NEWS AND NOTES:
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-Not a whole lot of action last night. Virginia did pick up an impressive and decisive home win over Miami FL 60-38. By the second half it looked like the Canes, and their coaches, had just basically quit. UVA is suddenly looking better and better and better and could be a real force by the time the tournament starts.
-Kansas State knocked off rival Kansas in overtime 75-70. It was a big win for the Wildcats that they really needed and it ended a four game losing streak, but they still have a lot of work to do. As for Kansas, it would have been a nice road win for their resume, but I don’t think the loss sets them back THAT much. The #1 line is perhaps getting further and further out of reach, though.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-OLE MISS AT SOUTH CAROLINA (SEC). South Carolina is suddenly one of the hottest teams in the country and are starting to look like they could get a protected seed. They’re at home against an Ole Miss team that we have hovering around the bubble, but who could greatly improve their resume with a road win today.
-DEPAUL AT SAINT JOHN’S (Big East). Saint John’s has lost five of their last six and needs to hold serve at home tonight in what amounts to a home buy game.
-CLEMSON AT NORTH CAROLINA (ACC). Clemson’s resume is solid overall, but they’re just 4-6 in the ACC, and have a real risk of dropping to 4-7 today. North Carolina is one of the best teams in the country, they rarely lose at home, and Clemson almost never wins in Chapel Hill. Having said that, Clemson’s schedule was largely front-loaded and they should be able to start stringing together wins after tonight. It would be a MASSIVE win if they did pull it off tonight, but it’s easier said than done.
-OKLAHOMA STATE AT HOUSTON (Big 12). Houston is coming off the rough loss to Kansas, but shouldn’t have too much trouble holding serve at home tonight.
-WAKE FOREST AT GEORGIA TECH (ACC). Wake Forest could still reach the bubble, but they need to start stringing together wins. GA Tech can be a tough place to win, but that’s just it. Wake needs to start winning games that are tough to win.
-CENTRAL MICHIGAN AT AKRON (MAC). Akron basically needs to win out in order to get any sort of a look from the committee.
-IOWA STATE AT TEXAS (Big 12). Iowa State is coming off a crazy loss to Baylor that they would have won had a last second buzzer-beater actually beaten the buzzer. They’ve got another tough road test tonight against a Texas team that is playing really well right now and moving up the seedlist. This should be another good one.
-DAYTON AT SAINT JOSEPH’S (Atlantic 10). Dayton is on a roll, but they may be tested big time on the road tonight. Saint Joe’s probably can’t reach the bubble, but there have been times where they’ve looked like an NCAA Tournament caliber team and they should be jacked way up for this one.
-BYU AT OKLAHOMA (Big 12). Both teams appear to be solid tournament teams, but both resumes certainly have room to improve. This would be a really good road win for BYU, and Oklahoma could use a few more big wins of their own to help give their profile more stability.
-BUTLER AT CONNECTICUT (Big East). Butler has been playing really well, and I personally think they should be safely inside the bubble right now. Having said that, beating UConn at UConn is probably way above their heads. UConn has shown they are one of the two best teams in the country and they should be able to hold serve at home tonight.
-KENTUCKY AT VANDERBILT (SEC). Kentucky has now lost three of their last four, and they’ve got to take advantage of some low hanging fruit on the road to help them bounce back. They’re the road team, but it’s still a game they should win.
-NEW MEXICO AT WYOMING (Mountain West). I really like this New Mexico team and I think they are deserving of being back in the rankings. Having said that, this is not the easiest road trip in the world, and something New Mexico needs to strengthen their resume is more road wins.
-TEXAS TECH AT BAYLOR (Big 12). Both teams are in the rankings, both have multiple big wins this season, and both have a chance to get another big resume-boosting win tonight. It should be a fun one.
-NEVADA AT UTAH STATE (Mountain West). Utah State is probably easily in the top half the bracket, and if they finish strong they may even make a case for a protected seed. Nevada is squarely on the bubble, but an assured way to get on the right side of it would be to pick up a win like this.
-BOISE STATE AT COLORADO STATE (Mountain West). Boise State has been playing fantastic recently, and recently picked up a huge win at New Mexico. They’ve got another really tough road test tonight against a Colorado State that appears to be solidly in the field, but who could still improve their resume with a win, and who is a very good 9-1 at home this season.
-CHARLOTTE AT SOUTH FLORIDA (American). Neither team appears to be anywhere close to the bubble, but both are tied with Florida Atlantic for 1st place in the American, so this game is kind of interesting.
-MICHIGAN STATE AT MINNESOTA (Big Ten). Michigan State’s resume is a little flimsy, especially when it comes to winning on the road. They have just one true road win on the season and could really use this one tonight.
-SAN DIEGO STATE AT AIR FORCE (Mountain West). Air Force can be a tough place to play, but San Diego State should be able to pick up the conference road win.
-SAINT MARY’S AT PACIFIC (West Coast). This is the equivalent of a buy game on the road for SMC.