-PENN AT DARTMOUTH (Ivy League). Dartmouth will be eliminated if they lose and Columbia beats Brown. Penn is eliminated if they lose, and either Columbia or Harvard wins.
–Cal Poly in the Big West is still alive, but barely. They lost their game at Cal State Fullerton, but Cal State Bakersfield lost at Long Beach State, so they are still mathematically alive until Saturday. EDIT: Cal Poly cannot win any tiebreakers and has been eliminated. If the Puppet bothered reading the emails that Chad sent him, he would know this.
-For John Stalica’s UTR Game of the Day – CLICK HERE
-Washington State was picked to finish 11th, and then as the season played out and we got into conference play they started to look like they might be decent, then it started to look like they could get inside the bubble, then it started to look like they were solidly inside the bubble, and now it’s starting to look like they’re going to finish 1st in the Pac 12 and be seeded well inside the top half of the bracket. Their win at Arizona last night was the first home loss of the season for any of the four teams that the committee gave a #1 seed to last week. They are collectively 56-1 at home. Wazzu is who has that one win, and it is for now the best singular win that any D1 team has managed all year long.
As far as the game itself, it was awesome!! It was close all throughout, the lead and momentum seesawed back and forth, and in the final minute of play when it looked like Arizona was in control with a 3pt lead, Wazzu converted the very rarely seen 4pt play to get the lead and ultimately get the win!!
-Grand Canyon played a great first half on the road against a pretty good Tarlton State team and seemed to be cruising. Then in the second half Tarlton came back and actually ended up pulling off the upset 77-74. It’s always damaging when an Under the Radar team loses any games in conference, and this loss is no different. I still think Grand Canyon SHOULD be inside the bubble if they win out through the regular season, but it’s not a guarantee like it would have been had they avoided this loss.
.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-YALE AT CORNELL (Ivy League). These are two of the teams in a three-way race for the Ivy League title. Both have a slim shot at landing inside the bubble if they win out, and both these teams are really good, so it should be a good one.
-NEVADA AT SAN JOSE STATE (Mountain West). It’s a road game for Nevada, but it’s against an exceptionally weak team and it would be a bad loss for the Wolfpack if they’re not able to hold serve.
Yale (17-7, 8-1) at Cornell (19-4, 8-1) – 7:00 PM ET (ESPN+)
Ivy Madness takes its next Act to Ithaca, New York for a matchup between co-leaders Yale and Cornell tonight. Yale won the first matchup at home 80-78 against the Big Red; the Bulldogs begin their final road trip of the regular season with a game at Columbia to follow tomorrow night. Danny Wolf averages 14.7 points a game for Yale.
Cornell, in contrast, begins their final homestand tonight with games against Yale and Brown. Next week, the Penn-Princeton double looms for the Big Red. More recently, Cornell beat Dartmouth 89-80 at home; Chris Manon led Cornell with 25 points.
PROGRAM NOTE: This was recorded Thursday, Feb 22nd at 9pm, est, and the seedlist was built before the show was recorded. None of the games that were played that day, particularly Grand Canyon at Tarleton State or Washington State at Arizona, were factored in.
A full Hoops HD panel have all submitted their own individual seedlists. They were then cross country scored by Chad to form a master seedlist, and it is revealed to the panel Selection Sunday style team by team and line by line. They discuss, assess, and debate each team as they are revealed. See who the #1 seeds are, who the rest of the protected seeds are, who is on the bubble, and who just missed it.
Below is the final bracket, but don’t look at it until you’ve watched the show!!
And for all you radio lovers, below is an audio only version of the show…
-For our latest UNDER THE RADAR Video Podcast, along with our UTR CONFERENCE WATCH where we indicate who’s on pace to wrap up 1st place, home court advantage, or who’s in danger of being eliminated from qualifying for their conference tournaments – CLICK HERE
-We have one potential elimination from the HoopsHD Survival Board tonight — Cal Poly will be eliminated with a loss tonight at Fullerton combines with a Bakersfield win at Long Beach.
-For John Stalica’s UTR Game of the Day – CLICK HERE
-Duke blasted Miami FL on the road 84-55. Miami was one of my preseason picks to make the Final Four. I’m starting to think that I may not have been correct in that.
