NEWS AND NOTES:
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-Charleston at UNC Wilmington was one of the more important games of the night and it’s unfortunate that a lot of people probably didn’t get to see it. FloHoops had the rights, it is a pay service, and the general fan just doesn’t subscribe. Charleston was incredibly impressive in the first half and appeared to be in control. UNCW made a run in the second half to close the gap, and then got the lead very late in the game with the crowd going nuts. Charleston was able to make big plays in the final minute despite being on the road and having all the momentum against them, and held on to win 71-69. UNC Wilmington had a chance to win at the buzzer, but a would be game winning shot was blocked. A foul as time expired gave Charleston two freethrows where they made the first, then missed the second, and then UNCW had a three-quarters court shot that actually hit the rim, but didn’t go down. A lot happened in the last second of play!!
-Houston had to sweat a lot more than we expected, but they held on to beat a rather weak South Florida team 83-77 at home.
-Alabama is a #1 seed caliber team. I am now convinced of that. Earlier in the year they won at Houston, who’s ranked #1 right now. Last night, they won at Arkansas, who is a possible/probable protected seeded caliber team. They’re not perfect. They do have losses to UConn and Gonzaga, but the collection of good wins that this team has at the top of their profile is as good as what anyone else in the country has done. They didn’t just win at Arkansas, but won handily 84-69.
-UConn has now lost 3 of their last 4 after starting the season off 14-0. While that’s aggravating for the Huskies, I’m not sure it’s anything more than that. All three of those losses were against ranked teams on the road, and all three were competitive games. Perhaps UConn isn’t the #2 team in the nation, but they’re probably still one of the ten best teams. They seesawed back and forth with Marquette last night before coming up short 82-76. Marquette has now won eight of their last nine, is 14-4 overall, and is climbing both the rankings and the seedlist themselves.
-TCU appeared to be handling Texas at Texas last night, and on their way to one of the more impressive road performances we’ve seen all year. Then the second half started, Texas chipped away, then drew even, then went ahead and held on for a 79-75 win.
-Creighton could have really used a massive road win, and they came real close to getting it at Xavier last night. The Bluejays held a lead for most of the second half, but Xavier kept it close and finally got control with less than a minute to go and held on (after nearly giving it away in the final seconds) 90-87.
-Missouri was blown out at Texas A&M 82-64. This doesn’t break Missouri’s back, but it sure as hell stubs their toes. They have a really good 13-3 overall record, but when they’ve lost games, they have not messed around in doing so.
-Pitt seemed to be in control of Duke for about 25 minutes, but then Duke caught fire and ended up getting a much needed 77-69 win. Duke still has some holes on their resume that needs patching up, but holding serve against a good Pitt team certainly helps with their stability.
-It’s time to start having questions about Mississippi State. They lost at Georgia last night 58-50 and that bloated early season record that they racked up against a somewhat weak schedule is not looking all that impressive.
-Baylor had been in a bit of a tailspin, and picking up a road win at West Virginia last night was huge. None of their losses were bad, but it was a bit of a death by paper cuts situation to where they were starting to pile up. It’s their first Big 12 win, so it was one that Baylor kind of needed to get momentum shifted back in the right direction.
-Memphis and UCF were two teams that were hovering around the bubble that really needed some big wins, and last night they faced off against each other in a double overtime thriller that was close all throughout. UCF finally held on for a much needed 107-104 win. Memphis could have really used this win for their resume as well, especially since it was a road game.
-Indiana no longer looks anything like a top 25 team, and one needs to start wondering if they even look like an NCAA Tournament team. They were basically blown out at Penn State last night 85-66, and are now just 1-4 in Big Ten play.
-UAB lost at home to Western Kentucky 80-78. This is their third close loss in a row, but it’s also a second loss in a row to a team that is nowhere near the NIT right now, much less the NCAA Tournament. UAB still has a high ceiling, but unless they win the Conference USA Tournament I don’t see them making the NCAAs.
-Boise State got a hugely impressive road win at UNLV last night 84-66. UNLV was a team that we thought was on the bubble, but they’ve now lost 3 of their last 4 and are going in the wrong direction. Boise State, on the other hand, has our attention after winning that decisively on the road.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-MICHIGAN AT IOWA (Big Ten). Both teams have shown that they can play at a high level, but both have only done so a limited number of times this season. Both still have work to do, and both could use this win tonight.
-ARIZONA STATE AT OREGON (Pac 12). Some say they feel that Arizona State’s 13-3 record is a bit of a mirage, and while I agree that it could be a BIT of one, I don’t agree that it is a COMPLETE one. Like most road games this will be a tough one to win, but it’s a game that they can and should win if they really are a solid tournament caliber team.
-SOUTHERN MISS AT MARSHALL (Sun Belt). Both teams are good, but both are outside the bubble and seem to be sliding further and further away from being able to reach it. Nevertheless, this is an important game on paper for that reason, and it should be a fun and exciting game on the court as well.
-GONZAGA AT BYU (West Coast). Gonzaga has struggled in their last two road games, but won them both. BYU isn’t in our field right now, but a win tonight would result in them taking a big step forward. They’re also 7-1 at home, so it won’t be a cakewalk for the Zags at all.
-UTAH AT UCLA (Pac 12). Utah has some really good notable wins, but they haven’t always been consistently good. I still think they’re a tournament team, and even though they’re overmatched tonight it’s a chance to really boost the value of their profile if they can pull off a huge upset win against a top ten UCLA team.
OTHER NOTABLE GAMES:
-Minnesota @ Ohio State (Big Ten) – Ohio State shouldn’t have too much trouble holding serve at home
-Colorado @ USC (Pac 12) – The Trojans have had their ups and downs, but as of now the ups seem to be outnumbering the downs, and they should be able to hold serve tonight and stay inside the bubble
-Sam Houston @ Southern Utah (WAC) – Sam Houston is a good team, but their resume can’t handle too many more losses. If they can blow through the rest of league play the committee should give them a serious look, though
-LMU @ Saint Mary’s (West Coast) – This SMC team is really good and they should be able to hold serve at home tonight
-Arizona @ Oregon State (Pac 12) – this should be a winnable road game for an Arizona team that’s looking to bounce back from a rather surprising home loss to Washington State