-TENNESSEE TECH AT SOUTHERN INDIANA (Ohio Valley). Southern Indiana will be eliminated if they lose this game and Eastern Illinois wins at home today against Little Rock.
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NEWS AND NOTES:
-Wisconsin in suddenly on a rampage. They’ve won back-to-back against at Illinois and a blowout win over Michigan State at home last night. After having what seemed to be kind of a blah season, you look at the Badgers now and realize they’re 9-2 in their last 11 games and have won at Michigan, at Illinois, and blown out Michigan State in that stretch.
-Mother Miami and Ohio had the national stage to themselves on ESPN last night – while the Redhawks were a little slow out of the gate, they did kick into another gear in the 2nd half and ended up blowing out the Bobcats. Angry Frank’s UMass team is next in line (at home in Amherst) to try to end the nation’s last undefeated team.
-It was a rather chalky night last night with Saint Louis, Akron, Harvard (albeit barely), and Yale all winning
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HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-CLEMSON AT DUKE (ACC). Before their last game I wrote about how Clemson was having an incredible year and were not getting the general appreciation that they should be, so of course they went out and lost their next game to Virginia Tech. Today they’re facing a #1 seed caliber team on the road. The Tigers are good, but probably not this good.
-TCU AT OKLAHOMA STATE (Big 12). A very bubblicious game here between two teams that both really need to win this. TCU is right on the bubble and needs road wins like this to help them get on the right side of it, and Oklahoma State needs to string together wins between now and the end just to reach the bubble.
-UCLA AT MICHIGAN (Big Ten). UCLA is hovering around the bubble. As frustrating as their season has been they have a chance today to really slingshot themselves up the seedlist. Having said that, it won’t be easy. Michigan is good enough to win it all and beating a team that’s as good as that on their floor is…well…not easily done.
-KANSAS AT IOWA STATE (Big 12). This is a clash between two heavyweights. Kansas has been playing much better and just knocked off top ranked Arizona, but going on the road to Iowa State may be even more challenging given the fact that it’s a road game. Iowa State had a somewhat surprising loss earlier this week that they are looking to bounce back from. The atmosphere for this one should be incredible.
-TEXAS A&M AT VANDERBILT (SEC). Both teams are in the top half of the bracket (for now), but both also have room for improvement on their profiles and today’s game is a chance to do that. TAMU has lost three straight, so there is likely some added urgency on them to snap that losing streak.
-KENTUCKY AT FLORIDA (SEC). Kentucky has really been playing well lately having won eight of their last nine, but they’ve got a very tall order today. Florida, regardless of what the paper an profiles say, looks to be the best team on the court right now in the SEC and it may not even be close. They are good enough to go deep into March, and they’re at home. If Kentucky could somehow win this one they should shoot up the rankings and the seedlist.
-MIAMI FL AT NC STATE (ACC). Miami is coming off a big home win against UNC, which is one of their better wins of the year. They can really strengthen their resume if they can win this one on the road today. NC State was blitzed at Louisville earlier in the week and is looking to bounce back. They had been playing really well before that.
-HOFSTRA AT UNC WILMINGTON (CAA). I’m actually highlighting this one even though it’s a UTR game. I think these are two of the best teams in the CAA, and if one of them ultimately wins the auto-bid I think either one would be a very dangerous team in the Round of 64, so watching them go at it today is interesting enough to highlight.
-PURDUE AT IOWA (Big Ten). Iowa had been rolling with six straight wins, three of which were on the road, but lost a somewhat surprising game to Maryland their last time out. Things don’t get any easier today. They’re at home, but against a really good Purdue team that is a solid protected seed and who is looking for their 7th true road win.
-WEST VIRGINIA AT UCF (Big 12). West Virginia is climbing the Big 12 standings and is actually even with UCF. WVU is nowhere near the bubble, but they may be able to be within reach of it if they can get this one on the road today. UCF appears to be relatively safe, but they need to hold serve in games like this.
-VIRGINIA VS OHIO STATE (Nashville TN). Virginia looks like a team that will end up as a protected seed whereas Ohio State is outside the bubble and needs some big wins to get on the right side of it. A win today would certainly help them.
-AUBURN AT ARKANSAS (SEC). Both are likely NCAA Tournament teams and Arkansas should be safely in the top half of the bracket. This is just a resume building opportunity for two teams that appear to be playing for seeding at this point.
-TEXAS AT MISSOURI (SEC). Mizzou is coming off one of their better wins of the season as they knocked off Texas A&M on the road. They have a winnable, but also somewhat challenging home game tonight against a Texas team that’s playing better and that’s right on our bubble. A road win like this for the Horns would be huge.
-NEVADA AT SAN DIEGO STATE (Mountain West). Both teams are outside the bubble and both have very narrow paths to get inside the bubble, but both have played well and have shown they may be good enough to do it. Having said that, this game is almost a must-win for both these teams.
-GONZAGA AT SANTA CLARA (West Coast). The importance of this game is obvious. Santa Clara is right on the bubble and a win today against Gonzaga will likely vault them onto the right side of it. It’s a showcase home game against a blue blood program. The Zags, on the other hand, are trying to stay within range of a protected seed and this would be one of their better wins of the season if they can pull it off.
