NEWS AND NOTES:
-Kentucky picked up a massive win against Gonzaga in the Battle In Seattle! They trailed by 16 at the half and it appeared as though the Zags were in complete control, but Kentucky kept making big plays in the second half, and chipping away, and eventually pulled even and had a chance to win at the end of regulation. They held on for a 90-89 win in overtime when Gonzaga failed to get a shot up on their last possession. I thought Kentucky was a solid top 25 team coming into the year, but they’ve definitely shown they are a lot more than that. They’re ranked 4th in the nation right now, and are absolutely deserving of that ranking.
-Marquette pulled away from Wisconsin 88-74 to get it done on their home court. Marquette continues to rack up impressive wins. It was Wisconsin’s first true road game, but most of the rest won’t be as tough as this. A road loss to a top 5 team is not a setback.
-Both Pittsburgh and North Carolina struggled against weaker conference opponents, but both held on to win. Pitt held off Virginia Tech 64-59 and North Carolina squeaked by Georgia Tech 68-65.
-Furman picked up a nice 72-66 win against a Princeton team that has been somewhat disappointing so far, but should still end up having a big year. Furman is now a solid 9-1 on the season with the only loss coming at Kansas.
-Michigan State absolutely pasted Nebraska 89-52. It’s not shocking that Michigan State won. They’ve had a good year so far. But, Nebraska looked to be having a pretty good year as well, and the Spartans just blew them into the sun.
-Rhode Island came from behind in the second half to beat their rivals Providence 69-63. Rhody is now 9-0 on the season, which is their best start in several centuries…or something like that.
-Loyola Chicago is also unbeaten at 8-0. They haven’t looked quite as impressive as Rhody, and really struggled against South Florida today, but they’ve won eight and that’s all they’ve played.
-Michigan’s impressive season continues as they held on to beat Iowa 85-83. This puts Michigan at 8-1 on the season, and 2-0 so far in the Big Ten. I’m not sure why this team isn’t in the rankings. Chances are they will be on Monday.
-Washington State was blowing Boise State off their own floor, but the Broncos mounted a comeback after trailing by more than 20 in the second half, but couldn’t quite come all the way back. Wazzu held on for a very big 74-69 win, which is another nice addition to their resume. The Cougars have looked like a tournament team so far.
-Saint Mary’s was blowing Utah off of their own floor, and also had a 20pt lead in the second half. Utah also came back, but couldn’t quite come all the way back. They got as close as 3, but SMC took control in the final minutes and pulled out a really nice 72-63 road win.
-New Mexico State, who had been unimpressive all season long, pulled off a big overtime upset win over rivals New Mexico 89-83. It looked as though New Mexico State was going to win in regulation, but they fouled a 3pt shooter in the final seconds, which enabled New Mexico to tie the game. It was all NMSU in the OT, though. This is a damaging loss for the Lobos. They’ll be able to overcome it, but it won’t look good on their resume.
-Nevada was down huge at LMU before coming back and almost winning, but fell just short 68-64. This isn’t the easiest road game in the world, but a solid NCAA Tournament team should be able to win on the road at LMU, so this will be a bit of a setback for the Wolfpack.
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HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-MARYLAND AT PURDUE (Big Ten). Maryland is a decent team with a decent shot at making the tournament, whereas Purdue is ranked in the top 10 and will likely end up as a protected seed. If the Terps will win this, we will be talking about them as being a lot more than just decent, but chances are Purdue will hold serve and get their first conference win.
-OKLAHOMA STATE AT SETON HALL. This is a winnable road game for Oklahoma State, which would get them to 6-2 on the year and 2-0 in true road games.
-VANDERBILT AT TCU. Vandy is having a really good year and can build up their resume even more if they’re able to pull this one off on the road. TCU is coming off a nice win against Xavier and will be challenged again in this one.
-KANSAS AT MISSOURI. Since the Border War resumed, all of the games have been Kansas blowouts. Mizzou’s fans will be sky high for this one, and Kansas is coming off a road loss at Creighton and will look to bounce back, but this is the second game for the Jayhawks in front of a raucous crowd and not their first, so chances are they’ll be more ready for this one. And while Mizzou is 7-1, six of those wins were home buy games, so it’s a test for the Tigers despite them being at home.
-TEXAS A&M VS TEXAS TECH (Fort Worth, TX). This is an interesting OOC match-up on a neutral floor between two old rivals, both of which are probable NCAA Tournament teams and who could use a big win on their resume. Why can’t there be more games like this!!??
-RICE AT TEXAS STATE. Both teams have respectable records so we are keeping our eyes on them for now, but I still think it’s unlikely that either one of them makes a run at the bubble. Having said that, a win today would be a step in the right direction.
-ARKANSAS STATE AT MEMPHIS. I know this is a buy game, and I know Memphis will likely win it without too much trouble, but Arkansas State is a good enough UTR team to make this one worth highlighting. While they have been struggling some lately, they were very competitive at Alabama earlier in the year.
-UCONN AT TEXAS. People have been down on UConn since their showing in the Maui, but I think a win today (which won’t be easy) will shut the critics up. They will have beaten Baylor at home and Texas on the road. That’s a hell of a week! Texas is 7-1 and coming off a nice road win at NC State, but this is still one of their bigger tests of the year so far.
-DUKE AT LOUISVILLE (ACC). Louisville has had a great start to the season, but the big question is can they keep playing at that level with the injuries they’ve sustained? Duke is obviously super talented and getting better and better as their young players become more experienced. This will, again, be a tough road test for the Blue Devils.
-UCLA AT OREGON (Pac 12 Big Ten). Oregon is having an amazing season so far and appears to be cruising toward the NCAA Tournament. UCLA has won six straight since their loss to New Mexico and is coming off a nice win against Washington. This is the toughest test of the year for the Bruins so far, and may be one of their toughest tests all season, but I think people have forgotten that this UCLA team is still really good! If UCLA can win this one today, I bet people’s memories about how good they are will start to come back.
BUY GAMES (and other games worth mentioning):
-Richmond @ Auburn
-Tarleton State @ UCF
-Howard @ Cincinnati
-Chicago State @ Saint Louis
-FGCU @ LSU – LSU can get to 8-1
-Prairie View @ Mississippi State
-Louisiana Tech @ Louisiana – it’s a rivalry game, and a win for LA Tech gets them to 8-2
-Jackson State @ Iowa State