NEWS AND NOTES:
-Northern Colorado followed up their surprise home loss to Denver with a big road win at Colorado 86-81. It is the 5th true road win of the season for NOCO and their biggest overall win by far. As for Colorado, it is a bit of a setback for a team that was showing signs of being able to play its way inside the bubble.
-Richmond fell at home to Charleston Southern 77-72. Richmond was my dark horse team this season, and while they did get off to a promising start this season, yesterday was a very unpromising result.
-Saint Mary’s got a battle from LMU, but held on to win 78-73 in a game that featured a pretty wild last minute of play.
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HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-MCEEESE AT MICHIGAN. McNeese is one of the top Under the Radar teams. Michigan is one of the top teams period, if not THE top team. It’s a buy game and Michigan should win. Seeing as how they’ve been blowing out top 25 caliber teams in the last month or so Michigan may blow them out. Having said that, this is McNeese’s shot at the national stage and a shot at collecting a major signature win. They may have a better shot at winning the lottery, but at least they get to play the game.
-YALE AT ALABAMA. Another example of one of the top UTR teams going on the road and playing one of the top overall teams. Alabama likes to shoot the three, so if Yale can close out on them beyond the arc, they may be able to make this one interesting. If Yale were to pull the upset, it’s the kind of win that can land them inside the bubble. But, it’s a very tall order.
OTHER NOTABLE GAMES:
-Kent State @ Purdue – Kent State is one of the better teams in the MAC, but they are likely way overmatched tonight
-Marist @ Quinnipiac (MAAC) – neither team is anywhere near the bubble, but these look to be two of the better teams in the conference and the result in this one tonight could have a big impact on the final outcome
-Towson @ William & Mary (CAA) – these are two of the better teams in the CAA and it should be both a fun and important matchup
-Belmont @ Indiana State (Missouri Valley) – nearly every road game in the Valley is tough, but Belmont is a tough team. They have a chance at making a run at the bubble, but they need to blow through this league to do it and that means winning all the tough road games
-California Baptist @ Utah Valley (WAC) – this is the first of three games between these two this year as the league is playing a triple-round-robin. They also appear to be the two strongest teams in the conference.
-Utah @ Washington – both teams are on the outside looking in and both have work to do. Having said that, both have shown promise. Now, having said THAT, both teams really need this one tonight
BUY GAMES:
-NC Central @ Penn State
-Southern @ Illinois
-Arlington Baptist (nonD1) @ Baylor
-UMass Lowell @ Iowa
-Dartmouth @ Florida
-Cornell @ Michigan State
-New Haven @ Vanderbilt
-Long Island @ Georgia
-Houston Christian @ Iowa State
-Middle Tennessee @ Houston
-James Madison @ Arkansas
-Southern Miss @ LSU
-Prairie View @ Texas A&M
-Mississippi Valley State @ Oklahoma
-Bethune Cookman @ Oklahoma State
-Jackson State @ TCU
-South Dakota State @ Arizona
-Queens @ Auburn
