Hoops HD Daily Rundown – Sunday, Jan 26th

NEWS AND NOTES:

-For John Stalica’s UTR Game of the Day – CLICK HERE

-Yesterday’s biggest showcase game was a close game, but not necessarily a good game to watch. If it was the first time you’d seen Auburn or Tennessee yesterday you’d probably be a little unimpressed. The game was low scoring and the lead seesawed back and forrth the whole way. Tennessee had a chance to win it on their last possession, but came up empty and Auburn escaped 53-51.

-Duke led at Wake for most of the game, but Wake Forest did explode out of the second half and came from behind to take a lead, but Duke was able to come back and get the 63-56 road win. Considering how well Wake had been playing, and how weak the rest of the ACC is, this was perhaps one of Duke’s toughest remaining games. They should be running down hill until March.

-Houston v Kansas was crazy. Houston trailed by 4 with less than a minute to go in regulation and came back to tie it and force overtime. They then trailed by 6 with less than 10 seconds to go in overtime and came back to tie it to force another overtime. The Cougars then pulled away in the second overtime and got their biggest win of the year so far. We had been saying we thought Houston was a Final Four caliber team and that they would eventually prove it. They proved it yesterday.

-Kentucky overcame a 14pt halftime deficit at Vanderbilt, got the lead, and appeared to be in control, but Vandy surged late and pulled off the 74-69 upset. Vandy has had quite a week beating both Kentucky and Tennessee at home.

-Texas A&M was cruising against Texas. So much so that I kind of stopped paying attention to the game, but they came back from 18 down in the second half, and hit the game winning shot with 3 seconds to go for the 70-69 win. That was Texas’s only lead of the game. For TAMU, I’m sure that stings to blow a lead like that on the road in a rivalry game.

-Oregon suffered their first loss away from home as they fell at Minnesota 77-69. Oregon was looking like a top ten team for much of the season, and while the Ducks still look very good they are falling down our seedlist a little bit.

-Missouri got another big win as they held off Ole Miss at home 83-75. None of Ole Miss’s losses are bad, but they have not lost three in a row and sort of need to bounce back from that in their next game against Texas.

-Xavier got a massive win that they really needed against Connecticut last night 76-72. Depth has been an issue for X, but they were able to hold on yesterday. They’ve now won four out of their last five with the only loss being in overtime at Saint John’s, and have beaten both UConn and Marquette (on the road) in that stretch. Xavier has turned things around and is once again looking like a tournament-caliber team.

-West Virginia, who had been cruising, suffered a somewhat surprising loss at Kansas State yesterday as they fell 73-60.

-North Carolina played with fire in front of a keg of dynamite yesterday and damn near blew themselves up! They needed overtime to get past Boston College at home 102-96. Given where they are and what their tournament resume currently looks like not beating BC at home may have damn near killed them.

-Saint Mary’s got a scare at Washington State, but picked up a pretty nice 80-75 road win. They have looked as good as Gonzaga this season and may challenge them for 1st place in the WCC.

-Both Oklahoma and Arkansas really needed a win yesterday, and Oklahoma got it 65-62 on the road. Arkansas had a chance to win on their last possession, but turned it over and Oklahoma finished things off with a dunk as time expired.

-Cincinnati, who I was trying to think may be turning things around, is NOT turning things around. They were blown into the sun by BYU last night 80-52. It’s looking like the only way Cincinnati can go to the NCAA Tournament will be to buy tickets.

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HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:

-MARYLAND AT INDIANA (Big Ten). Maryland just picked up their first true road win of the season, and it was a big one at Illinois. They’ll be in even better shape if they can get this one. Indiana is still outside our bubble and needs to string together some wins in order to get on the right side of it.

-NEBRASKA AT WISCONSIN (Big Ten). After five straight losses, we have Nebraska outside the bubble, but they are still within reach of it. A win like this would be huge for them, but it’s also not easy to get. Wisconsin is coming off a close loss at UCLA and this should be a bounce-back game for them.

-UAB AT MEMPHIS (American). Memphis is solidly inside the field and should be in the discussion for a protected seed if they’re able to win out, which they are good enough to do.

-FLORIDA ATLANTIC AT NORTH TEXAS (American). North Texas is having a great year at 14-4 and may bet the attention of the committee if they can keep winning at that clip.

-NORTHWESTERN AT ILLINOIS (Big Ten). Northwestern must lead the nation in bad luck if you take into account some of the close games they’ve lost. A win like this would be huge for their resume and may make the difference of whether or not they make the field. It’s also a rivalry game. Illinois was having a great year, but was beaten badly in their last game against Maryland, which was a bit of a surprise. They’ll be looking to bounce back this afternoon.

-OKLAHOMA STATE AT TEXAS TECH (Big 12). Texas Tech is having a solid year and should be able to hold serve at home in this one.