NEWS AND NOTES:
-For John Stalica’s UTR Game of the Day – CLICK HERE
-Iowa State knocked off Kansas State 80-76 in last night’s edition of ‘Big 12 Protected Seeds.’ K State hit a field goal drought in the second half and Iowa State appeared to be in control, but K State fought back, but just couldn’t come all the way back.
-Kent State, who was unbeaten in the MAC and who we figured could get inside the bubble if they ran the table or came close to it, suffered a HUGE setback last night when they lost at Northern Illinois 86-76. It’s tough to win on the road in the MAC, but Northern Illinois is not the toughest place in the MAC to win at, so this was a bit of a disappointing loss. I don’t know if it completely eliminates them, but even for someone like me who has been championing Kent State all year long, I’ve got to admit that it at least MOSTLY eliminates them, and that one of the games Kent State needs to win is that last MAC Conference Tournament game if they want to make the field.
-North Carolina picked up a road win at Syracuse 72-68 and while the game was close the Tarheels held the lead for most of it. This is a bigger deal than what most may realize because up until last night North Carolina’s only road win was at Louisville, and I’m not sure that even counts as a road win this year.
-Other than that, it was a mostly chalky night last night with no surprises or cataclysmic results.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-XAVIER AT UCONN (Big East). Both teams are still in the hunt for a protected seed. UConn just recently ended a stretch where they had lost five out of six, and the start of that skid was a loss at Xavier back on New Years Eve, so it’s a chance for the Huskies to add to their resume, climb the seedlist, and climb the rankings. As for Xavier, this would probably be their best win of the season to date if they’re able to pull it off.
-HOUSTON AT UCF (American). I would have thought this would be Houston’s toughest remaining game, and it still might be, but UCF has gone into the tank a little bit with two straight losses to teams that are nowhere near the field. In fact the only way UCF can probably play their way back inside the bubble is if they can get this win today. Houston is coming off a somewhat surprising loss and probably won’t be caught sleepwalking, though.
-GEORGIA AT TENNESSEE (SEC). Georgia has been playing a lot better, but if they want to get all the way inside the bubble they’ll need to win a game like this. Tennessee is still within reach of a #1 seed, especially with opportunities against Texas, Auburn, and Alabama still on their schedule, but they’ll need to hold serve today.
-WAKE FOREST AT PITTSBURGH (ACC). This is a hugely important bubblicious type of game where both teams have played well, but both still have some work to do if they want to land safely inside the bubble. A win tonight would certainly help.
-WISCONSIN AT MARYLAND (Big Ten). Wisconsin has dropped two straight games, but we still believe to be very safely inside the bubble even though they are currently going in the wrong direction. Maryland is coming off a game where they nearly won at Purdue, which would have been huge, but as it is they still need to do some work if they want to land safely inside the bubble and a win today at home would certainly help.
-TEXAS A&M AT AUBURN (SEC). TAMU is 5-1 in SEC play after a rather unspectacular start to the season. The thing is they haven’t exactly faced the top teams in the conference, and while they played well at a loss at Kentucky their last time out, they didn’t get the win. If they want to get the committee’s attention, they need to win a game like this.
-UTAH STATE AT SAN DIEGO STATE (Mountain West). A lot of people like Utah State, but we at Hoops HD have pretty much had them outside the bubble for the entire season. In order for that to change they need to win a game like this one. San Diego State is solidly in our field and will remain there if they keep holding serve in what is turning out to be a rather competitive Mountain West Conference.
OTHER NOTABLE GAMES:
-West Virginia @ Texas Tech (Big 12) – This isn’t an easy game for WVU to win, but it’s probably less hard than most of the games remaining on their schedule, so they need to find a way to do it if they want any shot at all of making the field
-Northwestern @ Nebraska (Big Ten) – this is a winnable road game for a Northwestern team that’s been playing really well
-South Carolina @ Florida (SEC) – the Gators have been playing better and some believe they still have a chance to make a run at the bubble. They can’t afford to drop this one tonight
-George Mason @ VCU (Atlantic Ten) – if anyone from the A10 has any shot at all at landing inside the bubble it’s VCU, and they basically need to win out to do it
-Butler @ Providence (Big East) – Providence is solidly in the top half of our bracket right now
-Mississippi State @ Alabama (SEC) – Bama is solidly on the #1 line and will stay there so long as they hold serve and don’t drop any losses at home to teams that are outside the bubble
-Saint John’s @ Creighton (Big East) – Creighton is on the bubble and I would advise them not to lose this one
-Indiana @ Minnesota (Big Ten) – this is a very winnable road game for an Indiana team that is suddenly playing very well