-HARDIN SIMMONS (nondiv1) AT BAYLOR. I put this game on top only to mock Baylor.
-JACKSON STATE AT GRAMBLING (SWAC) (****CENTENARY WATCH!!***) . Jackson State has just a single win this year, but sometimes just one can be one too many. This is their chance to get taken down by the unanimous frontrunner for the award and put themselves in the conversation. This is likely Grambling’s least challenging game for the rest of the year, so you have to like their chances if they drop this one.
-SYRACUSE AT LOUISVILLE (Big East). It’s a game with potential #1 seed implications. To get a #1 seed, you have to be able to beat pretty much anybody.
-GONZAGA AT BUTLER. A huge showcase OOC game. It is a shame that Butler may not be at full strength, but it should still be a great game to watch. Both teams will likely end up as protected seeds.
-CREIGHTON AT WICHITA STATE (Missouri Valley). Wichita went down earlier in the week, but they’re still a team who could play their way into a protected seed, as is Creighton. In regards to potential NCAA seeding, it’s an important game for both teams.
-MISSOURI AT FLORIDA (SEC). Showcase game for the SEC, although Florida has looked much better than Mizzou as of late. In fact, Mizzou has yet to win a true road game.
-OHIO STATE AT MICHIGAN STATE (Big Ten). Ohio State has looked a lot better than Michigan State so far, but the Spartans will be way up for this one. OSU could use a big road win, and Michigan State could use a big win.
-ARIZONA AT ARIZONA STATE (Pac Twelve). Arizona State has a good record, but still hasn’t beaten a team that would be solidly in the field if the season ended today. They can do a lot to change that today if they can upset their rivals.
-SAN DIEGO STATE AT WYOMING (Mountain West). Wyoming really needs a big win. Their record is still good, and their profile is still okay, but they need to beat some teams that are tournament caliber teams. Like most MWC games, this one should be good.
-UNLV AT COLORADO STATE (Mountain West). Both teams have good records, but Colorado State probably has a slightly bigger sense of urgency because their overall wins aren’t quite as good.
-UCONN AT PITT (Big East). Pitt’s resume continues to improve. If it keeps up they’ll solidify themselves as a tourney team.
-MARQUETTE AT CINCINNATI (Big East). Marquette has been playing well lately. Cincinnati has been off and on, and really needs some more wins of note.
-WISCONSIN AT IOWA (Big Ten). Wisconsin picked up a huge win earlier in the week, which really boosted their profile. Iowa really needs quality wins, so it’s a somewhat pivotal game for them.
-MARYLAND AT NORTH CAROLINA (ACC). Maryland managed a nice win against NC State, which gave their profile a much needed boost. They’re in good shape, but they still have work to do. The same is true for UNC.
-OREGON AT UCLA (Pac Twelve). These two teams have looked very good as of late. They are two of the three Pac Twelve teams that are looking like first ballot teams.
-HARVARD AT MEMPHIS. Interesting OOC game. Harvard is likely an NCAA tourney team, but not of the at-large variety. Memphis has avoided bad losses, but that’s all they’ve done, so their margin for error is small.
-SAINT BONAVENTURE AT TEMPLE (Atlantic Ten). Temple has been schizophrenic, but overall their profile is still pretty good.
-IOWA STATE AT TCU (Big Twelve). This is a winnable conference road game for an Iowa State team that has looked pretty good lately. They’re just 1-3 on the road, though, so they need this one.
-ARKANSAS AT MISSISSIPPI (SEC). I’ve seen Ole Miss a few times, and I like them better every time I see them. They don’t always play well, but they do always play hard. With just two losses on the season they should be in decent shape if they avoid bad losses.
-TEXAS TECH AT OKLAHOMA STATE (Big Twelve). Okie State needs to avoid a bad conference loss at home.
-LA SALLE AT XAVIER. La Salle is outside the bubble, and Xavier is nowhere near it. If La Salle wants to be taken seriously, they need to win on the road against sub-tournament caliber teams.
