METRO ATLANTIC:
–Rider out with a loss at Sacred Heart
–Canisius out with a home loss to Manhattan and wins by Iona (at Niagara) and Sacred Heart (vs Rider)
–Niagara out with a home loss to Iona and wins by Manhattan (at Canisius) and Sacred Heart (vs Rider)
AMERICAN:
–UTSA out with a loss at Charlotte
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NEWS AND NOTES:
-The biggest result from yesterday was hands down Texas Tech’s win at Arizona. I realized while the game was going on that I had completely skipped over it during yesterday’s write up, which was stupid because it was a game between two protected seeds. It was an overtime thriller that was tied at the half and tied at the end of regulation. Texas Tech just kept making big plays and kept the momentum from swinging Arizona State’s way. Texas Tech now holds two wins away from home against likely #1 seeds, and one of those was a true road game. No one else’s resume tops out as good as that.
-Iowa State blew a red hot Kansas team off the floor 74-56. Kansas is really good, but this just goes to show you how hard it is to win at Iowa State.
-UConn keeps winning games, but they don’t always do it the easy way. The got an unexpected battle from Georgetown and only held on to win 79-75. UConn has a habit of playing with their food.
-Gonzaga got an expected battle from Santa Clara, but held on to pick up a really nice 94-86 road win. Santa Clara is by no means a protected seed caliber team, but they are a good team that’s hovering around the bubble and that was jacked way up for this one.
-Florida kept Kentucky at arms lenght in their 93-82 win. Kentucky came into this one playing really well and this loss really won’t set them back that much.
-Virginia had more trouble with Ohio State down in Nashville than I expected, but did hold on to win 70-66. Ohio State continues to hover around the bubble and UVA continues to hover around the 4-line.
-Saint John’s got a road win at Providence in a game that was unfortunately highlighted by a scuffle that occurred after a ridiculous hard foul committed by Providence. Basically had he done this to someone on the street he’d be charged with assault. No one was injured, several were ejected, some will likely be suspended, and the Johnnies won 79-69.
-Texas A&M’s losing streak continues as they fell at Vanderbilt 82-69. None of TAMU’s losses are particularly bad, but when you add all four of them together they do start to add up.
-TCU got a much needed road win at Oklahoma State 95-92. They are squarely on the bubble and adding another decent road win to their profile was something they needed.
-Virginia Tech lost to Florida State, at home, by a lot. The final score was 92-69. This was a pitiful performance by a VA Tech team that looked to be trending up. Losing badly to teams that are nowhere near the bubble is not a good move for teams that are on the bubble themselves.
-SMU, another team that’s hovering around the bubble, lost on the road to Syracuse 79-78. Syracuse has had a rather underwhelming season, so this one is going to leave a mark on the Mustangs.
-Georgia is another team that is going in the complete wrong direction. They fell at Oklahoma 94-78 and really didn’t look at all like a tournament caliber team. Georgia has now dropped five of their last six and is in a complete tailspin.
-Miami FL got a huge win at NC State 77-76. It’s an important road win for a team that appeared to be hovering around the bubble. Both teams are safely in our field for now, but neither can afford to just coast to the finish.
-VCU had to sweat a little bit to do it, but they knocked off Richmond 78-67 on the road to improve to 20-6 on the year. They should at least get a serious look from the committee if they win out until the conference tournament, but then don’t win the auto-bid.
-West Virginia is a team we’ve been saying you need to watch, and yesterday they showed us why. They picked up what was perhaps their most important win of the year (so far) as they went down to UCF and won 74-67. UCF is a place where Kansas and Texas Tech failed to win. WVU likely isn’t all the way inside the bubble yet, but they are playing well enough to get there.
-Missouri, who had been on an absolute roll, was absolutely rolled over on their own court last night by Texas 85-68. It’s a win the Longhorns really needed and probably moves them off the bubble and into the field (for now).
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HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-INDIANA AT ILLINOIS (Big Ten). Illinois has all the indications of being a team that will end up with a protected seed. Indiana is inside our bubble and a win for them today would certainly be their best of the year and shoot them up the seedlist.
-South Florida @ Florida Atlantic (American) – South Florida appears to be in the driver’s seat in the American
-Belmont @ Murray State (Missouri Valley) – these are two of the better teams in the MVC and it is a really tough road test for Belmont
-Seton Hall @ Butler (Big East) – If Seton Hall wants any shot of landing inside the bubble they need to hold serve in all remaining games like this one
