Drake (18-4, 9-2) at Indiana State (19-3, 10-1) – 6:00 PM ET (ESPN2)
Tonight’s UTR Game of the Day looms as the Game of the Year in the Missouri Valley Conference as the Drake Bulldogs head east to visit the Indiana State Sycamores. Drake beat the Trees at home 89-78 back in January; Tucker DeVries had 29 points (including 6 three-point shots) for the Bulldogs in that game. Losses at Belmont and Missouri State mean that Drake probably needs to win a game like this if they have dreams of getting an at-large NCAA Tournament spot.
As of Thursday night’s Bracket Rundown podcast here on Hoops HD, we had Indiana State as an #11 seed above the First Four, so they would be above the bubble cut-line for the time being. While Indiana State has a very good overall record, their best nonconference win is Toledo. This means that the Trees really need to win the regular season title in the Valley at a minimum if they want to remain in at-large territory come March. Isaiah Swope had 18 points for ISU in their 78-72 win at Belmont in their last game.
Toledo (14-7, 8-1) at Akron (16-5, 8-1) – 9:00 PM ET (ESPN2)
Tonight’s UTR Game of the Day goes to the MAC where the top two teams face off in Akron; the Toledo Rockets visit the Akron Zips. Toledo comes into tonight having won eight of their last nine contests; their only loss in league play so far has been to Central Michigan on the road. More recently, Jahvan Simmons had 18 points in an 88-63 romp at home against Western Michigan.
Akron finally stumbled in conference play at home against the Miami Redhawks last Saturday, but otherwise they have continued to dominate teams in the league throughout the season. While the Zips have a very good overall record, losses in the nonconference against Utah State, Drake and UNLV deprived them of opportunities to win an at-large NCAA Tournament bid should they have an early slip-up in the MAC Conference Tournament next month. Enrique Freeman (18.5 PPG, 12.8 RPG) continues to look like a leading contender for MAC Player of the Year.
-Wisconsin jumped out to a big lead on the road at Nebraska, which was impressive. However, Nebraska came thundering back, got the game to overtime, and picked up another big win at home 80-72. Nebraska has now beaten Purdue and Wisconsin on their home floor, and even though those wins came at home they’re still both really good. While they could use a few more road wins, they appear to be safely inside the bubble for now.
-SAINT BONAVENTURE AT DAYTON (Atlantic 10). Dayton is still in good shape to end up high on the seedlist, and perhaps even as high as a protected seed, despite their recent loss at Richmond. They should be able to hold serve tonight.
-OHIO STATE AT IOWA (Big Ten). If Ohio State is going to play their way inside the bubble, then they need to start winning games like this one.
-PRINCETON AT YALE (Ivy League). This one should be great! This are two of the best teams in the Ivy League, and it’s a huge road test for Princeton. It’s one they need to pull off if they want to end up landing inside the bubble. Yale had some early struggles, but they are still one of the most talented teams in the conference.
-BUTLER AT CREIGHTON (Big East). We have Butler squarely on our bubble and we have Creighton within the range of a protected seed. A sure way to help Butler land solidly inside the bubble would be to pick up another big road win like this one.
-SAN JOSE STATE AT NEVADA (Mountain West). Nevada is squarely on our bubble and needs to hold serve at home against non-tournament teams. Failing to do so will land them outside of it.
NOTE: This broadcast was recorded at 9pm, est on Thursday, February 1st. No games that went final after that, particularly Wisconsin vs Nebraska, were considered when creating this bracket.
Chad and the panel build a seedlist line by line and debate, discuss, and assess, and sometimes strongly argue about each team as they go. Find out who they have on the #1 lines so far, who is safely in, who still has work to do, and who on the bubble just made it in and just missed it.
Below is a final copy of The 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 John Stalica’s UTR Game of the Day – CLICK HERE
-Less than 12hrs after I gushed over South Carolina’s win at Tennessee and said we likely wouldn’t see another singular win as good as that for the rest of the yeer, we almost saw one that would have been even better last night! Northwestern went into Purdue and took them to the wall! They led late into the game, and had a chance to win on the final possession of regulation, but couldn’t come up with a basket and then couldn’t hold on in overtime as they lost to the Boilers 105-96. Still, it was very hard not to be impressed with how well Northwestern played on the road against one of the two best teams in the country.
