– The final spot in the Ivy League Tournament will go to Brown if they defeat Yale at home, Princeton loses at home to Penn and Harvard loses at home to Dartmouth. Otherwise, it goes to Princeton.
– The final spot in the SWAC tournament goes to Prairie View if they win at home vs Texas Southern or Arkansas-Pine Bluff loses at home to Alcorn State. Otherwise, it goes to Pine Bluff.
– The final spot in the MAAC Tournament goes to Fairfield if they win at home vs Quinnipiac or St. Peter’s loses at home to Canisius. If Fairfield loses and St. Peter’s wind, then the spot goes to Niagara if they win at Rider, or St. Peter’s if Niagara loses.
– The final 2 spots in the Big West Tournament will go to Cal Poly and Hawai’i if Cal Poly wins at Long Beach and Hawai’i wins at Northridge. If one of the two teams loses, then the team that wins and Cal State-Bakersfield will take the two spots. If both Cal Poly and Hawai’i lose, then Cal State-Bakersfield and Hawai’i will get the 2 spots.
– One more team will be eliminated from the Big Ten Tournament. If UCLA defeats USC at home OR Northwestern wins at Maryland today, Sunday’s Iowa at Nebraska game will be a virtual play-in game for the final spot in the Big Ten field. If UCLA and Northwestern both lose, there is one possible scenario where Northwestern ends up getting left out instead (both Iowa and Minnesota would have to win Sunday as well).
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NEWS AND NOTES:
-Illinois finished off their regular season with a big 88-80 home win over Purdue. The Illini have gone through good and bad stretches this year, but they now appear to be healthy, they on their last three regular season games, and are a potentially dangerous NCAA Tournament. Purdue, who had been flying high, ended their regular season by losing five of their last seven
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HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-SAINT JOHN’S AT MARQUETTE (Big East). This is one of the tougher games of the year for Saint John’s and a win perhaps locks them into a protected seed. Even with a loss the Johnnies are still in really good shape heading into the Big East Tournament. As for Marquette, they are solidly in the field, but can improve their seeding with a win today and a strong showing in the Big East Tournament.
-KENTUCKY AT MISSOURI (SEC). Both teams are safely in the field and both are on the fringe of earning a protected seed. One thing Kentucky could improve upon is their number of true road wins and to get one in a game like this may lock them into a protected seed regardless of what happens next week. Mizzou has been very tough to beat on their home court and I’m sure the committee realizes that.
-MISSISSIPPI STATE AT ARKANSAS (SEC). Arkansas is squarely on the bubble. This game, along with the early round games in the SEC Tournament, feel like must win games. Mississippi State has a good profile and has the chance to really improve upon it with a win today and then some wins in the SEC Tournament.
-VANDERBILT AT GEORGIA (SEC). Vanderbilt is already a virtual lock, but a win today makes then a certain lock. Georgia is still right on the bubble and has work to do. They have been playing better lately and they’re at home against a team that has not been the best on the road. The Bulldogs need this one, and they’ll probabaly need some wins next week as well.
-ALABAMA AT AUBURN (SEC). Alabama has shown that they are a remarkably good team, but they’re also capable of losing to other remarkably good teams. They have lost two straight coming into this, but they were to Tennessee and Florida. This is perhaps the toughest matchup of the three. Auburn is at home, and it’s a rivalry game, and they’ll be jacked way up for it. This may be the toughest game that anyone plays all year. Beating a Final Four caliber team is hard to do, but beating the best team in the country on their court is even harder. And…in about a week’s time we may see these two squaring off again!!
-OHIO STATE AT INDIANA (Big Ten). This is about as bubblicous as they come! Both teams are squarely on the bubble and both really need this win today. Both will also need to probably pick up at least one win in the Big Ten Tournament, but winning today is a almost a must.
-ARIZONA AT KANSAS (Big 12). This is a really tough road test for an Arizona team that’s had some really high water marks this year, but that’s not always played up to their ceiling. Having said that, they’ve played well enough to where a win today should lock them into a protected seed. It won’t be easy, though. While Kansas has had their struggles, they’re still a solid tournament team and are very tough to beat at home.
-OLE MISS AT FLORIDA (SEC). Ole Miss is safely in the field and can really give their potential seed a boost if they can somehow win this one on the road. Florida is battling for a #1 seed and needs to hold serve today and pick up some big wins next week.
-DUKE AT NORTH CAROLINA (ACC). So, the storyline from this one is that Duke is fighting for a #1 seed and even if they lose I still think they’ll end up on the #1 line. North Carolina is fighting for a spot in the field. A win helps, and it probably puts them in, but a loss doesn’t necessarily eliminate them depending on who they end up playing and beating in the ACC Tournament next week. Oh yeah, this is also a rivalry game! And the two teams are just 8 miles apart! And they’ve NEVER met in an NCAA Tournament game and an odd numbered year!!!
