MICHIGAN AT INDIANA (Big Ten). Great showcase game today between two top three teams, and two potential #1 seeds. It’s a test to see what Michigan will do in what will be one of their toughest tests of the year. If they win, it goes a long way in making them the top #1 seed. A loss for either team won’t necessarily mean they won’t get a #1 seed, though. The last time IU played the #1 ranked team at home, it was a good game.
-MIAMI, FL AT NC STATE (ACC). NC State is unbeaten at home and has taken down some heavyweights, but Miami has been better on the road than perhaps anyone they’ve been able to beat. Both teams are playing for protected seeds. Miami could even end up as high as the #2 line, especially if they get a road win like this. You don’t often think of Miami basketball when you think of showcase games, but that’s what we have today.
-OLE MISS AT FLORIDA (SEC). Ole Miss lost earlier in the week to Kentucky, and they’ve got another tough assignment today against a team that is playing as well as anyone in the country. A win would catapult their resume, but a loss certainly won’t hurt them.
-CINCINNATI AT SETON HALL (Big East). Seton Hall has been strong at home, so it won’t be a complete cakewalk for the Bearcats.
-VIRGINIA TECH AT NORTH CAROLINA (ACC). Virginia Tech has not just fallen off the bubble; they’ve fallen off the planet. North Carolina is still on the bubble and can’t afford to lose at home.
-SYRACUSE AT PITTSBURGH (Big East). Syracuse is looking for a #1 seed, and Pitt is looking to boost their profile.
-AUBURN AT MISSOURI (SEC). A win against Auburn at home will do nothing to help Mizzou, but a loss would crush them.
-NOTRE DAME AT DEPAUL (Big East). The Irish have a good profile, but this will be just their fourth true road game. Since half the fans will probably be for them, can you really even call this a “true” road game??
-DUKE AT FLORIDA STATE (ACC). Profile wise, these two teams are worlds apart. Duke could still get a #1 and FSU is so far outside the bubble that they can’t even see it from where they’re at. Duke has just one true road win, and Florida State is on an upswing, so it could be a good game. Having said that, if Duke wants a #1 seed, they need wins on the road.
-TULSA AT MEMPHIS (Conference USA). Memphis has an impressive record with no impressive wins, and they can build on that today.
-DAYTON AT SAINT LOUIS (Atlantic Ten). These two teams are going in different directions. Dayton appears to be out of the picture, and SLU seems to be playing their way inside the bubble, especially with their decisive win over Butler the other night.
-UMASS AT CHARLOTTE (Atlantic Ten). These are two teams with big records that lack quality wins, so it’s a pivotal game for both.
-WAKE FOREST AT MARYLAND (ACC). Maryland has a lot of work to do if they want to make the field. Their weak OOC schedule is doing them no favors and it has put a lot of pressure on them to perform in conference.
-LA SALLE AT GEORGE WASHINGTON (Atlantic Ten). La Salle’s profile still appears to be solid, but they are coming off a loss and could use a road win. If they’re a solid NCAA Team, then they need to be able to win road games like this one.
-COLORADO AT UTAH (PacTwelve). Colorado needs road wins. They’re just 2-5 in true road games. As bad as Utah is, this game is rather pivotal. Winning helps their road record and losing kills their profile.
-SAN DIEGO STATE AT AIR FORCE (Mountain West). SDSU is solid and will likely end up as a protected seed, but they need to be on upset alert today. Air Force has lost just once at home.
-BRADLEY AT CREIGHTON (Missouri Valley). Creighton doesn’t have a real high quality win, and they won’t get one today, but if they can hold serve it’s possible they’ll end up as a protected seed.
-WICHITA STATE AT NORTHERN IOWA (Missouri Valley). If the Shockers want a protected seed they need to be able to win games like this.
-RHODE ISLAND AT BUTLER (Atlantic Ten). If you need to bounce back after a loss, there is no better team to be playing than Rhode Island.
-SAINT JOHN’S AT GEORGETOWN (Big East). Georgetown is in better shape, but both teams have work to do. Fortunately, both have also been playing well lately. This game is a good opportunity for both teams.
