NEWS AND NOTES:
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-Providence at Xavier may have been the game of the night. Providence jumped out to a big lead early, and Xavier just kept chipping away at it. Finally X got the lead late in the game and appeared to be in control with momentum, but with the game tied as the clock was winding down they missed a chance at a go-ahead basket, which was followed by a Providence three-pointer with less than two seconds to go for a thrilling 65-62 win, and a very nice road win on the resume of the Friars. They are climbing the rankings, but they still appear to be undervalued right now. Perhaps this will result in people valuing them a little more.
-Florida really needed a notable win. They’ve had several chances where they’ve come up short. Last night they had another chance at Tennessee. Last night, despite playing well, they came up short again with the Vols getting the 78-71 win.
-Texas A&M at LSU was another exciting game with quite a bit on the line for a TAMU team that has looked good, but not gotten a big time win to put them solidly inside the bubble. Last nights’ game was close all throughout, but TAMU just struggled to score on several straight possessions late in the game and LSU escaped with a 70-64 win.
-Marquette remains red hot and picked up another impressive road win as they knocked off Seton Hall 73-63. Seton Hall is now in a bit of a tailspin and really needs a win of any kind to help pull them out of it.
-Iowa State hadn’t won on the road in the Big 12 for several years, but finally picked one up yesterday as they won at Oklahoma State 84-81. This was another exciting game that was close throughout. Oklahoma State had been playing really well lately, so this is one that the Cyclones deserve some credit for.
-Davidson finally got into the rankings. The bad news for them is that they likely won’t be there next week. VCU jumped out to an early lead, and actually widened it throughout the second half. Davidson came thundering back and was in a position to get the win, but came up just short 70-68. Davidson is still safely inside the bubble. This wasn’t a major setback, but it was a bit of a setback.
-Creighton, who were were all big on and who seemed to be playing really well lately, totally crapped the bed at Butler yesterday as they were inexplicably beaten rather handily 72-55.
-Miami FL escaped from Virginia Tech 78-75. They hit a game winning shot as time was running out to pick up the road win.
-Oklahoma got a much needed road win at West Virginia 72-62, which gives their resume a much needed boost. It is now West Virginia who is in need of a boost as they seem to be in a bit of a tailspin.
-Florida State, who had been red hot, was not red hot yesterday. They lost to a rather underwhelming Georgia Tech team on the road 75-61, which is not a good thing to do when you’re trying to make a case that you’re a solid tournament team.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-WISCONSIN AT NEBRASKA (Big Ten). This is a very winnable road game for a Wisconsin team that looks like they could end up on one of the top two lines.
-MURRAY STATE AT TENNESSEE TECH (Ohio Valley). We believe Murray State is inside the bubble and that they’ll stay there if they can continue to blow through the OVC.
-RICE AT LOUISIANA TECH (Conference USA). LA Tech would essentially have to win out to get on to the bubble, but they’re a good team and it’s not outside the realm of possibility.
-OHIO STATE AT MINNESOTA (Big Ten). This is a tough road game for Ohio State, and while Minnesota isn’t a team that’s exactly safely in the field, it’s still hard to win on the road there. Minney, on the other hand, is within reach of the bubble and needs to string together some wins in order to get there.
-LOYOLA CHICAGO AT SOUTHERN ILLINOIS (Missouri Valley). Loyola Chicago has struggled in most of their conference games. In fact they’ve had to come from behind in most of their wins. But, they’ve been winning them, and they’ve got another winnable game today.
-NORTH TEXAS AT SOUTHERN MISS (Conference USA). North Texas is another team from CUSA that could end up on the bubble if they’re able to win out.
-BELMONT AT AUSTIN PEAY (Ohio Valley). Belmont is entirely out of strikes. If the next game they lose comes before the conference tournament they likely won’t be going anywhere.
-PURDUE AT IOWA (Big Ten). Purdue looks to be a protected seed and Iowa looks like a solid tournament team. A road win against a tournament team looks good for a protected seed and a win of any kind over a protected seed looks good for a team that’s trying to build their resume, so there is something at stake for both teams.
-CALIFORNIA AT UCLA (Pac 12). UCLA is coming off the big home win against Arizona and shouldn’t have too much trouble tonight against a Cal team that has struggled this year.
-UAB AT WESTERN KENTUCKY (Conference USA). UAB is squarely on the bubble and will have a strong argument for a bid if they can continue to string together wins and dominate CUSA. This is a bit of a trap game. It isn’t easy to win at WKU, and failing to do so would anchor down their resume.
-SAINT MARY’S AT SAN FRANCISCO (West Coast). This one should be fun!! It’s a Bay Area rivalry, both teams appear to be safely inside the bubble (for now). but both also need to build their resumes, which makes this a fun game both on and off paper.
-LMU AT GONZAGA (West Coast). Gonzaga again looks to be heading for the #1 line and shouldn’t have any trouble holding serve at home in this one.
-STANFORD AT USC (Pac 12). Stanford is outside the bubble, but they have a path to it if they can start stringing together wins. That’s easier said than done, though. A win tonight would go a long way, but it won’t be easy to get against a USC team that appears to be safely in the top half of the bracket.
-BYU AT SANTA CLARA (West Coast). This isn’t an easy road win for BYU, but it’s one that they should be able to get.