NEWS AND NOTES
-Michigan State led Purdue by 15 at the half and appeared to have it all locked up toward the end of the game, but a crazy sequence of plays in the final seconds had Purdue pulling out a 55-54 win. Sparty isn’t in any danger of missing the tournament, and chances are they’ll still end up as a protected seed, but they’ve still got a lot of work to do. And, that wasn’t anywhere close to the craziest finish of day!!
-In Sun Belt play, Little Rock trailed Louisiana by 2, but had the ball in the final seconds with the shot clock off. The problem was that the lights in the arena also went off for a few seconds, which was understandably distracting. Play was not stopped, and while the lights did come back on, Little Rock was unable to get off any kind of a good shot and Louisiana held on for the win. It was LITERALLY lights out defense!! Little Rock head coach Darrell Walker was understandably, and justifiably, furious.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES
-SAINT JOHN’S AT CREIGHTON. Creighton is ranked in the top ten, has looked like a top ten team, and appears to be on the path to a solid protected seed. They should be able to hold serve today.
-OHIO STATE AT RUTGERS. Both teams have hit a bit of a skid with Ohio State losing two of their last three and Rutgers losing three of their last four, but both are still healthy overall. Having said that, both could really use this win today.
-WAKE FOREST AT DUKE (ACC). Duke still can’t seem to get their motor started, but they’ve got a winnable conference home game today and they need to hold serve.
-RICHMOND AT GEORGE MASON (Atlantic Ten). Richmond is looking less and less like a solid tournament team and more like a bubble team. They can’t afford to slip up on the road today.
-GEORGE WASHINGTON AT SAINT BONAVENTURE (Atlantic Ten). The Bonnies haven’t had as many chances to take the court and prove themselves, but they do have the looks of a tournament caliber team and should be able to take care of business today.
-MIAMI FL AT NC STATE (ACC). Miami has been plagued by injuries, but when they play up to their ceiling they are a tournament caliber team. NC State has a bloated record, but needs some notable wins on their resume so it’s important that they hold serve today.
-ALABAMA AT AUBURN (SEC). Alabama is looking damn good. They should break into the rankings soon and appear to be on pace to safely land in the top half of the bracket. They go on the road to face their rivals today who have looked…well…not quite as good.
-TEXAS AT WEST VIRGINIA (Big 12). Both teams are in the rankings, and Texas is actually looking like they could put together a case for a #1 seed. Another road win against a top 15 team would certainly help strengthen that case.
-SOUTH FLORIDA AT EAST CAROLINA (American). ECU’s program is much improved, but even at 7-2 their chances of making the NCAA Tournament are probably still a long shot. But, if they can keep stringing together wins, then we will keep looking at them.
-TENNESSEE AT TEXAS A&M (SEC). I wouldn’t call this one a cakewalk for the Vols, but it’s definitely the type of road game that a protected seed should be able to win.
-VIRGINIA AT BOSTON COLLEGE (ACC). This should be a winnable game for the Hoos, who continue to hold serve and keep themselves in a good position.
-SETON HALL AT DEPAUL (Big East). Seton Hall has been very schizophrenic this year, especially recently. This is a game that they should be able to win, which would help because any road win is helpful, but it wouldn’t shock me at all if DePaul took them down.
-UCF AT TULSA (American). Both teams have made some noise this year, but both also still have some work to do. A win today would be helpful for either team.
-RHODE ISLAND AT VCU (Atlantic Ten). VCU is looking like a solid tournament team, but they need to continue to hold serve in games like this. Rhody has been a bit of a disappointment, but they’re still capable of playing at a high level.
-VMI AT FURMAN (SoCon). Furman may still have a very narrow path to land inside the bubble, but it pretty much involves nothing short of winning out.
-BAYLOR AT TCU (Big 12). Baylor continues to look like a solid #1 seed caliber team and they have a chance to add another notable road win to their resume. TCU could end up inside the bubble, especially if they’re able to pull off a big win in a game like this.
