NEWS AND NOTES
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-The game of the night was, by far, Texas Tech at West Virginia. Two really tough defensive teams somehow managed to play a high scoring game that saw West Virginia control nearly all of the first half, then Texas Tech go on a flurry of a run and tie it at halftime and then appear to be in control for most of the second half, and then a late comeback that saw WVU win in the final seconds 88-87. It was just a really fun game between two really good teams.
-24 hours ago, Utah State was a team that we thought was well within reach of the bubble. Then they lost to UNLV last night. Now, we no longer think that.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES
-TULSA AT TEMPLE (American). It’s hard to totally count out Tulsa due to their win over Houston, but they still have a lot of work to do.
-RICHMOND AT SAINT JOSEPH’S (Atlantic Ten). Richmond is outside the bubble and has been a bit of a disappointment this year, but I still think they have the potential to be good and can still land inside the bubble if they continue to string together wins.
-OKLAHOMA AT TEXAS (Big 12). It’s the basketball version of the Red River Shootout! Oklahoma is fresh off their big win against Kansas, and Texas is within reach of getting a #1 seed. They’ll be without Shaka Smart, but they are still one of the best teams in the country.
-KENTUCKY AT ALABAMA (SEC). Alabama has landed in the top ten, and deservedly so. I don’t think I’ve ever said this about this match-up, but Alabama needs to avoid a bad loss to Kentucky to stay high in the rankings.
-MISSISSIPPI STATE AT TENNESSEE (SEC). Tennessee has lost two straight and slipped a little bit, but they should be able to bounce back tonight in what is a very winnable home conference game.
-SMU AT MEMPHIS (American). SMU has a path to landing inside the bubble, but they pretty much need to take care of business in all their conference games minus Houston. Winning on the road at Memphis isn’t necessarily easy, but making the NCAA Tournament isn’t necessarily easy.
-NORTH CAROLINA AT PITTSBURGH (ACC). Both teams are outside the bubble, but within reach of it. Pitt is trying to bounce back from a rather damaging loss to Wake Forest. Both teams should be coming into this one with a sense of urgency.
-DRAKE AT MISSOURI STATE (Missouri Valley). These are two of the best teams in the MVC, and its’ a chance for Drake to pick up a really good road win that could jump out at the committee. Drake is also unbeaten, so this game has several storylines.
-DAYTON AT SAINT LOUIS (Atlantic Ten). It’s the Arch Baron Cup!!! It’s the greatest rivalry in all of college sports!!! It’s also the first conference game for SLU. The Billikins still have a lot of work to do, which includes trying to get several conference games made up and rescheduled.
-BUTLER AT UCONN (Big East). UConn has been in a bit of a tailspin, but they should be able to pull themselves out of it and get a win tonight.
-MISSOURI AT AUBURN (SEC). Auburn isn’t the easiest place to win, but Missouri is making a case that they should be a protected seed, and these are the kinds of road games that protected seeds need to be able to win.
-GEORGIA TECH AT DUKE (ACC). GA Tech is inching closer and closer to being inside the bubble. They’ve looked good this season after a bit of a slow start, and this could be another nice win on their resume. Duke is also outside the bubble and needs to string together some wins just to get back into the conversation.
-LSU AT TEXAS A&M (SEC). LSU has taken a few steps back and needs to get a win on the road tonight to help get things turned back around.