-Florida got a big road win as they knocked off Kentucky in a 94-91 stunner in Rupp Arena. The Gators really haven’t been solidly inside our bubble at any point this season, but after last night’s win I wouldn’t be surprised at all if they were in our next bracket. The Gators are now 15-6 on the year, have won four straight, and have a monster road win at Kentucky.
-Boise State also picked up a huge road win as they went into The Pit and knocked off New Mexico 86-78. The Lobos had been looking like the best team in the Mountain West for the past few weeks, so that’s a great win for the Broncos who’s resume now looks a lot better than it did 24hrs ago.
-Alabama fell behind big to Georgia, but then they came back big and won rather easily 85-76 after absolutely dominating the second half. I guess they just weren’t ready at the start of the game?
-Memphis has gone from looking like they may get a protected seed to looking like they may miss the NCAA Tournament altogether in such a short period of time that it is almost unbelievable! They lost 74-71 last night. To Rice. At home. That’s now four straight losses for Memphis and none of those four teams are anywhere near the NCAA Tournament.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-COASTAL CAROLINA AT JAMES MADISON (Sun Belt). I still think JMU can get a serious look from the committee if they win out, and I think they are good enough to win out, but anything short of that and one of their wins better be in the SBC Championship game.
-APPALACHIAN STATE AT GEORGIA STATE (Sun Belt). I think App State can get a serious look from the committee if they win out, and I think they are good enough to win out, but anything short of that and one of their wins better be in the SBC Championship game.
-WISCONSIN AT NEBRASKA (Big Ten). Wisky is looking as good as anyone in the Big Ten right now, and they’ve even got a chance to end up on the #1 line if they can overtake Purdue. This will be a tough road test against a Nebraska team that’s trying to play their way into the NCAA Tournament, but Wisconsin has shown us that they’re able to win tough games.
-CALIFORNIA AT ARIZONA (Pac 12). Arizona has had some head-scratching losses, but their ups still far outweigh their downs and they appear to be headed toward a protected seed. They should be able to hold serve at home tonight.
-SEATTLE U AT GRAND CANYON (WAC). The Lopes should be able to avenge their only conference loss of the year tonight. If they win out through the regular season, which they are good enough to do, they should be in the field even if they don’t win the WAC Tournament.
-OREGON AT USC (Pac 12). Oregon is hovering around the bubble and they need this win on the road tonight. A loss sets them back even more.
Eastern Washington (13-7, 7-0) at Montana State (10-11, 5-3) – 9:00 PM ET (ESPN+)
Tonight’s UTR Game of the Day takes us to Bozeman, Montana in the heart of Big Sky Country for a matchup between the hometown Montana State Bobcats and the Eastern Washington Eagles. The Eagles are currently on a 9-game winning streak that includes all 7 of their league contest along with nonconference wins against South Dakota and North Dakota State back in December. Cedric Coward averages 13.6 points per game and 6.5 rebounds per game for EWU.
Montana State had a tough 3-game losing streak near the end of the calendar year, but the Bobcats come into tonight’s game having won 4 out of their last 6 contests. Among league contenders, the Bobcats split home games against Northern Colorado and Montana and lost road games at Weber State and Portland State. Robert Ford III averages 15.1 points a game and 8 rebounds a game for Montana State.
Tonight’s feature conference is the SWAC where just one game separates the top 8 teams. It’s been a wildly exciting league with big pivotal swings every week, and it looks like it could continue for the rest of the season. Southern stands atop the league with a big win at Mississippi State from earlier in the year, but right now it looks like a toss up.
From there we move on to the other 21 UTR leagues and discuss how Vermont is now in the driver’s seat of the America East after two big road wins last week, Cornell got a huge win against Princeton and volted themselves up to the top of the Ivy League, Appalachian State beat James Madison for the second time and now looks to be the best team in the Sun Belt, Samford keeps winning games in the SoCon, but Chattanooga and UNC Greensboro are right on their tails. Chad and David discuss all that, and more!
And, for all you radio lovers, below is an audio only version of the show…
