NEWS, NOTES, AND LINKS:
-For Jon Teitel’s interview with Big Sky Commissioner and Selection Committee Member Tom Wistcrill – CLICK HERE
-For David Dorman’s latest Hoops HD Staff Bracket Projections – CLICK HERE
-Saint John’s continues to roll and they picked up a massive win over Connecticut last night 81-72 to pull even with them in the Big East standings (at least in the loss column). The Johnnies always seem to start off going slower than where they finish. They started off ranked really high, then dropped some games causing people to think they weren’t that good, but they’re now looking like a top ten caliber team on the court.
-Other than that it was a chalky night with VCU, Yale, and Belmont all winning as expected.
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HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-WISCONSIN AT INDIANA (Big Ten). Indiana is hovering around our bubble and while Wisky is in our field, they aren’t so far inside of it that they can afford to just cruise to the finish. Both teams could really use this game.
-VIRGINIA TECH AT NC STATE (ACC). NC State is on a roll and is continuing to climb our seedlist as they string together wins. VA Tech is right on the bubble and a win like this would be huge for them.
-MIAMI OH AT MARSHALL (MAC-SBC Challenge). Marshall is a solid 11-2 at home, so this will not be an easy game for Miami to win. This is also an old MAC rivalry, although that probably doesn’t mean a whole lot to the current players and coaches. Miami’s schedule has been weak and while Marshall is nowhere near the bubble, they are still very tough to beat at home and this will be one of the biggest tests of the year for the Redhawks.
-ALABAMA AT AUBURN (SEC). This isn’t quite the storyline we had a year ago when both teams were ranked #1, but it’s still a very important game. Auburn is trying to play their way safely inside the bubble and Alabama is trying to battle for a protected seed. And it’s a rivalry game. And it has a lot of off the court issues surrounding it as well.
-AKRON AT TROY (MAC-SBC Challenge). Neither team is likely to reach the bubble, but we are highlighting it because these are two of the better and more compelling Under the Radar teams and it should just be a really fun game. I think Akron may actually be better than Miami OH, although before the day is over my mind may be changed.
-DUKE AT NORTH CAROLINA (ACC). Duke is solidly on our #1 line and this is the kind of win that can keep them that high on the seedlist. UNC has gotten better as the season has gone on and this would be a really nice win for their profile as well even though they are at home. And in case you have been living abroad for the last fifty years, this is also one of the premier rivalries in all of college sports. So…there’s that.
-ILLINOIS AT MICHIGAN STATE (Big Ten). Illinois is playing as well as anyone in the country and as tough as this game is to win on the road they are certainly good enough to do it. Michigan State is very good, but they’ve also lost their last two, including a somewhat surprising loss at Minnesota, and even though they are at home this is not exactly what you would call an easy bounce-back game.
-CLEMSON AT CALIFORNIA (ACC) – Clemson won a battle at Stanford the other night and could be in for an even bigger battle tonight against a Cal team that could really use this win to help get them on the right side of the bubble.
-FLORIDA AT TEXAS A&M (SEC). TAMU is coming off a close and hard fought loss at Alabama from earlier in the week and they’ll have another big test at home tonight against a Florida team that’s looking as strong as anyone in the country. This would be another big road win for the Gators and continue to strengthen their case for a protected seed.
-TENNESSEE AT KENTUCKY (SEC). While Kentucky fans are frustrated with the season so far, Kentucky has actually been playing really well. A win tonight would be their eighth win in their last nine games and they’ve beaten some really good teams during that stretch. Tennessee is a solid tournament team, but they have just two true road wins and a big road win like this would suddenly make their resume look a ton better.
-HOUSTON AT BYU (Big 12). BYU has hit a bit of a skid and while they are still really good and still very safe as far as landing in the top half of the bracket, they may be losing their grip on a protected seed. Houston is, of course, very good and may still be able to end up with a #1 seed depending on how things play out. This would be a massive road win for them, and perhaps their best of the season so far, if they’re able to pull it off.
OTHER NOTABLE GAMES:
-Nebraska @ Rutgers (Big Ten) – Nebraska has dropped two straight and is now looking to get things turned back around. This should be a winnable road game for them
-Syracuse @ Virginia (ACC) – Virginia is still within reach of a protected seed and should be able to hold serve in this one
-Arkansas @ Mississippi State (SEC) – Arkansas could use a few more road wins on their profile and while this will be a bit of a challenge it’s a road game they should be able to win
-Louisville @ Wake Forest (ACC) – Louisville could use a few more road wins on their profile and while this will be a bit of a challenge it’s a road game they should be able to win
-Villanova @ Georgetown (Big East) – Nova is having a very solid year and has won five of their last seven with the only losses being to Saint John’s and to UConn in OT. They should be able to get this one on the road, which would be their 6th true road win
-Oregon @ Purdue (Big Ten) – Purdue should have little trouble holding serve int his one
-Missouri @ South Carolina (SEC) – Mizzou is very bubblicious, which means every game has a pivotal feel to it. If they win it’s a conference road win. If they lose it’s a loss to a team that is not even in the same timezone as the bubble.
