NEWS AND NOTES
-For John Stalica’s UTR Game of the Day, which is a big one between Furman and East Tennessee State – CLICK HERE
-Illinois had been struggling, but winning on the road against a top ten team will suddenly make you not struggle. It was perhaps the most impressive win of the season for the Illini, and it could not have come at a better time.
-Kentucky picked up another impressive road win as they held on to beat LSU 79-76. LSU won their first 8 SEC games, but has since lost four out of five and are coming down to Earth a little bit.
-Creighton continues to rack up impressive wins and look more and more like they should be a protected seed. They picked up another big road win at Marquette last night.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES
-BUTLER AT SETON HALL (Big East). Butler has slipped a little bit, but they are still a team that should easily get in on the first ballot, and they can actually play their way back into a position to get a protected seed if they can finish strong. Seton Hall has dropped two in a row and needs a win like this to get the momentum shifted back. They still have a pretty wide path to a protected seed.
-SYRACUSE AT LOUISVILLE (ACC). Louisville lost two straight road games last week and looked pitiful in both showings. They just need a win to get their confidence and momentum back. Syracuse had been playing well, but has once again slipped outside our bubble and needs a string of big wins at the end of the season if they want any chance of making the field.
-AUBURN AT GEORGIA (SEC). Auburn is coming off a somewhat surprising loss to Missouri, but has a winnable game tonight and should be able to get things turned around.
-MICHIGAN AT RUTGERS (Big Ten). Michigan has finally won some road games and their resume has started to stabilize. A win tonight would be really big since Rutgers has not lost at home yet this year.
-UCF AT CINCINNATI (American). Cincinnati continues to walk the tight rope that is the bubble, and needs to hold serve in games like this when they are not facing tournament caliber teams.
-GEORGE MASON AT RICHMOND (Atlantic Ten). Richmond is right on the bubble and should be able to make the field if they can put together a strong finish to the season.
-FURMAN AT EAST TENNESSEE STATE (SoCon). These are two of the better teams in the SoCon. ETSU has a wider bath to the NCAA Tournament, but Furman should at least be in the discussion if they win out. It’s a chance for both of them to build up their resumes a little bit.
-WOFFORD AT UNC GREENSBORO (SoCon). If UNCG can win out then the committee will probably at least look at them.
-CENTRAL ARKANSAS AT STEPHEN F AUSTIN (Southland). It’s always the same story with SFA. If they win out, then they should be on the committee’s board and be considered.
-TCU AT TEXAS (Big 12). The lights aren’t completely out for these two teams, but it is getting there. They are both almost out of strikes.
-SMU AT TULANE (American). SMU is sort of lurking in the weeds, but they do have a chance at making the NCAA Tournament if they can finish the regular season strong.
-BOSTON COLLEGE AT VIRGINIA (ACC). Virginia appears to be back inside the bubble, but they aren’t exactly totally safe. It’s important that they hold serve in games like this.
-PROVIDENCE AT GEORGETOWN (Big East). Georgetown has picked up some big wins and is very close to landing inside the bubble. With the games they have remaining, they’ll have the opportunities they need in order to make the field.
-DUKE AT NC STATE (ACC). Duke is a probable protected seed and NC State is right on the bubble. It’s a really big game for NC State, who’s trying to raise the value of their resume.
-VILLANOVA AT DEPAUL (Big East). Nova had hit a bit of a skid, but they’ve won two straight and have another winnable game tonight against a DePaul team that’s good, but just hasn’t picked up the wins in conference play like they needed to.
-TULSA AT HOUSTON (American). Houston has backtracked a little bit, but they are still in good shape. They need to take care of business tonight against a Tulsa team that’s played well all throughout conference play.
-INDIANA AT MINNESOTA (Big Ten). Indiana is right on the bubble. The biggest thing they are missing is road wins, and they desperately need to pick this one up tonight.
-SOUTH CAROLINA AT MISSISSIPPI STATE (SEC). This is a huge bubblicous game. South Carolina has really been playing well these last few weeks, but is right on the bubble and still has work to do, and Mississippi State needs some wins to help them end up on the right side of it as well. This game is hugely pivotal for both these teams.
-KANSAS STATE AT TEXAS TECH (Big 12). Texas Tech is in relatively good shape so long as they’re able to hold serve in games like this.
-WYOMING AT UTAH STATE (Mountain West). Utah State is right on the bubble, and if I had to guess I’d say that the committee will take them so long as they avoid losses to all teams that aren’t San Diego State.