NEWS AND NOTES:
-For John Stalica’s UTR Game of the Day, which is perhaps the greatest one we’ve ever had –CLICK HERE
I need to say a little more about tonight’s historic game between Detroit and IUPUI. We remember the hostility from 20 years ago between the Pistons and Pacers. For those two teams, that water has gone under the bridge, but the animosity between IUPUI and Detroit is still burning at a fever pitch. It’s Valentines Day, which is highly ironic. A contest filled with such intensity is scheduled to take place on a day where Hallmark tells us all to buy their cards and chocolates because that’s what love is all about! If your Valentines Day plans do not somehow involve the Detroit vs IUPUI game, you are doing something wrong! You are not living your life the way you should be! and your significant other should leave you!!!
Anyway, on to last night’s action, and WOW was there a lot of it!!
-Marquette got a battle from Butler on the road as you would expect, but every time Butler seemed to have the crowd and the momentum with them, Marquette would answer. It was a very impressive 78-72 win, and Marquette is looking more and more like they may end up as a #1 seed.
-North Carolina followed up their near loss at home to Miami FL with an actual 86-79 loss on the road against Syracuse. I still don’t think this gets Syracuse all the way inside the bubble, but it certainly helps. UNC is still in great shape, but their chances of getting a #1 seed have taken a major hit.
-Oklahoma has struggled on the road this year, and last night was no exception as Baylor won rather easily 79-62. There’s no shame in losing at Baylor, but the Sooners were never really in the game.
-Virginia, who had an eight game winning streak and who we were just praising as one of the hottest teams in the country, lost at home to Pitt 74-63. Pitt played an outstanding game, and had they played like that all year we’d be talking about their NCAA Tournament chances. As for the Hoos, it is a setback, but I don’t think it knocks them outside the bubble. Hell, it probably doesn’t even knock them out of the top half of the bracket.
-Kentucky, whose defense had looked so poor in recent weeks that it looked as if they’d have trouble guarding a parked car, had great defensive play and energy last night in a 75-63 win over Ole Miss. Ole Miss is good, but beating them at home in and of itself is no great feat. However, it was more of an eye-test thing than an on paper thing for Kentucky. They just looked good last night.
-Indiana State did NOT look good last night. They were in the rankings for the first time in 45 years, and lost at home to Illinois State 80-67. We at Hoops HD follow all these Under the Radar teams all year long, and we know that a lot of them are better than what people think. Well, to be frank, Illinois State is not a team that’s better than what a lot of people think. They’re actually not good at all. This is a very disappointing showing by the Trees.
-Providence keeps getting notable wins! They keep fighting! And I think they will end up making the field by the end of the year! They had a nice 75-72 win last night against Saint John’s, and while the Johnnies aren’t the best road team it was still a good win for a Friars team that feels like every game they play in is pivotal.
-The Mountain West has been highly entertaining this year. It’s also causing us here on the East Coast to lose sleep a lot of nights. New Mexico, who had been in a bit of a tailspin, got a BIG win on the road against a Nevada team that was coming off two straight big wins and looking really good. New Mexico had a great first half, but Nevada came back and the game came down to the last possession. Nevada had a shot at the buzzer to win it, but it didn’t go down and the Lobos held on for a much needed 83-82 road win.
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HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-MICHIGAN STATE AT PENN STATE (Big Ten). Michigan State needs to win this. Penn State is nowhere near the bubble, and beating them may not seem like a big deal on the surface, but Michigan State has just one true road win and that just flat out isn’t enough. They need to win this game tonight, or they are in serious danger of missing the field.
-MIAMI FL AT CLEMSON (ACC). Miami FL still has a path to the NCAA Tournament, and they did play well in their last game on the road against North Carolina, but the path is getting more steep and more narrow as we get closer and closer to the end. A win tonight for them would be big, and it would be a huge step toward turning things around, but Clemson has been playing at a really high level these past few weeks and could even end up in talks for a protected seed if they keep it up.
-TULSA AT SOUTH FLORIDA (American). South Florida is the 1st place team in the AAC, and they look like they may be good enough to win out, and if they do, the committee may look at them.
-XAVIER AT SETON HALL (Big East). We have both teams outside the bubble, but both still have a path (albeit a difficult one) to play their way back inside the bubble and into the field. Having said that, this game almost feels like an elimination game.
-UMASS AT RICHMOND (Atlantic 10). Richmond is the 1st place team in the Atlantic 1o. They are actually ahead of Dayton and have a win against Dayton, and if they win out they may be getting pretty close to the bubble. Anything short of that and they’ll probably need the auto-bid, though.
-UIC AT BRADLEY (Missouri Valley). Bradley probably still has a shot at reaching the bubble if they win out, which would mean winning at Drake in the final game of the year, but even then their case is flimsy at best.
-SOUTH CAROLINA AT AUBURN (SEC). This is probably the biggest matchup of the night. South Carolina, as good as they’ve looked, is still not a protected seed in many brackets. If they are able to win this one tonight, which they may be good enough to do despite it being a road game against an Auburn team that’s also looking like a potential protected seed, how do you not put them on one of the top four lines??
-UCONN AT DEPAUL (Big East). I just don’t think this is the night that DePaul starts to turn things around.
-TENNESSEE AT ARKANSAS (SEC). Tennessee is coming off a somewhat surprising loss at Texas A&M and looking to bounce back. They’re still in the discussion for a #1 seed, but any loss to a non-protected seed, even if it’s on the road, will really hurt. Losing to a team like Arkansas that isn’t likely to make the field will REALLY hurt.
-WESTERN CAROLINA AT SAMFORD (SoCon). I say this every week, but if Samford wins out I think they belong inside the bubble. Hopefully that’s where they’ll be if that happens.
-UTAH STATE AT WYOMING (Mountain West). Utah State is safely inside the bubble and looked fantastic this weekend at Boise State. While Wyoming is nowhere near the field, it’s still not an easy place to go and win. No one gets higher!