NEWS AND NOTES:
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-Auburn had to sweat out Mizzou, and it was quite a shock since Auburn is the top ranked team and Mizzou is closer to the Stallings Award than they are the NCAA Tournament, but they managed to escape with a (surprisingly) thrilling 55-54 win.
-UCLA beat Arizona at home rather handily 75-59. It’s a setback for the Wildcats in the context of getting a #1 seed, but only in that context. There is no dinging anyone who loses on the road to a top ten team.
-Duke also had to sweat against a team that seemed to a total non-threat, but managed to win a (surprisingly) thrilling game at home against Clemson 71-69 in a game that came down to the final seconds.
-Michigan State fell behind big to Illinois, but came back, made it close, and almost picked up another highly impressive road win, but Illinois held on 56-55 for one of their more notable wins of the year despite it being at home.
-Kentucky needed overtime to get by Mississippi State, which was surprising because they seemed to be in control the whole way but Mississippi State kept it close enough to make a run at the end. The Wildcats escaped with an 82-74 win.
-Alabama tripped over the marble on the floor. They lost on the road to Georgia 82-76 in a game they really had no business losing despite it being a road game.
-Cincinnati needed a road win at Temple to inch closer to the bubble, and they seemed to be in control for most of the game, but one part of the game where they were not in control was the end. Temple ended up getting the 61-58 win and improving to 11-6 on the year. Temple is a hundred miles outside the NCAA Tournament, but they aren’t as bad as we thought they’d be this year.
-I’ve been dogging Texas all year for a lack of notable wins. Well, they have one now. It was an impressive beatdown on the road against a really good TCU team 73-50. I will no longer dog Texas for not having any impressive wins. They certainly have one now. In spades!!
-Wyoming and Boise seesawed back and forth with both teams appearing to be in control at different parts of the game. It came down to the wire and Boise ended up with a very important 65-62 win. It was a big win for the Broncos, and a missed opportunity for the Cowboys, but while there aren’t an infinite number of opportunities the rest of the way, they will have a few others.
-Oregon had appeared to have things turned around, and seemed to have a winnable home game against Colorado yesterday. They didn’t win it, though, and this is a bit of a setback for a team that appeared to be poised to thunder down the stretch.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-FLORIDA AT TENNESSEE (SEC). Tennessee is a fringe protected seed and Florida is a fringe bubble team. The Gators need a win like this (and probably more than just one) to get safely inside the bubble.
-XAVIER AT PROVIDENCE (Big East). Xavier is safely in the top half of the bracket, and Providence is a team that we think that has been way undervalued and should be on the verge of a protected seed.
-CREIGHTON AT BUTLER (Big East). Creighton is another team from the Big East that should be safely in the field. This looks to be a very winnable road game tonight.
-NORTHWESTERN AT MICHIGAN (Big Ten). Michigan has underperformed all year, but they are coming off a nice road win against Indiana and have what should be another winnable home game tonight. Perhaps they are starting to get things turned around.
-SMU AT SOUTH FLORIDA (American). SMU is still outside the bubble, but I still think they are good enough to reach it if they can finish strong the rest of the way. That would obviously include not losing at South Florida.
-MIAMI FL AT VIRGINIA TECH (ACC). Miami continues to hover around the bubble. In short, road games against teams that are nowhere near the bubble are the kinds of games that NCAA Tournament teams should be able to win.
-BOSTON COLLEGE AT NORTH CAROLINA (ACC). I think UNC is still pretty far outside the bubble, but a lot of people still like them. Either way, this is a game they should be able to win tonight.
-SAINT BONAVENTURE AT GEORGE MASON (Atlantic Ten). The Bonnies can make the field, but their path to get there is still really narrow. They need this win tonight, and pretty much most of the rest of the wins on their schedule the rest of the way.
-ARKANSAS AT OLE MISS (SEC). Arkansas is hovering around the bubble, and this is the kind of game they need to be able to win on the road.
-IOWA STATE AT OKLAHOMA STATE (Big 12). Iowa State is having a big year, but Oklahoma State is playing with a purpose despite not being eligible for the NCAA Tournament, and they won’t be easy to beat at home tonight.
-OKLAHOMA AT WEST VIRGINIA (Big 12). You get the sense that both teams need this win. West Virginia probably doesn’t need it as much as the Sooners, and neither team will be dead in the water if they lose, but both need wins between now and the end in order to be safely in the field.
-VCU AT DAVIDSON (Atlantic Ten). Davidson is in the rankings, safely inside the bubble, and will easily make the field barring a collapse between now and the end. VCU is a decent team, but it’s a team Davidson should be able to beat at home.
-PENN STATE AT INDIANA (Big Ten). Indiana’s resume is improving, but they need to hold serve in this one tonight.
-TEXAS A&M AT LSU (SEC). TAMU continues to hover around the bubble and is in big need of a win like this. LSU continues to hover around a protected seed and needs to be able to hold serve in games like this at home.
-FLORIDA STATE AT GEORGIA TECH (ACC). Florida State has won six straight and is on a rampage. They should be able to make it #7 tonight as they have another winnable conference road game.
-SAN DIEGO STATE AT UTAH STATE (Mountain West). San Diego State is a team that looks like they’re hovering around the bubble. They have a challenging but winnable road game tonight.