-BROWN AT COLUMBIA (Ivy League) – Brown is eliminated with a loss.
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NEWS AND NOTES:
-Michigan State is having a great season and they picked up what was probably their greatest win of their great season last night as they went on the road and knocked off Purdue 76-74. Purdue probably isn’t within reach of a 1-seed anymore, but they are still well positioned. Michigan State is likely a solid protected seed now after that win.
-Bethune Cookman clinched 1st place in the SWAC with a 76-71 win over Grambling. Obviously they’ll need the auto bid to make the NCAA Tournament, but a great season for Cookman!
-Things could not have gone worse for Winthrop. They were having such a great season and were keeping pace with High Point in the Big South, but last night they lost their star player Logan Duncomb to an injury. The loss to Charleston Southern was costly, but the loss of Duncomb may be too much to recover from. Obviously we hate to see a player sustain such an injury and our best wishes are with him.
-Morehead State clinched at least a share of 1st place in the Ohio Valley with their 76-70 win at Little Rock and Tennessee State is right with them after their big 79-71 win at SEMO. If Tennessee State wins at UT Martin on Saturday they’ll be the regular season 1st place team via tiebreaker.
-Saint Thomas absolutely boatraced North Dakota State 84-62 in what may have been their most impressive performance of the season. These appear to be the two best teams in the Summit League heading into the conference tournament and while they’re still two games back in the standings the Thommies looked like the best team last night.
-In the game of the night, UC Irvine hit a last second shot on an inbounds play with less than a second to go to get a massive 68-67 road win at Cal State Northridge and jump ahead of them in the Big West standings. The two were in a three way tie for first place coming into that game.
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HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-MICHIGAN AT ILLINOIS (Big Ten). These are most likely the two best teams in the Big Ten, both teams are ranked in the top ten, Michigan is on pace to get a #1 seed and can take a big step toward that tonight. As good as Michigan has bene this year, this would probably be their best win on paper so far seeing as how it is a road game. Illinois is looking to bounce back after a loss to UCLA, and this would certainly qualify as bouncing back.
-Miami OH @ Western Michigan (MAC) – this should be another winnable conference road game for Miami OH and get them to 29-0 overall on the year
-Yale @ Cornell (Ivy League) – Yale has a one game lead with just three games to go and should be able to get this one on the road
-Merrimack @ Canisius (MAAC) – Merrimack is having a historic season and has already wrapped up a 1st place finish.
-UL Monroe @ Troy (Sun Belt) – There is potential for a 7-way tie in the Sun Belt and Troy is among the seven teams. They should be able to sleepwalk through this one as ULM is one of the weakest teams in the nation
-Akron @ Kent State (MAC) – THE WAGON WHEEL!!!! This is of the great college basketball rivalries! Akron is trying to keep pace with Miami OH and will be tested on the road against a pretty good Kent State team tonight. This one is always fun and I don’t expect tonight to be any different
-Appalachian State @ Texas State (Sun Belt) – both teams are part of the SBC logjam and the potential 7 way tie for first.
-Coastal Carolina @ James Madison (Sun Belt) – Costal Carolina is part of the SBC logjam and the potential 7 way tie for first.
-Southern Miss @ South Alabama (Sun Belt) – South Alabama is part of the SBC logjam and the potential 7 way tie for first.
-Louisiana @ Arkansas State (Sun Belt) – Arkansas State is part of the SBC logjam and the potential 7 way tie for first.
-Georgia Southern @ Marshall (Sun Belt) – Marshal is part of the SBC logjam and the potential 7 way tie for first.
