NEWS AND NOTES:
-Top ranked Michigan got a big scare at Penn State. In fact Penn State had a chance to tie or win on their last possession (which was a little disappointing on the part of Penn State given how well Penn State played up until the last possession), but Michigan escaped. This was the first game for Michigan that wasn’t a complete blowout since mid-November.
-Houston and Texas Tech was once again a battle. The entire game seemed to be played within an 8pt window with neither team building up more than a two possession lead. Houston made some big plays in the final minute and held on for a massive 69-65 win. As for Texas Tech, they battled in one of the toughest places to play in the country and had a chance to win. I think they’re fine.
-TCU had a double digit lead on the road at Kansas in the second half, and had a 9pt lead with just over a minute to go, but fell apart at the end of regulation after having played such a great game up to that point. Kansas somehow got it to overtime and then once they did they took control and escaped with a 104-100 win.
-The game that won the award for most controversial last night was Auburn v Texas A&M. Auburn hit what appeared to be a game winning shot right at the buzzer after having just 0.6 seconds to even get a shot up. The shot initially counted. After they reviewed it, they waived it off and TAMU escaped. Auburn’s fans were understandably not thrilled. It was about as close as it could have been, but I think the referees got it right and here is why. The only real official clock is the one that is at the scorer’s table. Any timekeeper will tell you that the other clocks in the arenas, and by that I mean EVERY arena, will always be a few milliseconds off. They’re never all absolutely precisely synced down to the thousandth (0.001) of a second because they can’t be. The game officially ends when the light comes on behind the backboard. Sometimes this happens while some of the arena clocks still show a tenth of a second remaining. And, that’s what happened. Now, this is normally not that big of an issue because the human eye can’t even tell they’re not in perfect sync down to the thousandth of a second. You can watch ten thousand games and never see an ending where it is that close, but last night’s was.
-Louisville jumped on Duke in the first half, but then went ice cold in the second half. Duke ended up pulling away and got a big 84-73 win on the road.
-Florida, who lost on the road to Missouri over the weekend, bounced back with a big home win over Georgia. This game probably does as much for their confidence and momentum as it does for their profile.
-UCF, after getting a big win against Kansas over the weekend, could not get it done at Oklahoma State and fell on the road 87-76. Oklahoma State is now 13-2 on the year and starting to show some signs of life themselves.
-Saint John’s went on the road and got a win they really needed at Butler 84-70. The Johnnies struggled in the first half but got control of the game in the second half. Butler is in serious trouble and may be neutered for all intents and purposes since the Big East won’t offer many opportunities for the Dawgs to catch up.
-Iowa fell to Minnesota 70-67 after being behind for most of the game in what looked to be a winnable road game for the Hawkeyes. Iowa has a ton of potential, but right now their profile is kind of meh.
-LSU stubbed their toes at home and lost 78-68 to South Carolina. The Tigers actually trailed by 25 at the half.
-New Mexico picked up a nice road win at Colorado State to improve to 12-3 overall and a solid 3-1 in Mountain West play.
.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-SAINT LOUIS AT VCU (Atlantic 10). This is perhaps the toughest test of the year so far for SLU. VCU has dropped four games, but three were close ones against solid opponents. They’ve been looking better and will not be easy to beat at home. SLU actually needs a win like this in order to strengthen their profile, so it’s both a tough test and a big opportunity.
-MIAMI FL AT WAKE FOREST (ACC). I highlight this because right now it just feels like a bubblicious type of game between two teams that have shown they can play well, but who need to strengthen their resumes and who could both really use this win tonight.
-STANFORD AT VIRGINIA TECH (ACC). This is another game between two teams that have shown a lot of promise and who have picked up some notable wins, but who also still have a lot of work to do and who could really use this win tonight. Stanford is starting a rough stretch of their schedule, so picking up this win and a few more will really make their profile look a lot better.
-MISSOURI AT KENTUCKY (SEC). Neither team has a strong profile and while Mizzou did pick up a nice win against Florida in their last game they still need to add a lot to their resume in order to be seriously considered. Kentucky’s resume is really weak as well. This game seems to feel like it’s more about avoiding a loss than it is picking up a big win.
-CREIGHTON AT VILLANOVA (Big East). Nova is having a fantastic season. While Creighton is starting to play a little better and is off to a solid 3-1 start in conference play, they still have a lot of work to do. A road win tonight would be huge, but it’s also not going to be easy.
-IOWA STATE AT BAYLOR (Big 12). This is a road test for the Cyclones, but they’ve passed some tough road tests already and should be able to get this one. Baylor needs to build up their profile some, and a big win like this would certainly do the trick.
-ALABAMA AT VANDERBILT (SEC). Both teams are protected-seed caliber teams and Vandy is still unbeaten on the season. They’ll be tested tonight at home, but they are at home. Sometimes when a team relies as much on the 3 as Alabama does, it’s hard for them to go on the road and win against a good defensive team. It will be fun to see what happens tonight.
-CALIFORNIA AT VIRGINIA (ACC). Cal has some decent wins on their profile and making the NCAA Tournament is definitely within reach. They can really boost up their profile if they’re somehow able to get this one on the road.
-SMU AT CLEMSON. SMU is coming off a big home win against North Carolina, but they’re just 1-1 in true road games and will likely face an even tougher test tonight. Clemson may not be as good as the Tarheels, but winning at Clemson is probably harder to do than it is to beat North Carolina at home, so it’s a big test for the Ponies.
OTHER NOTABLE GAMES:
-Indiana @ Maryland (Big Ten) – Indiana is starting to string together wins and they need to keep it up. This is a road game, but it’s one they should get and kind of need to get
-Connecticut @ Providence (Big East) – UConn is in the hunt for a 1-seed and while Providence is coming off a nice win against Saint John’s and should have some momentum built up for this one at home, it’s one UConn should still win
-Belmont @ Northern Iowa (Missouri Valley) – these are two of the better teams in the MVC and both could potentially be dangerous in the Round of 64. Belmont’s last two losses have been by a single point, so a win like this on the road would be big
-Richmond @ Saint Bonaventure (Atlantic 10) – both teams have respectable records, but both need to build up their profiles and have a razor thin margin for error when it comes to landing inside the bubble
-George Mason @ Fordham (Atlantic 10) – this should be a winnable road game for Mason and improve them to 15-1 on the season
-Oklahoma @ Mississippi State (SEC) – The Sooners have won five straight, but only have one true road win so far. They should be able to pick up their second one tonight
-Washington @ Purdue (Big Ten) – Purdue should be able to hold serve at home. Washington can boost their profile up into orbit if they’re somehow able to win this, but it isn’t likely
-Kansas State @ Arizona (Big 12) – Arizona shouldn’t have too much trouble holding serve at home
-Arizona State @ BYU (Big 12) – BYU is having an amazing year and while Arizona State looked good at times during the OOC portion of the season, they have fallen back to Earth and may end up getting buried under it tonight
-Arkansas @ Ole Miss (SEC) – it’s never easy to win on the road, but this is one that Arkansas should be able to get
-Utah @ Colorado (Big 12) – the Buffs have work to do and they need to hold serve at home tonight
PILLOW FIGHT OF THE NIGHT
-Xavier @ Marquette (Big East) – 3 years ago, this was the Big East championship game. Now it’s looking more and more like a battle for 10th place.
