NEWS AND NOTES:
-Wyoming needed some heroics in the final few seconds against Air Force, but they managed to pick up the road win 63-61 and remain well within reach of bubble.
-Colorado State hasn’t lost very often, but when they have they had not messed around. They were pretty much handled at home yesterday by a so-so (at best) UNLV team 88-74. The Rams are still inside the bubble, but this will set them back.
-Boise State needed overtime, but they got the win at Fresno State and are continuing to roll. In fact they now have a two game lead in the Mountain West Standings over Colorado State and it’s arguable that they now have the better resume.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-DUKE AT LOUISVILLE (ACC). Duke continues to roll and is still within reach of a #1 seed, whereas saying Louisville was in a tailspin would be the understatement of the year.
-LSU AT TCU (SEC?Big 12 Challenge). LSU is flirting with a protected seed and this is the kind of road win that would look really good. TCU is flirting with the bubble and needs notable wins of any kind.
-LASALLE AT DAVIDSON (Atlantic Ten). Davidson is looking to bounce back from their first loss in a while, and they shouldn’t have any trouble doing that. If they do, then they’re in trouble.
-MIAMI FL AT GEORGIA TECH (ACC). Miami’s resume is slowly improving and this should be another winnable road game for them, but GA Tech surprised Florida State earlier in the week, so they won’t want to overlook them.
-MICHIGAN AT MICHIGAN STATE (Big Ten). Michigan is starting to get better, but they still have a lot of work to do. Having said that, winning at Michigan State would certainly qualify as “doing a lot of work.” Sparty is flirting with the #2 line and should be able to pick this one up at home.
-OKLAHOMA AT AUBURN (SEC/Big 12 Challenge). Auburn is the top ranked team and Oklahoma is inside the bubble, but can’t exactly put things on cruise control yet. A loss for the Sooners won’t set them back, but a win would really propel them forward.
-XAVIER AT CREIGHTON (Big East). I like both of these teams and both of their resumes. With Xavier being the road team it’s a chance for them to really polish up a resume that’s already pretty shiny, and for Creighton it’s a chance to kind of do the same.
-MISSOURI AT IOWA STATE (SEC/Big 12 Challenge). Iowa State should roll in this one. In one sense it’s too bad they didn’t get matched up with a better opponent, but in another it may be kind of nice for them to get to come up for air. This is one of the more winnable games they have remaining on their schedule.
-NC STATE AT NORTH CAROLINA (ACC). We did not even have North Carolina on our board on Thursday when we did the Bracket Rundown. I will continue to highlight their games because they can reach the bubble if they begin to string together wins.
-WEST VIRGINIA AT ARKANSAS (SEC/Big 12 Challenge). This is a great match-up for this event. Both teams appear to be inside the bubble, but neither are completely safe and both could really use a win in a game like this.
-ARIZONA STATE AT ARIZONA (Pac 12). It’s a rivalry game between two teams that are nowhere near equals. Arizona is a solid protected seed and Arizona State doesn’t appear to be on pace to make any sort of postseason tournament at all.
-INDIANA AT MARYLAND (Big Ten). Indiana needs road wins to solidify their case for a bid, and this is a winnable road game. It’s as simple as that.
–TEMPLE AT SMU (American). SMU is still outside the bubble, but I still think they can reach it if they keep winning. I also think they are good enough to keep winning.
-VIRGINIA TECH AT FLORIDA STATE (ACC). Florida State fell in their last game, but prior to that they had been on a tear and can continue to take steps forward if they can keep building up the wins.
-BAYLOR AT ALABAMA (SEC/Big 12 Challenge). Baylor is one of the top teams in the nation and appears to be heading for the #1 line. It’s always fun to see them go on the road and take on a team like Alabama, who is really good and who is looking for another big win. Bama has looked like a protected seed at times, but only at times. We’ll see what they do today.
-KANSAS STATE AT OLE MISS (SEC/Big 12 Challenge). We’ve kind of forgotten about K State, but they are actually on my board and it’s not outrageous to think they can still make the NCAA Tournament. This is a winnable road game and road wins always look good on resumes.
-OKLAHOMA STATE AT FLORIDA (SEC/Big 12 Challenge). The Gators are in a tailspin and will end up missing The Dance if they can’t pull themselves out of it. They’re at home against a solid Oklahoma State team, and it’s a game that they need to win.
-SAINT JOHN’S AT VILLANOVA (Big East). Nova hasn’t always looked great this season, but they’ve looked great often enough to where I think they will end up as a protected seed. They should be able to hold serve in this one today.
