NEWS AND NOTES
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-Virginia appeared to be in control of Virginia Tech for about 30 minutes, but totally came apart down the stretch as VA Tech outscored them 44-22 in the second half for an impressive (and important) 65-51 win.
-Alabama’s streak came to an end as they fell at Oklahoma 66-61. It isn’t so much an Alabama letdown as it a very impressive run by an Oklahoma team that was kind of near the bubble a week or so ago, and is now suddenly looking like a protected seed.
-LSU appeared to have Texas Tech put away, and was about to pick up a much needed season defining win that would give their resume a huge boost, but Tech clawed back in the final couple of minutes and really didn’t get control of the game until the final seconds. They held on fo ra 76-71 win once all the freethrow shooting was over.
-The Gators are back! They got a HUGE win at West Virginia, which totally changes the complexion of their resume and likely puts them solidly in the top half of the bracket (for now).
-TCU appeared to have Missouri put away, but the Tigers came back to force overtime, and even then TCU had a chance to win in the final minute, but Mizzou escaped with a 102-98 win in a thriller. It would have been a huge win on TCU’s resume had they been able to pull it out. As of now they still appear to be rather distant from the bubble.
-Not sure what happened to Wisconsin. Penn State hung around in the first half, and then took control in the second half putting up 50pts in that half against what is normally a really tough Wisky defense. Penn State ended up with the 81-71 win.
-It’s time to start asking what the hell is wrong with Kansas. They’ve now lost four of their last five, and it isn’t so much that losing at Tennessee is a bad loss, but they absolutely got their doors blown off. The Vols, up until yesterday, had been going through a stretch where they looked kind of down.
-Georgia Tech scored an upset win against a Florida State team that, up until yesterday, had been looking as good (and perhaps better) as everyone else in the ACC. The Yellowjackets can still play their way in.
-Minnesota’s road struggles continue. When Minnesota plays at home, they don’t just win! They blow teams out! When Minnesota plays on the road, they don’t just lose, they get blown out! Purdue blew them out 81-62.
-Speaking of blowouts, it keeps happening to Clemson. They did get a win against Louisville earlier in the week, but for the third time in four games they were absolutely blown off the floor. Duke, who hadn’t looked anything like a tournament team for most of the year, got the 79-53 win.
-Colorado fell at home to a Utah team that isn’t bad, but isn’t exactly a tournament caliber team either. It’s definitely a game that you’d expect Colorado to win. The 77-74 loss is another setback for the Buffs.
-Oklahoma State really had to sweat, but they held on to beat an Arkansas team that I didn’t think they’d have a problem with. Some others have been big on Arkansas. I have not been, but I admit I was impressed with how they played yesterday despite the loss.
-Stanford, a team that I was starting to warm up to, has given me a reason to be highly skeptical. They fell 79-75 to an Arizona State team that has not looked good at all this season. Stanford continues to straddle the fence of the bubble.
-A bit of an Under the Radar note, Belmont had to overcome a double digit second half deficit at Murray State to hold on for a 72-71 win after coming up with a big defensive stop on the final possession of the game. Belmont is now 16-1 on the year, and while they may not make it inside the bubble even if they run the table (unless they can schedule a big OOC game), they should at least be in the discussion and are potentially dangerous if they are the team that wins the auto-bid.
-After falling to Pepperdine earlier in the week, BYU needed double overtime to get past Pacific. They did get the win, but it’s been a less than stellar week for the Cougars.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES
-SMU AT HOUSTON (American). SMU is hovering around outside the bubble A win in a game like this could make the difference of whether or not they make the field. It’s obviously easier said than done. Houston is a top ten team that’s playing at home.
-MICHIGAN STATE AT OHIO STATE (Big Ten). Michigan State did not look good at all in their last game against Rutgers, which was their first after being shut down. They have a long way to go just to land inside the bubble. Ohio State, on the other hand, is looking more and more like a protected seed.
-ILLINOIS STATE AT DRAKE (Missouri Valley). Drake continues to win, and if they win this game they may crack the top 25 tomorrow. Even if they don’t, I think they should be safely inside the bubble at this point. Now, it’ll only take a couple of losses to knock them outside of it, but this is a legit Drake team.
-SAINT JOHN’S AT MARQUETTE (Big East). Still not sure of what to make of Marquette, but they need to hold serve in games against sub-tournament caliber teams in order to get on the right side of the bubble.
-NC STATE AT SYRACUSE (ACC). Both of these teams have work to do, and both should be coming in with a sense of urgency because both could really use this win.
-RUTGERS AT NORTHWESTERN (Big Ten). Rutgers still looks to be inside the bubble, but this is the kind of game that an NCAA Tournament team should be expected to win. It’s not so much that it’d be a big win, but it would be an expected win.