News, Notes, and Highlighted Games: Friday, Jan 21

NEWS AND NOTES:

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-Indiana continues to improve both on paper and on the court.  They had a big win against rival Purdue last night 68-65.  The game was close all throughout, the the Hoosiers led for most of the way.  It was a home win, but it still looks really good on their resume.

-UCLA had to sweat a lot more than expected at Utah, but still held on for a 63-58 win.

-San Francisco had a fantastic start to their game at Gonzaga, but as expected the Zags got control at the second half and cruised to a 78-62 win.  It doesn’t set San Francisco back at all, though.  No one is going to get dinged for not winning at Gonzaga.

-USC needed a big win, and got one yesterday at Colorado.  Colorado isn’t a team that is inside the bubble, but it is still a really tough place to win.

-SMU picked up a decent road win at Memphis last night.  They are still outside the bubble, but appear to be within reach of it.

-Belmont is probably outside the bubble now, and it’s going to be very tough for them to get back inside of it.  They fell at Morehead State last night 83-74 in a game that probably wasn’t even as close as the score indicated.

-New Mexico State lost badly at Sam Houston 71-46.  This is a surprising result for a team that we thought was among the top Under the Radar teams, and had a chance of being solidly in the discussion for an at-large bid at the end of the year.

-Boise State picked up another decent win at Utah State 62-59 to keep them well within reach of the bubble.  Their margin for error is small, but they do have a path to making the field.

 

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:

-TOLEDO AT OHIO U (MAC).  These are the top two teams in the MAC.  I think Ohio U can get inside the bubble if they can win out, and I think they’re good enough to do it.

-ILLINOIS AT MARYLAND (Big Ten).  This is a winnable road game for an Illinois team that’s got a good resume and looks like they will continue to build on it.

-SAINT BONAVENTURE AT DUQUESNE (Atlantic Ten).  I haven’t given up on the Bonnies yet, but I’m close.  They need to put together a long string of wins just to get back into the conversation.

-MICHIGAN STATE AT WISCONSIN (Big Ten).  This is a big time resume building opportunity for both these teams.  Both look to be solid protected seeds, and Wisconsin appears to have a path to a #1 seed.

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