HOOPS HD SURVIVAL BOARD WATCH (CLICK HERE to see the whole board):
– AMERICA EAST: NJIT will be eliminated with a loss at home to UMBC or wins by both Albany (vs New Hampshire) and Binghamton (vs Maine)
– OHIO VALLEY: Southeast Missouri is eliminated with a loss at Morehead State, or a Southern Indiana win (vs Lindenwood), or a Tennessee Tech win (at Tennessee-Martin)
CONFERENCE TITLE CLINCHING SCENARIOS:
– AMERICA EAST: Vermont has already clinched a share of the title, the will win outright with a UMASS-Lowell loss tonight
– WEST COAST: St. Mary’s has already clinched a share of the WCC title and wins it outright with a win tonight or a Gonzaga loss
– NORTHEAST: Merrimack clinches with a win and a Central Conn. State Loss
– COASTAL ATHLETIC : Charleston has already clinched a share and wins it outright with a win tonight
– BIG SKY: Eastern Washington clinches with a win and a Northern Colorado Loss
– SUMMIT: South Dakota State clinches with a win tonight
NEWS AND NOTES:
-For the season finale of our UNDER THE RADAR Video Podcast – CLICK HERE
-For John Stalica’s UTR Game of the Day – CLICK HERE
-Tennessee and Auburn battled it out in Knoxville last night with Tennessee pulling out the big 92-84 win. Both teams are likely protected seeds and Tennessee is possibly within reach of a #1 seed. They also remain atop the SEC standings in a tie with Alabama. Speaking of the Tide…
-Alabama bounced back from their loss at Kentucky with a relly nice 103-88 win at Ole Miss. They look to be heading toward a protected seed if they can continue to hold serve.
-Providence is squarely on the bubble, and a win a Marquette could have skyrocketed them up the seedlist. They did not win at Marquette. Oh, no they did not. They were down 27-4 early and were never in the game at any point losing 91-69.
-South Carolina got a battle on the road against a Texas A&M team that desperately needed the win, but held on to win 70-68. South Carolina is knocking on the door of a protected seed whereas TAMU is falling further and further out of the picture.
-Northwestern picked up another true road win, which is their 4th of the year, as they knocked off Maryland 68-61. Their tournament profile is looking very solid right now.
-Butler has had a much better season than expected, and as recently as a week ago I was liking their chances to make the NCAA Tournament, but they were blown off their own court by a less than stellar Saint John’s team last night 82-59, and I just don’t think the Bulldogs are an NCAA team just yet. As a program they are definitely going in the right direction, and Thad Matta has done an outstanding job overall since taking over.
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HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-NEBRASAKA AT OHIO STATE (Big Ten). Nebraska is just 2-7 in true road games, and they could really use another one to help strengthen their tournament profile. Ohio State has had an unspectacular year, but they’ve come to life lately with wins over Purdue and Michigan State, so it’s not a gimme game at all for the Huskers.
-GONZAGA AT SAN FRANCISCO (West Coast). This is actually a big game for the Zags. If they win this they are pretty solidly in the field, but if they don’t a case could be made to leave them out. They still don’t have very many good wins on their resume, and to date this would arguably (and perhaps not even arguably) be their second best overall win of the season. San Fran is a very impressive 14-1 at home, and they’ll be jacked way up for this one.
OTHER NOTABLE GAMES:
–Campbell @ Charleston (Coastal Athletic) – Charleston can clinch 1st place outright with a win
–SEMO @ Morehead State (Ohio Valley) – Morehead State is still in the three way tie for first place with Little Rock and UT Martin and needs a win to keep pace
–Tennessee Tech @ UT Martin (Ohio Valley) – see above ^^^^
–Tennessee State @ Little Rock (Ohio Valley) – see above and above again ^^^^^
–South Dakota State @ North Dakota (Summit League) – first place implications between the top two teams. South Dakota State can clinch it outright if they can pull off the win on the road
–UTRGV @ Grand Canyon (WAC) – after two straight losses, the Lopes will now probably need the auto-bid to make the NCAA Tournament. They are tied with Tarleton State in the conference standings with just 3 games to go, so they need this one
–Montana @ Eastern Washington (Big Sky) – Eastern Washington can clinch a share of 1st place with a win tonight
–UC Irvine @ Cal State Northridge (Big West) – UC Irvine is in a 1st place tie with UCSD with just four games to go. They should be able to pick this one up on the road
–USC @ Washington State (Pac 12) – Wazzu is in great shape and just needs to hold serve in this one. They should easily go into the field on the first ballot
–Saint Mary’s @ Pepperdine (West Coast) – SMC remains unbeaten in league play and will likely land well inside the top half of the bracket if they continue to hold serve