NEWS AND NOTES:
For John Stalica’s UTR Game of the Day, which happens to have MASSIVE Centenary Award Implications – CLICK HERE
-Something that happened on Thursday that I just flat out forgot to mention yesterday’s was Charleston losing a second consecutive game, this time on the road at Drexel. Charleston’s record is solid, but their strength of schedule and the overall strength of the Colonial is not. If they need the at-large bid, then it will mean that they will have lost in the conference tournament, which would add a third damaging loss to their resume and that may not be enough despite the fact that just about a week ago they were ranked in the teens.
-Kent State, another UTR team that we’ve been championing, lost their big rivalry game on the road at Akron last night. Winning at Akron isn’t easy, but that’s precisely why Kent State needed to do it. They’re still a dangerous team, but chances are they’ll need to win the MAC Tournament to make the Round of 64.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-VIRGINIA AT VIRGINIA TECH (ACC). Virginia is a protected seed and VA Tech is an NIT team at best right now, but it is a rivalry game and it is on the road against a VA Tech team that’s played really well at home this year.
-KANSAS AT IOWA STATE (Big 12). It’s yet another Big 12 game between two teams that are within reach of a protected seed. Kansas is back on our #1 line, but this will be an exceptionally difficult road game. Iowa State was on fire, but they’ve now lost three of their last four, and two of the games in that stretch were rather surprising. Having said that, they should be amped WAAAY up for this one.
-MICHIGAN STATE AT RUTGERS (Big Ten) (Game in New York, NY). Both teams are inside our bubble, but it’s still an opportunity for both to add another nice win to their resume and to move up the seedlist. This game isn’t being played on Rutgers’s campus, but it will still count as a home game.
-AUBURN AT TENNESSEE (SEC). Tennessee has risen as high as #2 in the rankings and was once again receiving some chatter for a #1 seed, but they had a somewhat surprising loss on the road to Florida earlier this week. Still, they’re a very good team, especially when they’re at home. Auburn doesn’t have a win that totally blows you away yet, but it goes without saying that a win today would fall into that category.
-TCU AT OKLAHOMA STATE (Big 12). The Pokes are now squarely on our bubble, and appear to be playing their best basketball of the season right now. They’ve won four of their last five, and a win today would be another huge step toward making the field. TCU is dealing with an injury, and even though they have an amazing profile and have still won three of their last four, they do seem to be a little shorthanded, so this could be a very difficult game for them.
-ILLINOIS AT IOWA (Big Ten). So this game already has some great theater mixed in! If you don’t know the story of the Illinois students buying group tickets to this game and then having them revoked for claiming to be a non-profit charity, Google that story!! As far as what the game means on the court, it means quite a bit. Illinois is absolutely on fire right now having won seven of their last eight, and today they have the chance to add another quality road win to their resume. Iowa is inside our bubble, but their resume is a little more flimsy and they could use a win like this to help shore it up.
-MIAMI FL AT CLEMSON (ACC). This is a bit odd to say about a team that’s ranked in the top 5 and that’s in a tie for first place in the ACC…but this is kind of a pivotal game for Clemson. While they have a lot of good wins, they have some really bad losses as well, including their last game where they lost on the road to Boston College. Miami FL has gone through a spotty stretch, but they still have a shot at ending up as a protected seed and getting this win on the road would be huge for their resume.
-ARKANSAS AT SOUTH CAROLINA (SEC). Arkansas is talented, they have a few decent wins (albeit the key word there is “FEW”), but they don’t have a true road win yet. If they don’t get this one, I believe a strong case can be made that they don’t belong in the NCAA Tournament at all right now.
-PURDUE AT INDIANA (Big Ten). This is going to be a blast!! Purdue is the unanimous #1 team and unanimously at the top of our seedlist, but what they don’t have is a road win against a team that’s in the top 25. This would arguably be one of their biggest wins of the season up to this point if they’re able to pull it off. It won’t be easy. Indiana is 11-1 at home, and while they are coming off a loss at Maryland, they had been playing really well prior to that.
-TEXAS AT KANSAS STATE (Big 12). Another game between two teams that both appear to be solid protected seeds right now, and who could even reach the #1 line if they can finish the season strong. K State is coming off a loss at Kansas, but that is hardly a setback. They’d bounce right back with a win today. As for Texas, winning a road game like this would strengthen their case for a #2 seed (and possibly a #1 seed) even more.