-Illinois fell at Penn State in one of the crazier finishes of the night. The Illini struggled throughout the game, but appeared to be in control when they held a 7pt lead with less than 1:20 to play. They missed several freethrows, which kept Penn State in it, and then they fouled Penn State as they were shooting a 3 with just 4 seconds left. When the dust cleared, Penn State had pulled the 90-89 upset and the fans stormed the court. As Chad Sherwood said, it was one of the most energetic crowds we’d ever seen that was supporting a team with a losing record!
-Florida led Alabama at Alabama for most of the game, but after being seemingly ice cold for at least 30 minutes of play, Bama hit a couple of 3s, the crowd got into it, and they were able to come back and force overtime. Florida had a chance to win at the end of regulation (as did Alabama), but couldn’t score on their last possession. Then the Tide got control in the OT and pulled off the 98-93 win. It’s not a bad loss for the Gators by any means, but a win would have really boosted their resume and shot them up the seedline.
-We figured Dayton might struggle yesterday. Well, they did. In fact they lost yesterday at George Mason 71-67. Dayton is obviously safely in the field barring some sort of a historic collapse, but I don’t think they have any real shot at a protected seed anymore.
-Kentucky at LSU was another crazy finish. Kentucky was in control for most of the first half, but LSU came out strong out of the locker room, got the lead and it was close the rest of the way. Kentucky hit a shot with 12 secs to go to give themselves a 1pt lead, and then made a great defensive play blocking what would have been a game winning shot for LSU. The problem is they blocked it right into the hands of Jordan Wright, who found Tyrell Ward wide open for a game winning layup, and LSU pulled off the 75-74 upset. Kentucky had been playing so well that it was a game you were really expecting them to win even though it was on the road, and it may be a bit of a setback because LSU is nowhere near the field, but overall they are still in much better shape than they were a week ago. The video of the last play may be the most tweeted video in history, BTW.
-Colorado State vs New Mexico was yet another Mountain West game between two solid tournament teams that came down to the wire. New Mexico held a lead for most of the second half, but Colorado State hung in and actually took a lead in the final ten seconds. A layup and foul on New Mexico’s last possession helped them escape with a 68-66 win. This would have been a really big road win for Colorado State that would have helped their seeding. It’s not a bad loss, but it was a missed opportunity to really strengthen their resume.
-Samford had to make some big plays in the final minute of their game against Furman to get the 74-72 win. They are one step closer to clinching 1st place in the SoCon, and their hopes of landing inside the bubble are still barely flickering.
-Providence, who is squarely on the bubble, got a much needed 79-75 road win at Xavier. Any road win in a conference like this goes a long way toward getting a team on the right side of the cut line.
-Nebraska, who had been awful on the road and who needed road wins on their resume more than anything else, got a big 85-70 road win at Indiana last night. It may not seem like much on the surface, but it’s still a very big win for a team that needed to do something on the road. It’s just their second true road win of the season.
-CAL POLY AT CAL STATE FULLERTON (Big West). Cal Poly will be mathematically eliminated with a loss tonight and a Cal State Bakersfield win at Long Beach State
.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-RUTGERS AT PURDUE (Big Ten). Rutgers has been playing better and getting closer to the bubble. A win tonight would really put them on the map, but that’s easier said than done. Purdue is squarely on the #1 line despite losing their last game at Ohio State, and it’s just not easy to beat #1 seed caliber teams on the road.
-SMU AT FLORIDA ATLANTIC (American). FAU continues to be a wildly inconsistent team, sometimes even within the same game. They fell behind by 25 in their last game at South Florida, but came back and almost won it. They’re at home, and they’re facing an SMU team that they should beat, but with FAU you just never know and with SMU, if they were to get a win like this, then suddenly they are looking like a team that could make the field.
-APPALACHIAN STATE AT OLD DOMINION (Sun Belt). App State will likely be on the bubble if they win out, but anything short of that won’t be enough, and even winning out won’t guarantee them a spot in the field.
-OHIO STATE AT MINNESOTA (Big Ten). Minney keeps inching closer and closer to the bubble and needs to hold serve tonight.
-GRAND CANYON AT TARLETON STATE (WAC). This is perhaps GCU’s toughest remaining game. They should still be able to win it, despite it being on the road against a fairly good Tarleton team, and if they do they they are running down hill. If they win out through the end of the regular season they should be in the NCAA Tournament regardless of what happens in the conference tournament.
