NEWS AND NOTES:
-Auburn got a much bigger scare from Georgia than what they were expecting. Georgia actually had the lead in the final couple of minutes, and it took a shot with just seconds remaining to give the Tigers the 74-72 win.
-Gonzaga didn’t just win at BYU, they blew BYU to Kingdom Come 90-57. The Cougars have now lost four straight and are in real trouble. Losing to Gonzaga isn’t a setback, but BYU didn’t even look that good and hasn’t looked that good for the past couple of weeks.
-UCLA, who we all thought had a chance at a #1 seed, now has a much less likely chance of getting a #1 seed. They fell on the road to Arizona State in triple overtime 87-84. The teams were separated by 138 spots in the NET, making this a rather notable upset.
-Kentucky has looked better than anyone in the country over the last three weeks. Their only loss was at Auburn in a game where they were shorthanded in the second half, and were leading until they lost a key player. They’ve won at Kansas, and now at Alabama. They can win the whole thing based on how they’re playing right now.
-Arizona closed out a big week at home by beating their second ranked opponent in a row. They took down USC 72-63 and are now in command in the Pac 12.
-Kansas absolutely blew Baylor’s doors off and are now in control of the Big 12. As for Baylor, they’re still in good shape, and could still likely end up as a #1 seed, but they have lost two of their last three and are 4-3 in their last seven games. All those losses were to high level teams, but the thing about #1 seeds is that they rarely lose to anyone.
-Duke blew out North Carolina 87-67 in a game that really shouldn’t have surprised anyone. Duke has looked like a #1 seed for most of the year, and North Carolina has looked like an NIT team for the entire year.
-UConn is in a bit of a tailspin. They fell at Villanova 85-74. Their profile is certainly still very strong, and there is no harm at all in losing to Villanova, but it is two straight losses for a Huskies team that seemed to be cruising to a protected seed a short while ago.
-Michigan State was just completely blown out by Rutgers 84-63. Rutgers hasn’t looked all that good this year except when they’ve been at home against the top of the Big Ten. They’ve beaten Purdue, and now have handily beaten Michigan State.
-Texas Tech picked up what was just their second true road win of the year at West Virginia 60-53. It was close all throughout, and WVU had a lead for much of the game, but Texas Tech pulled it out in the end.
-Illinois picked up a nice road win at Indiana 74-57. The Illini have really been on a roll lately, and this road win helps sparkle up their resume even more.
-Texas had no trouble at home against Iowa State today and won handily 63-41. The Cyclones still look like they will safely make the field, but they are now just 3-7 in conference play and need to get that a little closer to .500 in order to feel completely safe.
-Xavier fell at home to DePaul in another surprising upset. As well as Xavier had been playing, one thought holding serve at home against DePaul would have been rather routine.
-LSU is now in serious trouble. They lost at Vanderbilt 75-66. This Vandy team is obviously nowhere close to making the field, and the Tigers have now lost six of their last seven with their last two being to rather weak teams.
-Wake Forest got a nice win at Florida State. It isn’t enough to put them safely into the field by any means, but it was at least something.
-Oklahoma may be going in the wrong direction. They fell to rival Oklahoma State today 64-55, and are now just 3-7 in Big 12 play. They need to even that out some if they want to be safely inside the bubble.
-Miami FL, who had been on a roll, has now lost two straight. They fell to Virginia 71-58.
-TCU, who had been playing well recently and appeared to be climbing the seedlist, lost at home to Kansas State 75-63. which is a bit of a setback for them.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-PROVIDENCE AT GEORGETOWN (Big East). These two teams are polar opposites with Providence looking to be the hottest team in the Big East and Georgetown still being winless in the conference. Providence appears to be cruising to a protected seed and will remain on that track if they can hold serve today.
-MARYLAND AT OHIO STATE (Big Ten). Ohio State has looked good all season and shouldn’t have any trouble at all at home against a Maryland team that has struggled for most of the year.
IONA AT NIAGARA (Metro Atlantic). As we always say, Iona is inside the bubble and will stay there so long as they can continue to hold serve.
-LOYOLA CHICAGO AT MISSOURI STATE (Missouri Valley). This is a hugely important game for Loyola Chicago, who looked good in their last game, but prior to that had been sleepwalking. Missouri State is playing really well, they’re tough to beat at home, and a win would draw them even in the standings with Loyola, and in all likelihood knock them outside the bubble for now, so this game is extremely pivotal for the Ramblers.
-NEVADA AT SAN DIEGO STATE (Mountain West). San Diego State is straddling the bubble right now, which means they need to win games at home against teams that are nowhere near the bubble.
-WASHINGTON AT STANFORD (Pac 12). Every time we start to like Stanford, they lose, so they once again have to climb their way back into the picture. Losing at home to Washington is not the way to do that.
-MINNESOTA AT IOWA (Big Ten). Iowa is inside the bubble, but in the 9-11ish seed range, so they can’t afford to put it on cruise control just yet. They need to win their home games against teams that aren’t in the field right now.
-HOUSTON AT CINCINNATI (American). Houston continues to blow through their schedule and will end up as a protected seed if they continue to do so. This Cincinnati team has been playing really well lately, and with them being at home it will likely be one of the bigger remaining tests for the Cougars.
-WYOMING AT FRESNO STATE (Mountain West). Wyoming has been really hot lately with wins over both Colorado State and Boise State, but both of those came at home. Today will be a really tough road test against a Fresno State team that’s had a pretty good year and who could make a run at the bubble if they can finish strong.