NEWS AND NOTES:
It didn’t look like it would be that eventful of an evening, but….
-Wisconsin jumped all over Michigan State in the first couple minutes of the game. Michigan State jumped back, tied it up, then got the lead, then got a bigger lead, and pretty much held it the rest of the way for a hugely impressive and important 86-74 road win.
-Illinois and Maryland was close for a while, but then it was blown open. That wouldn’t be surprising if it wasn’t Maryland that blew it open. The Terps stunned an Illini team that seemed to be heading toward a protected seed 81-65. Yes, the Illini were without Kofi Cockburn for this one, but that is a bad sign if he’s not able to play for an extended period of time.
-Just yesterday I had said that I thought Ohio U could land inside the bubble if they dominated the MAC the rest of the way. I also said I felt they were good enough to win out. So naturally Toledo blew their doors off 87-69. Ohio U did cut a big lead down to just 6, but Toledo got control of the game again and blew it open down the stretch. While not an at-large worthy team yet, are the Rockets now the team to beat in the MAC?
-An Under the Radar note…Wagner needed overtime to get by Long Island, but they managed to hold on 92-85, stay unbeaten in the NEC, and improve to 11-2 on the year.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-SYRACUSE AT DUKE (ACC). Duke is still within reach of a #1 seed and should be able to hold serve at home in this one.
-VILLANOVA AT GEORGETOWN (Big East). Nova is looking to rebound from a loss to Marquette, and this appears to be a winnable game against a struggling Georgetown team even though they’re on the road.
-WEST VIRGINIA AT TEXAS TECH (Big 12). WVU looks to be solidly in the field, but they have dropped some games recently. Unfortunately for them they have another tough assignment today against a suddenly red hot Texas Tech team that’s looking like they’ll end up as a protected seed if they keep winning at the clip they have been.
-SETON HALL AT SAINT JOHN’S (Big East). Seton Hall is in good shape and while winning at Saint John’s isn’t easy, it’s doable for a team that looks like they can land in the top half of the bracket.
-RUTGER AT MINNESOTA (Big Ten). Both teams have work to do just to get onto the board, but both appear to have the potential and the opportunities to get there. A win today would certainly help.
-KENTUCKY AT AUBURN (SEC). Kentucky appears to be hitting their stride, but as good as they’ve been playing winning a road game against a team that looks like they could end up as a #1 seed is a very tall order. Still, it’s a good litmus test for the Wildcats.
-VANDERBILT AT FLORIDA (SEC). Florida is straddling the bubble, so it goes without saying that they need to avoid losing home games to teams that are way outside the bubble.
-OKLAHOMA STATE AT TEXAS (Big 12). Texas’s resume is flimsy at best. They will have chances to shore it up, but they need to start stringing together some notable wins.
-FLORIDA STATE AT MIAMI FL (ACC). This is a bubblicious game between two teams that have had their ups and downs this season, but seem to be playing really well now. It’s a rivalry game between two teams that could really use the win.
-DAVIDSON AT FORDHAM (Atlantic Ten). Davidson is in good shape and will stay that way so long as they avoid any setbacks. Although Fordham is much better this year than what we are used to seeing, losing to them would still qualify as a setback.
-COLORADO STATE AT AIR FORCE (Mountain West) (Front Range). We at Hoops HD Love the Front Range!!!! Colorado State continues to be the flagship team for both the Mountain West and the Front Range this year, and will remain in good shape so long as they’re able to pick up this win.
-BAYLOR AT OKLAHOMA (Big 12). Baylor is still within range of a #1 seed, but in their last three games they have struggled. Oklahoma is hovering around the bubble and could really shore themselves up if they’re able to win this one. Its’ much easier said than done, though.
-MISSOURI STATE AT LOYOLA CHICAGO (Missouri Valley). Loyola Chicago is in great shape and should land in the top half of the bracket so long as they continue to run through the Missouri Valley.
-KANSAS AT KANSAS STATE (Big 12). This looks to be a mismatch, but it’s also a rivalry, and it’s never easy to win a rivalry game on the road. I think Kansas can still end up as a #1 seed, and while K State isn’t in our field right now, they have shown signs of being a tournament caliber team and will have the opportunities to get there if they can string together some wins.
-TCU AT IOWA STATE (Big 12). TCU is a fringe bubble team, and Iowa State is a fringe protected seed. TCU certainly needs it more, but it would be a nice win for Iowa State as well.
-UAB AT LOUISIANA TECH (Conference USA). UAB is on the bubble. The problem is that they don’t appear to have enough opportunities to land squarely inside of it short of winning out, but LA Tech is another team that’s having a great year, is among the best in CUSA, and this would qualify as a good road win for UAB if they can pull it off.
-VIRGINIA AT NC STATE (ACC). If Virginia is going to get it together, then now is the time to start.
-PENN STATE AT IOWA (Big Ten). Iowa is inside the bubble, but I wouldn’t exactly consider them safe. They certainly need to hold serve at home against teams that are nowhere close to the bubble.
-DEPAUL AT CREIGHTON (Big East). I really like this Creighton resume and certainly look for them to end up in the top half of the bracket. They should be able to hold serve at home in this one.
-EAST CAROLINA AT HOUSTON (American). Seemingly no matter how many setbacks Houston suffers they just keep winning. They have another winnable home game today.
-LSU AT TENNESSEE (SEC). Both teams are very safely inside the bubble, but both resumes have room to improve, and a win today would help out either team.
-MISSOURI AT ALABAMA (SEC). Bama shouldn’t have any trouble today against a Mizzou team that has struggled all year long.
-USC AT UTAH (Pac 12). This should be some low hanging fruit for a USC team that had a nice win against Colorado their last time out.
-SAN FRANCISCO AT PEPPERDINE (West Coast). San Francisco is coming off a loss at Gonzaga, but that’s hardly a setback. Losing today would be a setback, though.
-NEW MEXICO AT WYOMING (Mountain West). Wyoming continues to be squarely on our bubble, so every game has a sense of urgency to it. They need to hold serve at home against teams that are nowhere near the bubble.
-UT MARTIN AT MURRAY STATE (Ohio Valley). I think Murray State is good enough to run the table in this league, and if they do they won’t need to win the conference tournament in order to make the field.
-NORTH CAROLINA AT WAKE FOREST (ACC). Both of these teams have a ton of work to do, so both could really use this win tonight. Wake is closer to the bubble (and perhaps on it) than UNC is, but both really need this win.
-TEXAS A&M AT ARKANSAS (SEC). This is another bubblicious match-up between two teams who could really use this win.
-UCLA AT COLORADO (Pac 12). UCLA appears to be on track to get a protected seed, but they could be tested on the road today. Colorado isn’t a tournament team, but winning in their building is hardly ever a guarantee.
-PORTLAND AT BYU (West Coast). BYU should have no issues in this one. It’s a virtual buy game.
-BOISE STATE AT SAN DIEGO STATE (Mountain West). This game is simply a hugely important game between two good teams. Both have a chance to make the NCAAs, but neither appear to be heading towards a lock, so both could really use this win tonight.
-SAINT MARY’S AT LMU (West Coast). SMC shouldn’t have too much trouble picking up this one on the road.
-ARIZONA STATE AT STANFORD (Pac 12). Stanford got blasted the other night against Arizona, and is still outside the bubble, but it is within reach. Having said that, they can’t afford to lose this one at home.
-NORTHERN COLORADO AT EASTERN WASHINGTON (Big Sky). The NoCoEWU Cup will finally be played in front of a full crowd for the first time in two seasons! Oh, and there are regular season championship implications for this game as well.