NEWS AND NOTES:
-For the latest HOOPS HD REPORT Video Podcast – CLICK HERE
-For John Stalica’s UTR Game of the Day – CLICK HERE
-Colgate clinched a 1st place finish in the Patriot League last night with their 67-62 win at Lafayette. They are the first team to clinch a 1st place spot in their conference, and they will have home court advantage throughout the Patriot League Tournament.
-Houston jumped out to an early lead against Iowa State, and after that Iowa State was able to get their offense going they actually made some runs to keep themselves in it, but at no point did it feel like Houston wasn’t in control. It was a solid showing by the Cyclones in one of the toughest road environments in all of college basketball, but Houston held on 73-65.
-Virginia Tech scored 75 points on a pretty good defensive Virginia team! And Virginia scored…well…less than that! WAAAY less than that!! The Hoos have a few kinks to work out.
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HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-BUTLER AT VILLANOVA (Big East). This is a super bubblicious game between Butler, who is squarely on it, and Villanova, who needs to win some games just to get on it. You get the sense that not only is it a pivotal game, but whoever wins it will still have some work to do.
-TENNESSEE AT MISSOURI (SEC). Tennessee is a protected seed and Missouri is terrible. This should be an easy win for the Vols even though they are on the road.
-SYRACUSE AT NC STATE (ACC). Neither team is inside our bubble, and both will need very strong finishes in order to get there. Syracuse does have a few good wins and can pick up another one on the road today.
-IOWA AT MICHIGAN STATE (Big Ten). Iowa is coming off a huge win against Wisconsin, but is still very far away from getting inside the bubble. If they win today, though, they will start to get some people’s attention. Winning at Michigan State far easier said than done. The Spartans are 8-2 in their last ten games, and while they were a bit sluggish before that stretch they are starting to look like the Michigan State team we thought we’d see in the preseason.
-ARKANSAS AT TEXAS A&M (SEC). TAMU is right on the bubble. A home loss to a team that’s nowhere near the bubble would be very damaging. Uncle Buzz and CO. need to be able to hold serve tonight.
-CONNECTICUT AT CREIGHTON (Big East). UConn is the unanimous #1 team and they’ve looked as good on the court as any team has looked all year long. Tonight they’re on the road against a Creighton team that’s fighting for a protected seed, and has the chance to pick up a huge win that will really boost their resume despite the fact that it’s a home game.
-BAYLOR AT BYU (Big 12). BYU is still in the rankings, but they are coming off a loss to Oklahoma State and there are questions as to how good the Cougars actually are. One thing we do know is that they are much better at home than on the road, and this will not be an easy road game at all for Baylor to win.
-SAN DIEGO STATE AT UTAH STATE (Mountain West). San Diego State was selected as a top 16 team by the committee this past Saturday, and they’ve got a very tough road test against one of the better teams in the conference. If they can get this win, I think they’ll show that they absolutely deserve a protected seed (at least for now). Utah State is coming off a rather decisive road loss to Colorado State and will be looking to bounce back.
-TCU AT TEXAS TECH (Big 12). These are two solid NCAA Tournament caliber teams that are going in on the first ballot who have a chance to improve their tournament resumes with a win tonight.
-PITTSBURGH AT WAKE FOREST (ACC). We don’t have either team in our field, but we do have them both on our bubble, and Pitt in particular is worth looking at. They’ve won seven of their last eight, and they’ve got wins at NC State, at Virginia, and at Duke in that stretch. If they can pick up another road win tonight then that’s a pretty impressive stretch run!!
-MARYLAND AT WISCONSIN (Big Ten). Wisky needs to win this one. They’ve lost five of their last six, and four of those losses came to teams that are outside the bubble. They’re at home against a team that isn’t likely to make the tournament. They need to win this game.
-SAN JOSE STATE AT BOISE STATE (Mountain West). Boise State has slid down the seedlist somewhat, but this should be a virtual buy game for them tonight, which can help them start to bounce back.
-SAN FRANCISCO AT SAINT MARY’S (West Coast). Saint Mary’s is the last unbeaten team in conference play, and they should be able to keep that up against the Dons tonight. It’s a rivalry game, and San Francisco is a good team at 21-6 overall and who may be able to get the attention of the committee with a road win like this, but SMC should still be able to hold serve at home.
-WYOMING AT NEVADA (Mountain West). We have Nevada close to the bubble, but inside of it. They should remain there so long as they can hold serve tonight.