NEWS AND NOTES:
-UConn picked up a big 71-69 win over Villanova in a game that was an absolute thriller. UConn Coach Danny Hurley was not around for the end of it. He was ejected for perhaps the most ridiculous technical foul I’ve seen in a while. He was called for one that was probably legit, he then gestured the crowd after things had settled down to get pumped up, and…was called for a second technical?? I think getting T’d up is a good way for a coach to slap his players in the face, but I also know that for whatever stupid reasons some coaches do it on purpose to “fire people up.” Okay, that’s stupid, but that’s not ejection worthy! Never has been! Until last night, I guess. But, UConn got the win, so I guess it all worked out
-Other than that it was very chalky. Again. A few close calls included Alabama having to sweat out Vanderbilt, and almost blew it in the final minute, but held on to win 74-72. Boise State also held off San Diego State 58-57 after the Aztecs got the lead very late in the game, but Boise was able to hold on. Other than that there weren’t any surprises or anything too cataclysmic for the second night in a row.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-CREIGHTON AT SAINT JOHN’S (Big East). Creighton has hit a hot streak and won five in a row, and they appear to be climbing the seedlist. The Johnnies are outside the bubble, but they’ve also started to play well having won four of the last six with the two losses being close games to both Villanova and UConn. They appear to be so far away from the bubble that it just isn’t going to happen, but they are playing well at the right time of the year.
-DUKE AT VIRGINIA (ACC). Virginia won the first match-up, but despite that Duke appears to be a virtual lock for a protected seed and Virginia appears to be several games away from even being on the bubble.
-XAVIER AT PROVIDENCE (Big East). Xavier has lost four out of five and appears to be sliding down the seedlist, whereas Providence is being projected as a protected seed. They still have room to improve, but they are a good team that is in great shape both on the court and on paper.
-TCU AT TEXAS (Big 12). Texas was projected as a protected seed last Saturday, so one must assume that they are within reach of a protected seed. I believe TCU is solidly in the field for now and that a loss today won’t change that, but a win would catapult them through the roof.
-GEORGE MASON AT VCU (Atlantic Ten). VCU has slim chances of getting inside the bubble, but they pretty much need to win out to even be in the discussion.
-SYRACUSE AT NOTRE DAME (ACC). Notre Dame continues to straddle the bubble, but as of now we have them on the inside. They missed an opportunity to get a big win at Wake this past weekend, and they need to hold serve int his one tonight against a Syracuse team that hasn’t had a good season, but who has won six of their last seven.
-WAKE FOREST AT CLEMSON (ACC). We have Wake Forest inside the bubble, but still close enough to it where they could easily fall out of it if they start dropping games to non-tournament caliber teams.
-WEST VIRGINIA AT IOWA STATE (Big 12). I think Iowa State is in solid shape for a bid despite their conference record, and will remain that way so long as they hold serve. Having said that, holding serve involves winning this one tonight.
-UMASS AT DAYTON (Atlantic Ten). I am once again thinking has a wadded up paper’s chance in hell of making the NCAA Tournament. Not a fireball’s chance by any means, but definitely a chance that’s at least a little bit better than a snowball’s chance.
-DAVIDSON AT DUQUESNE (Atlantic Ten). Davidson is still inside the bubble, but while their resume is stable, it isn’t so rock solid that it could sustain too many losses like this one, so they need to hold serve.
-RUTGERS AT MICHIGAN (Big Ten). It’s Michigan’s first game with Phil Martelli at the helm, but more importantly Michigan is outside the bubble and needs to string together wins to get inside of it, and Rutgers is inside the bubble and needs to keep winning to stay inside of it, so this game has quite a bit of stakes to it.
-HOUSTON AT TULANE (American). I’m excited for the progress Tulane has made under Ron Hunter, and feel that it will be at a tournament caliber soon. Not this year, though. But, this is a team that believes in itself, and they face a Houston team that’s high in the rankings and safely in the field, but that has struggled in the last couple of weeks.
-TULSA AT SMU (American). SMU is squarely on the bubble and needs a strong finish to the season to end up on the right side of it.
-EVANSVILLE AT LOYOLA CHICAGO (Missouri Valley). Loyola Chicago is also squarely on the bubble (at least according to our projections) and is in danger of falling off of it if they lose before the MVC Championship game.
-OLE MISS AT AUBURN (SEC). Auburn is coming off a loss at Florida, but they are still in outstanding shape and on pace to end up as a #1 seed. They should be able to knock off a struggling Ole Miss team tonight.
-BUTLER AT SETON HALL (Big East). Seton Hall can even their Big East record up at 8-8 and keep themselves inside the bubble if they hold serve tonight against a Butler team that has just struggled for pretty much the entire season.
-LSU AT KENTUCKY (SEC). LSU looks to be a solid tournament team, but I no longer feel they will end up as a protected seed. Of course if they win tonight, it will shoot them up the seedlist. Kentucky is still within reach of a #1 seed and should be able to hold serve tonight at home.
-WISCONSIN AT MINNESOTA (Big Ten). Wisky appears to be on a path to a protected seed, and while it’s never easy to win on the road, this does appear to be a winnable road game for them.
-WYOMING AT COLORADO STATE (Mountain West) (Front Range). We at Hoops HD Love the Front Range!!! This is actually a Front Range game with quite a few stakes to it. Both appear to be inside the bubble and both could really use this win to improve their tournament resumes. It should be fun!