NEWS, NOTES, AND LINKS:
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-Saint John’s winning streak was finally snapped as they fell at Villanova yesterday 73-71. All four of the Johnnies’ losses this season have been by 3pts or less, and while Nova is nowhere near the bubble the loss won’t hurt them that badly.
A few teams had close calls last night
-Texas Tech had all kinds of trouble with Arizona State, but held on to win in overtime 111-106 sidestepping what wouldn’t have been a huge landmine, but it’s still a loss that would have set them back.
-Ole Miss also struggled last night against an inferior South Carolina team, but did manage the road win 72-68.
-New Mexico really struggled with Wyoming and avoided a loss that would have knocked them pretty far down the seedlist, but held on to win at home 71-67
-Wake Forest, who was squarely on the bubble and could not afford a home loss to a team that was nowhere near the field, lost last night to Florida State, who was nowhere near the field. Not only did they lose, but they lost stupidly. They threw up a halfcourt shot with 12 seocnds to go, and then waited to foul FSU after failing to make the shot and not getting the rebound. The final was 72-70.
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HIGHLIGHTED GAMES
-MARYLAND AT NEBRASKA (Big Ten). Maryland continues to string together wins, boost their metrics, and climb the seedlist. They’ve got another tough one tonight against a Nebraska team that has been playing really well lately, and who is right on the bubble, and who needs this one themselves.
-MEMPHIS AT SOUTH FLORIDA (American). Memphis is good enough to win out, and if they do they should be very close to a protected seed.
-UC SANTA BARBARA AT UC IRVINE (Big West). UC Irvine is coming off a rare loss, but if they can win out, which they are good enough to do, they will still be right on the bubble and I think they can still get in. They’re still one of the best defensive teams in the country.
-SAN FRANCISCO AT GONZAGA (West Coast). This is a hugely important game. Gonzaga is trying to improve their profile and climb the seedlist, whereas San Francisco is squarely on the bubble and a win like this would likely put them inside of it.