ACC:
-Georgia Tech (who may actually already be out) is 100% out with a home loss to Cal OR a Notre Dame home win over Stanford OR a Pitt home win over Florida State
-Boston College is out with a Notre Dame home win over Stanford OR a Pitt home win over Florida State
.
NEWS AND NOTES:
-UCLA is a homecourt hero, but their wins at home have been good enough to where I’m thinking they’re gonna make it. Last night was one of their better games of the year as they led Nebraska tip to buzzer and won going away 72-52.
-Texas Tech, who we could not have praised more heavily on our last Hoops HD Report, followed that up with a 73-65 home loss to TCU. I think I was almost as surprised by this as I was their win at Iowa State. As for TCU, it was one they really needed and it likely lands them in the field.
-Kansas fell behind early at Arizona State and by halftime were down a coach. They trailed 40-20 at the half and while they came back and got as close as 3, Arizona State held on to win.
-Alabama, who we also praised heavily on the last Hoops HD Report and who had won eight straight, fell at Georgia 98-88. This one was a little less surprising because Georgia is a tournament team, and they were at home, and they had been playing well lately, but it does still qualify as a bit of an upset. It was a big win for the Dawgs. They should make the field if they hold serve the rest of the way.
-Clemson battled North Carolina, which is a place Clemson rarely wins at. They had a halftime lead and the game was close all throughout, but in the final minute UNC made the plays they needed to and held on for a tough 67-63 win. After being really sluggish in recent weeks, Clemson looked strong last night despite not getting the win.
-Miami OH is still unbeaten and they won yet another game that came down to the final possession. Toledo had a chance to tie or win at the end of regulation, but couldn’t get a shot up and Miami survived 74-72.
-VCU got a scare from George Mason, but held on for a 70-65 and is still within reach of the bubble.
-UCF continues to be one of the more schizophrenic teams out there. They lost again at home and again to a team that’s nowhere near the NCAA Tournament. Oklahoma State needed overtime, but they got the 111-104 win over UCF. UCF should still make the field, but they’ll be in the bottom half of the bracket and likely won’t go past the Round of 64. Or they’ll end up making the Final Four. Depends on which team shows up.
-Missouri is another team that always takes a big crap on themselves right after you want to start liking them. They fell 80-64 at Oklahoma last night in a game where the Sooners were never not in control.
-Texas A&M needed a big win and got it. They knocked off Kentucky 96-85 in a game that was probably just as important to them psychologically as it was on paper. It was a home win, but it followed a loss to rivals Texas and pulled them out of a bit of a tailspin.
-Cincinnati has looked like a tournament caliber team for the last few weeks. On the court, they are a tournament caliber team. The problem is everything they did prior to these last few weeks. They still don’t have anything close to a tournament caliber profile, but they are a potentially dangerous team in the Big 12 Tournament. They blew BYU (who is admittedly injury ridden) off the floor last night 90-68.
-San Diego State can go to the NCAA Tournament!! They’ll just need to purchase tickets to do it. They lost at Boise State last night 85-77 and I for one see no way for this team to get in without winning the auto bid.
-Last, and VERY MUCH least, Utah State was blown off the floor by UNLV 92-65. This was a game that we paid almost no attention to beforehand because we didn’t expect it to be good at all. Well…it wasn’t! But not for the reasons we thought. Utah State, after looking so good all season long, has really had some clunkers in their last couple of games and while they’ll still almost assuredly be in the NCAA Tournament, their seed and placement in the bracket has taken a huge hit.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-MINNESOTA AT INDIANA (Big Ten). Indiana is barely hanging on by a thread and another loss to a team that’s nowhere near the bubble could end up knocking them all the way out. They have to win this one tonight.
-TEXAS AT ARKANSAS (SEC). Texas is coming off a big win at Texas A&M and Arkansas needs to regroup after being blown out at Florida. Both teams are in the field and Arkansas has the better profile, but at this point this is more about seeding than it is getting selected.
-MIAMI FL AT SMU (ACC). Miami FL is looking like a team that will land in the top half of the bracket and has the chance to pick up another nice road win tonight. SMU is right on the bubble and needs a win like this to help them get inside of it. There should be a huge sense of urgency for the Mustangs in this one.
OTHER NOTABLE GAMES:
-California @ Georgia Tech (ACC) – Cal needs to win out and then avoid a bad loss in the ACC Tournament just to have a chance.
-Ohio State @ Penn State (Big Ten) – Ohio State just got a much needed win at Purdue and needs to hold serve tonight to avoid undoing that and falling back outside the bubble
-Loyola Chicago @ Saint Louis (Atlantic 10) – this should seem like a buy game for Saint Louis
-Maryland @ Wisconsin (Big ten) – the Badgers should have little trouble in this one and should land in the top half of the bracket barring a major collapse
-Villanova @ DePaul (Big East) – Nova was clobbered by the Johnnies in their last game and DePaul is having a much better than average year for them, but this is still one Nova should be able to win on the road
-Baylor @ Houston (Big 12) – Baylor is coming off a surprising win at UCF, but this is still one where Houston should win easily
-Colorado State @ New Mexico (Mountain West) – New Mexico is clinging to the bubble and needs to hold serve in this one
-USC @ Washington (Big Ten) – I’m not even sure USC is still on the board given recent events and game results, but we’ll include them just in case