-ILLINOIS AT NORTHWESTERN (Big Ten). This won’t be an easy road game for Illinois to win, but it’s the kind of game that a top 25 team should be able to win.
-MOREHEAD STATE AT MURRAY STATE (Ohio Valley). Murray State is inside the bubble and will stay there so long as they continue to blow through the OVC. Morehead hasn’t lost a conference game yet, so they could be challenged today, but if they are a tournament caliber team then they need to be able to win this one at home.
-KENTUCKY AT KANSAS (SEC/Big 12 Challenge). I love how this Kentucky team has been playing, and was impressed with how they looked at Auburn a week ago despite being shorthanded for most of the game. For the second week in a row they are on the road against a team that could potentially end up as a #1 seed. A loss won’t set them back, but a win would push them forward. Kansas will have the opportunities they need to end up as a #1 even if they were to lose this game, but a win would certainly help.
-MISSISSIPPI STATE AT TEXAS TECH (SEC/Big 12 Challenge). Mississippi State has not win a road game yet, and I can’t consider them a tournament caliber team until they do. I don’t think they’ll get this one today, but if they do, then HOLY COW! Texas Tech is looking more and more like a protected seed as the season goes on and I think they’ll hold serve tonight.
-VIRGINIA AT NOTRE DAME (ACC). Some here at Hoops HD feel the Irish are within reach of the bubble. I’m personally not seeing it, but…okay. Whatever. Obviously teams who can’t beat non-tournament teams at home don’t belong in the tournament themselves, so they’ll need to win this one.
-UCONN AT DEPAUL (Big East). It isn’t easy to win at DePaul, but the Big East is filled with teams who are capable of winning games that aren’t easy to win, and UConn is one of them. I really like their team and their profile and it wouldn’t shock me if the Huskies ended up as a protected seed.
-CALIFORNIA AT USC (Pac 12). USC is coming off a rather surprising loss to Stanford and needs to rebound. Fortunately, Cal is the kind of team that’s good to be playing when you need to rebound.
-UAB AT MARSHALL (Conference USA). UAB is squarely on our bubble, and the more the season progresses the more I think they belong in the field. This won’t be an easy road win, and it’s the kind of loss that can sink a team’s resume, but getting into the field requires being able to do things that aren’t easy to do.
-SANTA CLARA AT SAN FRANCISCO (West Coast). The loss to SMC from Thursday where they blew a big lead has still got to be stinging for the Dons. They don’t need to be panicking yet, but they do need to be at least a little anxious. They need to take care of business at home today against a Santa Clara team that’s been looking pretty good as of late.
-HOUSTON AT UCF (American). Houston continues to blow through the American and appears to be cruising toward a protected seed. They should be able to win this one without too much trouble.
-TENNESSEE AT TEXAS (SEC/Big 12 Challenge). I had been extremely critical of Texas, but was very impressed with their road win at TCU, and while Tennessee is a team that is flirting with a protected seed I think this is a game that the Longhorns can win.
-PEPPERDINE AT SAINT MARY’S (West Coast). This is a conference game that is should end up looking an awful lot like a buy game. SMC should cruise.
-WAKE FOREST AT SYRACUSE (ACC). I don’t like Wake’s profile nearly as much as everyone else at Hoops HD seems to, but I think they should be able to win this one on the road. If they can’t then I’ll be even less impressed with them than I already am.
-PORTLAND AT GONZAGA (West Coast). The Zags should once again cruise in this one.
-GRAND CANYON AT NEW MEXICO STATE (WAC). Neither team has much of a chance to get inside the bubble, but both teams are good, both are fun to watch, this has turned into a really good rivalry, and unfortunately it may be one of the last times we get to see these two go head to head with NMSU on their way to CUSA soon. As for first place in the WAC, this is a hugely important game.
-STANFORD AT UCLA (Pac 12). Stanford made a huge statement with their win at USC earlier in the week. If they can follow that up with a win against UCLA, who just beat Arizona rather handily in their next game, then it will indicate that Stanford definitely belongs inside the bubble.
-BYU AT PACIFIC (West Coast). It’s a road game, but it still shouldn’t be one that’s all that tough for BYU to win.
-OREGON STATE AT OREGON (Pac 12). Oregon is looking much better than they did in the first half of the season (at least for most of the time) and should be able to hold serve at home against their rivals tonight.
-WINTHROP AT LONGWOOD (Big South). The Winwood Cup is one of our favorite rivalries on Hoops HD and has huge stakes in the Big South this year. Longwood is still unbeaten in league play and Winthrop is in 1st place in the opposing division – so this will be the only time both teams play in the regular season.