NEWS AND NOTES
-Oklahoma picked up their second win against a protected seed in less than a week as they won at Texas last night 80-79. They led for the entire game, but Texas closed it up at the end and had a chance to win, but couldn’t get over the top. It’s worth nothin that Texas was very shorthanded and only had 8 players available, but it’s still a great win for an Oklahoma team that has gotten red hot all of a sudden.
-Kentucky hung with Alabama for about 35 minutes last night, but couldn’t stay with them the whole way and Alabama finally opened it up in the final few minutes of the game for a 70-59 win. Kentucky may have found a lot of answers as it was arguably one of their best games of the year, but now they need to start finding wins.
-Missouri went on the road to Auburn fully expecting to win, and didn’t. Auburn, who had been a sleep, has now won four of their last five and while they have a long way to go they are playing a lot better and are not to be overlooked.
-Tennessee got all they wanted from a Mississippi State team that also appeared to be asleep, that that has also been playing well lately. The Vols hung on for the 56-53 win, though.
-Saint Louis finally got back onto the floor and played their first conference game at home against Dayton, which you can see by CLICKING HERE is the greatest rivalry in sports!! The rust was evident as Dayton (who did play well) pretty much led from tip to buzzer. It’s not time for the Billikins to panic, but it is time to realize that being able to play and win games is going to be important to their postseason chances.
-SMU needed a road win at Memphis to help keep them within reach of the bubble, and came up short 76-72. SMU can still get there, but the hill they need to run up just got a lot steeper.
-Pitt lost their second game in a row, this one at home to North Carolina, and takes a further slide down the seedlist and is now likely outside the bubble. On the flip side, it was a big win for the Tarheels who need to start stringing a few wins together to get themselves back into the discussion.
-Drake picked up a big road win against a Missouri State team who had just one loss on the season. The two play again tonight and if Drake can get the sweep I think they should be considered to be safely inside the bubble. I hope the committee is watching and sees it that way.
-Duke and Georgia Tech exchanged punches in what could have been a pretty big win for the Yellowjackets, but it was Duke who prevailed and picked up a win that they desperately needed.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES
-BYU AT PEPPERDINE (West Coast). BYU continues to hang around the mdidle of the bracket and I think will land in the top half of it so long as they hold serve against the rest of the conference that isn’t Gonzaga.
-MIAMI FL AT FLORIDA STATE (ACC). Miami has looked good in the last couple of games, but Florida State has looked so good the past week or two that it looks like they may be able to win the ACC. This is another winnable home game for the Noles.
-VANDERBILT AT FLORIDA (SEC). Florida seems to be hitting their stride having won three of their las four and beating some good teams in that stretch. They have another winnable home game tonight against a Vandy team that is improving, but still has a long way to go.
-PENN STATE AT OHIO STATE (Big Ten). Ohio State has won four of their last five and beaten some really good teams in that stretch. They shouldn’t have too much trouble adding to that string of wins tonight and keeping themselves solidly in the discussion for a protected seed.
-CREIGHTON AT SETON HALL (Big East). Creighton has some big wins this year and could end up with a protected seed if they’re able to continue to hold serve. Their next four games are really winnable, but they will be tested tonight by a Seton Hall team that is hovering around the bubble and at times has looked a lot better than their resume.
-VIRGINIA TECH AT NOTRE DAME (ACC). VA Tech just fell to Syracuse rather decisively and somewhat surprisingly. Before that they had won seven of eight, so they are still in really good shape and have a winnable road game tonight.
-MARQUETTE AT PROVIDENCE (Big East). Both teams appear to be outside the bubble, but when you look at some of their wins and see how they’ve played in a lot of their games they both have the potential to play their way into the field, so tonight’s game is important for both teams.
-OLE MISS AT ARKANSAS (SEC). Arkansas is outside the bubble, but close enough to it to where they could end up playing themselves in. They need to hold serve in games like this, though.
-KANSAS STATE AT BAYLOR (Big 12). This is a conference game, but given how the two teams have looked for most of the year it could end up looking like a buy game by the end.
-WISCONSIN AT MARYLAND (Big Ten). Maryland is staring to come to life, having picked up road wins at Illinois and Minnesota in their last two games. They can really show that they are alive if they’re able to knock off a Wisconsin team that looks like a solid protected seed right now. Wisky, on the other hand, is looking to rebound from their loss to Ohio State.
-LOUISVILLE AT CLEMSON (ACC). This game is important for both teams. Clemson got off to a great start, but they’ve been blown off the court in their last three games and need to get some of their momentum back. Louisville is a solid 10-3, but other than Virginia Tech their resume doesn’t top out as high as most other protected seeds and they need to pick up some more quality wins if they want to be on par with those teams.
-DRAKE AND MISSOURI STATE (Missouri Valley). Drake won the first game last night in what was a bit of a thriller and will remain unbeaten, and should be inside the bubble, if they’re able to get the sweep tonight.
-WASHINGTON STATE AT COLORADO (Pac 12). Colorado has hit a bit of a skid lately and needs to pull themselves out of it. This is a winnable home game for them that they need to hold serve in.
-BOISE STATE AT COLORADO STATE (Mountain West). Boise State looks to be solidly in the middle of the field and has a path to land in the top half of it and be wearing white in the Round of 64. Colorado State has a few nice wins and is hovering around the bubble, but they still have a lot of work to do and have a big opportunity tonight.
-UTAH STATE AT UNLV (Mountain West). Utah State is another MWC team that is hovering around the bubble and needs to hold serve.