-WYOMING AT BOISE STATE (Mountain West). This is a very pivotal game for both teams, and it earns today’s top billing. Both are on the bubble. Both have a lot to gain with a win. Both would be damaged with a loss. Both have played very well at times this year, but haven’t always come out with the wins to show for it.
-NEW MEXICO AT UNLV (Mountain West). Both teams appear to be solidly in, and both could possibly end up as a protected seed, but in order to get there they need to win games like this.
-TEMPLE AT DAYTON (Atlantic Ten). Temple’s resume is all over the map. They’re on the bubble and this game has a pivotal feel to it.
-GEORGETOWN AT RUTGERS (Big East). Georgetown appears to have a solid resume and can build on that with a road win today.
-MICHIGAN AT WISCONSIN (Big Ten). Michigan is still a #1 seed caliber team, but needs to keep winning away from home. Wiscy is a good, and it’s not easy to win there, but it’s the kind of game that a #1 seed should be able to win.
-AKRON AT MIAMI, OH (MAC). Akron’s record is good, but they’re lacking good wins away from home. Their margin for error is almost zero, and there are some that will tell you that winning out won’t even be enough.
-OLE MISS AT MISSOURI (SEC). Ole Miss has a good record, but doesn’t have any rock solid wins on the road. This would be one of their better road wins. Mizzou looks more like a bubble team than a top 25 team to me, but they are unbeaten at home.
-SOUTHERN ILLINOIS AT INDIANA STATE (Missouri Valley). Indiana State is coming off a big win against Creighton and if they can finish strong they should get in.
-OKLAHOMA STATE AT TEXAS (Big Twelve). Okie State’s profile has shot through the roof, but they still need some road wins to be a first ballot team.
-SAINT JOSEPH’S AT UMASS (Atlantic Ten). Not many people are talking about UMass, but they have a semi-respectable profile with some chances at good wins between now and the end.
-FORDHAM AT LA SALLE (Atlantic Ten). A win for La Salle will keep them inside the bubble, at least for now.
-DEPAUL AT MARQUETTE (Big East). Marquette has the looks of a protected seed and should be able to take care of business at home in this one.
-NORTH CAROLINA AT MIAMI, FL (ACC). Miami has the looks of a possible #1 seed, especially with so many teams at the top undergoing losses. They may win this one handily.
-BUTLER AT GEORGE WASHINGTON (Atlantic Ten). Butler has a very solid resume and should end up as a protected seed if they hold serve.
-SOUTH FLORIDA AT VILLANOVA (Big East). Nova remains on the bubble, and every game continues to have a pivotal feel to it. This would not be a good win, but it would be a somewhat damaging loss.
-TEXAS TECH AT BAYLOR. Baylor is a bubble team and cannot afford a damaging home loss like this one.
-AUBURN AT KENTUCKY (SEC). Kentucky still has work to do, but they have looked better these past few weeks and shouldn’t have too much trouble in this one at home.
-BUCKNELL AT ARMY (Patriot League). Bucknell will be on the bubble if they win out.
-KANSAS AT OKLAHOMA (Big Twelve). Kansas is coming off a very bad loss to TCU. No #1 or #2 seed that I can recall has ever lost to such a low caliber opponent. That doesn’t mean Kansas can’t still get a #1, but it’s still a huge setback. Kansas is still a high quality opponent and it would still be a big win for Oklahoma if they’re able to pull it off.
-MEMPHIS AT SOUTHERN MISS (Conference USA). Neither team has any real solid wins on their resume, but Memphis appears to be in slightly better shape because they at least have a few quality wins. Both teams really need this one. I’d go so far to say that without it, Southern Miss has no chance.
-NORTHWESTERN AT IOWA (Big Ten). Iowa needs to hold serve in games like this, and pick up some big wins in their other conference games.
-SOUTH DAKOTA STATE AT OAKLAND (Summit League). I still like this South Dakota State team, and despite some of their bad losses I still think they will get a serious look for a bid if they win out.
