For yesterday’s Championship Week video notebook – CLICK HERE
For Chad Sherwood’s appearance on Raiderland with Ryan Hyatt – CLICK HERE
Most of the regular season games last night were Under The Radar, but there were some implications involved.
– Toledo blew out Bowling Green in the Battle for I-75 to clinch the outright MAC regular season crown. Meanwhile, OU was competing for most of the regular season for the same crown but ended up losing at Northern Illinois to finish their season on a 3-game losing streak (including a bad loss at Bowling Green).
– St. Bonaventure returned to their winning ways with a 7-point win at home against Richmond. They really need to win the A-10 Tournament if they want to feel safe.
-VILLANOVA AT BUTLER (Big East). Villanova is cruising toward a protected seed and may have the best overall profile in the Big East despite not being the first place team, although Providence’s profile is REALLY good as well!
-ARKNASAS AT TENNESSEE (SEC). Arkansas has shown that they are a protected seeded caliber team…at home. On the road against a Tennessee team that looks to be heading toward a protected seed themselves is a whole other challenge. If Arkansas were to get this win, then I’d argue that they have a strong case for a protected seed.
-ALABAMA AT LSU (SEC). Both of these teams are safe, but both have room to move up the seed list, and a win today for either team would help with that.
-DAVIDSON AT DAYTON (Atlantic Ten). This will likely be a tough road test for a Davidson team that appears to be safely inside the bubble, and still would be even with a loss today. Dayton is a young team with lots of talent that has looked like a young team with lots of talent all year long. Some nights they look like they could make a run to the Sweet Sixteen, and other nights they just totally flop.
-SOUTH CAROLINA AT AUBURN (SEC). South Carolina has been playing really well lately, and a win in a game like this may actually catapult them onto the bubble and on to the board, but it is a HUGE ask. Auburn still has a path to a #1 seed and is very tough to beat at home.
-MIAMI FL AT SYRACUSE (ACC). Miami has a strong resume and I think they will sail into the NCAA Tournament so long as they hold serve the rest of the way. That would mean winning this one on the road against a Syracuse team that isn’t good, but that is starting to play better.
-KENTUCKY AT FLORIDA (SEC). Kentucky is in play for a #1 seed, and Florida is squarely on the bubble A win helps either team out in regards to getting to where they want to get to.
-INDIANA AT PURDUE (Big Ten). Purdue appears to have locked up a protected seed and may still have a path to a #1 seed if they can finish strong and win the Big Ten Tournament. Indiana is on the bubble. A good way to get inside the bubble is to win on the road against a team that has a chance at being a #1 seed. It’s much easier said than done, though. Oh yeah, and this is also a rivalry game, so…there’s that.
-VIRGINIA TECH AT CLEMSON (ACC). VA Tech is way outside the bubble, but could potentially get there if they finish strong and rack up some big wins in the ACC Tournament.
-TCU AT WEST VIRGINIA (Big 12). TCU has been playing really well these last couple of weeks, and while it’s never easy to win on the road this is a very winnable road game for them.
-SETON HALL AT CREIGHTON (Big East). I believe both of these teams are tournament teams and this is just a resume building opportunity for them both. It’s a chance to get one more notable regular season win.
-PITTSBURGH AT NOTRE DAME (ACC). Notre Dame is squarely on the bubble, and ought not lose at home to Pitt. That would be frowned upon.
-TEXAS TECH AT OKLAHOMA STATE (Big 12). Texas Tech is almost assuredly a protected seed, but they could be in for a test today. It’s the last game of the season for Oklahoma State due to them being on probation, and they are wanting to go out with a big win.
-NORTH TEXAS AT UTEP (Conference USA). If North Texas wins this game, I feel they belong in the field no matter what happens in the CUSA Tourney. I don’t know if the committee will feel that way or not, but I think they’ve shown they are worthy of an at-large. They haven’t beaten many teams that are solidly in the field, but they have won a lot of games that are hard to win.
