NEWS AND NOTES:
-Texas Tech, as good as they are, still doesn’t have a true road win against a team that is inside the bubble. They fell at UCF 88-80 yesterday and while it wasn’t a blowout by any means they were behind for seemingly the entire game. As for UCF, it’s another solid win and it keeps them solidly inside our field.
-I thought BYU could win at Kansas yesterday and it became evident in the first half that that just was not going to happen. BYU did come back in the second half, but it took them way too long to get their motor started and they just couldn’t catch up. Kansas ended up with a 90-82 win.
-Kentucky managed to get a huge 85-77 win at Arkansas, which is one they really needed after losing by a wide margin to Vanderbilt earlier in the week. They also managed at one point to be called for three technical fouls in a 38 second stretch, which has got to be some sort of record. It is probably one of Kentucky’s biggest wins of the year.
-NC State is continuing to roll. It’s not particularly noteworthy that they won at Wake Forest, but they totally dominated the game on the road winning 96-78 and have now won six of their last seven.
-Utah State and San Diego State battled early in the day, but Utah State held on for a big 71-66 win. It would have been a huge resume boost for San Diego State had they pulled it off and would have likely put them safely inside the bubble had they done it. The Aztecs still have a path, but this win yesterday would have been huge.
-Texas A&M won rather decisively at Georgia and are showing they’re as good as anyone else in the SEC. They’re 17-4 on the year, they’ve won 10 of their last 11, they’re 4-2 in true road games, and just beat a really good Georgia team on the road rather handily
-Indiana and UCLA played a double OT thriller in a game where both teams really needed the win. Indiana appeared to have blown it at the end of regulation, but pulled it out in OT 98-97. This probably puts the Hoosiers on the right side of the bubble for now.
-George Mason needed to come from behind at Saint Bonaventure to avoid a loss that would have pretty much ended any hopes of landing inside the bubble, but they picked up a nice road win 77-73.
-Yale, who we thought could make a run at the bubble, lost at home to Harvard 67-65 and were behind for much of the game. We no longer think that Yale can make a run at the bubble.
-Belmont absolutely manhandled Murray State last night. The final score was 103-86, but the game was over just a few minutes into the second half and the final score doesn’t indicate just how dominant Belmont was. The committee needs to be looking at Belmont! They are one of the 40 best teams in the country and they belong inside the bubble.
-Gonzaga held on for an 8-point win at home against Saint Mary’s in the first leg of what has become the WCC’s signature rivalry. We’ll see if this rivalry continues once the Zags move on to the Pac-12 next season.
-And in what is perhaps the most amazing note of all, The Citadel beat UNC Greensboro at home 71-66. With that win they’ve now won for of their last five and are 5-5 in SoCon play. I cannot begin to tell you just how surprising that is.
-I wonder how our colleague John Stalica is feeling after yesterday. Xavier has been having a miserable season and finally had an 18-point comeback and buzzer-beating shot in the same game. Too bad it was wasted against DePaul.
-Butler may have shot themselves between the legs yesterday with a loss at home to Georgetown. With UConn burying Creighton and Seton Hall barely surviving against Marquette, the Big East’s best case scenario is a 4-bid league if The Hall can somehow get hot in February. They are also on the wrong side of the cut line right now.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-ALABAMA AT FLORIDA (SEC). Florida suffered a bit of a surprising loss to Auburn earlier in the week and is looking to bounce back against an Alabama team that is solidly in the rankings within reach of a protected seed. It wouldn’t shock me if both teams ended up as protected seeds, so this is a big resume building opportunity.
-ILLINOIS AT NEBRASKA (Big Ten). This is a massive match-up between two top ten teams that are very clearly protected seeds. Nebraska is within reach of earning a #1 seed despite them coming off a loss in their last game at Michigan. The two faced each other earlier this year with Nebraska winning on the road. It should be a crazy environment tonight.
OTHER NOTABLE GAMES:
-Purdue @ Maryland (Big Ten) – Purdue needs to bounce back from their loss to Indiana (not to mention their current 3-game losing streak) and this should be a winnable conference road game for them
-Iowa State @ Kansas State (Big 12) – Iowa State is a solid protected seed and should be able to add another road win to their profile
-Wichita State @ Tulsa (American) – Tulsa is trying to remain atop the American standings and keep whatever at-large bid hopes they still have alive
-TCU @ Colorado (Big 12) – TCU needs to start stringing together wins. This is the kind of game they need to be able to routinely win if they want to show the committee that they belong
-East Tennessee State @ Wofford (SoCon) – these are the two best teams in the SoCon and both are currently tied for 1st place. This should be a fun one to watch.
-Iowa @ Oregon (Big Ten) – this is a conference road game that Iowa needs