-MISSOURI AT MISSISSIPPI STATE (SEC). Mississippi State is starting to inch their way close to the bubble, but they still have a ton of work to do. Missouri has been inside our bubble for most of the season, and we were certainly impressed with their recent win over Iowa State. A road win in a game like this will strengthen their resume even more.
-NORTH CAROLINA AT DUKE (ACC). These two schools are just EIGHT MILES APART!!! And…they’ve NEVER met in the NCAA Tournament (in an even numbered year)!!! North Carolina’s resume is very bland. Most who follow college basketball and who forecast brackets (including many at Hoops HD) still think of them as a tournament team, but I don’t see why. If UNC can win this one on the road, my opinion of them will change, but without this win there is just nothing there. Duke is safely in the top half of the bracket, but has quite a bit of room to improve as well. So, this is a rivalry game that means a lot to both teams both on and off paper.
-MARSHALL AT LOUISIANA (Sun Belt). The chances of either team landing inside the bubble are small, but they’re not quite zero either. Both teams have had good years, both could be dangerous in the Round of 64 if they’re able to get there, and this should be a fun game tonight.
-FLORIDA AT KENTUCKY (SEC). Our mock committee did not select Florida in our most recent bracket, but we had them very close, and I personally had them in my field (not that my personal opinion matters, but still). Neither of these teams really got their motors started until about mid-January, but both have been playing at a high level since then. Florida has won six of eight with the only losses being a close road loss to Texas A&M and another to a very good Kansas State team. They have some pretty solid wins in that stretch, including one against Tennessee in their last game. Kentucky has won five of six with the only loss being to Kansas, and also has a win at Tennessee in that stretch. Both can make the field, and both could really use this game on their resume, so it should be a fun one!
-MARYLAND AT MINNESOTA (Big Ten). I highlight this to emphasize just how much Maryland needs a road win, and just how much they cannot afford to fail to get one against Minnesota.
-GONZAGA AT SAINT MARY’S (West Coast). Gonzaga clearly has the better profile and is within range of a protected seed (and a win tonight would certainly help with that). but Saint Mary’s has been playing really well since conference play began and actually appears to be the better team on the court right now despite not getting the big OOC wins that Gonzaga got. This one is always fun, and it’s always important on paper, and it once again appears to be both of those things tonight.
OTHER NOTABLE GAMES:
-UConn @ Georgetown (Big East) – should be a winnable game for a UConn team that needs to start stringing together wins again
-Texas Tech @ Baylor (Big 12) – Texas Tech just picked up their first conference win earlier in the week, but are likely way overmatched tonight
-Wake Forest @ Notre Dame (ACC) – Wake is in a tailspin and if they want to get back inside the bubble they need to start stringing together wins
-Georgia Tech @ NC State (ACC) – should be a winnable game for an NC State team that appears to be heading toward The Dance
-Butler @ Marquette (Big East) – Marquette is playing as well as anyone in the Big East right now and should have no problems holding serve tonight
-Tulane @ Memphis (American) – Memphis is inside our bubble, but barely. They need to hold serve in this one
-Alabama @ LSU (SEC) – Bama crushed Vanderbilt in their last game and I expect them to win decisively again today
-Florida Atlantic @ Charlotte (Conference USA) – this is a big game for FAU because they need to bounce back after their loss at UAB
-Saint John’s @ Xavier (Big East) – Xavier has had to deal with some injuries, but they should be able to hold serve at home in this one
-Washington State @ UCLA (Pac 12) – Wazzu is probably the hardest team in the country with a losing record to beat, but UCLA should still be able to hold serve
-Villanova @ Creighton (Big East) – Villanova is starting to play better, but Creighton must hold serve at home as they are a team that is hovering around the bubble
-Utah State @ Colorado State (Mountain West) – Utah State had a nice win against New Mexico, and they can still reach the bubble, but their string of wins between now and the end of the season needs to be long in order for that to happen
-Georgia @ Texas A&M (SEC) – TAMU can reach the bubble and even get inside of it, but they need to keep winning
-Oregon State @ Arizona (Pac 12) – it’s a conference game, but it could end up looking like a buy game. Arizona should cruise
-Washington @ USC (Pac 12)- USC has put together an impressive stretch and string of wins, and the value of their resume keeps going up and up. They should be able to hold serve in this one.
-Oregon @ Arizona State (Pac 12) – Arizona State is now outside our bubble and needs to hold serve in this one and finish strong in order to make the field