NEWS AND NOTES:
-Hawaii won their first road game of the season and they did not mess around doing it. They absolutely clobbered UC Riverside 88-45 to improve to 11-2 overall on the season.
-Also in the Big West, UC San Diego fell on the road at Cal Poly 67-65. UCSD had two possessions late in the game where they could have tied it, but came up empty both times. Minus winning out, this loss probably knocks UCSD too far away from the bubble for them to reach it.
.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-USC AT MICHIGAN (Big Ten). USC is a really good team that’s having a really good year and even has a path to earning a protected seed. So if Michigan only beats them by 40 it would have been a hell of a good day for the Trojans!! Michigan has been mauling everyone and it wouldn’t surprise me at all to see them blow out another top 25 team at home. It’s getting to a point to where it would be surprising if anyone was actually able to compete with them.
-LOUISVILLE AT STANFORD (ACC). Louisville is coming off a very impressive road win at California from earlier in the week, which was their first true road win of the season. The Cardinals will be tested again today against a Stanford team that, like their previous opponent, is having a much better season than expected and should be pumped up for the chance to play a high caliber team at home.
-SEATTLE AT GONZAGA (West Coast). This one is interesting. Seattle U is having a good year, but are nowhere near the bubble at the moment. They appear to be way overmatched, but if they were to pull the upset it would catapult them onto the national stage and probably land them in our next bracket projection field. The Zags and Seattle never played prior to being in the same conference, so it’s going to be kind of fun to see them face off this year.
-MICHIGAN STATE AT NEBRASKA (Big Ten). This one is going to be fun. Both teams are solidly in the rankings, both are battling for protected seeds, and Nebraska is looking to stay unbeaten. There is a lot of enthusiasm around this Nebraska team, which may be as good as any they’ve ever had, and the atmosphere at this game should be electric.
-NOTRE DAME AT CALIFORNIA (ACC) – ND is on the outside looking in, but can take a big step forward if they’re able to pick this one up on the road. Cal is having a really solid year, but they were pretty much dominated by Louisville in their last game and will be looking to bounce back tonight.
OTHER NOTABLE GAMES:
-Sam Houston @ Western Kentucky (Conference USA) – these are two of the better teams in CUSA and it should be an interesting matchup
-Lamar @ McNeese (Southland) – McNeese should bounce back from the blowout loss they sustained at Michigan earlier in the week
-Ohio State @ Rutgers (Big Ten) – Ohio State has been out of the spotlight this year, but they’re a solid team who could make a run at making the NCAA Tournament. This should be a winnable road game for them tonight
-West Virginia @ Iowa State (Big 12) – the Cyclones should have no trouble holding serve at home in this one
-Portland @ Saint Mary’s (West Coast) – SMC has been stringing together a lot of good wins lately and should be able to hold serve at home in this one
-Pepperdine @ Santa Clara (West Coast) – Santa Clara still has a lot of work to do and needs to hold serve at home against teams that are nowhere near the bubble
