NEWS AND NOTES:
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-Virginia had not looked good at any point this season, but they looked good last night and picked up one of the more improbable wins all year. They went into Cameron and knocked off Duke 69-68. Virginia pretty much led the whole way, but Duke got the lead in the final minutes and appeared to have control, but a 3pt shot in the final seconds gave UVA the win. They still have a ways to go to make the field, but for the first time since November it seems possible!
-Kansas at Texas was a well played game. Kansas appeared to be in control as they held a 76-72 lead with less than a minute to go, but Texas scored the last 7pts of the game for teh 79-76 win.
-Toccoa Falls was back in action last night, but fell to Charelston Southern 97-60.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-NORTH CAROLINA AT CLEMSON (ACC). North Carolina’s resume is one where they haven’t beaten anyone that’s likely to make the field, but also hasn’t lost to anyone that’s likely to miss it. Every game the rest of the way will have a pivotal feel to it.
-MARQUETTE AT UCONN (Big East). Both teams are still in the rankings, and while UConn has dropped two straight I still think they are good enough to earn a protected seed if they can get hot again. As for Marquette, a win today would be another high caliber road win.
-AUBURN AT ARKANSAS (SEC). Auburn struggled their last time out on the road and will have a much tougher test today against an Arkansas team that has been playing well lately and who will be jacked up for this one.
-KENTUCKY AT SOUTH CAROLINA (SEC). Kentucky has looked like one of the best teams in the country these last couple of weeks and they shouldn’t have too much trouble picking up another road win tonight.
-WISCONSIN AT MICHIGAN STATE (Big Ten). Both teams are good, both are potential/probable protected seeds, and this would be a big win on either team’s resume. Michigan State has struggled a bit with close wins against Wisconsin and Penn State, neither of whom are good, and a loss to Illinois (who is very good). This is a chance for them to pick up a big win at home and kind of snap out out if.
-OKLAHOMA STATE AT TCU (Big 12). TCU is coming off a somewhat surprising loss to Kansas State and needs to rebound, but they’re still trending up and they’ve got a winnable game at home tonight.
-IOWA STATE AT WEST VIRGINIA (Big 12). Iowa State is sinking a little bit and could really use this win tonight. West Virginia is absolutely drowning. They’re on a seven game losing streak and need to win this one tonight, as well as their next two, just to climb back into the picture.
-RHODE ISLAND AT VCU (Atlantic Ten). VCU is outside our bubble, but can make the field if they finish strong and stubbing their toes in games like this.
-SAINT LOUIS AT LA SALLE (Atlantic Ten). Saint Louis is another team that’s outside the bubble, but appears to have a path to making the field if they can finish strong.
-OHIO U AT TOLEDO (MAC). Neither team has much of a chance at getting an at-large, but both are really good teams. They appear to be the two best in the MAC, and either one would be tough to beat in the Round of 64.
-LSU AT TEXAS A&M (SEC). Both teams need this one. LSU has lost six of their last seven and is falling down the seedlist, and TAMU is outside the bubble with no notable wins on their resume right now.
-VILLANOVA AT SAINT JOHN’S (Big East). Villanova is well within the range of a protected seed and will stay within that range after tonight if they can hold serve (and probably even if they can’t).
-ILLINOIS AT PURDUE (Big Ten). Illinois has really kicked it into gear lately and is coming off a really decisive and impressive road win at Indiana. If they can pick up this road win tonight their resume goes from looking good to looking DAMN good!
-BUTLER AT CREIGHTON (Big East). Creighton has looked slumpish in their last couple of games, so having a winnable game like this at home should help them out.
-UTAH STATE AT WYOMING (Mountain West). Wyoming has become red hot lately and will look to keep that momentum going with a win tonight. Utah State hasn’t been in the talk for an NCAA bid very much this year, but they can certainly get there if they can pull this win off tonight. It will definitely at least get them on the board.
-INDIANA AT NORTHWESTERN (Big Ten). Indiana appears to be on their way to making the field, but they could really use this road win as a means of continuing to go that way.
-PACIFIC AT USC. Buy game.
-PORTLAND AT SAN FRANCISCO (West Coast) . The Dons have gotten hot all of a sudden and should be able to hold serve in this one tonight.
-UCLA AT STANFORD (Pac 12). UCLA appears to be pretty safe for a protected seed at this point, and Stanford remains outside the bubble and needs to string together some big wins to get on the right side of it.
-SAINT MARY’S AT SANTA CLARA (West Coast). This one should be fun! Saint Mary’s has cracked the rankings and has been playing really well lately, and Santa Clara has shown signs of being really good as well. They still have a lot of work to do if they want to make the field, but a win tonight would be a big step in the right direction.
-COLORADO STATE AT NEVADA (Mountain West). Colorado State is inside the bubble, but they aren’t cemented into it and can fall out of it if they were to go into a tailspin. This is a winnable road game, and avoiding a loss would be advisable.