NEWS AND NOTES
-Once again, against a highly ranked team, Gonzaga pretty much had a comfortable lead from tip to buzzer as they knocked off Iowa 99-88. Having to shut down for COVID seemed to do nothing to slow down the Zags.
-It was a different story for Louisville. They were blown off the floor by Wisconsin 85-48 in their first game back after a shutdown. Wisky jumped out to a big lead right out of the gate, and continued to slowly build that lead as the game went on.
-Florida State lost a shocker at home to UCF, which is their first loss of the season. The Noles had looked really good up until yesterday, and it was just the second win (albeit in three games) for a UCF team that we thought would be closer to the bottom of the American than the top.
-Kentucky entered yesterday with just one win, and left the same way as they fell to North Carolina. The game was close for the first 30 or so minutes, but the Tarheels opened it up toward the end and ended up with a 75-63 win.
-Indiana picked up another nice win as they knocked off Butler yesterday in the Crossroads Classic.
-Western Kentucky picked up a big win at Alabama 73-71 and continues to build a very good resume for a UTR team. They are starting to look like a team that can make the NCAA Tournament without having to win their conference tournament.
-Winthrop remains unbeaten after a very impressive win over Furman yesterday. Winthrop is also looking like a UTR team that may not need to win their conference tournament to go dancing this March.
-Stanford handed Arizona their first loss of the year to pick up one of their bigger wins of the season.
-Last but not least, Ohio State bounced back from their loss earlier this week with a nice win against UCLA
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES
-CREIGHTON AT UCONN (Big East). UConn has played just three games this year, but they appear to have the pieces of being really good and today they have a chance to demonstrate that in their conference opener. Creighton has played well this season, but is coming off a loss to Marquette and is trying to pick up their first really good resume win while avoiding dropping to 0-2 in Big East play.
-ILLINOIS AT RUTGERS (Big Ten). A Big Ten showdown between two top 20 teams that have already managed to win some big games. Illinois has two losses, but they’ve played a really tough schedule and both were to highly ranked teams. Rutgers is unbeaten, but hasn’t been tested as hard as Illinois, so it should be a fun one today.
-OKLAHOMA STATE AT TEXAS (Big 12). Both teams look like solid tournament teams, but Okie State still needs to win their waiver in order to get there. Texas appears to have their best team since Shaka Smart’s arrival and is knocking on the door of a top ten ranking. It should be a fun one today.
-MARQUETTE AT XAVIER (Big East). Xavier is unbeaten with some nice wins, but Marquette has some even better than nice wins against the likes of Creighton and Wisconsin. Like a lot of Big East games, this one should be a war.
-YOUNGSTOWN STATE AT NORTHERN KENTUCKY (Horizon League). Youngstown State comes in at 3-0 and we think they can make some noise in the HL this year, but they also really haven’t been tested yet.
-PROVIDENCE AT SETON HALL (Big East). Both teams have looked good, and both have the potential and likelihood to have a big year. Having said that, both teams’ resumes could use some building and today’s game is a chance to do that.
-GEORGETOWN AT SAINT JOHN’S (Big East). I’m not sure if either team will end up inside the bubble, and both have had their struggles early on, but both have also shown signs of life as well.
-MICHIGAN STATE AT NORTHWESTERN (BIG TEN). Sparty is unbeaten, they look good, and they shouldn’t have too much trouble picking up this conference road win and staying high in the rankings.
-SAN FRANCISCO VS GRAND CANYON (Las Vegas). Chances are neither of these teams will end up inside the bubble, but it’s still a really fun match-up between a GCU team who’s only loss was by 1 to Arizona State, and a San Francisco team that’s managed a win over Virginia and some other good moments as well.
-SAINT LOUIS AT MINNESOTA. Saint Louis has a few good wins already and is good enough to pick up another road win today against a Minnesota team with a bloated record, but who also really hasn’t been tested.
-COLORADO AT WASHINGTON (Pac 12). Colorado is a potential tournament team and Washington is…well…not. It’s a winnable conference road game for the Buffs.
BUY GAMES (or games that might as well be)
-Robert Morris @ Marshall
-Oral Roberts @ Arkansas
-Chicago State @ Drake
-Alcorn State @ Houston
-Delaware State @ Georgia Tech