For Jon Teitel’s Part 1 of his Midseason All-Conference Awards – CLICK HERE
For John Stalica’s UTR Game of the Day in the Bee Hive – CLICK HERE
NEWS AND NOTES:
-Both the ACC and the Pac-12 had some notable games yesterday. Pitt is looking more and more like a legit NCAA Tournament contender as they kicked things off with a home win against North Carolina. The Tar Heels are now 0-2 in true road games and are looking less and less like a protected seed team, but more of a first-ballot NCAA team at least.
-Miami continues to look like a legit ACC contender themselves and won by double digits at Notre Dame. While they’re not Florida State-bad or even Louisville-bad, the Irish look like they’ll finish in the bottom third of the ACC right now.
-Clemson has quietly gotten off to a 3-0 start in ACC play with their home win against NC State, but almost nobody was in the house to see it. Something about the Orange Bowl later that night, perhaps?
-UCLA played from behind for almost the entire night at Washington State, but Adem Bona hit a layup with 19 seconds remaining to give UCLA a 1-point lead they would not relinquish and ended up escaping Pullman with a 1-point win. USC won at Washington with a lot less trouble than their intracity rivals.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-UCONN AT XAVIER (Big East). UConn is one of the best teams in the country and appears to be good enough to make a run at a #1 seed. This will likely be one of their toughest remaining games of the season. Xavier is in the rankings and playing extremely well, and their only home loss was to an Indiana team that they had a lead on for most of the game. This one should be fun, and if Xavier can pull the upset you have to start looking at them as a possible protected seed.
-TEXAS TECH AT TCU (Big 12). Both teams have been playing really well, both are likely tournament teams, and this should be a really fun match-up today as it’s the conference opener for both. This is probably Texas Tech’s biggest test of the year so far, so a win for them would really boost the value of their resume.
-LOUISVILLE AT KENTUCKY. It’s a rivalry game, but this year’s edition has an interesting story line. Kentucky fans are fed up because they don’t look like they belong in the top 25. Louisville fans are fed up because they don’t look like they belong in D1.
-VIRGINIA TECH AT WAKE FOREST (ACC). VA Tech is looking more and more like they will be a tournament team, and Wake is looking more and more like they could be a tournament team. Both these teams could use this one because it would look good on either team’s resume.
-CHARLESTON AT TOWSON (Colonial). This is a HUGELY important game for a Charleston team that’s 12-1, on the doorsteop of the top 25, and has a very good chance at landing inside the bubble if they can finish at the top of the CAA standings. Towson has a high ceiling, but they’ve been in a tailspin lately. They’re still talented, and it won’t be an easy road game for CofC to win. This could also finally be the win that could vault Charleston into the Top 25 going into 2023.
-UCF AT HOUSTON (American). UCF is one of the better teams in the American, and I think they have a real shot at an at-large bid. That will certainly be true if they can win this one today, but chances are they’re overmatched. Houston is THE best team in the American, and is perhaps the most talented team in the entire nation. They should end up with a #1 seed if they hold serve the rest of the way.
-OKLAHOMA STATE AT KANSAS (Big 12). I’m still wanting to believe that Oklahoma State can have a big year, and they have been playing a little better, but so far they’ve been a bit of a disappointment. A win today would certainly turn things around, but that’s much easier said than done. Kansas is a team that’s in contention for a #1 seed, so they should be able to hold serve at home in this one.
-ARIZONA AT ARIZONA STATE (Pac 12). It’s a rivalry game and it should be a crazy atmosphere. Arizona has looked as good as anyone in the country and looks like they could contend for a #1 seed. Arizona State has looked good for most of the season, but in the two games that they haven’t looked good, they’ve looked REALLY bad. Something tells me that they’ll be way up for this one, though.
-TEXAS AT OKLAHOMA (Big 12). It’s the basketball verison of the Red River Rivalry!! Texas hasn’t missed too much of a beat with their off the court issues, but today will be one of their bigger tests of the year up to this point. They’re on the road against a pretty good Oklahoma team that can really boost their resume if they can pick up a win today.