-MICHIGAN AT NORTHWESTERN (Big Ten). Northwestern is solidly in our projected field right now, and they will remain there so long as they can continue to hold serve in games like this.
-GONZAGA AT PACIFIC (West Coast). The Zags are right on the bubble and should be able to make the field if they win out through the regular season. If they lose a game like this then they’re really in trouble.
-WASHINGTON STATE AT ARIZONA (Pac 12). These are the top two teams in the conference. Both are in the rankings and both are solidly in our field with Arizona looking like a potential #1 seed and Wazzu looking to really improve their resume with one of the bigger singular wins any team will manage all year. Washington State won the first meeting, but beating Arizona at Arizona is an entirely different level.
-UC SANTA BARBARA AT UC IRVINE (Big West) (Gouch0-Eater Cup). It’s the Gouch-Eater Cup!!!! One of our new favorite made up rivalries!!! UC Irvine is the 1st place team in the Big West and can get one step closer to clinching the title with a win tonight.
Grand Canyon (24-2, 14-1) at Tarleton (18-7, 11-3) – 8:00 PM ET (ESPN+)
Tonight’s UTR Game of the Day features not only two of the top teams in tbe WAC, but also a pair of teams relatively new to Division 1. Grand Canyon has recently completed their full transition to D1 and has recently made an NCAA Tournament appearance and may be poised to make another appearance this year even without the automatic bid. The Lopes did get a still test at home, but did survive against California Baptist 79-76 in their last outing. Tyon Grant-Foster led GCU in their win against the Lancers.
Tarleton, despite their fourth-year transitional status, will be allowed to participate in the WAC Tournament (as is fellow 4th-year program Utah Tech) this year. The Texans are in second place, but are 2 1/2 games behind Grand Canyon in the standings. After getting smoked 74-48 in their game at GCU, Tarleton has won eight of their last nine games to at least grasp a firm hold on the 2nd seed in the upcoming WAC Tournament. And this is despite Billy Gillespie having to take a medical leave from the team back in November.
Tonight’s feature conference is the Ohio Valley, which has gone from Morehead State having a seemingly comfortable lead over the rest of the pack to a 4-team logjam at the top of the standings.
After that, we run through the other 21 UTR conferences and discuss how Colgate has clinched the Patriot, Vermont may clinch the America East as early as this weekend, Samford’s tough loss to Mercer and bounce back win tonight, Indiana State’s tough week after being in the rankings, and so much more. And, as we do every week, we close with this week’s UTR Top Ten.
And for all you radio lovers, below is an audio only version of the show. And below that is our UTR Conference Watch!
CONFERENCE WATCH:
-AMERICA EAST: -Vermont has a 2 game lead with 4 games remaining. They can clinch 1st place outright with a win at Albany on Thursday and a win at home against Bryant on Saturday. -Maine has a 1/2 game lead over NJIT for 8th place. Only 8 teams make the field, and the two play each other this Saturday
-ASUN: -Eastern Kentucky has a 1 game lead on Stetson with four games to go. Stetson won the regular season meeting and presumably holds the tiebreaker. -There is a three way tie for 8th place between Kennesaw State, Queens, and Central Arkansas, and Jacksonville is just one game behind them. Only 10 teams make the conference tournament, so one of those four will be left out.
-BIG SKY: -Eastern Washington has a 2 game lead over Northern Colorado with 5 games remaining. The two play each other this Saturday in a game that could determine 1st place
-BIG SOUTH: -High Point and UNC Asheville are tied for 1st place with a two game lead over Gardner Webb. There are just 3 games remaining, and the two split the regular season
-BIG WEST: -UC Irvine has a 1 game lead over UC San Diego with 6 games to go, but UCSD is ineligible for the NCAA Tournament. -UC Riverside has a 2 game lead over Cal State Bakersfield and Cal State Fullerton for the 8th place spot and the last spot in the conference tournament.
CAA: -Charleston has a 1 game lead over UNC Wilmington and Drexel with 4 games remaining. They beat Drexel during the regular season, but lost both games to UNCW.
