NEWS AND NOTES:
-For our latest HOOPS HD REPORT, where we discuss all of the teams from the major conferences, recap last week, and preview this week – CLICK HERE
-For John Stalica’s UTR Game of the Day – CLICK HERE
-About 24hrs after I had professed that Texas should be on the #1 line, they go on the road and lose to a Texas Tech team that isn’t even inside the bubble. I know this rivalry is heated, and is especially heated recently because of the storyline, but still. A #1 seed caliber team should win that game on the road. As for the Red Raiders, they have a long way to go to reach the bubble, but is it now at least possible?
-Miami FL got a nice road win at North Carolina, and Baylor didn’t really have to sweat West Virginia
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-GEORGETOWN AT SETON HALL (Big East). Seton Hall is hovering around the bubble and can end up in the field if they finish the season strong. This is more or less a buy game for the, so if they slip up in this one they’re really in trouble.
-CREIGHTON AT PROVIDENCE (Big East). Both teams are in the rankings and both appear to be solidly in the field right now. Creighton in particular has been on an absolute rampage, but Providence has proven to be extremely tough to beat at home, so this should be a showcase and it’s a chance for both teams to continue to boos their resumes and climb the seedlist.
-NC STATE AT SYRACUSE (ACC). NC State is 9-2 in their last 11 games, and they’ve racked up that record against ACC opponents. This should be a winnable road game for them, but Syracuse is good enough to where you can’t overlook them when you’re playing htem on their floor. Still, NC State is looking more and more like a team that will go in on the first ballot and who should be able to get this one tonight.
-NOTRE DAME AT DUKE (ACC). Duke kind of got punched in the mouth over the weekend after losing a close one at Virginia and some poor officiating mixed in, but they need to (and should be able to ) bounce back from that tonight and keep themselves in the top half of the bracket.
-ILLINOIS AT PENN STATE (Big Ten). Penn State was looking like a solid team for a while, but that was also a while ago. Illinois is a team that I feel has been playing really well and may actually be better than their resume indicates. They have a chance to move up the seedlist between now and the end of the year, and should be able to get his one even though it’s a road game.
-MISSOURI AT AUBURN (SEC). Missouri just picked up what was easily their biggest win of the year, and in doing so moved themselves much further inside the bubble. They’ve got a chance at another big road win tonight. Auburn is playing with fire and needs some notable wins to stabilize their resume. Therefore, they really need this one tonight.
-KENT STATE AT WESTERN MICHIGAN (MAC). Kent State MIGHT get a look from the committee if they win out, but even with that they may not get selected.
-NEBRASKA AT RUTGERS (Big Ten). This should be some low hanging fruit for Rutgers, and they should be able to get this conference win at home.
-KANSAS AT OKLAHOMA STATE (Big 12). If there was one game I wish I could be at this week, or perhaps even this month, it’s this one! Oklahoma State has been playing very well, they have a ton of momentum built up, and believe it or not they can actually pull even with Kansas in the conference standings if they pull off this win tonight. Not to mention add another big win to their resume and climb the seedlist even more. Many feel like Kansas is sitll a #1 seed despite some of their recent losses. I think a win tonight would go a long way toward them ending up with a 1 seed.
-KANSAS STATE AT OKLAHOMA (Big 12). There are eight really solid teams in this conference, and Oklahoma isn’t one of them. They do have some big wins this season, though, including a win over Alabama at home, so K State can’t just overlook them.
-BOSTON COLLEGE AT PITTSBURGH (ACC). This current ACC/Former Big East game should be a routine win for a Pitt team that has been getting better and better as the season has gone along.
-MICHIGAN AT WISCONSIN (Big Ten). Wisky is drowning in quicksand, and they need to turn things around in a hurry and start stringing together wins just to get back inside the bubble so they can make the field.
-WYOMING AT NEW MEXICO (Mountain West). New Mexico is inside the bubble, but in that 10-12 seed range where they aren’t exactly safely inside of it. They need to hold serve tonight.