-TEXAS A&M AT GEORGIA (SEC). Texas A&M is outside the bubble and will get knocked very far away from it if they don’t win this one.
-MISSISSIPPI STATE AT FLORIDA (SEC). Florida shouldn’t have much trouble at all in this one.
-SAINT LOUIS AT RICHMOND (Atlantic Ten). SLU has been playing as well as anyone in the conference, and if they can continue to play at that level as a road team, they will run away with first place.
-PITTSBURGH AT CINCINNATI (Big East). Both teams are in the rankings with solid resumes, and this would be another solid win for whoever pulls it off.
-FRESNO STATE AT SAN DIEGO STATE (Mountain West). San Diego State needs to hold serve.
-TROY AT MIDDLE TENNESSEE (Sun Belt). Same story with Middle. If they win out, they’ll be on the bubble.
-IOWA STATE AT KANSAS STATE (Big Twelve). Iowa State has won three of their last four against quality competition and appears to be safely inside the bubble. A win today against a Kansas State team that looks to be along the lines of a protected seed would boost their resume even more.
-MICHIGAN STATE AT PURDUE (Big Ten). In a time with a lot of inconsistency, Michigan State appears to be among the teams that can beat anyone in the country. They’re winners of eight of their last nine, and have gotten better as the season has progressed.
-VCU AT CHARLOTTE (Atlantic Ten). VCU has a solid profile, but they need road wins if they want it to improve. Charlotte is right on the bubble and needs some wins of note. This is a game where both teams have a lot to gain by winning it.
-ORAL ROBERTS AT STEPHEN F AUSTIN (Southland). SFA is probably out of the running for an at-large, but considering how bloated their record is they may get a look of they win out.
-STANFORD AT ARIZONA STATE (Pac Twelve). Arizona State needs a strong finish to even be considered.
-NORTH DAKOTA STATE AT IPFW (Summit League). NDSU is probably too far away from the bubble and has too few opportunities to reach it, but if they win out and things shake up right it isn’t entirely out of the realm of possibility.
-MISSOURI STATE AT WICHITA STATE (Missouri Valley). Wichita is in a bit of a tailspin and needs to pull out of it. They’re at home against a non-tournament caliber team and they really can’t afford a loss in this one.
-UTAH AT OREGON (Pac Twelve). Oregon has suffered injuries, but should be able to get it turned around. They really don’t want to drop this one at home.
-LMU AT GONZAGA (West Coast). In a year where there are about ten teams that can beat anyone in the country, I believe Gonzaga to be among those ten.
-TEXAS STATE AT LOUISIANA TECH (WAC). LA Tech has cracked the RPI top fifty, and can end up on the bubble if they win out. Anything short of that and they’ll need the automatic bid, though.
-BELMONT AT AUSTIN PEAY (Ohio Valley). Belmont is coming off a disappointing and somewhat damaging loss to Murray State. Their team is good, their profile is okay, but it still had a very small margin for error. Any loss between now and the end will all but assure they need the automatic bid.
-LOUISVILLE AT NOTRE DAME (Big East). Louisville hadn’t looked good recently, but they did in their last game against Marquette. It will be interesting to see if they can pull it together on the road and win in a hostile environment against a tournament caliber team.
-SAN FRANCISCO AT BYU (West Coast). I’m not a huge fan of BYU, but their profile is still bubble-worthy if they win out. Whether or not they wind up inside of it or not is anyone’s guess.
-ILLINOIS STATE AT CREIGHTON (Missouri Valley). Illinois State has been very disappointing this year, and that disappointment was magnified when they lost their first six conference games. Since then, though, they have won five of their last six, and are capable of an upset if they play up to their ceiling.
-WASHINGTON STATE AT UCLA (Pac Twelve). UCLA appears to be solidly in the field if they hold serve in games like this.
-SAINT MARY’S AT SAN DIEGO (West Coast). SMC has a spotty profile, and has looked questionable in many of their games this year, but their last game against Santa Clara was not one of them. I think they’re outside the bubble, but they do have the opportunities they need to land inside of it if they continue to play like they did earlier in the week.
Griggs
