NEWS AND NOTES:
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-Coming into yesterday Houston was just 3pts away from being undefeated on the season. That number has now shot all the way up to 5pts away. They led at SMU for much of the game, but SMU kept it within reach, then drew even, then went ahead, and managed to pull out the 85-83 upset. For Houston this is a setback, but not much of one. They are still very solidly a protected seed and their potential is every bit the same as it was before yesterday. As for SMU, this gives their resume a huge boost and suddenly the bubble is within reach.
-Oklahoma had been sinking in the quicksand until yesterday when they beat Texas Tech rather handily at home 70-55. Texas Tech has a solid overall resume, but could use a few more true road wins to cement the fact that they deserve a really good seed.
-Rutgers can beat highly ranked teams at home. They are one of the few teams that has multiple wins against the top 25 and multiple losses to teams outside the top 200l they came from behind late in the game to knock off Ohio State 66-64, and you have to think that as crazy as it is, they actually have a shot at making the field.
-Seton Hall had been in a bit of a tailspin, but had a nice win at home against Xavier yesterday 73-71. Xavier played well in the second half, but couldn’t quite get over the hump.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-SOUTHERN MISS AT UAB (Conference USA). UAB has a slim shot at landing inside the bubble, but they basically need to win out in order to do it.
-IOWA AT MARYLAND (Big Ten). Iowa is slipping down the seedlist and needs to resuscitate it. A road win at Maryland isn’t exactly a win that screams #1 seed, but it will at least serve as a stabilizing win.
-DUKE AT CLEMSON (ACC). Duke is coming off a surprising home loss to Virginia, which will probably knock them off the #1 line (at least for now). This is a winnable road game that can allow them to bounce back.
-MOREHEAD STATE AT BELMONT (Ohio Valley). Belmont has a path to landing inside the bubble, but anything short of winning out won’t be enough. One of their losses was at Morehead State earlier this season, so they need to take care of business at home tonight.
-MURRAY STATE AT TENNESSEE STATE (Ohio Valley). Murray State has cracked the rankings and should make the field even if they don’t win the conference tournament barring a collapse.
-PACIFIC AT GONZAGA (West Coast). This is a conference game that should end up looking like a buy game, and with Auburn’s loss earlier in the week Gonzaga should slide into the #1 ranking if they win both their games this week.
-PURDUE AT MICHIGAN (Big Ten). Michigan has been disappointing this year, but is still very talented and still has the pieces to pull off an upset like this if they can just pull themselves together. Purdue is having an crazy good season and is on a current pace to get a #1 seed.
-ARIZONA AT WASHINGTON STATE (Pac 12). Wazzu is a team that seems like can be be better than what they are, and that they’re good enough to win a few big games and get themselves onto the bubble, and even inside of it. But until that happens, they’ll remain on the outside looking in. Arizona is clearly a protected seed and has an outside shot at ending up as a #1 seed. This is a tough but winnable road game for them.
-SAN DIEGO AT SANT MARY’S (West Coast). Saint Mary’s has been playing well, but is also coming off a loss to Santa Clara and looking to rebound. They should have no trouble doing that today against San Diego.
-STANFORD AT OREGON (Pac 12). Oregon is inside our bubble but has a lot of room to improve. Stanford is outside our bubble, and seemingly every time they play their way into a good position they end up getting blown out. They need this one tonight.
-NEW MEXICO STATE AT DIXIE STATE (WAC). If New Mexico State wins out they will get a serious look from the committee. Anything short of that and they’ll need the auto-bid, and even winning out may not be enough.
-BYU AT LMU (West Coast). BYU has lost four straight and cannot afford to lose this one. If they do their NCAA Tournament hopes could be in jeopardy.
-PEPPERDINE AT SAN FRANCISCO (West Coast). San Francsisco’s path to the NCAA Tournament got a little wider when they beat BYU, but then became narrow again when they lost to Portland. Every game the rest of the way will have a pivotal feel to it, and they certainly can’t afford to lose this one tonight.