NEWS AND NOTES:
-For the latest Hoops HD Staff Bracket, which was put together this week by Chad Sherwood – CLICK HERE
-Indiana snapped a two-game losing streak where they were blown out in both games by getting a really nice 77-76 road win at Ohio State. Every year we see schizophrenic teams, and Ohio State is a team with a profile that fits that category this year. They have a blowout win against a team like Kentucky away from home, and last night they lost at home to an Indiana team that appeared to be on the bubble at best.
-UCLA also ended their losing streak with a blowout home win against Iowa. The final score was 94-70, but the lead was much bigger than that until late in the game.
-Ever since beating UConn and showing signs of possible tournament life, Villanova has now gone backwards after losing at St. John’s (forgivable) and Xavier (less forgivable). They barely eked out a win at home against Providence last night.
-Which is more than we can say for Georgetown. The Hoyas took a huge step backward after DePaul snapped a 39-game losing streak in conference play last night with a 73-68 win. AND on the road in Washington. This was also the first road win for the Blue Demons in two seasons.
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SPOTLIGHT GAME:
-VMI AT THE CITADEL (SoCon). This is legit one of my favorite rivalries in all of college basketball!! Neither team is all that good, and when these two meet it is oftentimes for second-to-last place in the SoCon, but WOW do they get after it!! There is something special and somewhat romantic about a game that doesn’t mean hardly anything on paper between two teams that aren’t ever nationally significant, but that come out and go at it with such intensity the way these teams do. It’s worth watching!! It really is!! (Note from Stalica – out of respect for Griggs, this is now our UTR Game of the Day.)
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HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-ALABAMA AT KENTUCKY (SEC). Both teams are ranked in the top ten and both are within reach of a #1 seed. Having said that, the SEC is so strong both are also at risk of not finishing in the top 4 and byeing into the SEC quarterfinals. Alabama has an unbelievable resume, but they are coming off a somewhat surprising home loss to Ole Miss (who is also very good) and this will not be an easy game for them to bounce back in.
-HOUSTON AT UCF (Big 12). Houston continues to string together wins as their schedule gets tougher and tougher. UCF is a team that is good enough to make the NCAA Tournament, and a win today would go a long way even though it’s a home game.
-CLEMSON AT PITTSBURGH (ACC). It feels like both of these teams will be able to make the Tournament, but both still have work to do and a win today would be big for whoever pulls it off. Clemson has won five out of six, including a road game in their last game, but none of the wins were super strong. Pitt is coming off a somewhat surprising loss to Florida State and will be looking to rebound.
-AUBURN AT GEORGIA (SEC). This will be another tough road test for an Auburn team that’s passed virtually all of their tough road tests. Georgia is having a good year, but this would be a huge win on their resume even though it’s a home game. They should be jacked way up for this one.
-ARIZONA AT TEXAS TECH (Big 12). Arizona has really started to play well and is definitely trending up. This is another tough, but winnable, road game against a Texas Tech team that’s looked good at times, but needs to look good a few more times in order to land inside the bubble.
-PURDUE AT OREGON (Big Ten). Both teams are ranked in the top 20 and both teams have some really good wins on their resume. Oregon got battles from Ohio State and Penn State on the road in their last two games, but managed to win both of them. As good as Purdue has been this year, this would probably be their best win of the season so far up to this point.
-WISCONSIN AT USC (Big Ten). Going all the way out to USC and winning on the road is not an easy task for Wisky, but it is one that they are certainly up for. They’ve now won six straight, but this would just be their second true road win of the season.
-TENNESSEE AT VANDERBILT (SEC). It’s a rivalry game, and Vandy is having a good year, but it still appears to be a bit of a mismatch as Tennessee is looking like they are among the few teams that are good enough to win it all. The Vols have also shown that they can play and win in tough road environments.
-IOWA STATE AT WEST VIRGINIA (Big 12). Iowa State is one of the two best teams in the country and is coming off a rather decisive win against Kansas. This will be a very tough road game, and it’s one that could give West Virginia’s profile a huge boost, but Iowa State is capable of winning tough games.
-OLE MISS AT MISSISSIPPI STATE (SEC). It’s a big rivalry game between two ranked teams. Ole Miss just picked up a massive on the road against Alabama, so as intense as this atmosphere will be for this one they’ve shown they can win on the road against really good teams. Mississippi State has lost two straight and will be looking to bounce back from a blowout loss at Auburn.
