NEWS AND NOTES:
-It was a crazy night of games considering there were so few of them.
-Miami FL competed with Tennessee in the Jimmy V Classic, but at no point did it ever feel like they were in a position to win it. The Vols cruised 75-62, they remain unbeaten on the year, and the Canes fall to just 3-7.
-In the 2nd game of the Jimmy V Classic, Michigan vs. Arkansas was just one of the craziest games you’ll see all year. Michigan led by as much as 15 in the first half, and then Arkansas went on a run to cut it to just 4 at halftime. Then Arkansas went up by as much as 18 with just 10 minutes to go and they appeared to be cruising, but then Michigan turned up the defense, started making plays, got back into it with an 18-2 run, got as close as 1 with less than a minute to go, but couldn’t quite come all the way back to get the win. For Arkansas, it was a win they really needed and their biggest of the season so far after a few struggles.
-Butler fell all over themselves against North Dakota State and was down 21 at home at the half. They played a fantastic second half, but it wasn’t quite good enough to come all the way back from the awful first half they played. North Dakota State picks up the big road win 71-68, and Butler has now lost two home buy games. That ain’t gonna look so good in March.
-DAVIDSON WINS THE HORNET’S NEST!! The greatest trophy in all of sports! They held off Charlotte 75-71.
-Rutgers had to sweat in the second half as Penn State almost came from behind, but they held on to win 80-76, which ends a three games losing streak and gives them their first Big Ten win of the season.
-Charleston picked up a nice 78-75 win at Saint Joseph’s, which is the second road win of the season for CofC. They have a very small margin for error, but I still think that they can be a dangerous team come March. I also want to like Saint Joe’s, but they keep losing games you feel like a good team should be winning.
-Providence got a nice road win at DePaul. “Nice” is not a word that is often used when describing a win against DePaul, but they came in 7-1 overall on the season and were favorited in this one, but Providence bounced back from their loss at Rhode Island and got the conference road win.
-California, who was a modest 6-3 going into yesterday’s game against Cornell, was run out of their own gym in the first half. They were better in the second half, but couldn’t come all the way back and lost the home buy game to Cornell 88-80.
-Last, but DEFINITELY not least, Brown handed Rhode Island their first loss as they beat the Rams 84-80 in double overtime!! With Rhode Island defeating Providence, and Brown defeating Bryant, this makes Brown this year’s Official Unofficial Ocean State Tournament Champions!!!!!!
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HIGHLIGHTED GAMES AND BUY GAMES:
-SOUTH DAKOTA STATE AT NEVADA. South Dakota State is a really strong UTR team, and while they probably won’t end up inside the bubble, this is the kind of game they need to be able to win if they’re going to have any sort of chance of that happening. Nevada has lost two straight and is in a bit of a tailspin right now, so they need this one as a bounce-back win.
-Dartmouth @ Notre Dame
-Fairleight Dickinson @ Villanova
-Bryant @ Saint John’s
-Eastern Kentucky @ Pittsburgh
-UTEP @ Louisville – UTEP is a respectable 6-2 but is likely overmatched in this one
-Colgate @ Kentucky
-Fresno State @ BYU
-Cal Baptist @ San Diego State