NEWS AND NOTES
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-Illinois jumped out to a big lead early against Northwestern and then almost gave it all back, but held on for the 73-66 win, which should keep them in the top five and within reach of a #2 seed.
-Missouri lost their second straight game, and this one was a little more inexplicable as it came against a weaker Georgia team. Mizzou isn’t in any trouble of missing The Dance, but their chances of ending up as a protected seed are thinning out.
-Arkansas picked up another really big win as they knocked off Florida 75-64. The Razorbacks have had a hell of a week and have gone from being outside the bubble to looking like they belong in the top half of the bracket.
-Saint John’s picked up another nice win as they knocked off Xavier 93-84. Xavier did make some runs at them, but the Johnnies pretty much controlled the game from tip to buzzer. Saint John’s has now won seven of eight whereas Xavier has lost two straight since coming back from shutdown.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES
-SYRACUSE AT LOUISVILLE (ACC). Louisville hasn’t played in over two weeks and could be rusty. They are relatively safe so long as they don’t go into a tailspin, and can actually improve their resume quite a bit if they’re able to finish strong. Syracuse continues to hover around outside the bubble and needs a strong finish just to get on the right side of it. A win tonight would be a big step in the right direction.
-RICHMOND AT VCU (Atlantic Ten). This is a rivalry game between two teams that are right on the bubble and really need this win. It should be a fun one tonight!
-NEBRASKA AT MARYLAND (Big Ten). This is a winnable game for a Maryland team that has played a tough, front loaded schedule and has put together a solid resume, but just needs more overall wins to help secure it.
-ARIZONA STATE AT USC (Pac 12). USC is in first place in the Pac 12, appears to be the best overall team, and at 17-3 on the year is within reach of a protected seed. Arizona State has been a bit of a disappointment this year and the Trojans should be able to hold serve.
-VALPARAISO AT LOYOLA CHICAGO (Missouri Valley). Loyola Chicago should land inside the bubble so long as they are able to win out through the regular season, which they are certainly good enough to do.
-KANSAS AT KANSAS STATE (Big 12). After slumping a little in January, Kansas seems to have turned things around and can (and should) pick up their fourth straight win tonight.
-DRAKE AT NORTHERN IOWA (Missouri Valley). Drake should be inside the bubble if they win out through the regular season. This should be a winnable game against their in-state rivals tonight.
-DEPAUL AT SETON HALL (Big East). I really like how Seton Hall has been playing lately and they’re good enough to continue to put together wins and continue to push themselves further and further inside the bubble.
-SOUTH CAROLINA AT TENNESSEE (SEC). Tennessee has been slumping a little bit, at least by protected seed standards, but their next four games are all very winnable so they should be able to turn things around down the stretch. If they hold serve the rest of the way they’ll end up a protected seed.
-MINNESOTA AT INDIANA (Big Ten). Minnesota has been atrocious on the road, and without at least one road win it wouldn’t shock me if the committee didn’t select them at all despite how many big home wins are on their resume. Indiana is coming off a blowout loss to Ohio State and looking to bounce back, which they should be able to do since they’re the home team and Minnesota isn’t.
-UTAH STATE AT BOISE STATE (Mountain West). Boise State is still inside the bubble, but in their last four games they dropped two to Nevada and nearly dropped another to UNLV, so they haven’t been playing as well lately. Utah State is actually the current first place team, but it’s by less than a game. If one of these two comes up with a sweep they will likely end up being the first place finisher. Utah State is also on the bubble, so these games are extremely important.
-NORTHEASTERN AT NORTH CAROLINA. Buy game