NEWS AND NOTES:
-For John Stalica’s UTR Game of the Day – CLICK HERE
-Remember how crazy everyone thought it was when we saw four top 5 teams lose on the road to unranked opponents in a span of two nights?? Well, yesterday we saw three more top 10 teams do the same thing.
-Houston went into TCU and it was a battle for all 40 minutes that saw a couple of lead changes in the final minute of play. TCU went ahead with less than ten seconds to go, and then Houston turned it over before they could even get up a shot. The Horned Frogs held on for a 68-67 win, and it was the second straight loss for the Cougars.
-Kentucky at Texas A&M was another thriller that came down to the wire and actually went into overtime after two Kentucky freethrows tied the game right at the end of regulation. Kentucky then couldn’t score for until the final minute of overtime, and TAMU picked up a big and much needed win 97-92.
-Arizona losing at Washington State was the biggest surprise of the three. Like the other two games, it was a battle throughout with Arizona having a chance to tie on their last possession, but Wazzu held on for the 73-70 upset win.
-Kansas got a battle at home from Oklahoma in a matchup of of top ten teams, but got control down the stretch for a 78-66 Jayhawks win. It was a nice way to bounce back after losing to UCF earlier in the week.
-Duke had to sweat out Georgia Tech, and actually trailed for part of the second half, but pulled it out 84-79 to (checks notes) avoid the regular season sweep from the Yellow Jackets.
-Cincinnati’s last three games have been a road upset of BYU, a home loss at Texas that came down to the final possession, and last night they lost on the road at Baylor in another game that came down to the final possession. Cincinnati had two good chances to get what would have been a go-ahead basket, but couldn’t get either one to fall and Baylor barely avoided the upset at home 62-59. Still, the Bearcats are playing very well right now and can get the wins they need to finish inside the bubble if they keep it up. Speaking of BYU…
-BYU picked up a really nice road win at UCF 63-58. UCF is outside the bubble, but they’ve been playing well lately and were coming off of a home win against Kansas.
-I had been beating up on New Mexico for most of the season and saying that they were frauds, so I wasn’t at all surprised when San Diego State jumped out to an early lead. I was flabbergasted when New Mexico came back, then got a lead, then got a big lead, and then blew out the Aztecs 88-70. It was a VERY impressive showing by the Lobos!
-Texas, who I had also been calling a fraud, made me reconsider my position after their win at Cincinnati earlier in the week. They followed that up with a 76-73 road loss to West Virginia. I am now back to being a complete non-believer in the Longhorns.
-Utah State had to come from behind on the road at UNLV, but barely held on to avoid the road upset 87-86 in yet another thrilling game from yesterday that came down to the final possession.
-Creighton got a battle and then some from a Saint John’s team that has been playing exceptionally well lately, but held on to win 66-65. Yet another thrilling game from yesterday that came down to the final possession.
-Seton Hall keeps stringing together good wins! The got another good one on the road yesterday by knocking off a Butler team that had also been playing well and who we had squarely on our bubble 78-72.
-James Madison, who so was in the rankings just last week, fell at home to Appalachian State 59-55 for their second Sun Belt loss. We knew that Appalachian State was good and figured they might beat JMU, but we were expecting it to happen later in the year when App State was at home. This is a Hot Hot Hot win for App State! And it puts them in the driver’s seat in the SBC!
-Providence has battled as much adversity as any team in the country this year, and it may finally be catching up to them. Xavier blew them off their own floor yesterday 85-65. Xavier, despite being just 8-8, is getting better and I think is good enough to reach the bubble. I don’t just say that to make Stalica happy! In fact, I like to make everyone else at Hoops HD as UN-happy as possible! Keep in mind that three of those losses were to Purdue, Houston, and UConn. The Musketeers can play!
-South Carolina really needed a road win, and they got one at Missouri yesterday. Barely. They needed overtime, but held on to win 71-69 for just their second true road win of the season.
-Kansas State at Texas Tech was a game that felt extremely Bubblicious, and the Red Raiders held on to win 60-59 at home. Yet another big game that came down to the final seconds.
-Miami FL had been in a major tailspin over the past week or so, but got a much needed road win at Virginia Tech 75-71, which was their first true road win of the season. That will certainly help stop some of the bleeding.
-After upsetting Gonzaga a few nights ago, Santa Clara must have still been hung over against Saint Mary’s last night. I believe it was 34-6 at one point, and it never really got any close than that with SMC winning big on the road 73-49.
-Alabama has now won five straight after a very impressive 82-74 road win at Mississippi State. The Tide are really playing well and their resume keeps getting better and better.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
GEORGETOWN AT CONNECTICUT (Big East) – It’s technically a conference game, but it’s practically a buy game. UConn is on pace to earn a #1 seed and should roll in this one.
-UAB AT FLORIDA ATLANTIC (American) – FAU needs to hold serve in this game, and for the rest of the year, which is something they’ve had a difficult time doing up to this point.
–RUTGERS AT MICHIGAN STATE (Big Ten) – The Spartans are hovering around the bubble and can’t really afford home losses to teams that are pretty far outside of it.
-MEMPHIS AT WICHITA STATE (American) – Memphis is a good team that’s had some close calls, but who has been able to avoid any major landmines so far. Having said that, they should win this one, but they better not overlook Wichita State.
-MARYLAND AT ILLINOIS (Big Ten) – Illinois is still dealing with the absence of their best player, which is no small thing to be dealing with, but they should still be able to beat the Terps at home
-UTAH AT STANFORD (Pac 12) – This should be a winnable road game for the Utes, which would be just their second true road win of the season, so it does help their resume out some.
-WASHINGTON AT UCLA (Pac 12) – Washington is outside the bubble, but can get on the right side of it if they can start stringing together wins. UCLA has lost 8 of their last 9, so it’s a winnable game for the Huskies.