.
-XAVIER AT BUTLER (Big East). Xavier has won three straight and completely turned their season around. They can take yet another big step forward and improve their resume and seeding even more with another road win. Butler has slipped a little bit, and lost rather handily to Marquette in their last game, but they are still really strong overall and a win today will help them maintain that.
-KANSAS AT WEST VIRGINIA (Big 12). Kansas is still being projected solidly on the #1 line, but this is a very tough test for them tonight. A win on the road against another protected seed is the kind of thing that can cement them onto the #1 line. West Virginia is coming off a loss, and with their next two games against Kansas and Baylor they could end up dropping three in a row. It wouldn’t hurt them that much, but if they can win one of the next two they’ll prove that they belong as a protected seed.
-ALABAMA AT AUBURN (SEC). Auburn has been playing really well lately and has a chance to avenge one of their two losses tonight. The crowd will likely be way up for it, so Bama could be in trouble.
-UCONN AT SMU (American). If SMU wants any chance at all of being considered for a bid, then they pretty much need to win out the rest of the way.
-GEORGE MASON AT VCU (Atlantic Ten). I’m personally not as big on VCU as everyone else seems to be, but most have them floating around the bubble and some have them in the field. Either way, they really can’t afford a loss in a game like this.
-RICHMOND AT LA SALLE (Atlantic Ten). Richmond is squarely on the bubble, so they need to pick this one up and pretty much avoid losses to sub-tournament teams the rest of the way.
-RUTGERS AT OHIO STATE (Big Ten). The one thing Rutgers needs on their resume is a notable road win. They’ve come close several times, but haven’t actually done it. Tonight may be their best remaining chance. Having said that, Ohio State is a very good team. They’re coming off a loss, but they won’t be easy to beat in Columbus.
-THE CITADEL AT EAST TENNESSEE STATE (SoCon). ETSU has a very good chance of ending up inside the bubble if they win out, which they are good enough to do.
-FURMAN AT SAMFORD (SoCon). Furman MIGHT get a look from the committee if they win out, but lose in the conference tournament.
-LOUISVILLE AT GEORGIA TECH (ACC). Louisville continues to roll, and shouldn’t have too much trouble picking up yet another conference road win at Georgia Tech tonight.
-STEPHEN F AUSTIN AT TAMUCC (Southland). SFA should at least get a look from the committee if they win out. Tonight they will try to avenge their only conference loss so far.
-ILLINOIS STATE AT NORTHERN IOWA (Missouri Valley). I think we all feel that Northern Iowa is inside the bubble, and will remain there so long as they hold serve. Illinois State beat them earlier in the year, but they should be able to avenge that tonight.
-MARQUETTE AT VILLANOVA (Big East). Marquette is coming off a very impressive blowout win against Butler, but as good as they are they aren’t quite as strong on the road. This would probably be their most impressive win of the year if they can pull it off, and it should get them into the discussion for a protected seed. Villanova is coming off a home loss to Seton Hall and should be way up for this one as they try to bounce back and maintain their protected seed caliber profile.
-FLORIDA AT TEXAS A&M (SEC). An argument could be made that Florida does not belong in the field right now, but most of us still have them in. That will change if they lose this one.
-HOUSTON AT SOUTH FLORIDA (American). Houston looks like they’re starting to pull away from the rest of the AAC, and should be safely in the top half of the bracket if they can continue to hold serve.
-IOWA STATE AT OKLAHOMA (Big 12). Oklahoma remains in the field, but is still hovering around the bubble. They need to hold serve at home against teams like Iowa State who are very very very far outside of the bubble.
-MICHIGAN AT NORTHWESTERN (Big Ten). The one huge knock on Michigan’s resume is a lack of road wins. This is a very winnable road game, and they need to make sure they get it done.