CONFERENCE USA: -Louisiana Tech has a 1 game lead over Sam Houston and Western Kentucky with 5 games remaining. LA Tech still has both of those teams remaining on their schedule
HORIZON LEAGUE: -Oakland and Green Bay are tied in the loss column with 3 games remaining, and the two split the regular season series
IVY LEAGUE: -Cornell and Yale are tied in 1st place, and both have a 1 game lead on Princeton. There are 5 games remaining, and Cornell will face both Yale and Princeton between now and the end. -Harvard and Columbia are tied for 4th place, and Brown is 1 game behind them. Only 4 teams make the conference tournament, so two of them will be eliminated -Penn and Dartmouth are 3 games out of 4th place with 5 games remaining
MAAC: -Quinnipiac has a 2 game lead over Fairfield, Niagara, and Marist with 6 games remaining
MEAC: -Norfolk State has a 2 game lead over a 5-way tie for 2nd place (NC Central, Delaware State, Howard, SC State, Morgan State). 5 regular season games remain
MAC: -Akron and Toledo have a 1 game lead over Central Michigan (checks notes to make sure I’ve got that right…) YES! Central Michigan! Akron and Toledo split the regular season series. -Only 8 teams make the conference tournament. Western Michigan has a 1 game lead over Ball State for 8th place, and a 3 game lead over Eastern Michigan, Eastern Illinois, and a 4 game lead over Buffalo. Buffalo could be eliminated this Saturday
MISSOURI VALLEY: -Indiana State and Drake are tied for 1st with a 3 game lead over Bradley with 4 games remaining. The two split the regular season series
NORTHEAST CONFERENCE: -Merrimack has a 1 game lead on Central Connecticut with 3 games to go, and the two split the regular season series. -Stonehill is 2 games back of Saint Francis U with 3 games to go, and the two play each other Saturday in a game that could eliminate Stonehill.
OVC: -Morehead State, Little Rock, UT Martin, and Western Illinois are in a 4-way tie for 1st place with 4 games to go. The top 2 teams receive byes into the semifinals of the conference tournament -Southern Indiana has a 1/2 game lead over Tennessee Tech for 8th place, and only 8 teams make the conference tournament. SEMO and Lindenwood (who isn’t eligible for the NCAAs anyway) could be eliminated this week
PATRIOT LEAGUE: -Colgate has clinched 1st place outright and will have home court advantage throughout the conference tournament
SOCON: -Samford has a 2 game lead over UNC Greensboro with 3 games to go, and can clinch at least a share of 1st place if they beat Furman on Wednesday and East Tennessee State on Saturday
SOUTHLAND: -McNeese has a 3 game lead over a 3-way tie for 2nd (TAMUCC, Lamar Nicholls) with 5 games to go and can clinch at least a share of 1st place if they win their next two games (vs Incarnate Word, @Lamar) -TAMU Commerce has a 1/2 game lead over Incarnate Word and a 1 game lead over New Orleans for the 8th and final spot in the Southland Tournament
SUN BELT: -Appalachian State has a 1 game lead over James Madison with 4 games remaining and won both regular season meetings. -Both James Madison and App State have a shot at landing on the bubble. -Troy is also tied with JMU for 2nd place
SWAC: -Southern and Grambling are tied for 1st with a two game lead over a 3-way tie for 3rd (Jackson State, Texas Southern, Alcorn State). There are 5 games remaining, and the two play each other this Saturday -There is a 3 way tie for 6th place (Bethune Cookman, Alabama State, Alabama A&M) and those three teams have a 1 game lead over Arkansas Pine Bluff. Only 8 teams make the conference tournament. -Mississippi Valley State has been eliminated -Florida A&M will be eliminated if they lose one more game
SUMMIT LEAGUE: -North Dakota and South Dakota State are tied for 1st in the loss column with 4 games remaining. The two play each other on Feb 29th in a game that could determine first place
WAC: -Grand Canyon has a 2 game lead over Seattle U with 5 games remaining, and can possibly clinch at least a share of 1st place this weekend if they win both their games (@Tarlton State, @ Abilene Christian), and Seattle loses -Utah Tech has a 1/2 game lead over Abilene Christian for 8th place, and the two play each other on March 2nd -UTRVG is 4 games out of 8th place with 6 games remaining and could be eliminated this week
INDEPENDENT: -Chicago State has completed their season with a 9-18 overall record against D1, and a quad 1 road win at Northwestern