-OKLAHOMA AT TEXAS (SEC). This is another super-bubblicious game. Oklahoma has struggled in conference play and has only won one true road game. Today, they have a chance to win a true conference road game against a team that’s also on the bubble. That will address a lot of the things that are missing from their resume. Texas got a big road win at Mississippi State earlier in the week to keep themselves in the discussion. A win today and a couple of wins next week may be enough to get them in, but if they lose today it will really hurt their chances and make the hill they need to climb up a whole lot steeper.
-HOUSTON AT BAYLOR (Big 12). Houston will likely end up as a #1 seed even if they lose this game. We are forecasting Baylor as being inside the bubble, but not far enough inside to where you could call them safe. A win tonight, even though it’s at home, would make them a whole lot safer!!
OTHER NOTABLE GAMES:
-Penn State @ Wisconsin (Big Ten) – Wisky is a solid protected seed and is positioning themselves for a possible deep run in the NCAA Tournament. They just need to hold serve and win their last regular season game
-Iowa State @ Kansas State (Big 12) – Iowa State was beaten in the first meeting between these two, so this is a chance for them to avenge that loss and add another road win to their profile
-South Carolina @ Tennessee (SEC) – this really is just a hold-serve game for the Vols. They’re in the hunt for a #1 seed and will remain that way heading into the SEC Tournament
-Stanford @ Louisville (ACC) – Louisville can pretty much lock up a spot in the top half of the bracket with a win today
-Yale @ Brown (Ivy League) – Yale has wrapped up 1st place and this is really just a warmup game for the Ivy Four
-Georgia Tech @ Wake Forest (ACC) – I get the sense that Wake will be on the board, but won’t be inside the bubble barring a run to the ACC Championship game
-Seton Hall @ UConn (Big East) – UConn is a lock for the NCAA Tournament and should cruise through this one. Although, Seton Hall did win the first game!
-Northwestern @ Maryland (Big Ten) – Maryland is on the brink of earning a protected seed. If they can hold serve at home today and pick up some wins in the Big Ten Tournament they could end up getting it
-Liberty @ Western Kentucky (Conference USA) – Liberty is potentially a tough opponent in the Round of 64 if they can get there. They can wrap up at least a share of 1st place with a win today, but they’ll need to win the auto bid to make the field
-Texas A&M @ LSU (SEC) – TAMU pulled themselves out of a tailspin in a big way with their win against Auburn earlier in the week. It’s not easy to win on the road, but this is still a road game they should win
-SMU @ Florida State (ACC) – SMU probably can’t reach the bubble, but if they win out to the ACC Championship game they may get a serious look
-Air Force @ Utah State (Mountain West) – Utah State can virtually lock themselves in if they avoid a loss today
-Providence @ Xavier (Big East) – Xavier is squarely on the bubble and needs to avoid a loss in this game. Even with a win they may have a little more work to do in the conference tournament next week
-Grand Canyon @ Abilene Christian (WAC) – GCU is probably the best team in the WAC, but the best they can do in the conference standings is a tie for 1st and they’ll need a Utah Valley loss for that to happen
-UC San Diego @ UC Davis (Big West) – UCSD can clinch an outright 1st place finish, and in my opinion clinch a spot inside the bubble, with a win today
-Virginia Tech @ Clemson (ACC) – Clemson’s resume is very strong and if they can hold serve and pick up some big wins next week they may be on the brink of a protected seed
-Butler @ Creighton (Big East) – Creighton is safely in the field and should be safely in the top half of the bracket. A win today would ding them a little bit, but not by too much
-Texas Tech @ Arizona State (Big 12) – Texas Tech is a virtual lock for a protected seed and should be able to add another road win to their resume
-USC @ UCLA (Big Ten) – It’s a rivalry game, but it’s also a big mismatch. UCLA should hold serve and depending on what happens next week could end up with a really solid seed
-Utah Valley @ Tarleton State (WAC) – Utah Valley can clinch 1st place outirght with a win tonight
-Utah @ BYU (Big 12) – BYU is one of the hottest teams in the country right now. They’re riding a huge wave of momentum and energy, the fans should be bonkers tonight, and Utah is probably just going to be far too overwhelmed
-UC Irvine @ UC Santa Barbara (Big West) – at-large hopes are barely flickering for UCI. My feelings on them are that if they win tonight they belong in, but that the actual committee isn’t likely to take them. But, to have any chance at all, they need to win tonight
-Nevada @ San Diego State (Mountain West) – the Azetcs should be safely in if they win this one, but they may not be safely in with a loss. They need to hold serve