NEWS AND NOTES:
-Illinois held off Wisconsin at home, which wasn’t that big of a surprise. I still think Wisky is the better team, but not by much, and certainly not by enough to where you’d expect them to win most of the time at Illinois.
-Marquette bounced back from their close loss to Providence with a home win over Villanova. Marquette is playing extremely well, but the other thing this game makes you question is just how good is Providence?? Providence had some big OOC wins, but many are quick to point out (as they should be) that a lot of those wins came against teams that weren’t at full strength. Well…now we need to point out that Providence is in Big East play, and is continuing to win. The Friars are good.
-Florida got a much bigger scare at Missouri than what they were expecting, but held on to win 66-65. It isn’t so much a good win as it was nearly a very bad loss.
-Notre Dame got what was perhaps their biggest win of the season as they went on the road and won at Miami Fl 68-64, The Canes had been looking real good, and appeared to be moving safely inside the bubble, so this is a big win for the Irish, especially after such a poor showing against Duke over the weekend.
-Florida State has gone back into a tailspin. They lost yet another game to a non-tournament team as Clemson knocked them off 75-69.
-Dayton, who has been up and down all season, was way up yesterday. They blew out (an albeit shorthanded) VCU team on the road 82-52. One never knows what Dayton is going to do. Every time I’m ready to say they’re dangerous, they lose a real head-scratcher. Every time I’m ready to write them off, they win a big game and look fantastic doing it.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-the midwestern part of the country is expecting severe winter weather tonight, so some notable games have been postponed, particularly Iowa at Ohio State. Please stay warm and stay safe if you are in that part of the country!
-MURRAY STATE AT AUSTIN PEAY (Ohio Valley). Murray State is inside our bubble and inching closer and closer to the Top 25. They will make the field so long as they continue to dominate thee OVC.
-UCLA AT ARIZONA (Pac 12). Both teams are solid protected seeds, and it’s still possible for them to end up as #1 seeds. UCLA would need a big road win like this one in order to make that case, though. They won the first meeting between these two, but that was at home.
-GONZAGA AT SAN DIEGO (West Coast). This is only the second true road game of the season for Gonzaga, so while it is extremely winnable it also (at least in my mind) is important because they need a few more true road wins on their resume.
-BOISE STATE AT WYOMING (Mountain West). UCLA vs Arizona is the biggest showcase of the day, but I think this is the biggest GAME of the day. Both have solid tournament resumes, and Boise’s is looking better and better as the season goes on. Wyoming is still hovering around the bubble, and a win like this would add some much needed sparkle to it. A win for Boise puts them (at least in my mind) into the discussion for getting in on the first ballot. I already like them more than Colorado State based on their overall body of work and how well they’ve been playing.
-WASHINGTON STATE AT STANFORD (Pac 12). Stanford remains outside our bubble, but close enough to where they can reach it if they keep stringing together wins. They need this one at home against a Wazzu team that’s been a little disappointing this year, but is still capable of playing well.
-OREGON AT COLORADO (Pac 12). Oregon goes through spells where they look really good and I’m ready to get on their bandwagon, but then they follow that up by losing a game you feel they have no business losing. They need this one. Colorado isn’t a team that’s likely to make the field, but that’s precisely the point. It’s a game they need to be able to win.
-SAN FRANCISCO AT BYU (West Coast). The Dons need a signature win. They really don’t have one yet. They need a win like this to help shore up their NCAA Tournament resume. BYU also needs this win because while they’re safe for now, they are in a bit of a tailspin and if they don’t pull themselves out of it they could end up missing The Dance.
-USC AT ARIZONA STATE (Pac 12). This should be a winnable game for USC and keep them safely in the top half of the bracket.
-SAINT MARY’S AT PORTLAND (West Coast). SMC should be able to hold serve on the road and pick up this win.
UNDER THE RADAR:
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We normally don’t do this with the daily write-up, but…
-MONTANA AT WEBER STATE (Big Sky). Fun game in the Big Sky with first place implications. If Weber wins, they have a two game lead over Montana long with the tiebreaker. If Montana wins, the two are dead even in the standings.
-SEATTLE U AT GRAND CANYON (WAC). Seattle has been one of the bigger surprises of the year, and are now sitting undefeated and in first place in the WAC. This is their biggest test of the year in league play, though. If they win this, they can finish in first.