Hoops HD Daily Rundown – Friday, March 7th

NEWS AND NOTES:

-The bulk of the action from yesterday was in conference tournaments, and that can all be seen in our CHAMPIONSHIP WEEK VIDEO NOTEBOOK – CLICK HERE to watch.

-Also be sure to check out our SURVIVAL BOARD and our TEAM SHEETS

SURVIVAL BOARD UPDATE:

– Two of four teams will be eliminated from the Survival Board by not qualifying for the MAC Tournament today. As we understand the tiebreakers, these are the paths into the MAC Tournament for two of Western Michigan, Bowling Green, Central Michigan and/or Ball State:

1. The winner of tonight’s Western Michigan at Bowling Green game is in.
2. If Central Michigan defeats Northern Illinois at home, they are in.
3. If CMU loses, then Ball State can get in if they win (at Miami-Ohio) and Western Michigan defeats Bowling Green.
4. Under any other scenario, the loser of Western Michigan at Bowling Green is in.

-Michigan State got a battle from Iowa but held on to win. UC San Diego sputtered in the second but held on to win against Long Beach. If they win their last regular season game I feel they should be locked into the field regardless. I hope the committee agrees!

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HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:

-DAYTON AT VCU (Atlantic 10). I have now come around to thinking that VCU will land inside the bubble, or at least on it, if they win this last game and then avoid an early loss in the A10 Tournament. Dayton has shown signs of life this year, but they’ve been disappointing throughout conference play. Still, they are potentially dangerous if they can start to click.

-BUFFALO AT AKRON (MAC). Akron can finish off conference play at an amazing 17-1, but even with that they will still need to win three more in the conference tournament to make it to the NCAAs.

-PURDUE AT ILLINOIS (Big Ten). Both are solid NCAA Tournament teams who are looking to improve both their profiles and their seeds. Purdue could still lock up a #1 seed and as rough as it has been for Illinois they can still put together a really good profile with a win tonight and a strong showing in the Big Ten Tournament.

-SOUTH FLORIDA AT MEMPHIS (American). Memphis is all but locked in to the top half of the bracket. We will see what kind of seed the committee gives them if they are able to win out through the AAC Tournament.

-UNLV AT NEW MEXICO (Mountain West). New Mexico needs to hold serve to stay inside the bubble, which they should be able to do. In fact if the win this game tonight, which they should, I think they are pretty much a lock.

-COLORADO STATE AT BOISE STATE (Mountain West). These are two of the better teams in the MWC right now, but neither one is safely in the field. In fact both still have work to do just to get there. Boise State is right on the bubble (again) and needs a win tonight. Colorado State probably can’t get in without the auto-bid, but right now they may be playing the best basketball out of anyone in the league and this would certainly be a big win for them tonight.