NEWS AND NOTES
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-The surprise of the day had to be BYU’s loss to Pepperdine. Pepperdine had won three out of four and had been playing well relatively speaking, but it didn’t look like they’d beat a team that appears to be squarely inside the bubble like BYU. For BYU, it’s a setback, but it’s not a game ender. They are still in relatively good shape as far as making the tourney.
-Ohio State had to sweat out Penn State at home, which was kind of a surprise, but they held on for the 83-79 win and maintain their status as a solid protected seed caliber team.
-Seton Hall did a fantastic job controlling the first 37 minutes of their game against Creighton! The Hall is a bubble team and this was exactly the kind of performance they needed! The problem was that Creighton went on a 14-2 run to close the game and ended up winning 85-81.
-Clemson snapped their three game blowout loss streak with a 54-50 win over Louisville in a defensive battle. This was a game that both teams could have really used not just from a resume standpoint, but from a momentum standpoint.
-Providence held off Marquette in overtime 72-63. Like so many Big East games, it was close all throughout with several momentum shifts, one of which was in overtime where it looked like Marquette just failed to show up.
-Drake got a big road win at Missouri State to remain unbeaten. The two face each other again tonight. Missouri State probably isn’t a team that will land inside the bubble, but it was just their second home loss of the season so the committee should give Drake some credit for that as a quality win.
-Colorado State basically blew Boise State’s doors off. The Rams were hovering around the bubble and were really needing an impressive win. Well, they got one!
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES
-OREGON STATE AT USC (Pac 12). USC should win this, but after a pitiful start to the season Oregon State has gotten hot all of a sudden, so the Trojans don’t want to overlook them.
-UNC ASHEVILLE AT WINTHROP (Big South). Winthrop is looking to remain undefeated and have a strong case that they belong inside the bubble.
-MICHIGAN STATE AT RUTGERS (Big Ten). Michigan State is finally back on the court, and their first game is a trial by fire. It’s actually a trial by fire for both teams as both could really use this win today.
-TCU AT KANSAS (Big 12). TCU has shown some signs of life this year, but I don’t think they have what it takes to beat a protected seed caliber team like Kansas. Having said that, Kansas has lost their last three games and could really use a bounce back game like this one.
-MEMPHIS AT SMU (American). SMU isn’t out of strikes just yet, but they are running out of them. They can’t afford to lose this one tonight.
-GONZAGA AT SAN DIEGO (West Coast). The clear #1 team in the nation is on the road against a team that isn’t very good. I’ll just leave it at that.
-HOUSTON AT TULANE (American). Houston continues to look like a solid protected seed and seems like they are good enough to win out until the NCAA Tournament.
-WYOMING AT SAN DIEGO STATE (Mountain West). San Diego State is hovering much closer to the bubble than what many of us (including myself) thought they’d be. They should be able to win tonight, but they don’t want to just overlook Wyoming.
-BELMONT AT AUSTIN PEAY (Ohio Valley). A win for Belmont will get them to 17-1 on the season, and that bloated of a record should be enough to at least get them sone national attention and some attention from the committee.
-STANFORD AT ARIZONA (Pac 12). Stanford continues to straddle the bubble and they could really use a road win like this to nudge them into the right direction.