HISTORY LESSON:
-On this day in the year 270, which was 1752 years ago, Emperor Claudius II had Valentine’s head cut off for disobeying him. Such a lovely story!! Happy Valentines Day!!
NEWS AND NOTES:
-Purdue had to sweat out a substandard Maryland team at home, but held on to win 62-61 in a game that had a bit of a crazy finish. Illinois and Connecticut also had to sweat out substandard opponents, but both held on to win.
-UAB is a really good team when they’re not playing on Sundays. They have almost no shot at an at-large bid after losing at Old Dominion 81-72. Their shot of getting one before this loss was very very small, but it is pretty much nonexistent now.
-Colorado State picked up their biggest win of the year as they knocked of Boise State on the road 77-74. It was an overtime thriller, it was perhaps the best I’ve seen the Rams play all season, and it adds a HUGE quality win to a resume that was kind of flimsy when it came to big wins.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-SAINT LOUIS AT SAINT BONAVENTURE (Atlantic Ten). SLU still has a path to landing inside the bubble if they can finish strong. This would be a really nice road win for them if they’re able to pull it off.
-DUQUESNE AT DAVIDSON (Atlantic Ten). Davidson is still in good shape for a bid despite coming off a loss. They need to hold serve in games like this in order to stay that way, though.
-WEST VIRGINIA AT KANSAS STATE (Big 12). Both of these teams are on life support, but it still isn’t impossible for either of them to make the field. They need a very strong finish, but it can be done.
-OKLAHOMA STATE AT KANSAS (Big 12). Kansas looks like they’ll end up on one of the top two lines and shouldn’t have too much trouble at home tonight.
-WASHINGTON STATE AT OREGON (Pac 12). Both teams need this one badly. Both are coming off losses. In the case of Wazzu they need some big wins just to get into the discussion, and in the case of Oregon they need to finish strong and avoid losses to teams that are outside the bubble just to stay inside of it themselves.
-GEORGETOWN AT CREIGHTON (Big East). Creighton needs to have a sense of urgency. I think they’re relatively safe (at least, I think) but if they lose a game like this they won’t be.