NEWS AND NOTES:
-For John Stalica’s UTR Game of the Day – CLICK HERE
-Butler, who was right on our bubble after our Thursday Night Bracket Rundown Show may be very safely inside of it now after their 99-96 road win at Creighton. The Bulldogs had recently gone through a stretch where they lost five out of six and that caused a lot of people to sort of stop paying attention to them, but they’ve now won four straight, have no bad losses, and have a couple of monster wins at Marquette and at Creighton. Their next game is at UConn! Now THAT would be a HUGE win!
-Any at-large hopes that Princeton had may have been dashed. They suffered their second conference loss as they fell to Yale 70-64 last night. Yale is good, but that’s just it. Princeton needed to beat a good team on the road to help sustain their profile.
.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
CONNECTICUT AT SAINT JOHN’S (Big East). The Johnnies have now lost four out of their last five, and things don’t get any easier today as they host the team that appears to be playing better than anyone else in the country right now.
-VIRGINIA TECH AT MIAMI FL (ACC). Both teams are outside the bubble, and both need to start stringing together wins in order to get on the right side of it.
-SOUTH CAROLINA AT GEORGIA (SEC). South Carolina has had a hell of a week. They’ve gone from being just inside the bubble all the way up to a protected seed after their wins against Kentucky and Tennessee. They have another tough road test today against a Georgia team that has shown signs of being good at times and who could still play their way inside the bubble with a strong finish. In short, it’s an important game for both teams.
-TEXAS AT TCU (Big 12). TCU has been red hot with back to back wins against Texas Tech and Baylor. Texas remains inside the bubble, and I think their resume looks pretty good, but most people still feel it is a little flimsy. Either way, we can all agree that this would be a huge road win for the Longhorns.
-VIRGINIA AT CLEMSON (ACC). Virginia is still outside our bubble, but they are playing a lot better. Clemson is solidly in our field, but they still have room to build up their resume. They should be able to hold serve in this one at home.
-UTAH STATE AT SAN DIEGO STATE (Mountain West). Utah State appears to be inching closer and closer to a protected seed. A road win in a game like this would be a huge statement that they belong on that tier. San Diego State is safely in for now, but they have lost three of their last five and could use a win to swing some momentum back their way.
-HOUSTON AT KANSAS (Big 12). Both teams are protected seeds, we’ve had Houston on the #1 line for a while, and if they can find a way to win at Kansas that would be a major statement that they absolutely belong on the #1 line. It would be a massive win for Kansas as well, who has shown they can play at the highest level, but who also has a couple of head-scratching losses.
-OKLAHOMA AT UCF (Big 12). After struggling on the road for most of the year, the Sooners did get a nice road win at Kansas State earlier this week, and have the chance to get another big one today. Neither K State or UCF are solidly in the field, but both are at least close enough to the bubble to possibly play in, and I would consider beating them on the road to be a solid win.
-FLORIDA AT TEXAS A&M (SEC). I don’t want to call this a bubblicious game because after Florida’s win at Kentucky I think they’re several lines inside the bubble, but I will say that both teams could really stand to improve their resumes and today’s game should have a pivotal feel to it for both of them.
-COLORADO AT UTAH (Pac 12). Both teams REALLY need this game. I think both are on the bubble, and right now I’m not convinced that either one of them is going to make it. Both are good enough, but that doesn’t mean that both of them (or even one of them) will. This is a hugely pivotal game for both these teams. It would especially help out Colorado since they could really use the road win.
-AUBURN AT OLE MISS (SEC). Auburn desperately needs a big win, and getting it on the road would be even better. Their resume has one glaring thing that’s lacking from it, and that’s any sort of a win that is worth a damn. Ole Miss is coming off an emotional win against rival Mississippi State, and while their record is solid, their own resume could use some more big wins on it to help shore it up.
-DRAKE AT INDIANA STATE (Missouri Valley). We have Indiana State inside our bubble right now, but Drake is also very good. If they can get this win on the road and complete the season sweep of Indiana State, I would argue that they should be in position to get an at-large.
-DUKE AT NORTH CAROLINA (ACC). Both teams are ranked in the top ten! Both are still within reach of possibly earning a #1 seed!!! And you may not know this, but the two schools are just eight miles apart!! And they have NEVER met in an NCAA Regional!! It’s a rivalry game between two top ten teams, so of course it’s big.
