Toledo (14-7, 8-1) at Akron (16-5, 8-1) – 9:00 PM ET (ESPN2)
Tonight’s UTR Game of the Day goes to the MAC where the top two teams face off in Akron; the Toledo Rockets visit the Akron Zips. Toledo comes into tonight having won eight of their last nine contests; their only loss in league play so far has been to Central Michigan on the road. More recently, Jahvan Simmons had 18 points in an 88-63 romp at home against Western Michigan.
Akron finally stumbled in conference play at home against the Miami Redhawks last Saturday, but otherwise they have continued to dominate teams in the league throughout the season. While the Zips have a very good overall record, losses in the nonconference against Utah State, Drake and UNLV deprived them of opportunities to win an at-large NCAA Tournament bid should they have an early slip-up in the MAC Conference Tournament next month. Enrique Freeman (18.5 PPG, 12.8 RPG) continues to look like a leading contender for MAC Player of the Year.
OTHER NEWS, NOTES, AND GAMES (From the Puppet):
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-Wisconsin jumped out to a big lead on the road at Nebraska, which was impressive. However, Nebraska came thundering back, got the game to overtime, and picked up another big win at home 80-72. Nebraska has now beaten Purdue and Wisconsin on their home floor, and even though those wins came at home they’re still both really good. While they could use a few more road wins, they appear to be safely inside the bubble for now.
-SAINT BONAVENTURE AT DAYTON (Atlantic 10). Dayton is still in good shape to end up high on the seedlist, and perhaps even as high as a protected seed, despite their recent loss at Richmond. They should be able to hold serve tonight.
-OHIO STATE AT IOWA (Big Ten). If Ohio State is going to play their way inside the bubble, then they need to start winning games like this one.
-PRINCETON AT YALE (Ivy League). This one should be great! This are two of the best teams in the Ivy League, and it’s a huge road test for Princeton. It’s one they need to pull off if they want to end up landing inside the bubble. Yale had some early struggles, but they are still one of the most talented teams in the conference.
-BUTLER AT CREIGHTON (Big East). We have Butler squarely on our bubble and we have Creighton within the range of a protected seed. A sure way to help Butler land solidly inside the bubble would be to pick up another big road win like this one.
-SAN JOSE STATE AT NEVADA (Mountain West). Nevada is squarely on our bubble and needs to hold serve at home against non-tournament teams. Failing to do so will land them outside of it.