-TEXAS AT KANSAS (Big 12). Texas is fighting for a protected seed and Kansas is fighting for a #1 seed. This is basically a resume building opportunity for both teams, especially Texas.
-OREGON AT WASHINGTON STATE (Pac 12). Oregon needs to avoid losing today, and then probably win against either USC, UCLA, or Arizona in the Pac 12 Tournament to feel reasonably safe for a bid, and that may not even be enough.
-OKLAHOMA AT KANSAS STATE (Big 12). Both teams are outside the bubble and both have questionable overall records, but given what each team has done in tier 1, both still have a shot at making the field if they can string together a few wins. Having said that, they both need this win today, and they need some more wins in the Big 12 Tournament.
-VCU AT SAINT LOUIS (Atlantic Ten). VCU is right on our bubble, and can land on the right side of it with a strong finish. They need to win today and then avoid any stinker losses in the Atlantic Ten Tournament.
-FRESNO STATE AT WYOMING (Mountain West). Wyoming may be sweating a little bit if they can’t get this win today, but if they pick it up they should be in solid shape to make the field.
-CALIFORNIA AT ARIZONA (Pac 12). Arizona should wrap up the regular season with a win, and I think they should wrap up a #1 seed as well. They’ve absolutely blown through Pac 12 play.
-DEPAUL AT UCONN (Big East). UConn is still in the hunt for a protected seed and shouldn’t have too much trouble finishing up the regular season with a win at home today. However, DePaul is on a 3-game winning streak in the Big East and is coming off of a double-digit win at home against Marquette.
-IOWA STATE AT BAYLOR (Big 12). Baylor still has a path to a #1 seed. Iowa State is likely safely in the field even though a loss knocks them down to 7-11 overall in conference play. There is just so much good on their resume that the committee will almost certainly take them, and you can’t really knock teams for losing on the road to protected seeds.
-NORTH CAROLINA AT DUKE (ACC). It’s Coach K’s last game at Cameron, it’s against their rivals, and in this year’s edition, it is a huge mismatch. UNC looks to be right on the bubble, and a win today (as improbable as it is) will likely be enough to put them in the field, but Duke is a solid protected seed that still has at least an outside shot at a #1 seed, so it’s much easier said than done. The two teams are eight miles apart, and have never met in the NCAA Tournament.
-GEORGETOWN AT XAVIER (Big East). Despite being in a complete free fall, Xavier is still in position to make the field if they can just stop the bleeding. A win today, and then an opening round win in the Big East Tournament, may still be enough to put them in. A loss today will make an already angry fanbase even hotter and angrier, especially towards Travis Steele.
-MISSISSIPPI STATE AT TEXAS A&M (SEC). TAMU still appears to be outside the bubble, but they actually suddenly look like they’re close enough to it to where they can reach it if they get some big wins in the SEC Tournament. They need to hold serve in this one tonight.
-BOISE STATE AT COLORADO STATE (Mountain West). It’s a regular season Mountain West showcase finale as the two best teams square off. I think both teams are rather safely in the NCAA Tournament, and both arguably belong in the top half of the bracket. They are just playing for seeding in this one.
-SAINT JOHN’S AT MARQUETTE (Big East). Saint John’s has been playing well in recent weeks, and while it’s probably too little too late to make the Tournament, they are in a position to make quite a bit of noise between now and the end of the year. I like this Marquette team and feel that they’ve done well against a really tough schedule and have an opportunity to really improve their seeds between now and the end.
-USC AT UCLA (Pac 12). USC is in the top half of the bracket and UCLA is a likely protected seed, so it’s a resume building opportunity for both teams. Oh yeah, it is also a big rivalry game.
-SAN DIEGO STATE AT NEVADA (Mountain West). San Diego State looks to be inside the bubble and will likely safely stay there if they can hold serve in this one and pick up one more road win.