NEWS AND NOTES:
-If you are at all a fan of college basketball, and you wanted to pick a day to sort of take a break from it, then I hope to hell that day wasn’t yesterday!!
-Alabama had to sweat out yet another opponent. This time it was at home against an Arkansas team that REALLY could have used a win of this caliber, but Bama managed to come from behind in the second half and escape with an 86-83 win.
-West Virginia went to Kansas, and it looked to be a game where they were shooting at the moon. The thing is, they almost hit the moon! WVU played what was perhaps their most impressive games of the season, and had a chance to tie or win on their final possession of the game, but came up just short 76-74. This would have been a huge difference maker and likely virtually locked WVU into the field had they been able to pull it off.
-Indiana had beaten Purdue earlier this season, but that was at home and not many people expected them to be able to do it again at Purdue. Well…they DID do it again! In what was one of the more impressive singular wins of the season for any team, they totally controlled the second half and upset their rivals 79-71 for the regular season sweep. It’s a win that gives them bragging rights, and that should shoot them way up the seedlist!
-Arizona was (and still is) a solid protected seed, and they were at home against rivals Arizona State who was outside the bubble and who needed a monster win just to get a look. This game was close all throughout, but Arizona appeared to win it in the final seconds and deny Arizona State a huge rivalry road win that they really needed on their resume. And then…as time expired…Arizona hit a last second desperation heave from beyond mid court for an 89-88 win that puts them back within reach of making the NCAA Tournament.
-Miami FL struggled at home against rivals Florida State, who have not been good at all this year, but who played a great game yesterday. Miami hit what appeared to be a winning shot in the final seconds and were set to escape with a win and stay within reach of a protected seed, but then….Florida State hit a long 3-pointer at the buzzer to pull off the 85-84 upset.
-San Diego State managed to pick up one of their best wins of the season as they went on the road to New Mexico, and faced a team who desperately needed a big win to help build up their resume and to pull themselves out of the quicksand they had been sinking in to. This was another really good game that was played at a high level, and New Mexico hit a shot to put them ahead with just 6 seconds to go. San Diego State then came down….and….hit a shot at the buzzer for the 73-71 win!! This one wasn’t quite as dramatic as the others, though. It was just a regular shot and not a half court heave. On paper it’s a really nice win for San Diego State and a big missed opportunity for a New Mexico team that needed a big win.
-There was a FOURTH buzzer beater yesterday in a de facto Ohio Valley Conference Tournament game where Lindenwood and Little Rock were playing for the final spot in the OVC Tournament. The winner would qualify, and the loser’s season would end. It went into overtime, and as time was expiring Lindenwood hit a deep 3 for the win. I don’t know this for sure, but I think Little Rock may be leading the nation in most losses either in overtime or by 3pts or less. They’ve got 8 of those, BTW.
-Kansas State got another nice 73-68 road win against an Oklahoma State team that REALLY needed to win this game. The Pokes have now lost four straight, and have the kind of resume that really could go either way right now as to whether or not the committee will select them.
-Baylor held of Texas 81-72 in a battle of top ten teams that could both end up on the #2 line or better.
-Gonzaga avenged their early season loss to Saint Mary’s 77-68. They actually had a big lead early in the second half and SMC fought back, but could not come all the way back. The two are tied in the standings, and the tiebreaker will be the NET, so SMC will still likely end up with the #1 seed in the WCC Tournament.
-Creighton was upset at Villanova yesterday, which was a bit of a surprise considering how well Creighton had been playing recently, and how much Villanova has been struggling this year. Nova has had quite a week! They’ve managed to beat two top 20 opponents. Its’ not nearly enough to get them within eyesight of the bubble, but it was a damn good week and they are now a very respectable 9-9 in the Big East.
-Virginia’s stretch of playing poorly continues. It’s not easy to win at North Carolina, but prior to two weeks ago Virginia was playing at the caliber of a protected seed, and it was the kind of game you’d expect them to be able to win. They ended up losing 71-63 and picking up their second straight loss. As for UNC, it was probably their biggest win of the season and a win that puts them from being outside the bubble to perhaps right on it.
-Oklahoma pulled off an upset against Iowa State on the road 61-50, and suddenly the Cyclones are looking a lot less shiny than they were looking just a few weeks ago.
