NEWS AND NOTES:
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-Michigan State got all they wanted and then some at home against Minnesota, but held on to (barely) win 71-69. The biggest thing I took from this is just how good Minnesota is. They didn’t get this win, but they’ll have many more opportunities at big wins between now and then end and if they play like they did yesterday they’ll pick up a few.
-Villanova keeps stringing together wins as held on for a nice road win at Xavier yesterday 64-60. They are once again looking like the best in the Big East.
-Memphis fell on the road to UCF 74-64. Right now it does not look like Memphis belongs anywhere near the tournament. They need to finish very strong if they want to make The Dance.
-Colorado State bounced back from their blowout loss to San Diego State with a home win over Utah State, but they had to sweat to do it. Utah State kept it close and was actually in a position to win with just a few minutes to play, but Colorado State held on 77-72.
-UConn needed overtime against Saint John’s, who came back late in the second half to tie it, but held on for the 86-78 win.
-Louisville continues to fall into oblivion, and this time I don’t think they will reemerge from it. they lost rather handily at home to a weak NC State team 79-63.
-TCU had a rock fight at Kansas State, but held on to pick up the road win 60-57 and improve to 11-2 on the year.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-SETON HALL AT DEPAUL (Big East). Seton Hall looks to be heading toward the top half of the bracket and perhaps toward a protected seed. This is a winnable conference road game for them tonight.
-STANFORD AT WASHINGTON STATE (Pac 12). Stanford is coming off a nice home win against USC and suddenly has some momentum built up. If they can knock off Wazzu on the road, their profile will be starting to look like…well…something that’s worth looking at.
-OHIO STATE AT WISCONSIN (Big Ten). Wisconsin is suddenly looking like they can contend for a spot on the top two lines. Ohio State is really good, but this would be a HUGE road win for them if they were able to pull it off.
OKLAHOMA STATE AT TEXAS TECH (Big 12). Texas Tech is coming off back to back wins against Kansas and Baylor. It’s hard to be any hotter than that! They should be able to hold serve in this one tonight.
-TENNESSEE STATE AT MURRAY STATE (Ohio Valley). Murray State has a serious case for an at-large bid and just needs to hold serve the rest of the way.
-AUSTIN PEAY AT BELMONT (Ohio Valley). Like Murray State, Belmont has a serious case for an at-large bid and just needs to hold serve throughout OVC play.
-INDIANA AT IOWA (Big Ten). Indiana has reeled off some pretty big wins, but they still don’t have a true road win on their resume. If they can get this one tonight, THEN I’ll start seriously thinking of them as a team that can make The Dance.
-OREGON AT UCLA (Pac 12). Oregon is a talented team that has underperformed this year, but I still can’t help but think they have the potential to kick it into gear and turn it around. Granted, winning at UCLA is a super tall order. The Bruins are a potential #1 seed that should win, but they don’t want to completely overlook the Ducks.
-BYU AT GONZAGA (West Coast). It’s the two flagship programs in the WCC, and it should be a good one. Gonzaga looks to be the better team, and they are at home. A win for BYU would catapult the quality of their resume and probably move them up a couple of seedlines.
-OREGON STATE AT USC (Pac 12). USC is coming off a loss to Stanford, and this should be a very manageable bounce back game for them.
-COLORADO AT ARIZONA (Pac 12). Arizona is having a fantastic year, but Colorado comes in at 11-3 and is flying a little further below the radar than what they probably should be. Granted, if the Buffs win tonight they’ll be squarely on the radar, so it’s a huge opportunity for them.