-OKLAHOMA STATE AT KANSAS (Big Twelve). Kansas looks like a #1 seed, and perhaps the best team in the country. Okie State looks good, but not on Kansas’s level. A loss will do absolutely nothing to hurt them, though.
-ALABAMA AT VANDERBILT (SEC). In order for Alabama to have any chance at all they need to go on a rampage between now and the end.
-OREGON AT CALIFORNIA (Pac Twelve). Oregon lost to Stanford earlier in the week, and looked really bad for most of the game. They won’t earn a good seed with too many more showings like that.
-OHIO AT AKRON (MAC). These are the two best teams in the conference, and both are potentially dangerous NCAA Tournament teams in the round of 64. If one of these teams wins out they could be in range of an at-large.
-KANSAS STATE AT OKLAHOMA (Big Twelve). Oklahoma is looking more and more like a tournament team. They can really help their cause with a win over Kansas State today.
-TEMPLE AT SAINT JOSEPH’S (Atlantic Ten, Big Five). Temple’s profile is all over the place. They could use a win on the road to help settle their resume. That, and beating rival is always nice. Saint Joe’s can be good, and may be up for this game, but they’ve been disappointing on the year so far.
-KENTUCKY AT TEXAS A&M (SEC). Kentucky scored a big win earlier in the week at Ole Miss. If they can add another road win to that, it will likely land them inside the bubble this week.
-FORDHAM AT VCU (Atlantic Ten). VCU has struggled in their last several games, but they should be able to beat Fordham while sleepwalking.
-OHIO STATE AT NEBRASKA (Big Ten). Ohio State could stand to improve their road record. They should have no trouble doing that tonight.
-NAVY AT BUCKNELL (Patriot League). A win gets Bucknell to 19-4. If they win out they may get a look.
-MIDDLE TENNESSEE STATE AT FLORIDA ATLANTIC (Sun Belt). MTSU may reach the bubble if they win out. Anything short of that and they’ll need the automatic bid.
-WYOMING AT COLORADO STATE (Mountain West, Front Range). Wyoming has been in a tailspin, and if it continues they could end up outside the bubble. Colorado State has been in the opposite of a tailspin. They’ve looked as good as anyone in the league, especially at home.
-PORTLAND AT SAINT MARY’S (West Coast). Same story as always with SMC. Good record. No quality wins. Their margin for error is small.
-INDIANA STATE AT DRAKE (Missouri Valley). Indiana State is coming off a huge win from earlier in the week, and if they can get this one today they’ll likely be inside the bubble tomorrow.
-NEVADA AT NEW MEXICO (Mountain West). This is one of the more winnable games New Mexico has remaining.
-TENNESSEE TECH AT BELMONT (Ohio Valley). If Belmont wins out, they should get a look from the committee.
-TEXAS ARLINGTON AT LOUISIANA TECH (WAC). Same with Belmont, if LA Tech wins out they should get a look.
-BAYLOR AT IOWA STATE (Big Twelve). This is about as bubble-licious as a game can get. Both teams need this win.
-UAB AT SOUTHERN MISS (Conference USA). Southern Miss seems to have caught a lot of people’s eyes, but their next top 100 win will be their first, and it won’t come today.
-UNLV AT BOISE STATE (Mountain West). I like Boise’s team, but they are in a tailspin and will crash if they don’t get things turned around. They really need to win this one.
-ARIZONA STATE AT WASHINGTON (Pac Twelve). Arizona State needs road wins. Their weak out of conference schedule has put a ton of pressure on them to perform in conference.
-BYU AT SANTA CLARA (West Coast). Both teams are outside the bubble, but it should still be a good game between two teams that need a very strong finish to play their way into the picture.
-ARIZONA AT WASHINGTON STATE (Pac Twelve). Arizona held on to beat Washington earlier in the week and is playing like a solid protected seed.
-GONZAGA AT SAN DIEGO (West Coast). Gonzaga has been cruising through conference play and that isn’t likely to change tonight.
