NEWS AND NOTES:
-For John Stalica’s UTR Game of the Day – CLICK HERE
-Okay, so last night we had…(checks notes)…a fire alarm in Bloomington, a tornado at the Northwestern women’s game, a total of 33 points scored in the final two minutes of the Kentucky @ Mississippi State game, the top 3 teams in the MAC all lose, water bottles thrown on the court at Texas Tech, and probably some other stuff that I’m forgetting. But, so far as I know, we didn’t have any court stormings!!!
-BYU, who had struggled on the road all year long, went into one of the toughest road environments in the nation at Kansas, and somehow pulled off a very impressive and utterly jaw-dropping 76-68 win against the Jayhawks. This TOTALLY changes the look of BYU’s profile and should catapult them into the top half of the bracket.
-Kentucky, who looked fantastic in their home win against Alabama over the weekend, went on the road and after trailing for much of the game against a Mississippi State team that’s very tough to beat at home, came back, and after a flurry of scoring in the final couple of minutes, which included what appeared to be a game tying 3pt shot by Mississipp State to force overtime, hit a game winning shot at the buzzer for a 91-89 road win.
-San Diego State and Utah State sweated a little more than you would expect against weaker MWC opponents, but both held on to win.
-Pittsburgh had a lead at Clemson for much of the game, and it was one they really needed to win to make a case for themselves belonging inside the bubble, but Clemson got control late and held on for a 69-62 win.
-After a delay caused by fire alarms going off at Assembly Hall, Indiana managed to beat Wisconsin 74-70. Wisky is in no danger of missing the NCAA Tournament and Indiana has no real shot at making it, but Wisky just hasn’t looked the same for the past couple of weeks. This is a BAD loss, and I think it makes getting a protected seed very unlikely.
-Wake Forest, who had a big win against Duke over the weekend (in case you had forgotten), went on the road and lost to Notre Dame. It’s a huge step backward that almost completely offsets the huge step forward that they just took. They remain right no the bubble, and are perhaps outside of it.
-Texas pretty much dominated Texas Tech. It was very impressive to see them just blow the Red Raiders out of their own building. The final score was 81-69, but the actual game was a much more dominant performance. We also had a flagrant 2 called on Texas, to which the fans responded to by throwing plastic bottles onto the court, and that all but offset the flagrant foul with the technical fouls, but it had no impact on the final outcome.
-Nevada got another big road win as they held off Colorado State in another late night Mountain West thriller 77-74. The MWC seems to be leading the nation in exciting games this year.
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HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-AUBURN AT TENNESSEE (SEC). Auburn is a team that has been good all year and who can add a massive season defining type of win to their resume tonight and put them on solid ground for a protected seed if they can somehow pull it off. Tennessee is still within reach of the #1 line, and in order to get there they pretty much need to win all their home games no matter how strong the opponent is.
-PROVIDENCE AT MARQUETTE (Big East). We all have Providence inside the bubble for now, but not entirely safe. A road win at Marquette, as improbable as that may be, would certainly make them a whole lot safer. Marquette looks to be a solid protected seed who could end up as high as the #2 line.
-NORTHWESTERN AT MARYLAND (Big Ten). Northwestern seems to be on their way to the NCAA Tournament so long as they can hold serve between now and the end of the regular season. A conference road win like this would strengthen their resume even more.
-OKLAHOMA AT IOWA STATE (Big 12). Oklahoma’s resume is a little flimsy, but they still seem to be in relatively good shape for a bid. If they could somehow pull off this upset they’d be in far better shape. Iowa State looks like a solid protected seed that continues to climb the seedlist.
-SOUTH CAROLINA AT TEXAS A&M (SEC). TAMU has crashed into a mountain with four straight losses, and while two of those were against really strong opponents, the other two were certainly not. They’re outside the bubble and will need a strong finish just to get back into the field. South Carolina looks like they could end up as a protected seed. It’s never easy to win on the road, but they’ve shown they can do it.
-SAINT JOHN’S AT BUTLER (Big East). Both teams are outside the bubble both have work to do on top of winning this game, but having said that I think they both need this win to have any sort of a real chance.
-SETON HALL AT CREIGHTON (Big East). Both teams are inside the bubble, but Creighton is pushing a protected seed whereas Seton Hall is probably in the bottom half of the bracket for now, but they have some really nice wins and can certainly play their way up if they can pick this one up tonight.
-MINNESOTA AT ILLINOIS (Big Ten). Minnesota has been playing better lately, and a win like this could change the entire complexion of their resume, but even though they’ve improved they’re probably still swinging way over their heads in this one. Illinois is within reach of a protected seed.
-ALABAMA AT OLE MISS (SEC). It’s not the easiest game for Bama to win, but it is certainly within their abilities to do it. They were beaten rather handily by Kentucky over the weekend, but a win tonight on the road against a respectable NIT-ish Ole Miss team should bounce them back.
-ARIZONA AT ARIZONA STATE (Pac 12). It appears to be a mismatch, but sometimes in these rivalry games the underdog can really play up, especially if they’re at home. Arizona is still within reach of a #1 seed, and if they win out (which they are good enough to do) they should get it.
OTHER NOTABLE GAMES:
–Missouri @ Florida (SEC) – this almost feels like a buy game. The Gators seem to be getting better and better as the season progresses and they should be able to hold serve at home in this one
–Old Dominion @ Appalachian State (Sun Belt) – App State has a one game lead on James Madison and can clinch at least a share of 1st place with a win tonight
–Louisville @ Duke (ACC) – It’s technically a conference game, but it’s practically a home buy game for Duke
–Samford @ Wofford (SoCon) – Samford has already clinched 1st place and is now playing for a chance to land on the bubble and/or get a favorable seed from the committee if they win the conference tournament
–James Madison @ Georgia State (Sun Belt) – James Madison is a game behind App State, and we feel they are going to be on the bubble if they win out until the conference championship game
–California @ Colorado (Pac 12) – Colorado is now outside of our bubble and needs to hold serve tonight against a Cal team that’s actually been playing fairly decently. A loss in this one would certainly move them even further outside the bubble
–Indiana State @ Evansville (Missouri Valley) – Indiana State can still get inside the bubble if they win out through the regular season and avoid an early loss in the MVC Tournament. They can also clinch at least a share of 1st place if they win tonight
–Richmond @ Saint Louis (Atlantic 10) – Richmond isn’t inside the bubble, but they will be the 1st place team in the A10 with a full game lead over Dayton if they can win this one
–Louisiana Tech @ Western Kentucky (Conference USA) – LA Tech is in a first place tie with Sam Houston State, and the two will face each other next week
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POTENTIAL UTR CLINCHERS (Thanks to David Dorman for compiling this):
SUN BELT – Appalachian State clinches with a win and a James Madison loss
BIG SOUTH – High Point clinches the outright title with a win tonight , they have already clinched a share
HORIZON – Oakland clinches the outright title with a Youngstown St loss, Green Bay loss and Wright State loss , Oakland has already clinched a share
MISSOURI VALLEY – Indiana State clinches with a win tonight and a Drake loss tonight
ATLANTIC SUN – Eastern Kentucky clinches with a win tonight OR a Stetson loss tonight , Eastern Kentucky has already clinched a share