Hoops HD Daily Rundown – Sunday, March 5th

It is the last day of the regular season, it is one week before Selection Sunday, and we are full blown into conference tournaments!!

-For our CHAMPIONSHIP WEEK VIDEO NOTEBOOK – which contains a run through of all of yesterday’s and today’s conference tournament action along with links, brackets, and more – CLICK HERE

NEWS AND NOTES:

-This is just a rundown of the regular season action.  If you want the conference tournament info check out the links posted above.

-Alabama had been winning, but they just hadn’t looked the same since all of the off the court issues surfaced.  Yesterday at Texas A&M, they didn’t win.  They did fight back after being behind on the road against a really good team, but it wasn’t enough to get the win.  TAMU has silenced all the critics that were questioning how good they were when they were racking up wins against a backloaded schedule.  Well, they now racked up enough wins on the back end to convince me, including their 67-61 win over the Tide yesterday.

-Texas did to Kansas at home what Kansas did to Texas when Kansas was at home.  They won handily 75-59, and it shouldn’t really be a surprise.  Texas can still get up to the #1 line, but they’ll have to win the Big 12 Tournament to do it.  The thing is, I think the Horns are good enough to do just that.

-UCLA did to Arizona at home what Arizona did to the Bruins when the Wildcats were at home, and that’s win the game handily.  It wasn’t a blowout, but at no point were the Bruins really sweating.  UCLA puts a nice ribbon on the end of their regular season, and many feel they can get a #1 seed if they do the double and win the Pac 12 Tournament.

-Iowa State, who had looked like a top ten team at times this year, but who had recently been in an absolute tailspin, went into Baylor yesterday and for 40 minutes looked like perhaps the best team in the nation.  They controlled the entire game and won 73-58, and the score probably doesn’t indicate just how dominant the Cyclones were.  Baylor had been on an absolute roll going into yesterday, so this was a surprise.

-West Virginia needed a huge win yesterday, and got it.  They knocked off Kansas State 89-81, and while it was at home, it’s still a big win against a protected seed and may be enough to put the Mountaineers into the field.

-Auburn also got a big win at home against Tennessee 79-70.  After several close calls they finally got a win that they needed.  Their season and resume have not exactly been overwhelming, and yesterday’s win was at home against a Tennessee team that just lost one of their best players to an injury, but even with all that I still think it’s enough to put Auburn on the right side of the bubble.  At least that’s what I think the committee will think.

-UConn got an impressive 71-59 win at Villanova that’s probably a much better when than what most people will initially think given how well Nova had been playing recently, and given that it was on the road, and given that they won rather handily.

-Providence completely slept through their alarm yesterday and were blown out 82-58 at home by a Seton Hall team that’s looked underwhelming more often than not this season.

-Kentucky got yet another nice win at Arkansas 88-79.  I now this season wasn’t as good as what many Kentucky fans were hoping for, but they are unquestionably a better team now than they were just six or seven weeks ago, and they’ve put together a fairly decent profile.  I don’t think the teams facing them in the early rounds of the tournament will be all that excited to see them.

-Nevada, who was squarely on the bubble, lost 69-67 at home to UNLV, who is so far outside the bubble that they need binoculars to see it.  This is NOT a good loss for the Wolfpack.

-Oklahoma State got a win that they very much needed as they knocked off Texas Tech on the road 71-68.  If they can win their opening round Big 12 Tournament game against Oklahoma that may be enough to just sneak them into the field.  If they can win two games then I think they’re a lock.

-Duke, who I had been picking on all year for not being a good road team, got a good road win yesterday as they knocked off rivals North Carolina 62-57.  North Carolina is a team I’ve picked on even more than Duke, but the Tarheels have been very good at home this year, so Duke deserves legit credit for this win.

-Florida Atlantic ended the regular season with a 76-72 nail-biter at Louisiana Tech.  I think they’ve done enough to go in on the first ballot, although some will say they at least need to win their quarterfinals game in the CUSA Tournament.

-Vanderbilt, despite losing their best player to an injury, still got the win over Mississippi State yesterday 77-72.  Mississippi State is straddling the bubble and probably needs a win in the SEC Tournament to get them into the field, whereas Vandy has finished the season very strong and might be able to play their way into the discussion.  Had Vandy played all season like they have the last 3-4 weeks, they’d be in the top half of the bracket right now.

-Utah State knocked off Boise State at home yesterday 86-73.  Had Boise State won I think it would have all but locked them into the field, but seeing as they didn’t, they are now floating around the area that is very close to the bubble.  Utah State is also floating around the bubble, but I think they’re still on the outside part of it.

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:

-HOUSTON AT MEMPHIS (American).  I think Houston is a lock for a #1 seed, and while Memphis may not be locked into the NCAA Tournament yet, I think they’re a virtual lock even if they lose this game.  If Memphis can WIN this game, then they’ll be a complete lock and will move themselves up the seedlist.

-MARYLAND AT PENN STATE (Big Ten).  Maryland has been a terrible road team and while I do think they’ll make the field, I don’t think they deserve that good of a seed.  I will change my mind a little bit if they’re able to win today.  But I simply cannot ignore the fact that they have no decent road wins.  The only two they have are against Minnesota and Louisville and both of those teams are so bad that I wonder if those should even count as road wins.  They’ve lost on the road to multiple teams that won’t even make the NIT.  They NEED this win to convince me that they even belong.  I think they’ll get in regardless of what I think, but a win today would certainly help their resume because it would give them at least one decent road win, and one is infinitely more than zero (mathematical fact!).

-ILLINOIS AT PURDUE (Big Ten).  Both teams are locks to make the dance and are just playing for seeding.  Purdue is trying to finish with a #1 seed, and Illinois is trying to improve their resume and move up the seedlist, and a win in a game like this would help them out big time.

-NEBRASKA AT IOWA (Big Ten).  Iowa should be able to hold serve without too much trouble.

-MICHIGAN AT INDIANA (Big Ten).  Michigan has been making all kinds of noise lately.  A win today gets them to 18-13 on the year, 12-8 in the Big Ten, and puts another high quality win on their resume.  They will be seriously considered, and perhaps even selected, if they can manage a win today and avoid an early exit from the Big Ten Tournament.

-NORTHWESTERN AT RUTGERS (Big Ten).  I think both teams are in, but both can certainly do a lot to improve their seed with a win today and a strong showing in the Big Ten Tournament.