NEWS AND NOTES
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-Due to COVID protocol and winter storms creating hazardous conditions all over the country there were very few games yesterday. One thing that did happen was that Florida State absolutely blew Virginia’s doors off. That game wasn’t cancelled, but Virginia was probably wishing it had been.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES
-IOWA STATE AT OKLAHOMA STATE (Big 12). Oklahoma State is within reach of a protected seed and will have the opportunities they need between now and the end to get there. It’s also important that they hold serve in games like this.
-PROVIDENCE AT UCONN (Big East). UConn is straddling the bubble and needs to string some wins together in order to end up on the right side of it. Providence has been inconsistent this year, so the Huskies certainly don’t want to overlook them.
-MISSOURI AT GEORGIA (SEC). Mizzou is coming off a loss to Arkansas, but they’re still in good shape and this should be a good game for them to bounce back.
-FLORIDA AT ARKANSAS (SEC). Arkansas picked up what was easily their best win of the season over the weekend and now appears to be safely inside the bubble. They’ll be challenged again tonight by a Florida team that’s good, but that’s also had their last two games cancelled and could be a little rusty.
-NEBRASKA AT MARYLAND (Big Ten). Maryland has a good resume with the exception of their overall record, so they need to pick at the low hanging fruit in games like this and take advantage of the winnable games.
-MICHIGAN STATE AT PURDUE (Big Ten). I keep waiting for Michigan State to kick it into gear, but it hasn’t happened yet. Purdue, on the other hand, is on a roll and can keep that momentum going and keep climbing the seedlist.
-XAVIER AT SAINT JOHN’S (Big East). This game has a very bubblicious feel to it. Xavier looked a bit rusty after being shut down for a while, and while their resume is decent it could still use some improvement. A road win against a Saint John’s team that is playing a lot better right now would help. As for the Johnnies, they are getting closer and closer to the bubble and a win tonight would be another nice nudge forward.
-NORTHWESTERN AT ILLINOIS (Big Ten). Illinois is playing really well right now and could end up as high as the #2 line before it’s all over. This is a winnable home game against a conference rival.
-LA SALLE AT SAINT LOUIS (Atlantic Ten). SLU needs to play games and they need to win games. COVID protocol has hit them, so it’s important that they finish strong down the stretch.