-ARKANSAS AT MISSOURI (SEC). Arkansas is in real trouble. They’re 0-4 in SEC play and haven’t looked all that good this season other than perhaps in their win against Michigan. Mizzou, on the other hand, is coming off an amazing road win at Florida and is suddenly looking like a top 25 team. They have a ton of momentum built up and their fans should be up for this one.
-LSU AT TEXAS A&M (SEC). Texas A&M has lost two straight, but those were against Alabama and Kentucky, which are clearly not easy games to win. But, they do need to bounce back and hold serve in the winnable games they do play because most SEC games are very hard to win. LSU is respectable, but TAMU should beat them at home.
-OREGON STATE AT SAN FRANCISCO (West Coast). After Oregon State’s big win against Gonzaga last night they are probably within reach of the bubble, and they certainly have the opportunities at the wins they need between now and the end to get inside of it. Tonight’s game is a big one. The Dons are not easy to beat on the road!
OTHER NOTABLE GAMES:
-Creighton @ UConn (Big East)- UConn is looking like a protected seed and Creighton is trying to play their way into the field. A win today would really help the Bluejays
-Georgia Tech @ Florida State (ACC)- Florida State is coming off a nice win against Pitt, which was their 5th win in 7 games, and they have another winnable game today
–Virginia at Louisville (ACC) – Louisville is hot right now with seven straight wins and they should be able to extend that today
-George Washington @ George Mason (Atlantic 10) – the chances of either team landing inside the bubble are slim, but if one or both of them can tear through their schedule and run away from the rest of the conference they may have a chance
-Kansas State @ Kansas (Big 12) – The Jayhawks should bounce back from their big loss at Iowa State and roll at home in this one
-Xavier @ Marquette (Big East) – Xavier needs a win like this (and probably then some) to get themselves back inside the bubble. Marquette looks like a sure fire protected seed who may even flirt with the #1 line if they can keep blowing through the Big East
-Arizona State @ Cincinnati (Big 12) – Both teams have shown signs of strength, but both are really struggling now with just one conference win for each of them. They both really need a win today
-SMU @ Miami FL (ACC) – this should be a rather easy road win for SMU
-Wake Forest @ Virginia Tech (ACC) – Wake has really come to life lately and they can add another road win to their resume and improve to 6-1 in ACC play
–Saint Bonaventure @ Duquesne (Atlantic 10) – the Bonnies are not inside the bubble, but they can perhaps get there if they can blow through the rest of their schedule. Anything short of that and they’ll need the auto bid
-Stanford @ North Carolina (ACC) – UNC is another team that’s really come to life lately having won six out of their last seven and they should be able to hold serve today
-Texas @ Florida (SEC) – A win like this for Texas could completely turn their season around and boost their profile through the roof, but it’s easier said than done. Florida is one of the best teams in the country and won’t be easy to beat at home
-Bradley @ Murray State (Missouri Valley) – A win for Bradley gets them to 16-3 on the year and keeps the bubble within reach
-Colorado State @ Wyoming (Mountain West, Front Range) – WE AT HOOPS HD LOVE THE FRONT RANGE!!!!
-South Carolina @ Oklahoma (SEC) – neither team has an SEC win yet, and both need one today. Oklahoma was unbeaten out of conference and is winless in conference so far
-Drake @ Indiana State – Drake can get to a very impressive 16-2 on the year and pick up another road win, which should keep them within reach of the bubble
-Duke @ Boston College (ACC) – should be some low hanging road fruit for Duke
-UNLV @ San Diego State (Mountain West) – UNLV just knocked off a really good Utah State team, so San Diego State doesn’t want to overlook them, but they should be able to hold serve and get this one done at home
-Saint John’s @ Seton Hall (Big East) – the Johnnies are really on a roll and they should be able to pick up another conference road win tonight
-UC San Diego @ UC Riverside (Big West) – UCSD did lose to UC Irvine recently, but I still think they are good enough to get inside the bubble. Having said that, road games like this are not easy to win
-Santa Clara @ Gonzaga (West Coast) – Gonzaga is coming off an overtime loss to Oregon State and needs to bounce back. They can still get a protected seed, but their margin for error is razor thin
-BYU @ Utah (Big 12) – not all that important on paper, but it is a fierce rivalry and it’s good to have it back as a conference game again!
-Cal Poly @ UC Irvine (Big West) – UC Irvine is inside of our bubble and will remain there so long as they continue to hold serve
-Saint Mary’s @ Pepperdine (West Coast) – SMC should be a first ballot NCAA Tournament team and should be able to hold serve tonight