-TCU got a huge 83-82 road win against a Texas Tech team who had been playing really well and was starting to look like they might make the NCAA Tournament, but who also needed to keep stringing together wins. This helps pull TCU out of a bit of a slump, and knocks Texas Tech a little further outside the bubble.
-Texas A&M had been on a rampage, and had put together two really big wins last week, but couldn’t keep it up yesterday as they fell on the road 69-62 to a Mississippi State team that is squarely on the bubble, and who has played really well at home, and who really needed the win themselves yesterday.
-Clemson has lost multiple games this year that should have been as easy to win as a typical buy game. They’ve also played games where they’ve looked absolutely fantastic. Yesterday it was the latter. They went on the road to face a good NC State team that’s been even better at home, and absolutely blew them to the moon. The final score was 96-71, and the game was over well before the first half ended.
-Michigan State and Iowa was a double overtime thriller where neither team could miss in the second half. It was tied at halftime, tied at the end of regulation, and tied at the end of the first overtime. Iowa finally prevailed 112-106, and it is a win that will help their resume some, but both teams appear to be solidly inside the bubble right now.
-Kentucky absolutely thrashed Auburn 86-54. It was a game that could have really helped out Auburn had they won, but they came up just 32 points short. Is Kentucky FINALLY starting to play at the caliber a lot of us were expecting to see back in October?
-Boise State, who has been straddling the bubble for weeks, suffered a costly loss yesterday at San Jose State 74-68. It was a road game, and San Jose State isn’t terrible, but it’s still a game that a team who is on the bubble needs to win if they want to land on the right side of the cut line.
-USC picked up their second road win of the week as they knocked off Utah 62-49. Neither Colorado or Utah are teams that are inside the bubble, but to go on the road and beat both of them is a big deal for a USC team that is on the bubble and who needs to land on the right side of it.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-NORTHWESTERN AT MARYLAND (Big Ten). Northwestern blew a big second half lead at Illinois, and had they held on to win they’d have shot up the seedlist, but they’ve got another chance to get a big road win today against a Maryland team that I’m not as big on as most others because of how poor they’ve been away from home, but AT home has looked like a protected seeded caliber team. It’s a win the Wildcats should get a lot of credit for if they can somehow pull it off.
-CINCINNATI AT MEMPHIS (American). Cincinnati has been playing much better, but winning on the road at Memphis will be a very tall order. Memphis is inside our bubble, but they are right on the edge of it and really can’t afford to lose to anyone that isn’t Houston the rest of the way.
-WISCONSIN AT MICHIGAN (Big Ten). Wisconsin is also right on the edge of our bubble and this game, along with all their remaining games, has a pivotal feel to it. Michigan is very schizophrenic. Sometimes they play at a really high level, and other times they just sort of wet the bed. But, while we don’t have them inside our bubble right now, they are close enough to it to reach it if they finish the season strong and pick up some notable wins in the Big Ten Tournament.
-DRAKE AT BRADLEY (Missouri Valley). This is also John Stalica’s UTR Game of the Day. CLICK HERE to read his take on it. This is for first place in the Missouri Valley and a chance to lock up at least an NIT bid, but more importantly than that it’s a game between two teams who are both capable of winning a game in the Round of 64 if they are able to get there. It’s also a resume builder, which can help improve their seed and get a more winnable game in the Round of 64. These two may be facing each other again a week from today, and that will obviously be a much bigger game, but today is still really big.
-RUTGERS AT PENN STATE (Big Ten). Some have Penn State floating around the bubble, and I suppose there is a chance they make the field, but it will take a very strong finish. Rutgers is safely in the field and has some really big wins on their resume, but they’ve also lost four out of five and have not been the best road team, so a win today would actually help make their resume look a lot better.
OTHER NOTABLE GAMES:
-Illinois @ Ohio State (Big Ten) – Illinois should be riding high after a come from behind win to beat Northwestern, whereas Ohio State is riding so low that they are under the ground right now
-Providence @ Georgetown (Big East) – Providence has not been the best road team, but they should be able to get this one today
-UCLA @ Colorado (Big 12) – it’s not the easiest road game, but it’s a road game a solid protected seed like UCLA should be able to win
UTR WATCH:
-SIENA AT IONA (Metro Atlantic). Iona will clinch an outright first place finish with a win
-Hofstra won their game against Northeastern, which means they end the season tied for first place in the Colonial with Charleston, but will be the #1 seed in the tournament due to having the head to head win against them earlier this year
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