NEWS AND NOTES:
-I’m beginning to wonder if Baylor will ever lose again. Iowa State was unbeaten, had some wins against some really good teams, ranked in the top ten, and at home. That’s the kind of game that’s arguably tougher to win than a Final Four game. Beating a top ten team in their building is harder to do than beating them on a neutral floor. Baylor basically led tip to buzzer. Iowa State played well enough to stay in it, and made some big plays down the stretch to make it closer, but Baylor was never not in control of this game.
-Villanova picked up what was arguably their biggest win of the season as they knocked off Seton Hall on the road. Again, beating a top 15 team that is in the hunt for a protected seed on the road is not easy to do. This was a very physical game and it was close throughout, but Nova was able to get the win.
-Texas picked up their biggest win of the season (so far) as they took care of West Virginia at home. A home win against WVU isn’t anything to get too excited about, but up until this point Texas didn’t have any wins against anyone that’s likely to even make the NIT, so it was one that the Longhorns needed.
-Providence had no trouble winning at DePaul 70-53. At 13-1 with a lot of big wins and some really good road wins, Providence really does deserve more respect. Their ranked in the 20s, and based on their schedule and what they’ve done against it, they probably belong in the top ten right now.
-Memphis continues their schizophrenic season. Some nights they’re incredible and other nights they’re awful. I suppose that’s better than just being consistently bad. Yesterday at the Round House against Wichita State, they were incredible. They won handily on the road against a good team.
-Creighton’s double overtime win at Marquette was perhaps the game of the day. Creighton built up what appeared to be a commanding lead, but Marquette battled back, got the lead, and then seemed to have control themselves until Creighton drained some 3s to force a second overtime and then finally pulled away.
-A few bubblicious results – Maimi FL got the win over Wake Forest 92-84, Florida State got a nice road win at NC State after some early season struggles, and Oregon got a win against Utah that they really needed.
-Louisiana Tech hung on to beat Western Kentucky. This is an exciting team to watch, and while their path to land inside the bubble is extremely narrow, if they can blow through CUSA they should at least get a look.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-At the time I’m writing this, 18 games have been cancelled or postponed.
-NORTH CAROLINA AT BOSTON COLLEGE (ACC). This should be a winnable road game for the Tarheels.
-MICHIGAN STATE AT NORTHWESTERN (Big Ten). Northwestern has an impressive 8-2 record and they have built up some momentum from their OOC games, but this is a really big challenge. It won’t be a cakewalk for Michigan State, though. It’ not easy to go on the road and beat a team that has a lot of momentum built up.
-MARIST AT IONA (Metro Atlantic). If Iona can hold serve the rest of the way they they should end up inside the bubble.
-UCF AT SMU (American). Both teams are good, both have good records, but both still have work to do and could use some more notable wins. That makes this an important game for both teams.
-RICHMOND AT SAINT LOUIS (Atlantic Ten). Both teams are outside the bubble, but both have potential. Richmond looked like they had been playing better until their last game, where they were totally blown out by a weak opponent, so they’ve used up a lot of strikes and need a win today.
-SAINT XAVIER (nond1) AT LOYOLA CHICAGO. Buy game
-INDIANA AT PENN STATE. Indiana is a very respectable 10-2, but there isn’t much meat on their resume, which means they need to win some big games in conference play, and pick up some road wins. To put it simply, this is the kind of road game Indiana needs to be able to win.
-HOUSTON AT TEMPLE (American). Houston has been rocked with injuries and will need some guys to step up into bigger roles for the rest of the season. They should still be able to pick this one up at Temple, though.
-LOUISVILLE AT GEORGIA TECH. Louisville is showing signs that they might actually be turning things around. This is a winnable conference road game for them, which would get them to 3-0 in ACC play, and be another small step forward.
-OHIO STATE AT NEBRASKA (Big Ten). This is a winnable road game for the Buckeyes, which should keep them on pace to end up as a protected seed.
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