-Baylor @ Iowa State (Big 12) – Iowa State should be able to hold serve in this one and stay planted on the top two lines
-SMU @ Pittsburgh (ACC0 – SMU is inside the bubble, but can’t put it on cruise control yet. They could use this win on the road
-Miami FL @ Boston College (ACC) – Miami still has work to do in order to feel safe and they need to hold serve in this one
-Ole Miss @ Texas (SEC) – Texas needs to string together wins and hold serve in games like this in order to land safely inside the bubble
-Utah @ Kansas (Big 12) – Kansas is playing better than they have at any point of the season and shouldn’t have too much trouble today
La Salle @ Saint Louis (Atlantic 10) – this might as well be a buy game
-Oklahoma @ Vanderbilt (SEC) – Vandy is on pace to get a protected seed and should be able to hold serve at home today
-Oklahoma State @ Arizona (Big 12) – Oklahoma State is still outside our bubble. A win today would probably change that, but then again it is HIGHLY unlikely to happen
-Gonzaga @ Oregon State (West Coast) – the Zags suffered a shocking loss to Portland earlier in the week and will be looking to bounce back today in what could be another tricky road game
-Santa Clara @ Washington State (West Coast) – Santa Clara is now on top of the West Coast standings and still has a pretty solid path to make the NCAA Tournament. They need to keep winning, though
-Seton Hall @ Creighton (Big East) – Seton Hall is right on the bubble and every game has a pivotal feel to it. They really need to get this one on the road
-Georgia @ LSU (SEC) – Georgia is sitll inside our bubble, but they are starting to skid. They could really use this win at LSU. LSU needs to start stringing together wins to have any chance at all of making the field
-Utah State @ Wyoming (Mountain West) – Utah State is coming off their biggest win of the year and while it’s not easy to go to Wyoming and win they are certainly good enough to do it
-San Diego State @ Air Force (Mountain West) – this would be an incredibly damaging loss for San Diego State and probably end their at-large hopes
-Washington @ UCLA (Big Ten) – UCLA is right on the bubble and needs to hold serve at home
-Boise State @ New Mexico (Mountain West) – New Mexico is right on the bubble and needs to hold serve at home
-San Francisco @ Saint Mary’s (West Coast) – it’s a rivalry game and it’s one Saint Mary’s kind of needs in order to remain safely inside the bubble
UTR WATCH:
-East Tennessee State @ VMI (SoCon) – ETSU is looking to rebound from a loss earlier in the week and to stay on top of the SoCon standings
-New Hampshire @ Vermont (America East) – Vermont may still be the best team in the America East even if they don’t always play like it. They need this one at home
-Longwood @ Winthrop (Big South) – Winthrop is in a race with High Point for the top of the Big South
-Omaha @ North Dakota State (Summit League) – North Dakota State needs to bounce back from their loss to Denver earlier in the week
-Missouri State @ Liberty (Conference USA) – Liberty is cruising through CUSA and shouldn’t have too much trouble at home today
-American @ Navy (Patriot League) – Navy is cruising through the PL and should be able to cruise through this one at home
-Stonehill @ Long Island (Northeast Conference) – LIU is continuing to cruise through the NEC and should get it done at home today
-Binghamton @ NJIT (American) – NJIT is actually on top of the AEast standings right now and has a winnable home game this afternoon
-Morehead State @ UT Martin (Ohio Valley) – UT Martin can continue to distance themselves from the rest of the OVC
-UT Arlington @ Utah Valley (WAC) – keeping the focus on the court, UVU is still in a battle for 1st place in the WAC
-North Alabama @ Austin Peay (Atlantic Sun) – Austin Peay is still on top of the ASun after a big win against Lipscomb earlier in the week
-South Carolina State @ Howard (MEAC) – Howard is probably still the strongest team in the MEAC despite 3 conference losses and may be good enough to win out
-Prairie View A&M @ Bethune Cookman (SWAC) – Cookman is atop the SWAC standings and should keep that momentum going today
-Lamar @ Stephen F Austin (Southland) – SFA is all alone in first place in the SLC standings and is running down hill between now and the end of the season
-Radford @ High Point (Big South) – High Point is in a race with Winthrop for the top spot
-Merrimack @ Rider (MAAC) – Merrimack should be able to hold on to the top spot in the MAAC
-PFW @ Wright State (Horizon League) – the HL is eating itself somewhat, but Wright State is still on top of the standings and should be able to hold serve at home
-Abilene Christian @ California Baptist (WAC) – Cal Bapist is tide with Utah Valley at the top of the WAC and needs to hold serve tonight
-UC Irvine @ UC Santa Barbara (Big West) – UC Irvine is probably the best team in the Big West, but UCSB is really good too and this will be a tough road test
-Portland State @ Sacramento State (Big Sky) – Portland State has looked like the best team in the Big Sky and has another road test tonight
-UC San Diego @ Hawaii (Big West) – Hawaii is in a race with UC Irvine for the top of the Big West standings and needs to take care of business at home tonight
