NEWS AND NOTES:
-Mississippi State pulled away from Texas A&M down the stretch for a very impressive 70-54 win. It was a home game, but it will still give the Bulldogs a bit of a resume boost.
-TCU knocked off Texas Tech last night 69-66 and while we haven’t been paying that much attention to them, it is probably time to start. They’ve won five of their last six, they suddenly have 3 quad 1 wins, they are 8-7 in a very strong Big 12 Conference, and in looking at their remaining schedule all the games appear to be winnable.
-Purdue has now lost three straight. They fell on the road to Michigan State 75-66 last night. While none of those losses are bad, and while winning at Michigan State certainly isn’t easy to do, the Boilers are in a bit of a tailspin.
-Kansas, who has not been the best road team this season, was far from the best road team last night. They were blown off the floor by BYU last night 91-57. It’s a big win for the Cougars who are right on the bubble, and a big setback for a Kansas team that will probably struggle to end up as a protected seed.
-UCLA, who had been on fire, somehow lost at home last night to Minnesota 66-63. This won’t knock UCLA out of the field by any means, but we were starting to think of them as a probable protected seed, and losing a home game to a team that is nowhere near the bubble is not going to help them with that push.
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HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-UMASS AT VCU (Atlantic 10). VCU is squarely on the bubble and should get a look if they win out, but anything short of that and I think they’ll need the auto-bid.
-NEBRASKA AT PENN STATE (Big Ten). Nebraska is inside our bubble, bot to say they are safely inside is a bit of a stretch. They need to be able to beat non-tournament teams on the road to show that they should stay inside the bubble.
-VANDERBILT AT KENTUCKY (SEC). Kentucky is on the fringe of earning a protected seed, but they still have some work to do. If nothing else they need to do a better job winning the ‘hold-serve games.’ They’ve shown they can win the big games. Vanderbilt is a home court hero and while we have them in the field, a win like this would make their spot so much more secure and shoot them up the seedlist.
-CINCINNATI AT WEST VIRGINIA (Big 12). I think West Virginia’s NCAA hopes are slipping away and that a loss tonight may be enough to virtually end it.
-SMU AT NOTRE DAME (ACC). SMU continues to hover around our bubble and they can add another road win to their resume tonight.
-UIC AT DRAKE (Missouri Valley). UIC beat Drake earlier this season, so it is important that Drake can show that they can beat them. Drake needs to finish 1st and beat everyone in the conference at least once in order to show the committee that they belong inside the bubble. If Drake wins out, I think the committee will select them.
-OREGON AT IOWA (Big Ten). Oregon had been in a nosedive, but they’ve now won two straight and have a winnable road game tonight. Winning at Iowa isn’t the easiest thing to do, but it’s the kind of game that a team that’s looking to be placed in the top half of the bracket should be able to win.
-ARKANSAS AT AUBURN (SEC). Auburn is the consensus #1 team in very metric and every poll. Arkansas is hovering around the bubble. That’s the story line. If Arkansas can somehow win this game, it will rocket them up the seedlist and probably land them inside the bubble. At least for now.
-ALABAMA AT MISSOURI (SEC). This is a tough road test for an Alabama team that’s coming off a home loss to their rivals in one of the biggest regular season games in the last several years. Bama is still being projected onto the #1 line, and still has to win some tough games in order to stay there. Particularly this one. Missouri is looking like a possible protected seed and has been outstanding at home this year, so this one should be fun.
-SAINT JOHN’S AT DEPAUL (Big East). The Johnnies are red hot. They’re an outstanding defensive team, they’re solid on the road, and they should be able to pick this one up tonight without too much trouble.
-GONZAGA AT WASHINGTON STATE (West Coast). This is a big game for the Zags. They ares safely in the field, but have a chance to really build up their metrics and move up the seedlist if they can win out. Wazzu isn’t anywhere near the field, but this is still not the easiest road game to win.
-SAN JOSE STATE AT UTAH STATE (Mountain West). Utah State is coming back from a loss and needs to bounce back, which they shouldn’t have too much trouble doing tonight. They are safely inside the bubble and will remain there so long as they can continue to hold serve.
-NEW MEXICO AT BOISE STATE (Mountain West). New Mexico is an amazing 22-4 on the year and is coming off a really big win against Utah State. They will be tested tonight against a Boise State team that has a high ceiling that they haven’t always played up to, but is still potentially dangerous. Especially when they are at home.
-PORTLAND AT SAINT MARY’S (West Coast). It’s a conference game, but it has the feel of a buy game. SMC should steamroll through this one.
UNDER THE RADAR WATCH:
–BIG SOUTH – High Point has a half game lead over UNC Asheville and should win easily at home over Charleston Southern. UNC Asvheville has a tougher test as they are going on the road to Radford
–PATRIOT LEAGUE – American has a two game lead over Bucknell and Army with four games to go and can knock Army out of the race tonight.
–SOCON – Chattanooga and UNC Greensboro are tied with just four games to go and Samford is just a game behind those two. All three are in action tonight. Samford hosts Furman, UNCG has a tough test at East Tennessee State, and Chattanooga should roll Western Carolina at home.
–SUN BELT – It’s crazy!! Arkansas State, South Alabama, Troy, and James Madison are all tied for 1st place with just four games remaining. Appalachian State is just a game behind those four. Arkansas State hosts South Alabama in an extremely pivotal game tonight.
–SUMMIT LEAGUE – Omaha is just a game behind Saint Thomas with three games to go, but since the Tommies are ineligible for the NCAA Tournament Omaha is in the drivers seat. The go on the road to UMKC tonight