NEWS AND NOTES:
-Miami FL completely catapulted themselves onto the national scene and is no longer hovering around the bubble, but solidly inside it. They won at Duke 76-74, which to date is the most impressive win in a single game that any team has managed this season, and it will be hard for anyone else to top.
-UConn lost at Seton Hall in a double overtime thriller. UConn appeared to have control, then they lost it, then they went into overtime, and Seton Hall made the plays they had to in order to get the win. Both teams are still in really good shape and should end up in the top half of the bracket.
-North Carolina picked up a decisive road win against Virginia, where UMD called a lot of the plays. It was a 74-58 final.
-TCU made Baylor sweat for a little bit, but Baylor ended up getting control in the second half and remains unbeaten on the season.
-Texas Tech had been a little anemic all year long and their resume needed some boosting. Well, they got that today as they held off Kansas at home 75-67.
-Iowa State, who has been shockingly good this year, suffered their second loss of the season as Oklahoma knocked them off 79-66.
-Despite their high ranking, Texas still needs some quality wins on their resume, and had a chance to get one at Oklahoma State today, but they . came up short and fell 64-51.
-Alabama, who appeared to have it all turned around, had what looked to be a gimme road game on their schedule against Missouri. The only problem was that they didn’t win. Mizzou gets a rare win against a good team, and Alabama suffers yet another setback.
-LSU got a nice notable win at home against Tennessee. Both teams are solidly in the field, so this one gave LSU a nice little boost
-Villanova was sweating during the first half at DePaul, but not in the second half. The Wildcats totally dominated and ended up with the winning record.
-Colorado State no longer undefeated after falling on the road to San Diego State 79-49. San Diego State was pretty much in control for the entire game and this win really helps them.
-Texas A&M is a team to keep an eye on. They improved to 13-2 overall yesterday after knocking off Arkansas 86-81 at home.
-Loyola Chicago needed to come from behind against Bradley, but they were able to hold serve and pick up the 78-71 win in overtime.
-Iona had a lead on the road against Saint Louis for what seemed like at least 39 minutes, but they weren’t in the lead when time expired. Saint Louis hit a go ahead shot with less than ten seconds to go that ended up being a game winner after Iona failed to convert as time expired. It was a big 68-67 win for the Salukis.
-Mississippi State, who was hovering around our bubble, fell on the road to rival Ole Miss 82-72 in a game they really could have used.
-BYU held of Saint Mary’s in a low scoring affair 52-43. The Cougars pretty much led from tip to buzzer and improve to 14-3 overall this season.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-MINNESOTA AT INDIANA (Big Ten). Indiana is coming off a big home win against Ohio State, and can make another big statement with another win today. Minnesota is a very respectable 10-2 on the year and is 3-0 on the road, but given how well Indiana has played at well at home recently this may be a tall order.
-CINCINNATI AT MEMPHIS (American). Both teams need to put together a string of wins just to get on the committee’s radar. A win today would be a big step forward.
-HOFSTRA AT JAMES MADISON (Colonial). James Madison is not eligible for the automatic bid since they are leaving the Colonial and will not be allowed to play in the conference tournament. They’ll need to get an at-large bid, and to get that they’ll basically need to win out. Hofstra is one of the stronger teams they will face between now and the end. JMU is unbeaten at home this year, so this will be a test for the Pride.
-WASHINGTON AT COLORADO (Pac 12). Colorado is outside the bubble, but they seem to be good enough to get done all the work they need to get done. That includes holding serve at home and not losing to non-tournament caliber teams.
-NORTHWESTERN AT OHIO STATE (Big Ten). This is a conference match-up between two teams that could use a boost. The difference is that Ohio State is trying to solidify themselves is for a protected seed and Northwestern is trying to play their way inside the bubble.
-WISCONSIN AT MARYLAND (Big Ten). This is a winnable road game for a Wisconsin team that’s on a huge roll right now and could even be making a case that they’re the best team in the Big Ten.