News, Notes, and Highlighted Games: Tuesday, Jan 11

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-IONA AT FAIRFIELD (MAAC).  Iona missed a big chance at Saint Louis over the weekend, but while it was a missed opportunity, I don’t think it was a setback.  If they run through the MAAC they should end up inside the bubble.

-USC AT STANFORD (Pac 12).  It’s nice to see USC back on the court.  They could be challenged by Stanford tonight, but it should be a winnable road game.

-SOUTH CAROLINA AT TENNESSEE (SEC).  Tennessee is a potential protected seed.  They should be able to hold serve at home against a decent but not great South Carolina team.

-TEXAS TECH AT BAYLOR (Big 12).  Texas Tech is coming off a big home win against Kansas, but as big as that was winning at Baylor would be a Final Four caliber win.  Baylor is the unanimous #1 ranked team and is continuing to blow through the season.

-KENTUCKY AT VANDERBILT (SEC).  Kentucky still has some work to do, and while a road win at Vandy isn’t a great win, it still adds a road win to their resume.

-DEPAUL AT MARQUETTE (Big East).  These two teams are going in different directions.  DePaul has fallen off the radar entirely, and Marquette is making their resume stronger and stronger as they string together wins.

-SAINT BONAVENTURE AT LASALLE (Atlantic Ten).  The Bonnies have been off the court for a long time.  They have somewhat underperformed when they were on the court, but they are back healthy and have a winnable road game tonight.

-SAINT LOUIS AT DAYTON (Atlantic Ten).  IT IS THE ARCH BARON CUP!!!!  CLICK HERE to read all about it!!  It’s the biggest rivalry in all of sports!!!  And, it’s also a game that would be huge for Saint Louis as they continue to build a strong resume despite being injured.

-UMASS AT DAVIDSON (Atlantic Ten).  This is a good Davidson team that has a solid resume, and who should land inside the bubble so long as they hold serve.

-BOWLING GREEN AT OHIO U (MAC).  I think Ohio U has a path to landing inside the bubble, but they basically need to blow through the MAC in order to get there.  Any more than one regular season loss may be too many.  But, this is a good team who might be good enough to do it.

-IOWA STATE AT KANSAS (Big 12).  Iowa State has had an incredible season so far, but they are entering a very tough stretch.  Beating a protected seed caliber team like Kansas on the road is a very tough order.

-MIAMI FL AT FLORIDA STATE (ACC).  Miami is coming off one of the biggest singular wins of the year, and they now appear to be squarely inside the bubble.  They can add another road win to their resume tonight if they can knock off their rivals.

-OKLAHOMA AT TEXAS (Big 12).  Texas needs some wins on their resume.  Oklahoma is in better shape, but this would still be a really nice road win for them and would sparkle up their resume.

-ILLINOIS AT NEBRASKA (Big Ten).  Illinois has really been playing well these last few weeks and has a winnable road game tonight.

-AUBURN AT ALABAMA (SEC).  Auburn is looking like they’ve got an outside shot at getting a #1 seed.  That’s how good they are.  Alabama has slipped a little bit, but is still a very good team.  This is a great opportunity for both these teams tonight.  Oh yeah, it’s also a huge rivalry game.

-PROVIDENCE AT CREIGHTON (Big East).  Providence has an impressive looking resume, but some are starting to question just how big some of their big wins are due to their opponents not being at full strength.  Winning on the road at Creighton is a very tall order, so they have a chance to sort of validate how good they are tonight.

-OKLAHOMA STATE AT WEST VIRGINIA (Big 12).  This is a game where West Virginia should be able to hold serve at home, and improve to 13-2 on the year.

-VALPARAISO AT LOYOLA CHICAGO (Missouri Valley).  If Loyola Chicago wins out, which they are definitely good enough to do, they could be seeded as high as a protected seed.  They should be able to hold serve at home tonight against Valpo.

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