-For Chad Sherwood’s UTR Game(s) of the Day, which impact who the first place finisher in the Horizon League will be – CLICK HERE
-Saint Louis appeared to have the pieces to be a tournament team coming into the year, but they have seldom looked that way during the season, and they DEFINITELY did not look that way yesterday. Dayton absolutely blew their doors off in a 76-53 route in the most recent addition of the Arch Baron Cup.
-Boise State completed the sweep of Utah State in another exciting game last night. The 81-77 win all but assures Boise State a spot inside the field barring a collapse in their last few games, whereas Utah State is outside the bubble and needs a big finish to even be considered if they don’t win the MWC Tournament.
-MICHIGAN STATE AT INDIANA (Big Ten). Indiana needs to hold serve to stay on the right side of the bubble. Michigan State could still play their way in to the field if they finish strong, but they’ve shown no signs whatsoever of being able to do that.
-GEORGIA TECH AT MIAMI FL (ACC). Georgia Tech appears to clearly be outside the bubble, but if they can string together some wins down the stretch they could make a run at it.
-VANDERBILT AT ALABAMA (SEC). Alabama will likely end up as high as the #2 line if they continue to win at the clip they have been and avoid slip ups in games like this.
-UCONN AT VILLANOVA (Big East). UConn is hovering around the bubble and could use a big time win to get them safely inside of it. Nova is in all likelihood a protected seed, but they’ve looked vulnerable their last couple of times out and could use a win like this just for stabilization.
-KENTUCKY AT TENNESSEE (SEC). Tennessee is cruising toward a protected seed, but has also looked a little sluggish in some of their recent games. They did blow out South Carolina in their last game, so perhaps they’re snapping out of it, but they don’t want to sleepwalk today.
-TEXAS TECH AT KANSAS (Big 12). After going through a bit of a slump, Kansas has been playing much better and has a chance at a really big win today against a Texas Tech team that seems to be heading toward a protected seed.
-MISSOURI AT SOUTH CAROLINA (SEC). Mizzou has had a good season, but has struggled in their last few games. This is a winnable road game and a good opportunity to bounce back.
-NOTRE DAME AT SYRACUSE (ACC). Syracuse has been outside the bubble pretty much all season long and will need to finish strong to have any sort of a chance of getting in.
-GEORGE MASON AT VCU (Atlantic Ten). VCU has won six straight, and is coming off two big wins against Saint Bonaventure and Richmond to make a case that they are the strongest team in the Atlantic Ten. They are good enough to win out, and if they do they’ll be inside the bubble.
-WEST VIRGINIA AT TEXAS (Big 12). This is a game between two top 15 teams. Both have good chances of ending up as a protected seed, and a win today would help out that cause even more.
-BYU AT LMU (West Coast). BYU shouldn’t have any trouble holding serve in this one. They will safely make the field, and will likely go in on the first ballot, if they finish strong.
-ILLINOIS AT MINNESOTA (Big Ten). Minnesota continues to look like a top 10 team at home and a team that can’t win at all on the road. Illinois is simply looking like a top ten team period, so it should be a good game. It’s also a game that Illinois should get quite a bit of credit for if they win because of how good Minney has been at home.
-GEORGIA AT FLORIDA (SEC). Florida looked as though they were getting better, but they’ve lost their last two games and need to get things turned around. They need to hold serve at home today.
-FLORIDA STATE AT PITTSBURGH (ACC). Florida State is playing as well as anyone in the ACC right now, and looks like they are going to have a strong finish to the season and end up as a protected seed.
-STANFORD AT WASHINGTON STATE (Pac 12). Stanford is one of the many teams that makes up the crowded bubble. Like every game they play, this one is important. They need to hold serve.
-AUBURN AT LSU (SEC). LSU is coming off a big win against Tennessee and appears to be heading in the right direction at the right time. They should be able to pick this one up at home.
-DUQUESNE AT RICHMOND (Atlantic Ten). If Richmond wants any shot at all at landing inside the bubble they pretty much need to win out and then pick up at least one decent win in the conference tournament.
-TENNESSEE TECH AT BELMONT (Ohio Valley). Belmont has just one loss and will be looked at by the committee so long as they win out through the regular season.
-KANSAS STATE AT TCU (Big 12). TCU still has an outside shot at making the field, but it is an outside shot at best. They need a very strong finish just to get in the conversation.
-SETON HALL AT GEORGETOWN (Big East). Seton Hall has won four in a row and I like how they’ve been playing. This is a very winnable road game which would give them five straight and get them one step closer toward making the field.
-PURDUE AT NEBRASKA (Big Ten). After a bit of a slow start, the Boilers are playing really well. they have won just three of their last five, but both losses were close games against tough teams. This is a very winnable game where they should hold serve and sustain their momentum.
-OKLAHOMA AT IOWA STATE (Big 12). Oklahoma continues to climb the rankings and climb the seedlist. If they can finish strong they could end up seeded as high as the #2 line. They shouldn’t have too much trouble holding serve today.
-ARIZONA AT USC (Pac 12). USC is as hot as anyone in the country right now. A win gets them to 19-3 on the year and continues to allow them to make the case that they deserve a protected seed.
-LOUISVILLE AT NORTH CAROLINA (ACC). Calling this a must-win is overstating it a bit, but it’s a game that both teams could REALLY use. Both resumes are a little flimsy, so there should definitely be a sense of urgency to this one.
-MISSISSIPPI STATE AT OLE MISS (SEC). Ole Miss has won four straight and beaten both Missouri and Tennessee in that stretch, so they are making a big case that they belong in the field. They have a winnable game at home against their rivals tonight.
-SAN DIEGO STATE AT FRESNO STATE (Mountain West). San Diego State is squarely on the bubble. They must hold serve in games like this and finish strong overall.
-DEPAUL AT SAINT JOHN’S (Big East). The Johnnies have won seven of their last eight, are playing really well, and will likely land inside the bubble if they keep it up. They had a lot of ground to make up before they started that streak, but they look like they’ll be in good shape if they can hold serve in games like this.
-SAN DIEGO AT GONZAGA (West Coast). Gonzaga remains the nation’s top team and will finish the season ranked #1 and on the #1 line if they win out, which they are easily good enough to do.
-VIRGINIA AT DUKE (ACC). Virginia is coming off a rather decisive loss to Florida State, but they’ve still played well overall down the stretch and should have a protected seed pretty much locked up so long as they don’t go into the tank.
-COLORADO AT OREGON STATE (Pac 12). Colorado isn’t in any real danger of missing the tournament, but their resume could still use some work and they still want to hold serve in games like this to avoid sliding too far down the seedlist.
-ARKANSAS AT TEXAS A&M (SEC). As much as I had beaten up on Arkansas for most of the year, they have shut me up these past couple weeks. They are playing great, they are looking like a team that will land in the top half of the bracket, and they’ve got a winnable game tonight.
-COLORADO STATE AT NEVADA (Mountain West). We have Colorado State inside the bubble, but not locked into the field, so all their remaining games are big. Nevada is not to be overlooked, either. They’ve won four straight, and six out of their last eight, and it would almost assuredly be more than that had their two games with San Jose State not been postponed.
-UTAH AT OREGON (Pac 12). Oregon is finally starting to get into a flow. They’ve won their last four, they looked really good the other night against Colorado, and can puck up another one today.
-ARIZONA STATE AT UCLA (Pac 12). UCLA had been slumping, but they had a good win the other night against Arizona and should be able to follow that up with another one tonight against an Arizona State team that just hasn’t looked good at all this season.