-IOWA STATE AT BAYLOR (Big 12). Iowa State has some big wins and their resume looks pretty solid, but they haven’t done anything away from home that would be nearly as big as a win in this one tonight. Baylor is still looking like a protected seed, but they just snapped a three game losing streak and could use a big win to shift more momentum back their way.
-TENNESSEE AT KENTUCKY (SEC). Another big match-up between two highly ranked teams that are likely to end up as protected seeds. Both are also coming off losses that are somewhat surprising and will be looking to bounce back. This one should be fun. It usually is.
-MISSISSIPPI STATE AT ALABAMA (SEC). Mississippi State desperately needs a road win. I don’t think they can get selected if they don’t pick up at least two between now and the end. A win tonight against an Alabama team that looks like they could end up as a protected seed would be huge for them.
-WASHINGTON STATE AT WASHINGTON (Pac 12). We just put Wazzu in our field (albeit barely), but they’re having a good year and a road win tonight over their rivals should give their resume another needed boost.
-SAINT MARY’S AT GONZAGA (West Coast). This is an unusual storyline for this game. We have Saint Mary’s inside our bubble, and a road win like this should help make them a lot more stable as far as being in position to get an at-large bid. We have the Zags out of our field and needing to pretty much win out just to get a look. It’s a rivalry game, and it’s always a fun one to watch.
OTHER NOTABLE GAMES:
–Wichita State @ Memphis (Amerian) – Memphis has dumped four straight games to non-tournament teams and desperately needs to bounce back and turn things around.
–Marquette @ Georgetown (Big East) – It’s usually not easy to win on the road, but in certain cases it is. Marquette should roll in this one and remain in the protected seed range
–Kansas State @ Oklahoma State (Big 12) – K State is outside our bubble and could use a road win (among other things) to help them get on the right side of it
–Northwestern @ Minnesota (Big Ten) – Northwestern is solid overall, but one thing they could use is some more road wins, and this should be a winnable road game for them
–Richmond @ VCU (Atlantic 10) – Richmond has won 11 in a row, and if they can win out I think they’ll get a serious look from the committee
–Air Force @ Boise State (Mountain West) – Boise State has been playing exceptionally well lately, and should be able to hold serve at home today against AFA
–Grand Canyon @ Utah Valley (WAC) – GCU has had to swat out some games recently, and needed overtime to beat Seattle U the other night, but as long as they keep winning they should be inside the bubble
-Samford @ Chattanooga (SoCon) – Perhaps the two best teams in the SoCon, and Samford may still have a slight shot at getting a serious look if they can win out
–McNeese @ SELA (Southland) – McNeese should continue to hold serve and blow through the conference
–Georgia Tech @ NC State (ACC) – If NC State has any hope at all of getting in they need to start stringing together wins, and that means holding serve at home in games like this
–Maryland @ Michigan State (Big Ten) – Michigan State is inside our bubble right now, but they still look a littl flimsy. They need to hold serve in this one
-Cincinnati @ Texas Tech (Big 12) – Texas Tech has been playing like a protected seed, and while Cincinnati had a stretch for a few weeks where they appeared to be really good, they’ve since gone back into a tailspin. The Red Raiders should hold serve at home in this one
–Tulsa @ Florida Atlantic (American) – it hasn’t always been easy for FAU to hold serve, but at least they’ve managed to do it more often than not, and they need to do it again tonight
–BYU @ West Virginia (Big 12) – this is a winnable conference road game for the Cougars
–Princeton @ Brown (Ivy League) – This should be a winnable road game for the Tigers after a tough one from the night before
–Cornell @ Harvard (Ivy League) – if Cornell can win out, then MAYBE the’ll get a lock from the committee
–Syracuse @ Wake Forest (ACC) – both teams have a lot of work to do, and both could use this one tonight
-Oregon @ UCLA (Pac 12) – this is a road game that Oregon needs to win
–Xavier @ DePaul (Big East) – there’s a rumor Stalica is headed to Chicago for this one; I now think this game (and the Georgetown game) are the only chances DePaul has at winning a Big East game. Our staff has ruled that DePaul is eligible for the Stallings Award in March.