-KANSAS AT TEXAS (Big Twelve). Texas is 7-1 at home and they will be way up for this one, but Kansas is more than capable of winning games like this.
-AKRON AT KENT STATE (MAC). At 12-4, Akron might get a serious look if they can win out in the league.
-GEORGE WASHINGTON AT UMASS (Atlantic Ten). They haven’t played a tough schedule, but UMass is 12-4, and will have opportunities at quality wins in conference. Not today, though.
-BOISE STATE AT AIR FORCE (Mountain West). I love this Boise State team. They’ve played well and managed a big win even though they’re currently shorthanded. When they get back to full strength they’ll be even better. Having said that, Air Force is not an easy team to play against, especially on the road.
-NORTH DAKOTA STATE AT WESTERN ILLINOIS (Summit League). Very good game between two of the better teams in the Summit League. Both teams have strong records and could play their way onto the bubble if they dominate the conference. Of course, that would mean beating the other team.
-RUTGERS AT NOTRE DAME (Big East). Both teams have a few good things on their resumes, but both still have some work to do.
-FLORIDA STATE AT VIRGINIA (ACC). Virginia can still do it, but they’re running out of strikes.
-OKLAHOMA AT KANSAS STATE (Big Twelve). Oklahoma has some good things on their profile. A win today would really give it a boost.
-GEORGETOWN AT SOUTH FLORIDA (Big East). Georgetown has work to do if they want to end up as a protected seed. USF just has work to do if they want to end up with any seed.
-TEXAS A&M AT ALABAMA (SEC). TAMU was blown to bits earlier in the week, but they still have some notable things on their profile and will get a look with a strong showing in conference.
-KENTUCKY AT AUBURN (SEC). Auburn is unbeaten in conference play, and for the first time in years there is a buzz around their basketball team. That’s worth pointing out because Kentucky has struggled, and they’re going up against a team that is going to be way up for this game.
-CHARLOTTE AT RICHMOND (Atlantic Ten). Charlotte can improve to 16-2 with a win. They haven’t faced the heavyweights yet, though, and they need to avoid losses to non-tournament teams until they do.
-UAB AT SOUTHERN MISS (Conference USA). A win gets Southern Miss to 15-4, and for the most part they’ve avoided bad losses. Their chances at good wins are pretty much non-existent, though, so their margin for error is small.
-UCF AT HOUSTON (Conference USA). Houston is a very quiet 12-4. Southern Miss and Memphis also have decent records, so one of them should emerge in the discussion.
-LOUISIANA LAFAYETTE AT MIDDLE TENNESSEE (Sun Belt). Same old story with MTSU. If they win out they’ll get a look.
-LAFAYETTE AT BUCKNELL (Patriot League). Bucknell is worth keeping an eye on.
-COLGATE AT LEHIGH (Patriot League). So is Lehigh.
-VCU AT DUQUESNE (Atlantic Ten). I believe this will be VCU’s thirteenth straight win if they pull it off.
-NICHOLLS AT STEPHEN F AUSTIN (Southland). SFA can improve to 16-1. Their only good win was against Oklahoma, though.
-RHODE ISLAND AT SAINT LOUIS (Atlantic Ten). A win for SLU gets them to 13-4.
-WRIGHT STATE AT VALPO (Horizon League). Probably not an at-large caliber game, but both teams have good records and it could impact who wins the regular season in the HL, and gets home court advantage.
-SIUE AT MURRAY STATE (Ohio Valley). Murray needs to win out, or they’ll be left out.
-SAN DIEGO AT BYU (West Coast). BYU lost a heartbreaker, and somewhat of a backbreaker in their last game Saint Mary’s. They cannot afford to stub their toes because their margin for error is very small.
-SAINT MARY’S AT PORTLAND (West Coast). SMC just picked up perhaps their best win of the year at BYU, but like the Cougars they cannot afford bad losses.
-COLORADO AT WASHINGTON STATE (Pac Twelve). Colorado had some big wins early in the season, but has struggled lately and is teetering on irrelevance. They simply cannot afford to lose at Wazzu.
Griggs
