NEWS AND NOTES
-Texas and West Virginia was probably the most exciting game of the day. It was a close battle between two really good teams that was won by Texas on a last second shot. Beating teams in the top half of the bracket on the road is something that protected seeds need to be able to do. Beating protected seeds on the road is something that #1 seeds need to be able to do. I think we saw Texas do that today, and they definitely putting together the kind of resume that could get them a #1 seed. TEXAS IS NOW A BASKETBALL SCHOOL!!!
-Kansas really had to sweat out Oklahoma, but barely held on at home for the 63-59 win. The Sooners have lost three of their last four, but those losses include a 2pt loss to Texas Tech, a 4pt loss at Kansas, and a loss at Baylor, so writing them off because of the “slump” they’re in right now may be a extraordinarily bad miscalculation.
-Ohio State got an impressive win at Rutgers to pull themselves out of a bit of a tailspin, and sending Rutgers into an even bigger tailspin with four losses in their last five games.
-NC State fell at home to Miami FL in a game where it looked like the Wolfpack should be able to hold serve. Now you kind of scratch your head when you look at their resume.
-After a fantastic couple of weeks, Alabama really had to sweat yesterday, but pulled off the win against rival Auburn 94-90.
-Winthrop remains unbeaten after their win at Gardner Webb. I want to keep pointing that out because I don’t think they are on peoples’ radars like they should be. The two will play again today due to the Big South’s COVID scheduling format.
-Stanford vs Washington State was close for a while, but Stanford ended up pulling away for the somewhat decisive 75-60 win. Wazzu is definitely improving as a program, and I don’t want to overlook that because that is something worth noting, but they aren’t quite to the level of being a tournament caliber team despite a bloated OOC record amassed in buy games.
-Kentucky blasted Florida. In a typical season, Kentucky starts off at a medium pace, then slowly gains speed, and then by around Christmas they’re running full throttle. It may have taken a little longer this year what with the weird scheduling and all, but Kentucky appears to be hitting their stride.
-If you’re not paying attention to USC, you should be. They won at Arizona State last night to pick up another road win and improve to 8-2 on the year. If you’re paying attention to Arizona State, then maybe you should stop.
-Western Kentucky fell to Louisiana Tech in a close one 63-58. It is their second loss in three games, which blows a really big hole in their chances of landing inside the bubble. At this point they’d pretty much need to win out in order to be in a position to not have to win the conference tournament.
-Santa Clara took down Saint Mary’s on the road in a thriller. Santa Clara’s 7-2 record may jump out at you, and the win at Saint Mary’s gives their resume even a little more pop, but they still have a lot of work to do before we can consider them a solid tournament team. Still, a great year for the Broncos so far!
-Last, but DEFINITELY not least…UCLA got a big win at Arizona to improve to 9-2 on the season and 5-0 in Pac 12 play. UCLA seems to always hide in the bushes. I’m not sure how! They are 9-2 on the year, they’re unbeaten in a power conference, they’ve actually won 16 of their last 19 going back to last season, and…oh yeah…THEY’RE UCLA!! Yet, people don’t seem to think about them as being a force this year. To do all that and still not be on the radar means they must be using one hell of a cloaking device!! (Oh, and Mick Cronin is now 3-0 against Sean Miller since becoming head coach at UCLA.)
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES
-PROVIDENCE AT XAVIER (Big East). Both teams have been hot and cold this year. Providence looked good in their last game where they narrowly lost to Creighton and has some nice wins, but also has some head scratching losses. A road win against Xavier would help stabilize their resume. Xavier has lost two of their last three games and is looking to swing some momentum back their way.
-MINNESOTA AT IOWA (Big Ten). Minney just looks like one of those teams that’s nearly impossible to beat when they’re at home, and nearly impossible to lose to when they’re on the road. Minnesota won the first meeting this year in overtime so Iowa will be looking to bounce back.
-CINCINNATI AT WICHITA STATE (American). Wichita State is trying to scratch together the kind of resume that can land them inside the bubble. They lost their last game to Houston, but were really competitive and had looked good in the games that led into that. They need to hold serve today if they want to keep within reach of making the field. Cincinnati finally showed a pulse with a much-needed road win at SMU, so the Shockers better not take this game for granted.
-NOTRE DAME AT VIRGINIA TECH (ACC). Virginia Tech continues to hold serve and keep themselves in the rankings after some big early season wins. That’s what they need to do again tonight.
-INDIANA AT NEBRASKA (Big Ten). Indiana still has a lot of work to do, and that would include taking advantage of winnable games like this one. They barely lost to a really good Wisconsin team their last time out so there is reason for optimism.
-MARYLAND AT ILLINOIS (Big Ten). Illinois hasn’t looked like a #1 seed caliber team like we thought they might prior to the season, but they’ve definitely looked like a solid protected-seed caliber team and they should be able to hold serve tonight.