NEWS AND NOTES:
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-It was a pretty chalky night. Clemson blew North Carolina into the sun, and Houston had no trouble with Baylor.
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HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-AUBURN AT VANDERBILT (SEC). Vandy has shown they can beat some of the best teams in the country when they’re at home, including Kentucky and Tennessee, so Auburn will not want to be looking ahead to Saturday. This game is still one Vanderbilt could really use because they’re hovering around the bubble.
-FLORIDA AT MISSISSIPPI STATE (SEC). The Gators are coming off the biggest win of the season that any team has managed, and they’ have another really tough road test tonight. They are within reach of a #1 seed, and if they can somehow get this one on the road it really strengthens their case. Mississippi State had been in a bit of a tailspin, but they bounced back with a big win over the weekend against Georgia. If they can follow that up tonight they’ll be in really good shape.
-TENNESSEE AT KENTUCKY (SEC). This one is big. Kentucky is fighting to stay within range of a protected seed and Tennessee is fighting to get onto the 1-line. Kentucky won the first meeting between these two in Knoxville, but Tennessee has shown they can go on the road and win big games themselves, so it should be a good one.
-PURDUE AT MICHIGAN (Big Ten). Purdue is one of the hotter teams in the country. They don’t seem to be getting the same attention as some of the SEC teams, but they are proving to be about as good and could even be within reach of the 1 line. They need wins like this in order to get there, though. While Michigan has stubbed their toes in some games you would have expected them to win, they still have an amazing profile and are playing really well at the moment with four straight wins.
-IOWA STATE AT UCF (Big 12). UCF showed signs of being good at times, and they’re good enough to where you never want to take for granted that you’re going to beat them, but they’re still outside the bubble and it does not appear that they will be reaching it. Iowa State had been struggling (at least by their standards), but they snapped a three game losing streak with a blowout win against TCU and should be focused tonight.
-BYU AT WEST VIRGINIA (Big 12). This is a game that both of these teams really need. BYU is on the bubble and could use a highly notable road win to help them land on the right side of it. West Virginia is dealing with injuries and needs to show that they can still win games while not at full strength. In short, both teams could really use this one.
-ARIZONA AT KANSAS STATE (Big 12). This game is just a fascinating matchup. Arizona is one of the hottest teams in the country and is now on pace to earn a protected seed. Kansas State may be even hotter having won five straight against really strong competition, but yet after being 7-11 at one point they need to string together more wins just to make the field at all. A win tonight would be huge for the Wildcats and could go a long way toward them actually making the NCAA Tournament. (NOTE: we guarantee that the winning team will be called the Wildcats!)
-GEORGE MASON AT SAINT LOUIS (Atlantic 10). George Mason is outside the bubble, but if they can win out until the conference tournament they are going to get a serious look and may even end up getting selected.
-UCLA AT ILLINOIS (Big Ten). Illinois has been inconsistent lately, but overall they still have a strong profile and will still be very tough to beat at home. UCLA has been red hot with seven straight wins, and if they can get this one they may be within reach of a protected seed by the end of the year.
-DEPAUL AT MARQUETTE (Big East). Marquette has lost three straight and has skidded off the road a little bit, but they shouldn’t have too much trouble getting this one tonight.
-GEORGIA AT TEXAS A&M (SEC). TAMU is looking as good as anyone in the country right now, whereas it feels like Georgia is holding on to the bubble with all their might and continuing to lose their grip. A win for Georgia on the road in a game like this could change all that, but it’s far easier said than done.
-INDIANA AT MICHIGAN STATE (Big Ten). Michigan State bounced back from two straight losses with a win against Oregon over the weekend, and should be able to hold serve in this one today.
-COLORADO AT KANSAS (Big 12). Kansas is still well within range of a protected seed, and this really amounts to a hold-serve-game for them at home.
-CONNECTICUT AT CREIGHTON (Big East). Creighton is one of the hottest teams in the country, they have cracked the rankings, and they continue to climb our seedlist. UConn is safely in the field, but this would be a huge resume-builder for them if they could somehow pull this one off on the road.
-PITTSBURGH AT SMU (ACC). SMU is outside the bubble and can’t afford to drop games like this if they want to end up inside of it on Selection Sunday.
-COLORADO STATE AT UTAH STATE (Mountain West). Colorado State has been playing well lately, but they still have a ways to go before we start considering them to be a possible tournament team. Having said that, a win at Utah State would be quite a big step forward.
-SAN DIEGO STATE AT SAN JOSE STATE (Mountain West). San Diego State has had to sweat out quite a few of their last games, and while they should clobber San Jose State, they better not overlook them, especially since it’s a road game.
-NORTHWESTERN AT OREGON (Big Ten). Oregon has completely skidded off the road, and this is a big game for them. It’s not so much that it will look good on their profile so much as it is a “Get-Right-Game” (footnote Rocco Miller).
-SANTA CLARA AT SAINT MARY’S (West Coast). I really like this Saint Mary’s team, and despite coming off a loss I think they are on pace to at least land in the top half of the bracket and be a dangerous team in the NCAA Tournament. Santa Clara is outside the bubble, but they are close enough to it to where if they get a win in a game like this, we need to at least start paying attention to them.