HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-AUBURN AT WEST VIRGINIA (SEC/Big 12 Challenge). West Virginia has struggled in conference play, but this is a winnable home game against a good opponent, and they kind of need to win it because of how difficult it will be to get wins in conference play. Auburn is in the rankings and should be safely inside the bubble, but if you look at their team sheet there is certainly room for improvement and this would arguably be one of their best overall wins of the season to date.
-XAVIER AT CREIGHTON (Big East). Xavier is on a roll and is on pace to end up as a protected seed. Creighton’s resume is still a little flimsy and a win in a game like this could certainly help shore it up. They weren’t at full strength for a lot of their losses, but that makes games like this even more important because they have to demonstrate that they can beat good teams when they are at full strength.
-NC STATE AT WAKE FOREST (ACC). Most of the rest of Hoops HD likes NC State more than I do. I think this would arguably be their best win of the year considering it’s on the road against a Wake Forest team that’s right on the bubble and that’s a very impressive 10-1 at home. If NC State wins this, I’ll start to come around to believing in them a little more.
-ALABAMA AT OKLAHOMA (SEC/Big 12 Challenge). If the match-ups for this event were done two or three weeks prior to the event and not before the start of the season, these two probably wouldn’t be playing each other. Bama is within reach of the overall #1 seed and Oklahoma is trying to get inside the bubble. An upset win for the Sooners today would be a huge step in the right direction.
-IOWA STATE AT MISSOURI (SEC/Big 12 Challenge). Iowa State is having a fantastic year and is within reach of a protected seed. They take on their old Big Eight and Big 12 foes in Missouri, who is hovering around the bubble and who could give their resume a nice boost if they can pull off the win at home today.
-DUKE AT GEORGIA TECH (ACC). I highlight this because it is far more important than most realize. To date, Duke’s only true road win is at Boston College. If they can’t win this game today, then they’re going to struggle to win any of their remaining road games because they all appear to be harder than this one. No team has ever been selected for an at-large with fewer than two true road wins. EVER! Duke needs to beat the Bees today, because winning at Miami FL, Syracuse, Virginia, or North Carolina will be MUCH harder than winning at Georgia Tech.
-ILLINOIS AT WISCONSIN (Big Ten). We have both teams inside the bubble, but both also have room to improve. Wisconsin in particular has been in a bit of a tailspin and just needs to win a game like this to help pull them out of it.
-TCU AT MISSISSIPPI STATE (SEC/Big 12 Challenge). TCU looks like a solid protected seed and Mississippi State looks like a solid NIT team. But, like I always say, it’s tough to win on the road.
-ARKANSAS AT BAYLOR (SEC/Big 12 Challenge). Arkansas’s next road win will be their first, and it isn’t likely to come today against a Baylor team that is suddenly playing really well with five straight wins and a lot of those wins coming against teams that appear to be better than this Arkansas team.
-MIAMI FL AT PITTSBURGH (ACC). Pitt is right on our bubble, and was actually in our First Four when we built our latest seedlist last night, so a win like this would help shore up their resume and move them up the seedlist. Miami has hit a bit of a skid with three losses in their last six games, but they are still in very good shape and have a good chance of ending up as high as a protected seed.
-TEXAS AT TENNESSEE (SEC/Big 12 Challenge). Both teams are ranked in the top ten, both are on pace to earn protected seeds, and depending on how things play out it’s not too far of a stretch to think one or both could end up as a #1 seed. The best way to get up to the #1 line is to win against other protected seeds in games like this. It’s also a Rick Barnes Derby!! This one should be fun!
-KANSAS AT KENTUCKY (SEC/Big 12 Challenge). This is one of the more intriguing games of the day. Kansas is on a three game l0sing streak, but is so good that they could still end up as a #1 seed at the end of the year if they can turn things around. Kentucky was heading toward an abyss, but seems to have pulled themselves out of the quicksand and has strung together several nice wins. “Nice” is an understatement for how good this win would be if they can pull it off against Kansas.
-OHIO STATE AT INDIANA (Big Ten). Ohio State is on our bubble, and right now I feel like they belong outside of it, but my mind will certainly change if they can win a road game like this one. Indiana had gone through a bit of a slump, but has won four straight and appears to be playing well now.
OTHER NOTABLE GAMES:
-Boston College @ Virginia (ACC) – could end up looking a lot like a buy game even though it’s a conference game
-Minnesota @ Northwestern (Big Ten) – Northwestern is inside the bubble, but they are close to the edge of it and need to hold serve in games like this
-Marquette @ DePaul (Big East) – I think Marquette looks as good as anyone else in the Big East right now, and that this should be a winnable road game for them
-Cincinnati @ Houston (American) – Houston, despite a recent loss to Temple, is still within reach of a #1 seed and should be able to hold serve today
-Texas State @ Southern Miss (Sun Belt) – Southern Miss has an outside shot at best of landing inside the bubble, but if they win out they should at least get a look
-Hofstra @ Charleston (Colonial) – this is likely Charleston’s toughest remaining regular season game, but it’s one they should still manage to win
-Western Kentucky @ Florida Atlantic (Conference USA) – WKU has some talent and could give FAU some fits, but FAU is just on an absolute rampage and should be able to hold serve in this one
-Seton Hall @ Butler (Big East) – Seton Hall is trying to play their way onto (and I suppose inside of) the bubble, so they need to hold serve in games like this
-Nebraska @ Maryland (Big Ten) – I’m not as big on Maryland as most others are, but I certainly think they’ll be able to hold serve in this one
-Clemson @ Florida State (ACC) – Florida State is playing better, but this is still a road game that Clemson should be able to win
-Arizona @ Washington (Pac 12) – I won’t go so far to say that this will be an easy road win for Arizona, but it is absolutely a game that a protected seeded caliber team is expected to win
-Florida @ Kansas State (SEC/Big 12 Challenge) – Florida has been playing better, but not so much better that I think they can knock off K State on the road, who’s playing as well as anyone in the country right now
-Saint Bonaventure @ VCU (Atlantic Ten) – If VCU wins out, I think they land inside the bubble. I also think they are good enough to win out
-Gonzaga @ Portland (West Coast) – this should be an easy road win for the Zags, but they’ve been sweating more than normal these past few weeks
-Utah State @ Fresno State (Mountain West) – I am becoming less and less of a believer in Utah State, but the opportunities for them to make a run at the bubble are there if they can finish strong
-Arizona State @ Washington State (Pac 12) – Arizona State is on the bubble and needs to win all the games they play against teams that are nowhere near the bubble
-Utah @Oregon (Pac 12) – both teams are outside the bubble and would need a very strong finish in order to get there, but both will have the chances they need to do it
-Colorado State @ Boise State (Mountain West) – I think Boise State is inside the bubble, but most at Hoops HD feel they are squarely on it. Nevertheless, we will all agree that they can’t afford to lose a game like this
-Ole Miss @ Oklahoma State (SEC/Big 12 Challenge) – Oklahoma State is outside of our bubble, but we still feel they may be good enough to make a run at it. They need to hold serve today, though
-Vanderbilt @ Texas A&M (SEC) – TAMU is playing much better and will end up in the field if they keep it up
-San Jose State @ San Diego State (Mountain West) – San Diego State is safely inside the bubble and should be able to hold serve against a San Jose State team that’s improving as a program, but still has a very long way to go
-Saint Mary’s @ BYU (West Coast) – I really like how this SMC team is playing and think they can continue to climb both the rankings and the seedlist
-Nevada @ UNLV (Mountain West) – it’s a rivalry game, but it’s a road game that Nevada needs to win if they want to stay within reach of the bubble