NEWS AND NOTES:
-For our latest HOOPS HD REPORT Video Podcast – CLICK HERE
-For John Stalica’s UTR Game of the Day – CLICK HERE
-North Carolina showed that they deserve their high ranking as they went in and won at Pitt without really having to sweat down the stretch. I’ve been very critical of this Tarheels team for the past…ohh..four years or so and was constantly arguing that I thought they were being overvalued. Not this year. This team is DAMN good!
-I’ve been saying that while Butler currently does not have a tournament caliber resume, I still thought they were good enough to build one by the end of the year. After seeing the latter part of their game against Saint John’s yesterday, where they lost 86-70 and where Thad Matta was told to leave early via being ejected, I’m now thinking they’re not quite that good after all.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-SETON HALL AT PROVIDENCE (Big East). Seton Hall had won back to back games against Missouri and UConn and appeared to have a full head of steam going in the right direction, but in their last game they were blown out by a Xavier team that’s been average at best. They’ve got another big test tonight on the road. Providence is in the rankings, their profile is solid, and they are very tough to beat at home.
-GEORGE MASON AT LA SALLE (Atlantic 10). George Mason has an almost razor-thin margin for error, but with an 11-2 record there is probably room for them inside the bubble if they can blow through the A10.
-GEORGIA TECH AT FLORIDA STATE (ACC). GA Tech has enough on their resume for me to say that there is a path for them to land inside the bubble, but they still have a lot of work to do. This is the kind of road game that they need to be able to win.
-EVANSVILLE AT INDIANA STATE (Missouri Valley). Both teams are off to a great start, and Indiana State is good enough to land inside the bubble if they can hold serve throughout league play. They don’t have a huge margin for error, though, and they may be challenged tonight.
-RUTGERS AT OHIO STATE (Big Ten). Ohio State is having a good year and should land inside the bubble so long as they continue to hold serve. Rutgers needs some big wins like this away from home in order to get within range of the bubble.
-DAYTON AT DAVIDSON (Atlantic 10). Dayton’s profile appears to be the strongest out of all the A10 teams, but having said that they’ve only played in two true road games and won one of them, so this is a bit of a test as well as an opportunity to add road wins to their resume.
-CLEMSON AT MIAMI FL (ACC). Clemson is a team that is having an amazing year with just one loss so far and some really good wins. They’ve perhaps looked like the best team out of the entire ACC. Miami FL is sort of a quiet 10-2, which is kind of crazy to think a Final Four team could start off 10-2 and still be below the national sightline, but they sort of are. This is a very interesting game and resume building opportunity for both teams.
-NC STATE AT NOTRE DAME (ACC). This is a winnable road game for an NC State team that’s got a solid 10-3 record, but still has some work to do. Notre Dame is an unspectacular team, but they did just blow out Virginia, so NC State does not want to overlook them.
-INDIANA AT NEBRASKA (Big Ten). Both teams have good records, and Nebraska has some good wins, but both teams still have some work to do. Still, the Huskers have shown they can play like a tournament caliber team, especially at home, so they are definitely worth keeping an eye on.
OTHER NOTABLE GAMES:
-Louisville @ Virginia (ACC) – Virginia has not been themselves this year and cannot afford to slip up at home in a game like this
-Fordham @ George Washington (Atlantic 10) – a win for GW gets them to 12-2
-Saint Joseph’s @ Rhode Island (Atlantic 10) – Saint Joe’s can get inside the bubble, but they don’t have many strikes between now and the end of the season
-Western Carolina @ The Citadel (SoCon) -a win for WCU gets them to 12-2
-Chattanooga @ Samford (SoCon) – a win for Samford gets them to 12-2
-Xavier @ Villanova (Big East) – this should be a game where Nova has no problems holding serve
-Fresno State @ San Diego State (Mountain West) – conference opener for San Diego State