-Ohio State had to come from behind and beat Maryland, but they got a huge 73-70 win after hitting a game-winning 3 in the final seconds. This game could play a role in making the difference of whether or not the Buckeyes make the NCAAs. Ohio State is now 14-9 overall with some pretty nice wins at the top of their profile, and a respectable 6-6 in Big Ten play.
-Saint Mary’s had a lead at halftime at San Francisco, but could not hold on and ending up falling 65-64. SMC made a late run, but couldn’t quite come all the way back. I wouldn’t call this loss a setback. San Francisco is not an easy team to beat at home, but I would say it was a missed opportunity for SMC to perhaps make a run at a protected seed.
-Some notable UTR results – Montana got a big win at Northern Colorado to pull even in with them in the Big Sky standings. It was pivotal because had NoCo won they would have had a 2 game lead plus the tiebreaker. SEMO blew out Morehead State off the floor to draw even with them atop the OVC, which is now log-jammed. UC San Diego had an impressive blowout win against UC Riverside, setting up a huge showdown Saturday against UC Irvine.
-USC AT PURDUE (Big Ten). USC is coming off a loss, but is still hovering around the bubble and a big win like this could place them inside of it. Having said that, the reason a win like this could place them inside of it is that beating a top ten team on the road is not something that’s commonly done.
-VCU AT DAYTON (Atlantic 10). These are two of the better teams in the A10, but both are long shots to end up inside the bubble. I suppose Dayton has a chance if they can win out considering how strong they were OOC.
-SAINT JOHN’S AT UCONN (Big East). Saint John’s is coming off a really big win against Marquette. Following that up with a road win against UConn would cement them as a protected seed caliber team. UConn is also coming off a win against Marquette and seems to be trending up themselves, so this one should be fun.
-UTAH STATE AT FRESNO STATE (Mountain West). This should be a game where Utah State can hold serve and pick up another conference road win.