-BAYLOR AT IOWA STATE (Big 12). Baylor looks like they can be a protected seed, and while this is not an easy road game by any stretch of the imagination, it is the kind of road game that protected seeds are expected to be able to win. Iowa State is 9-2 on the year with some pretty decent wins of their own, and this is a chance to improve their resume even more.
-MARQUETTE AT VILLANOVA (Big East). Villanova is 7-6, but they are also 5-1 in their last six games with the only loss being a very competitive game at Connecticut, so based on how they’ve been playing when you look at the rest of the schedule you feel like there isn’t a game left where they’re so overmatched that they can’t win it. They should be able to get this one at home against a decent Marquette team.
-NEW MEXICO AT WYOMING (Mountain West). New Mexico is unbeaten on the year, in the rankings, and having a bit of a dream season. They may be tested more than people think today by a Wyoming team that has struggled due to injuries, but that is still talented and could do some damage once they’re healthy again.
-WESTERN KENTUCKY AT MIDDLE TENNESSEE (Conference USA). WKU is 8-4 and is damn near out of strikes, especially after losing at Rice at home the other night. There is still a chance (albeit slim) for them to make a run at the bubble if they can play up to their ceiling and blow through conference play, but the loss to Louisville is really going to hurt them and they’re basically out of strikes. This won’t be an easy road game for them in the conference opener.
-SAN DIEGO STATE AT UNLV (Mountain West). UNLV is looking to bounce back from a very surprising loss the other night at San Jose State, but despite that they’re still in reasonably good shape and have a good chance at landing inside the bubble. A win today would certainly help. Having said that, a win today would look really good for San Diego State as well.
-SAM HOUSTON AT NEW MEXICO STATE (WAC). This will be a tough road game for Sam Houston, but they’ve already won a couple of really tough road games. I like this team’s resume and I love how they play defense. They can make a run at the bubble if they hold serve in league play. It’s a tough road game, but it’s the kind of game that tournament caliber teams need to be able to win.
-WEST VIRGINIA AT KANSAS STATE (Big 12). Both teams have bloated records, and West Virginia has played their way into the rankings, but most (albeit not quite all) of the wins for both teams have come from the pastry cart and they need some meet on their resumes. A win today would certainly help.
-SAINT MARY’S AT SANTA CLARA (West Coast). Santa Clara is coming off a really nice win against San Francisco earlier in the week, and if they can get this one then their resume will be worth a look from the committee. Saint Mary’s could use some good wins on their resume too, and this is one they’d get a decent amount of credit for given that it’s a road game and given how well Santa Clara has been playing.
OTHER NOTABLE GAMES/BUY GAMES:
-Virginia @ Georgia Tech (ACC) – this should be a winnable conference road game for UVA, which would be their second true road win of the year
-Yale @ Columbia (Ivy League) – Yale will pretty much have to run the table to get any sort of look from the committee
-Saint John’s @ Seton Hall (Big East) – Both teams seem to be a in a tailspin and could really use this one
-Florida State @ Duke (ACC)
-UMass Lowell @ NJIT (America East) – UMass Lowell will pretty much have to win out to get any serious consideration from the committee
-Fresno State @ Utah State (Mountain West) – A win for Utah State gets them to 12-2 and keeps them on pace to land inside the bubble
-Louisiana @ Old Dominion (Sun Belt) – Louisiana is 10-2 on the year and is amongst a group of teams in the Sun Belt that could land inside the bubble if they can finish at or near the top
-James Madison @ Marshall (Sun Belt) – Marshall is 11-2 on the year and is amongst a group of teams in the Sun Belt that could land inside the bubble if they can finish at or near the top
-Appalachian State @ Southern Miss (Sun Belt) – Southern Miss is 11-2 on the year and is amongst a group of teams in the Sun Belt that could land inside the bubble if they finish at or near the top
-Utah @ Stanford – this should be a winnable conference road game for Utah
-UTSA @ UAB (Conference USA)
-Pepperdine @ Gonzaga (West Coast) – conference opener for both teams
-San Diego @ San Francisco (West Coast) – San Francisco needs to bounce back and start stringing together wins again