NEWS AND NOTES
-For Chad Sherwood’s UTR Game of the Day between Albany and New Hampshire – CLICK HERE
-Oklahoma State really hung tough with Baylor, and actually had a lead all the way up until early in the second half, but then the Bears got control and the Pokes just couldn’t catch up. It was a very impressive road win against a really good team for Baylor. They remain unbeaten and belong in the conversation with Gonzaga for the nation’s best team.
-Missouri got another huge win on their resume as they knocked off the Vols in impressive fashion in a game that they pretty much controlled all the way through. That’s two straight losses for the Vols, whereas Mizzou is looking more and more like a solid protected seed.
-Oklahoma needed a big win, and they definitely got it against Kansas yesterday knocking the off 75-68. It really improves the complexion of Oklahoma’s profile, while at the same time making a #1 seed much less likely for Kansas.
-Ohio State continues to look better and better as the season goes on, and yesterday they knocked off a top ten team on the road at Wisconsin, which is arguably their best win of the year so far.
-Georgia Tech could not hold on to upset Virginia on the road, but they are definitely a team worth keeping an eye on. They fall to 7-4 on the year, but two of those losses were in a bad week early in the season where they lost to both Georgia State and Mercer, and another was a very close loss at Virginia after winning four straight. They’ll definitely have the opportunities they need down the stretch to put together a solid resume.
-Syracuse really came to life yesterday and blitzed a Virginia Tech team that had been playing really well and appeared to be making a run for a protected seed. It was a much needed win for the Orange that may put them inside the bubble for now.
-Minnesota had looked fantastic at home all year, but suffered their first home loss of the season to a Maryland team that desperately needed a big win. The Terps have a few good wins at the top of their resume, but they need to string together a few more and win more consistently if they want to end up safely inside the bubble. Still, yesterday was a huge step forward.
-Clemson has hit a mountain. They were blown out for the third straight game yesterday as Florida State totally shredded them 80-61. As for the Noles, they are starting to look like one of the best teams in the ACC and should be considered for a protected seed when we do the brackets next week.
-Oregon State shocked rival Oregon last night 75-64. Oregon State had, on their best days, looked decent whereas Oregon was a team that appeared to be a solid top 25 team. Now when you look at Oregon you realize that their best win is against a Seton Hall team that’s on the bubble, and you start to think that it is now them who needs to start stringing together wins.
-One of the more thrilling games of the day was Stanford’s overtime win against UCLA, that literally came with less than a second to go in overtime. The game was close all the way through, and down the stretch when you thought one team had control of it, the other team would make big plays. It is UCLA’s first Pac 12 loss, and it is perhaps Stanford’s biggest win of the season, and it comes at a time where they desperately needed it.
-Marquette’s schizophrenia continues. They lost at home to DePaul yesterday. On one hand they have two huge wins against the likes of Wisconsin and Creighton, but on the other they have some very questionable and concerning losses.
-Pittsburgh, who had also been on a roll, fell at Wake Forest yesterday 76-75 after missing a chance in the final seconds to get the win. It was one that the Panthers kind of let get away.
-LSU, who we keep saying is probably better than their resume, didn’t show it yesterday. They fell at Kentucky 82-69 and were never really in the game.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES
-RUTGERS AT INDIANA (Big Ten). Indiana is coming off a huge, perhaps season-turnaround win against Iowa and can keep that momentum going with a win today against a Rutgers team that got off to a good start, but that’s in a complete tailspin right now and needs to string together some wins just to get back inside the bubble.
-WESTERN KENTUCKY AT MIDDLE TENNESSEE (Conference USA). I think there is room for WKU inside the bubble, but they pretty much need to win out the rest of the way.
-LOYOLA CHICAGO AT BRADLEY (Missouri Valley). A win for Loyola Chicago will get them to 12-3 on the year and keep them within a game of Drake.
-SAN DIEOGO STATE AT AIR FORCE (Mountain West). San Diego State has stubbed their toes a few times this season, but they should still be able to land inside the bubble if they finish strong and avoid losses in games like this.