-Friday was a pretty slow day. There were some UTR games that turned out to be exciting, but the showcase game between Purdue and Michigan turned out to be a bit of a snoozer with Michigan winning rather convincingly.
-CINCINNATI AT HOUSTON (American). Houston continues to look like the class of the American and a solid protected seed. They shouldn’t have too much trouble holding serve against a Cincinnati team that’s really had a rough year.
-KANSAS AT OKLAHOMA (Big 12). This won’t be the easiest road test for Kansas, but it’s one that they should be able to pass if they want to land on the top two lines. I think Oklahoma is inside the bubble right now, but their resume is a little flimsy and they can’t just start to coast it on in. Of course a win today would really help things out.
-UCONN AT CREIGHTON (Big East). Both teams are in the rankings, both have some pretty good wins on their resumes, but both could help improve them even more if they’re able to pick up this win today.
-VIRGINIA TECH AT SYRACUSE (ACC). VA Tech continues to look like a really solid team that could easily land in the top half of the bracket and perhaps even contend for a protected seed, but they could still use a few more solid road wins. Syracuse has a lot of work to do just to get into the discussion.
-AKRANSAS AT VANDERBILT (SEC). I’m not on the Arkansas bandwagon just yet, but I do think they have a path to the NCAA Tournament. They just need to start stringing together wins.
-BAYLOR AT OKLAHOMA STATE (Big 12). I’ve been big on this Pokes team all year, and am really hoping their appeal comes through and that they are able to play in the NCAA Tournament this year. Right now I think they’re good enough to be a protected seed, and if they can somehow pull off a win against one of the two best teams in the country it would further emphasize that point.
-MARYLAND AT MINNESOTA (Big Ten). Maryland has some good wins on their resume, and they don’t have much in the way of bad losses, but they do perhaps have a problem (fair or not) with a quantity of losses. Minnesota continues to be amazing at home, so if the Terps could get this one it would probably move them up several seedlines.
-SMU AT UCF (American). SMU has a 7-2 record, and I still think they have a pretty good team, but they don’t have much in the way of quality wins. They have a path to landing inside the bubble, but it’s pretty narrow and has a small margin for error.
-NC STATE AT NORTH CAROLINA (ACC). Both of these teams could end up in the field, but right now we have them both outside the bubble. It’s a rivalry game where both teams should come in with a sense of urgency.
-FLORIDA AT GEORGIA (SEC). Florida is coming off a hugely impressive win against Tennessee and If they can pick this one up at Georgia it will be another win that looks nice on their resume.
-PROVIDENCE AT VILLANOVA (Big East). After three close and frustrating losses Providence picked up a huge win against Creighton, which gives them a much needed boost. Nova was a little rusty in their last game after being shut down for a while, but they did get the win and are still looking like a #1 seed caliber team.
-LA SALLE AT RICHMOND (Atlantic Ten). I think Richmond is on the outside looking in right now and they need to keep stringing together wins.
-CLEMSON AT FLORIDA STATE (ACC). It looks as though these two teams are going in opposite directions. Clemson has lost badly in their last two games, whereas Florida State is suddenly looking very impressive. A win for FSU gets them to 9-2 on the year, it should land them in the rankings, and we may need to start thinking of the Noles as a protected seed caliber team.
-OHIO STATE AT WISCONSIN (Big Ten). Both teams are ranked in the top 15 and both are potential protected seeds. A win for either one would be a huge resume boost.
-WEST VIRGINIA AT KANSAS STATE (Big 12). WVU has had a few struggles, but nothing overly discouraging. This is a very winnable road game which would get them to 3-3 in conference and keep them within striking distance of a protected seed.
-DUKE AT LOUISVILLE (ACC). Duke is just 5-4 on the year with no good wins to speak of, and needs wins in games like this just to get inside the bubble. Louisville is safely in the field, but they haven’t looked good in their last two games. A win for them today would be as much for their mental health as it would the health of their resume.
-DAYTON AT VCU (Atlantic Ten). I don’t think either team is inside the bubble, and while one or both of them could get there, they need to really finish strong. A win today would certainly help.
-UCLA AT STANFORD (Pac 12). UCLA hasn’t exactly been burying all their opponents, but they have been beating nearly all of them and that’s really all that matters. They are still unbeaten in Pac 12 play and are 12-2 on the year. Stanford is a team that has a lot of potential, but hasn’t really shown it yet. A win in a game like this could help them start to get their season turned around.
-SIUE AT BELMONT (Ohio Valley). A win for Belmont gets them to 16-1 on the year. This is a good Belmont team that is worth paying attention to.
-WESTERN KENTUCKY AT MIDDLE TENNESSEE (Conference USA). WKU has dropped a few games in conference that have really hurt their chances, but they do have a monster win over Alabama and a few other decent ones as well, so if they can dominate the rest of the way there may be room for them inside the bubble.
-MISSISSIPPI STATE AT ALABAMA (SEC). Alabama is playing like a top ten team, and they’ll eventually be that high in the rankings if they keep it up. I don’t expect that they’ll have too much trouble in this one at home.
-DEPAUL AT MARQUETTE (Big East). Marquette has been kind of schizophrenic with some huge wins, but are also just 8-6 overall. None of their losses are really bad at all, though, and they have won three of their last four, so it could be we are starting to see more consistency out of them and will continue to see it for the rest of the year.
-PITTSBURGH AT WAKE FOREST (ACC). Pitt continues to play well and string together wins. This is another winnable game, and it’s on the road against a conference opponent.
-LSU AT KENTUCKY (SEC). Normally this would be an opportunity for a huge win for LSU, but not this year. And, that’s a potential problem because LSU’s resume is a little flemsy right now. I don’t think they’re in any danger of missing the field, but they will need to pick up a few more quad 1 and quad 2 wins before the end of the year.
-GEORGIA TECH AT VIRGINIA (ACC). At 7-3 overall and 3-1 in ACC play, it’s time to start thinking of Georgia Tech as a potential tournament team, especially when you look at how they’ve improved as the season has gone along. They handily beat Clemson their last time out. Having said that, Virginia is a team you’ve got to think about as a potential/likely protected seeded team, and they’ve also been improving as the season has gone on.
-USC AT CALIFORNIA (Pac 12). USC is having a solid year, they appear to be solidly on their way to making the field, and shouldn’t have too much trouble holding serve tonight.
-COLORADO AT WASHINGTON STATE (Pac 12). Colorado is a good team with a good overall profile, but they had a really bad game earlier this week when they lost to Washington. Tonight is a winnable game and a chance for them to bounce back.
-MISSOURI AT TENNESSEE (SEC). This is a huge showcase game out of the SEC with two teams that are high in the rankings and who already have big wins on their resume. Tennessee got blasted by Florida in their last game, so this is a good chance for them to bounce back. For Mizzou, it’s a chance to pick up the kind of win that could put them in the discussion for a protected seed.
-PACIFIC AT GONZAGA (West Coast). It’s a conference game, and Pacific isn’t having that bad of a season, but chances are this will still end up looking like a buy game.
-PEPPERDINE AT BYU (West Coast). BYU is having a very solid year and will safely make the field (and probably land in the top half of the bracket) if they can continue to hold serve.
-OREGON STATE AT OREGON (Pac 12). This is a big rivalry, but it’s also a big mismatch. Oregon should roll.