NEWS, NOTES, AND HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
New Mexico won an overtime thriller against a really good Boise State team 81-79. I think both teams are good enough to end up inside the bubble. For New Mexico it adds another notable win to their resume. For Boise State, it was a missed opportunity to pick up a huge road win, but was hardly a setback.
-MIAMI FL AT DUKE (ACC). Miami is a really strong team that is flirting with a protected seed, and Duke is solidly inside the bubble but has room to improve. I think whichever team pulls off this win will be nudged forward a little bit, and it should be a good game.
-TCU AT KANSAS (Big 12). The Big Twelve gives us multiple games each week between teams that are within reach of a protected seed. Kansas, despite the loss at Kansas State, is still probably on pace to get a #1 seed and should be able to rebound today even though TCU is really good. A win on the road at Kansas would is a tall order, and a failure to do so will not set TCU back at all. If they were to pull it off, though, it would shoot them WAAY up the seedlist and the rankings!
-THE CITADEL AT VMI (SoCon). We are highlighting this simply because of how much fun this game usually is!! Check it out!! It’s a very unique and very great rivalry!
-NAVY AT ARMY (Patriot League). If we’re going to highlight Citadel @ VMI, then we might as well highlight this one as well for the same reason!
-UCLA AT ARIZONA (Pac 12). This is perhaps one of the better games of the day. UCLA has been on a rampage for most of the season, but this would by far be their highest caliber win if they are able to pull this off. Arizona had been in a bit of a funk (at least by protected seed standards), but they looked like their old selves last night against USC and should be jacked way up for this one!
-VIRGINIA AT WAKE FOREST (ACC). Virginia is a solid protected seed, but they will be tested on the road today by a Wake team that is squarely on the bubble and who could really use this win. Wake is unbeaten at home, and even though it would be a home win it would still give their resume a much needed boost. This one should be fun. It’ll probably be better than what most are expecting.
-IOWA STATE AT OKLAHOMA STATE (Big 12). Iowa State has been playing fantastic and is looking more and more like a protected seed as the season goes on. Oklahoma State is outside the bubble, but they can get within reach of it in a hurry if they can just string together some wins given how strong this conference is. They should have some momentum built up after their big win in Bedlam earlier this week.
-IOWA AT OHIO STATE (Big Ten). Ohio State is on life support and could really use a win so they can snap their five game losing streak. Iowa had been on life support, but has bounced back. They’ve not got a solid tournament profile and look like a solid tournament team on the court. A road win in a game like this would add another piece to it.
-TEXAS A&M AT KENTUCKY (SEC). TAMU is unbeaten in SEC play, but they are also untested in SEC play. They will be tested today against a Kentucky team that appeared to be in free fall, but who has seemingly found themselves in the last week and is now playing at a noticeably higher level.
-MARQUETTE AT SETON HALL (Big East). Marquette is having a great year, but this would be their biggest road win of the year to date, so it’s a bigger game than what it may look like at first glance. It’s also perhaps a harder game than what it looks like at first glance. Seton Hall is outside the bubble, but they’ve won four straight, two of those were on the road, and one was against UConn. They are suddenly playing really well and can make up quite a bit of ground rather quickly if they keep stringing together wins.
-BAYLOR AT OKLAHOMA (Big 12). Baylor is a team that I think is being a little undervalued. They did lose three straight games, but two were games that came down to the final seconds against highly ranked teams, and they have followed up that stretch by winning three straight games. This won’t be an easy road game, but it’s a game they’re certainly capable of winning against an Oklahoma team that appears to be sliding down the seedlist.
-NORTH TEXAS AT UAB (Conference USA). North Texas may be out of strikes. If they lose this game, there will be no “may be” about it. Their only way win will likely be the auto-bid.
-COLORADO STATE AT WYOMING (Mountain West, Front Range). We at Hoops HD LOVE the Front Range!!!!!
-NC STATE AT NORTH CAROLINA (ACC). North Carolina has no wins of any real substance other than perhaps a home win against Charleston. Despite this being a home game, it would arguably be their best win of the year if they pull it off. NC State has won seven of their last eight and picked up some nice road wins in that stretch. They’ll be challenged again today, and this is a rivalry game which adds a little more to it. In short, it’s a rivalry game between two teams that could really use this win on their resume.
