NEWS AND NOTES:
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-Wisconsin picked up what is arguably the singular best NCAA Tournament Resume win of the season yesterday when they won at Purdue. Alabama’s win over Gonzaga in Seattle is in the running, but the difference is that this was on Purdue’s home court. The atmosphere in Seattle was definitely with the Zags, but the familiarity of the home venue was with Purdue as well as the atmosphere last night. With that win, you have to start looking at Wisconsin as a protected seed caliber team, at least for now. Top five teams don’t lost at home. They just don’t. I mean if they did, they wouldn’t be ranked in the top five, so… You can usually easily count the number of combined home losses on one hand in any given season. So, that win was HUGE!
-Iowa had to sweat out Maryland, but held on for the win.
-An Under the Radar note, Southern held off Texas Southern 63-50 in the SWAC opener for both teams. We mention this because we believe these are the two best teams in the SWAC, and it was interesting to see them go at it in the conference opener. The two will face each other one more time during the regular season (COVID permitting) and perhaps a third time in the SWAC Tournament.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-At the time I’m writing this, eight games have been either cancelled or postpoined.
-OHIO U AT AKRON (MAC). Ohio would pretty much have to run the table in order to be solidly on the board, but they are really good and it’s not a complete impossibility. This is a tough road game for them, though.
-AUBURN AT SOUTH CAROLINA (SEC). Based on how Auburn has been playing they may make a push for a #1 seed. South Carolina has had a better than expected season and comes into this one at 9-3. A win tonight could help push them onto the national scene.
-OKLAHOMA AT BAYLOR (Big 12). Oklahoma is good. They look to be a Tournament caliber team. And…based on how Baylor has been playing the Sooners seemingly have no shot. Baylor seems to be putting together one of the strongest resumes of all time.
-TEXAS AT KANSAS STATE (Big 12). Texas needs more notable wins on their resume, and a conference road win against a decent K State team will go a long way. K State is a good team that’s in a fantastic conference, so any wins at all are going to be hard to come by.
-KENTUCKY AT LSU (SEC). Both teams are good, both have had big wins, but both also have room to elevate their resumes and both are good enough to do so. This is a resume boosting opportunity for both these teams.
-FLORIDA STATE AT WAKE FOREST (ACC). This game has a real bubblicious feel to it seeing as how right now both teams seem to be right on the bubble and both have work to do. That should give this game a sense of urgency for both teams.
-NC STATE AT VIRGINIA TECH (ACC). VA Tech needs to string together some wins if they want to be solidly in the NCAA Tournament conversation.
-TEXAS A&M AT GEORGIA (SEC). TAMU is off to a good 11-2 start, but their resume could still use some bolstering. A conference road win would help them out.
-MICHIGAN AT RUTGERS (Big Ten). Michigan has been disappointing this year and needs to start stringing together some wins just to establish themselves as belonging in the tournament at all. Winning at Rutgers won’t be easy. They are tough to beat at home.
-ILLINOIS AT MINNESOTA (Big Ten). Both teams look like solid NCAA Tournament teams. Minnesota has been a bit of a surprise this year, but comes into this one at 10-1 with a few nice wins. This would be another one if they’re able to pull it off.
-SETON HALL AT BUTLER (Big East). Seton Hall is still in good shape on paper, but after two straight losses and an 0-2 start in conference a road win like this could help them bounce back mentally and get some of their momentum back.
-VANDERBILT AT ARKANSAS (SEC). Arkansas is outside the bubble and has a lot of work to do just to get back in the discussion. They really need to hold serve tonight.
-GEORGIA TECH AT DUKE (ACC). Duke should blow through the ACC, and if they do they should end up seeded no worse than the #2 line.
-KANSAS AT OKLHAOMA STATE (Big 12). Kansas has a path to a #1 seed, but that includes winning road games like this one.
-PROVIDENCE AT MARQUETTE (Big East). I love this Providence team and actually think they are putting together the kind of resume that should be considered for a #1 seed. Now, a lot of their big wins came against shorthanded teams, so if they wanted to be put in that company they need to keep winning games like the one they’ll play tonight. This team is for real, though!
-AIR FORCE AT COLORADO STATE (Mountain West) (Front Range). We at Hoops HD Love the Front Range!!! Colorado State looks to remain unbeaten on the year and stay solidly in the rankings.
-TULSA AT MEMPHIS (American). Memphis has been hot and cold this year. They still have some work to do and they need to be able to hold serve in games like this.
-VIRGINIA AT CLEMSON (ACC). Neither team is inside the bubble right now, and both have a lot of work to do. Winning tonight would be a nice start.