Hoops HD Daily Rundown – Sunday, Feb 23rd

NEWS AND NOTES:

-Duke absolutely blew Illinois off the court. Duke had been winning some ACC games like they were home buy games, but was a game against a solid tournament team on a neutral floor, and they just blew the Illini into the sun 110-67.

-BYU, who had been hovering right around our bubble, got a massive road win at Arizona yesterday 96-95. It was close all throughout, but BYU made some key plays in the final minute to secure what is easily their biggest win of the season and could be the game that makes the difference of them getting into the NCAA Tournament. Arizona is still in great shape, but they’ve now lost three of their last four, and two of those were at home.

-Alabama snapped their two game losing streak with a big 96-83 win against Kentucky. Kentucky kept it close for a lot of the game, but Bama maintained the lead and control.

-Houston managed to get another big win as they held off Iowa State 68-59. The Cougars never blew it open, but they did sustain a lead for most of the game.

-Tennessee has had a great season, and their really strong profile got even stronger yesterday as they beat Texas A&M on the road 77-69. Beating protected seeds in true road games is generally a good thing for one’s resume!!

-Oregon, who just a little while ago appeared to be in a massive tailspin, somehow managed to go into Wisconsin and get a massive 77-73 yesterday. It is probably their biggest win of the year and it comes at a time when their resume really needed a big boost.

-Arkansas just isn’t going away. They got another nice win yesterday against Missouri that they really needed as they held off the Tigers 92-85, and had to come from behind to do it. Mizzou has an outstanding overall profile, and they could still end up as a protected seed, but the one thing they could use a little more of is true road wins, so yesterday was a bit of a missed opportunity.

-Clemson got one of their bigger road wins of the year as they went on the road to SMU and knocked them off 79-69. SMU was on the bubble, and this was a huge missed opportunity for them, whereas Clemson is solidly in the field and now has seven true road wins. This should move them up the seedlist.

-Oklahoma is still clinging to the bubble for dear life. Every time it looks like they are about to fall off of it they come up with a big win. They knocked off Mississippi State 93-87 yesterday, and while it was at home, for them every win is a big win.

-Vanderbilt continues to play like a top ten team on their home court. They got another big scalp as they knocked off Ole Miss 77-72. Vandy should safely be in the field, but doing just a little more away from home would make their resume look a lot stronger.

-TCU, who had been red hot and appeared to have a pretty wide path toward making the NCAA Tournament, fell on the road at Cincinnati yesterday 75-63 in a game that they really could not afford to lose.

-Wake Forest, who was also squarely on the bubble and needing to hold serve, did not do so yesterday. They fell on the road to NC State 83-75 in a game that will likely have them on the wrong side of the cut line.

-Texas, who was squarely on the bubble and needing to hold serve, did not do so yesterday. They went to South Carolina and didn’t just lose, but lost handily 84-69. That is definitely going to leave a mark!.

-Baylor is still likely inside the bubble, but they needed road wins. They had a winnable road game yesterday at Colorado, but didn’t win it. they fell to the Buffs 76-74.

-VCU and George Mason, a pair of bubble teams out of the Atlantic Ten, squared off yesterday, and VCU won it going away 70-54. They have now drawn even with George Mason in the standings. I think George Mason’s case was slightly stronger than VCU’s coming into yesterday, but they needed this one and didn’t get it.

-Saint Mary’s has now clinched 1st place in the West Coast Conference after they went on the road and won at Gonzaga. SMC was very safely in the top half of the bracket, but this should give them a much bigger boost considering that it was a true road win against a solid team. They basically sprinted out to a lead early and while the Zags made a few runs at them, SMC always had an answer.

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HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:

-UCONN AT SAINT JOHN’S (Big East). Saint John’s is one of the hottest teams in the country and appears to be on pace to earn a protected seeds. UConn has been a little less consistent, but they do have some big wins and has shown they are capable of winning big games away from home. If they could somehow win this one it would give their resume a big boost.

-PURDUE AT INDIANA (Big Ten). Purdue has now dropped three straight. Granted, all were to probable protected seeds and two of them were on the road, so it’s not that big of a tailspin, but they’ll definitely be looking to snap that today. Indiana has lost six out of their last seven, but they have been competitive in a lot of those games, and they should be way up for this one since it’s a rivalry game. When they went to Purdue just a few weeks ago they only lost by 5.

-FLORIDA ATLANTIC AT MEMPHIS (American). FAU just had a five game winning streak snapped, but they have been playing better recently and they should be up for this one. Having said that, Memphis is clearly the superior team and they are at home, so they should be able to hold serve.

-XAVIER AT SETON HALL (Big East). We still have Xavier just outside our bubble and they basically need to win out in order to have a chance to get inside of it. They certainly don’t want to drop a game to a Seton Hall team that’s about a thousand miles from the bubble.

-CLEVELAND STATE AT OAKLAND (Horizon League). Cleveland State still has a half game lead in the HL Standings with just three games to go. They can get a step closer with a win today.

-OHIO STATE AT UCLA (Big Ten). Ohio State suffered a rather damaging blowout loss earlier in the week, which is a bad look for a team that’s right on the bubble. But, the Buckeyes have been inconsistent all year long. A win today would all but offset that, and the way their season has gone it’s not out of the question. UCLA is solidly in the field and depending on how they finish their season I still think the door is open for them to end up as a protected seed. They’ll be looking to hold serve at home today after a somewhat surprising home loss to Minnesota earlier in the week.

-DRAKE AT NORTHERN IOWA (Missouri Valley). This is perhaps Drake’s toughest remaining test of the season. It’s on the road against a team that has been playing really well. It’s also a rivalry game. If Drake can win this, they have a pretty clear path toward winning out during the regular season, and if they do that I think they’ll be inside the bubble.

-GEORGETOWN AT CREIGHTON (Big East). Creighton has lost two straight, but both were close games to solid opponents. They should be able to hold serve at home and win this one. They are good enough to win out until the Big East Tournament.