NEWS AND NOTES:
-For John Stalica’s UTR Game of the Day – CLICK HERE
-UConn, after blowing Marquette into the sun this past weekend, went on the road and sort of got blown into the sun themselves at Creighton. The Bluejays got a huge 85-66 win, and it was their first ever win over a #1 ranked team. It’s hard to win on the road. Ranked teams lose on the road to unranked teams all the time. Protected seeds lose on the road all the time. Even #1 seeds lose on the road to other top 25 teams and other protected seeds. The result isn’t exactly history changing like many were making it out to be. We’ve seen this for the last thirty years. And, I don’t think it sets UConn back all that much. I still think they’re on solid pace to end up as a #1 seed.
-Tennessee really had to sweat out Missouri last night, but held on to win 72-67. Now THIS is a road loss that WOULD have been surprising had Mizzou pulled it off.
-Baylor battled with BYU, but couldn’t quite get it done on the road as the Cougars picked up a 78-71 win, that should help their resume out a little bit. It would have been a really good win for Baylor, but I don’t think the loss is all that much of a setback.
-We thought Saint Mary’s might get a battle from San Francisco last night, and they absolutely did, but they also held on to win 70-66 to remain unbeaten in conference play and remain in position to go into the NCAA Tournament on the first ballot.
-San Diego State battled at Utah State, but couldn’t get it done on the road as they fell 68-63. It’s a nice win for Utah State, and while it would have been.a VERY nice win for San Diego State, I don’t think it sets them back that much. They still seem to me like they’re in the 4-5 seed range.
-Butler needed to win last night…and didn’t. They fell at Villanova 72-62. As someone that has been championing Butler for a while, I’m starting to realize that while they’ve done a lot, it doesn’t look like they’ve done quite enough to make the field, especially now that they’re sort of in crunch time and have lost four of their last five.
-Michigan State, who we were also praising, perhaps gave us a reason to stop yesterday. They lost at home to Iowa. It’s not good to lose home games to teams that are not in the NCAA Tournament. Iowa is 16-11 overall with some pretty good wins, so a path does exist for them to make it, and they have managed wins against Wisconsin and Michigan State in their last two games, but they’ve still got a ton of work to do just to get the committee to seriously look at them.
-Texas A&M is on the bubble. When you’re on the bubble, it’s not good to lose at home to teams that are not good teams. That’s exactly what TAMU did yesterday. They fell at home to Arkansas 78-71. That’s a pretty big ‘OUCH!!’
-Pittsburgh, who I was starting to believe in a little bit, of course goes on the road to Wake Forest and loses 91-58. Anyways…
-Wisconsin did finally get a win, but it was at home against a Maryland team that isn’t all that good, and they BAREY won!! The final score was 74-70. There is something wrong at Wisconsin right now!
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HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-ILLINOIS AT PENN STATE (Big Ten). Illinois has won five of their last six and appears to be on pace to earn a protected seed. They should be able to add another road win to their resume tonight.
-DUKE AT MIAMI FL (ACC). Duke has won seven of their last eight and has been on a bit of a rampage. Miami FL is perhaps one of the bigger disappointments this year. A team that clearly looked like a top 25 caliber team coming into the year will likely miss the NCAA Tournament entirely. This is definitely a winnable road game for the Blue Devils.
-FLORIDA AT ALABAMA (SEC). Florida has cracked the top 25 and continues to climb our seedlist. They have a chance to REALLY make a jump today if they can find a way to win at Alabama. That’s far easier said than done. Alabama is looking like they’re on pace to earn a protected seed and they will not be easy to beat on their floor.
-DAYTON AT GEORGE MASON (Atlantic 10). Dayton has cruised through their schedule for most of the season, and while this is a game that they should win, they may need to do a little more than simply cruise in order to win it. GMU has had a decent season and they’re a very respectable 11-2 at home.
-CLEMSON AT GEORGIA TECH (ACC). Clemson looked like they could end up as a protected seed, but their last loss at home to NC State sort of changed the complexion of that. They should be able to win this one on the road, but they need to do more than just show up and go through the motions. Georgia Tech has proven they can beat really good teams on their floor.
-PROVIDENCE AT XAVIER (Big East). Providence is inside our bubble, but barely, which makes every game they play seem extremely pivotal. This one is no different. If they can win on the road at Xavier, their resume will get a much needed lift. Xavier is on our board, but not in our field, and needs a strong finish just to get back into the picture.
-NEBRASKA AT INDIANA (Big Ten). Nebraska has some really good wins this year, but in true road games they’ve been terrible. They have just one true road win and if they don’t get a couple more the committee may not select them. That’s what makes this such a hugely important game. Beating Indiana may not seem like that big of a deal on the surface, but Nebraska NEEDS this road win!
-KENTUCKY AT LSU (SEC). Kentucky is coming off one of the more amazing performances of the entire season with their road win at Auburn. It’s never easy to win on the road, even against a team like LSU that’s nowhere near the bubble, but it’s still a game that Kentucky should be able to win.
-OLE MISS AT MISSISSIPPI STATE (SEC). It’s a rivalry game between two teams who I think still have quite a bit of work to do, and who could really use this win tonight. It’s important both on and off paper.
-COLORADO STATE AT NEW MEXICO (Mountain West). Both teams look to be solidly in the field, but both have opportunities to improve their resumes between now and the end, and tonight is one of those opportunities. It’s not easy at all to win at New Mexico, so this win would look great on Colorado State’s resume if they’re able to pull it off.
OTHER NOTABLE GAMES:
–Oklahoma State @ Cincinnati (Big 12) – Cincinnati is outside the bubble and needs to at least hold serve at home in games like this in order to stay within reach of it
–Saint John’s @ Georgetown (Big East) – Saint John’s is probably toast, but if they lose this game there will be no “probably” about it
–James Madison @ Marshall (Sun Belt) – JMU can improve to 25-3 and pick up another road win, and that’s at least got to give the committee a reason to really look at them
–Furman @ Samford (SoCon) – Samford needs to bounce back from their somewhat surprising loss at Mercer over the weekend. They have a two game lead in the conference standings with four games to go, and can clinch a 1st place finish if they win and UNCG loses to Western Carolina
–South Florida at UTSA (American) – South Florida needs to win out to get any sort of a serious look. They are the outright first place team and will remain there so long as they continue to win
–Charlotte @ Memphis (American) – Charlotte is nowhere near the bubble, but they are a game ahead of FAU in the standings and are just one game behind South Florida. Memphis is nowhere near the bubble and nowhere near the top of the standings
–DePaul @ Marquette (Big East) – I got nothin’ to say…