-ALABAMA AT MISSOURI (SEC). We all agree that Alabama is a #1 seed right now, and I feel that they should be the top #1 seed, but others feel that they need to do a little more. Well, winning at Missouri would fall under the category of “a little more.” Missouri could really use a win like this as well. They are inside the bubble, but not so far inside of it that they are incapable of slipping off out of it. A win today over a team that’s as good as Bama would be huge even if it is a home game.
-TEXAS AT WEST VIRGINIA (Big 12). Texas keeps racking up wins and keeps looking like a protected seed. West Virginia is probably a legit top 40 team. The problem is that so many teams in the Big 12 are legit top 20 teams and racking up any sort of wins is tough. They need this one, even though they are at home. If they can’t get to 7 conference wins I don’t think they have much of a shot at beings elected.
-SANTA CLARA AT SAINT MARY’S (West Coast). I think Saint Mary’s is not just safely in the field, but safely in the top half of the bracket. I also like how this Santa Clara team has been playing. If they can win a game like this, they’d be making a serious case for themselves. This one should be fun!!
-USC AT ARIZONA STATE (Pac 12). Right now we have Arizona State inside the bubble, and they need to win this game in order to stay there. We also have USC outside the bubble, and they need to win this game in order to get there. With Arizona State and UCLA coming up, this is a HUGELY important stretch for USC and their Tournament chances.
OTHER NOTABLE GAMES:
-Georgetown @ Xavier (Big East) – Georgetown is looking for their first conference win and Xavier is looking to hold serve
-Charleston @ Northeastern (Colonial) – Charleston should be able to hold serve and pick up yet another conference road win
-Ole Miss @ Arkansas (SEC) – Arkansas is in a tailspin and needs to take advantage of what should be a very winnable home game to help pull themselves out of it
-UCF @ South Florida (American) – UCF is outside of our bubble, but they do have a path to landing inside of it. They need to hold serve in games like this, though, even though it’s a road game
-Vanderbilt @ Georgia (SEC) – Georgia may be in a position to make a run at the bubble, but they need to hold serve in games like this
-Texas Tech @ Kansas State (Big 12) – K State should be able to hold serve in this one without too much trouble
-DePaul @ Providence (Big East) – DePaul is coming off a big home win against Xavier, but winning on the road at Providence is an entirely different level of hard. Providence is still within reach of a protected seed
-Nebraska @ Penn State (Big Ten) – Penn State is squarely on our bubble and needs to hold serve in games like this in order to keep from being knocked outside of it
-Florida State @ Pittsburgh (ACC) – Pitt is inside our bubble and we believe they’ll be able to stay there so long as they keep holding serve
-Auburn @ South Carolina (SEC) – Auburn has won 4 straight and can pick up their 4th road win of the season today
-Tennessee @ LSU (SEC) – Tennessee had the setback against Kentucky, but they’re coming off a nice road win at Mississippi State and have another winnable road win today, which should keep them solidly around the 2/3 lines
-Virginia Tech @ Clemson (ACC) – Clemson is coming off a loss, but they’ve held serve in the ACC and looked impressive enough to where it looks like they’ll make the field. I expect that they’ll hold serve again at home today
-San Jose State @ Utah State (Mountain West) – Utah State has a lot of wins, but nothing else about their resume really jumps out at you yet. They need to hold serve in this one and keep stringing together wins, though. They do have a chance to get in
-Washington @ Utah (Pac 12) – We’ve got Utah on the outside looking in, but we have them close enough to where they can get in if they play well down the stretch
-Florida @ Mississippi State (SEC) – Mississippi State is just 1-6 in their last seven games and needs to pull themselves out of the tailspin that they’re in
-Florida Atlantic @ UTEP (Conference USA) – FAU is really playing well, and has a long string of wins going, and should be able to continue that today even though UTEP can be tough to beat on the road
-Gonzaga @ Pacific (West Coast) – Gonzaga should be able to bounce back from their somewhat (but only somewhat) surprising loss to LMU earlier this week
-San Diego State @ Air Force (Mountain West) – this could be a tricky road game for San Diego State, but it’s still a game they should win
-Cal State Bakersfield @ UC Santa Barbara (Big West) – If UCSB can win out, which won’t be easy but it’s something they’re good enough to do, then I think they’ll end up getting a serious look from the committee