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HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-OKLAHOMA STATE AT KANSAS STATE (Big 12). K State had one of the best weeks of the season that anyone will ever have after beating two ranked teams on the road. They’re playing at a really high level all of a sudden and should be able to hold serve at home against an Oklahoma State team that really needs some big wins if they want to make the field.
-MICHIGAN STATE AT WISCONSIN (Big Ten). Michigan State has won six straight and is coming off a feelgood win over rival Michigan, but no game in that stretch was as tough to win as this one will be. Wisconsin is in the rankings and although they’re coming off a loss at Illinois they’re extremely difficult to beat at home.
-TEXAS TECH AT IOWA STATE (Big 12). Iowa State has won five in a row, and shot up the rankings after winning two games on the road last week. They should be able to take care of business against a Texas Tech team that’s good, but that’s also struggling and really needs a big win. They’ve lost three straight, but all were close losses to really good teams. A win on the road in a game like this would quickly turn things around for them.
-OKLAHOMA AT KANSAS (Big 12). Oklahoma is a team that appears to be inside the bubble, and Kansas is a team that appears to be within reach of the #1 line. The Jayhawks should hold serve at home.
-NORTH CAROLINA AT VIRGINIA (ACC). North Carolina is still looking for their first true road win of the year, and based on how these two teams have been playing it doesn’t appear very likely it will happen tonight. Virginia is highly ranked and solidly in the hunt for a protected seed.
-AIR FORCE AT COLORADO STATE (Mountain West) (Front Range). WE AT HOOPS HD LOVE THE FRONT RANGE!!!!!
-NEVADA AT SAN DIEGO STATE (Mountain West). San Diego State is into the rankings, on pace to land solidly in the top half of the bracket, and appears to be the best team in the Mountain West. Nevada is looking for some statement wins that would get the attention of the selection committee, and a win tonight would certainly do the trick.
OTHER NOTABLE GAMES:
-Butler @ Saint John’s (Big East) – The Johnnies are starting to slide off the bubble and can’t afford to lose at home to a Butler team that’s nowhere near it
-South Carolina @ Kentucky (SEC) – Kentucky doesn’t have much in the way of big wins, so failing to hold serve in a game like this would be highly damaging
-Florida @ LSU (SEC) – LSU is good enough to land inside the bubble, but they need to hold serve in games like this in order to do it
-Toledo @ Kent State (MAC) – I say this before every game, but I think there is room for Kent State inside the bubble if they can blow through the conference
-Vanderbilt @ Tennessee (SEC) – Tennessee appears to be a solid protected seed caliber team
-Auburn @ Ole Miss (SEC) – This should be a winnable road game for the Tigers. It’s the kind of road game that a tournament caliber team should be able to win
-Villanova @ DePaul (Big East) – Nova looked like they were getting better, but at just 8-8 they need to start stringing together wins if they want any sort of a chance of making the field
-Illinois @ Nebraska (Big Ten) – Nebraska isn’t the easiest team in the world to beat, especially at home, but it’s still a road game that Illinois should be expected to win
-Wyoming @ Utah State (Mountain West) – Utah State shouldn’t have too much trouble holding serve in this one