OTHER NOTABLE GAMES:
-California @ Boston College (ACC) – Cal is just outside the bubble and can’t afford to lose a game like this
-Northwestern @ Nebraska (Big Ten) – Nebraska shouldn’t have too much trouble bouncing back after their to Purdue in their last game. The Huskers have lost three of their last four, but are still in really good shape.
-Saint John’s @ Providence (Big East) – The Johnnies are really on a roll and may win out through the regular season. They could still end up as a protected seed. However, keep in mind that Providence already beat the Johnnies at The Garden earlier this season.
-Pittsburgh @ North Carolina (ACC) – UNC is coming off a tough loss to Miami FL, but should be able to bounce back today in what almost amounts to a buy game
-Florida State @ Virginia Tech (ACC) – VA Tech is inside the bubble and needs to hold serve at home today
-SMU @ Syracuse (ACC) – SMU is inside our bubble, but they are not safe. This is the kind of road game they need to be able to win to show they belong inside the field
-Villanova @ Creighton (Big East) – Nova is on pace to land in the top half of the bracket and while it’s never easy to win on the road, this is a game they should win
-Georgia @ Oklahoma (SEC) – Georgia can and should win this. It’s a road game against a team they should beat and it’s the kind of game they need to win to safely stay where they are on the seedlist
-Kansas State @ Houston (Big 12) – Houston started off good and they’ve just gotten better since. They are about as good as anyone in the country and should hold serve at home in this one
-Colorado @ BYU (Big 12) – BYU just snapped a four game losing streak and they should be able to follow that up with another win today
-Louisville vs Baylor (Fort Worth TX)- an interesting OOC game that looked a lot more compelling back in November than it does now. Louisville hasn’t always been the best road team, but they’re good enough to where they should win this one, especially since it isn’t a true road game
-VCU @ Richmond (Atlantic 10) – VCU’s path to land inside the bubble is very narrow, but there does appear to be a path. They need to take care of business against their rival today
-LSU @ Tennessee (SEC) – Tennessee should be able to hold serve in this one
-Georgetown @ Connecticut (Big East) – UConn should hold serve in this one
-Saint Mary’s @ Pacific (West Coast) – This is the kind of game that a solid tournament team should be able to win on the road. It won’t be easy. Pacific is 9-1 at home and they’ll be up for this one, but like I always say, teams have to show they can win games that aren’t easy to win in order to make the NCAA Tournament
-Memphis @ Utah State – another OOC game that looked a lot more interesting back in November than it does now. As things played out this is just another quad 3 home game for Utah State
-South Carolina @ Alabama (SEC) – Bama is on the verge of a protected seed and should be able to hold serve in this one
UTR WATCH:
-Navy @ Colgate (Patriot League) – Navy is running away from the rest of the PL
-Long Island @ New Haven (Northeast Conference) – LIU is running away from the rest of the NEC and should have home court advantage in the conference tournament
-UMBC @ New Hampshire (America East) – UMBC is one of the teams in the AEast conference race
-High Point @ Gardner Webb (Big South) – High Point is in a race with Winthrop and should absolutely flatten Gardner Webb today
-North Dakota State @ North Dakota (Summit League) – North Dakota State now has a two game lead in the Summit standings, but will be challenged today on the road against a rival
-Bryant @ Vermont (America East) – Vermont is chasing NJIT and UMBC and is a game behind in the AEast standings
-West Georgia @ Central Arkansas (Atlantic Sun) – Central Arkansas is having a historically good year and is just a game behind Austin Peay in the ASun standings
-Liberty @ UTEP (Conference USA) – Liberty looks to remain unbeaten in conference play and is probably good enough to win out
-NJIT @ Maine (America East) – NJIT is one of the teams in the three-horse-race for 1st place in the AEast
-Bethune Cookman @ Alcorn State (SWAC) – Cookman has just one confernece loss and appears to be the best team in the SWAC
-Portland State @ Northern Colorado (Big Sky) – Portland State appears to be running away with it. Northern Colorado looked to be the best team prior to the start of conference play, but was real disappointing once conference play got underway. They’ve now won five in a row and could be dangerous
-Coppin State @ NC Central (MEAC) – NC Central trying to hold on to 1st place in the MEAC
-UT Martin @ SIUE (Ohio Valley) – UT Martin still looks to be the best team, but they’ve now lost two straight and just one game separates the top six teams in the league
-Stephen F Austin @ UTRGV (Southland) – SFA has a two game lead over McNeese, but they will likely be challenged today on the road against a really solid UTRGV team that’s been playing well lately
-Bellarmine @ Austin Peay (Atlantic Sun) – Austin Peay is trying to hold on to their one game lead over Central Arkansas in the ASun
-Yale @ Harvard (Ivy League) – it’s the two best teams in the Ivy League and this game could determine who the 1st place finisher ends up being
-Hawaii @ Cal State Northridge (Big West) – road games are extra challenging for Hawaii, but if they can win this one they can keep themselves atop the Big West standings
-Troy @ Southern Miss (Sun Belt) – after losing three of their last four in conference, Troy has lost what appeared to be a comfortable lead and we now have a four-team logjam atop the SBC standings
-California Baptist @ Utah Tech (WAC) – Cal Baptist is now alone in 1st place, but Utah Tech is just one game behind them. This is a pivotal game to determine who will finish 1st and get a bye into the semifinals