-GEORGIA AT ARKANSAS (SEC). Both teams have good records and both have shown strong signs of life, but both also need big wins to build up their resumes, so today’s game is important for both teams.
-TULANE AT HOUSTON (American). Despite suffering a bit of a setback last week Houston still appears to be cruising toward a protected seed so long as they’re able to hold serve in games like this.
-TEXAS TECH AT IOWA STATE (Big 12). This should be a winnable road game for a Texas Tech team that is in good shape, but also still has room to improve.
-UCONN AT BUTLER. UConn looks like a tournament team, but they’re a long way from being able to set it on cruise control. They need to make sure they hold serve in games like this.
-UNLV AT COLORADO STATE (Mountain West). Colorado State looks to be good enough to finish inside the bubble, and they’ve got a few good things on their resume, but they absolutely have to hold serve in games like this in order to stay there.
-OKLAHOMA AT KANSAS (Big 12). Oklahoma looks like a solid tournament team, but Kansas (at least a lot of the time) looks like a solid #1 seed. Therefore Kansas is trying to hold serve and Oklahoma is trying to pick up a huge win.
-BOWLING GREEN AT CENTRAL MICHIGAN (MAC). The chances for Bowling Green to land inside the bubble are slim, but if they can blow through the MAC they do have at least a small chance.
-OREGON STATE AT COLORADO (Pac 12). Colorado is coming off a really nice statement win and is in good shape. They just need to take care of business today.
-KENTUCKY AT FLORIDA (SEC). Florida is back in action, but their resume seems a little flimsy and they still have some work to do. Kentucky has more than just some work to do. They’ve got loads and loads of work to do.
-UT MARTIN AT BELMONT (Ohio Valley). We will keep following Belmont until they give us a reason not to. If they run the table during the OVC regular season then they got a chance to land inside the bubble.
-OKLAHOMA STATE AT KANSAS STATE (Big 12). The biggest thing that Oklahoma State needs to win is their appeal from the NCAA, but if they get that then they seem to be a solid NCAA Tournament caliber team.
-CLEMSON AT NORTH CAROLINA (ACC). Clemson ended their long losing streak in Chapel Hill last year, and are following that up with a really big year this year. They have looked like the better team, appear to have the better resume, and are higher in the rankings. This is a chance for them to continue to build on that, but it’s also a chance for UNC to start to turn things back around.
-USC AT ARIZONA STATE (Pac 12). USC is off to a solid start and can make it a little more solid if they’re able to pick up this road win. Arizona State has been a little disappointing and needs to string together some wins just to get them back in the hunt.
-LOUISIANA TECH AT WESTERN KENTUCKY (Conference USA). WKU has a path to an at-large bid, but they pretty much need to blow through CUSA in order to get it.
-SANTA CLARA AT SAINT MARY’S (West Coast). This game feels like it’s between two teams that are outside the bubble, but are also within reach of it, so both have quite a bit to play for tonight.
-GONZAGA AT PORTLAND (West Coast). Even though this is a conference road game, there’s a good chance it will end up looking a lot like a buy game.
-GEORGETOWN AT SYRACUSE. Both teams appear to be going in opposite directions. Syracuse is heading toward being safely inside the bubble, and Georgetown is looking like they are a complete non-factor. But, it is a rivalry game, and crazy things can happen in those kinds of games.
-UCLA AT ARIZONA (Pac 12). I like how UCLA has been playing and they can add another decent road win to an already decent profile tonight.
-NEVADA AT SAN DIEGO STATE (Mountain West). San Diego State is a solid team that should safely land in the top half of the bracket, and perhaps even end up as a protected seed if they keep on winning. They need to hold serve tonight.
-WASHINGTON STATE AT STANFORD (Pac 12). Stanford looks like a tournament caliber team that still has some work to do. Wazzu probably isn’t, but they do have a bloated record (albeit against cupcakes) and did play Arizona tough in their only loss. If they can get a win like this then it completely changes the look of their resume.
-OREGON AT UTAH (Pac 12). Oregon is looking to bounce back after losing to Colorado, and this is a winnable (but not easy) road game for them.