Hoops HD

NEWS AND NOTES:

-For John Stalica’s UTR Game of the Day – CLICK HERE

-North Carolina got a win at Florida State yesterday that was probably a better win than what most will give them credit for. They had to come from behind to do it, and Florida State had been playing really well since January and this was just their second ACC loss. UNC is in the hunt for a #1 seed, and it was the kind of game a #1 seed should win, but it was also more than just a routine win on the road.

-Houston blitzed a Kansas State team that was on the bubble and who had been playing really well 74-52. Houston looks as good as anyone in the nation right now.

-Kansas lost their second straight road game as they fell at Iowa State 79-75. Unlike the loss at West Virginia, there is virtually no shame in this one. Iowa State is one of the tougher places in the entire country to win at.

-We knew it was a big week for Auburn with road games at Alabama and at Mississippi State. We knew if they could win both of them it would be a huge statement, and winning one of them would still be pretty good. Well, they lost both of them. They fell 64-58 yesterday to Mississippi State and are still without a quad 1 win.

-Oklahoma, the team that everyone loves but that I really don’t get myself, continues to play in a way that makes me think they’re being overvalued. They lost at home 85-84 to a Texas Tech team that is admittedly good, but not so good that the 11th ranked team in the nation should be losing to them at home. The Sooners are now 2-4 in their last six games, and one of those two wins was at home against West Virginia, which is a virtual buy game level win.

-Duke escaped against Clemson 72-71, and when I say ‘escaped’ this game saw multiple lead changes in the final 30 seconds, and a foul call on Duke’s last possession that led to the game winning freethrows that Clemson will be questioning for the rest of the year. This would have been a huge and perhaps season defining win for the Tigers, but they’re still safely inside the bubble and if anything this game showed they can play against protected-seed-caliber teams on the road.

-TCU got their biggest win of the year, and it took them over three hours to do it! They won 105-102 in triple overtime against a very good Baylor team. Replay and timeouts at the end of the game is something that needs to be reformed. This was an exciting game, and a well played game, and an important game, but it was also a game where the referees must have spent over 30 minutes of combined time at the monitors. This just makes the game less good! For EVERYONE! The players, the coaches, the fans…EVERYONE! People end up changing the station because they don’t want to watch referees watch TV on TV. I’m not saying to get rid of replay, but it DEFINITELY needs to be reformed!

-Dayton’s win streak came to an end as they fell to Richmond 69-64 yesterday. The first half of this game was one of the worst offensive halves I’ve ever seen, but it picked up in the second half. Richmond is on fire. Their resume is a little flimsy and they may need to come close to winning out just to get on the bubble, but they’re unbeaten in conference play and now have a nice win against Dayton on their profile.

-Utah State got a VERY nice road win at Boise State 90-84. As well as Boise has been playing, this was a very tough game to win, and it will look really good on their resume and should help shoot them up the seedlist.

-Colorado State could have really used the road win at Wyoming yesterday, but they fell to their Front Range Rivals 79-96. They’re now just 3-4 in the MWC and the lack of road wins may be becoming an issue.

-Nebraska, who had been playing well and who we actually had inside or bubble on our latest Bracket Rundown show, did not play well yesterday. They were blown off the floor at Maryland 73-51.

-Georgia, who was a team that I liked, was getting blown out at Florida yesterday, but they came charging back to force overtime! Then…Florida escaped with a 102-98 win and the Bulldogs missed out on what would have been a really nice road win for their resume.

-Providence beat a really weak Georgetown team 84-76 in Ed Cooley’s return to Providence. It’s a result that really isn’t worth mentioning at all other than that it was Ed Cooley’s return to Providence.

-Some Under the Radar teams had bad days. Akron, who had been on an absolute rampage, fell at Miami OH 70-68, which may all but eliminate any hopes they had of getting an at-large, and Princeton got their doors absolutely blown off by Cornell. Grand Canyon, High Point, and Samford all received big scares, but all managed to hold on and win in close games.

-In the Sun Belt, Hot! Hot! Hot! Appalachian State beat James Madison for the second time this season. JMU got a lot of credit (and deservedly so) for their early season win at Michigan State. While that win has lost some of its shine, it’s still a good win, and James Madison is still a good team. It’s just that Appalachian State has objectively outperformed them and I think they’ve shown they’re even better. They’re 15-4 overall, and while a couple of those losses are real headscratchers, they also have a win against Auburn to go with the two wins over James Madison. I think they’ve done enough to say they belong on the bubble, and if they can keep playing at this level I’ll be arguing they belong inside of it come March.

-Villanova needed a road win at Butler yesterday. They’re hovering around the bubble, their resume has some holes in it, and their overall record was just 11-8. They did not win at Butler. Butler is now a very respectable 14-7 overall and 5-5 in the Big East, and while they’re still not inside the bubble, they are in a position to reach it if they can just pick up a few more big wins.

-Colorado, who could have really used the road win at Washington State yesterday, lost 78-69. They did get a road win at Washington earlier in the week, but that’s their only one of the season and the lack of road wins are really starting to become an issue for the Buffs.

-Ole Miss picked up what was probably their biggest win of the year as they knocked off Texas A&M on the road 71-68. TAMUh as some good things on their resume, but with their overall record just 12-8. It’s important that they hold serve down the stretch.

-Utah is a terrible road team. They didn’t just lose to Washington last night. They got their doors blown off 98-73. People want to say the Utes are good, but they’re not good when they’re on someone else’s floor, and that’s going to be an issue for the committee.

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HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:

-XAVIER AT UCONN (Big East). UConn is the top ranked team and will remain there if they can hold serve in this game. We have Xavier outside our bubble, but if they could somehow pull off this upset it would obviously take a huge step toward it and earn themselves one of the single most impressive wins on anyone’s resume. That’s far easier said that done, though.

-PURDUE AT RUTGERS (Big Ten). Purdue has a history of struggling against Rutgers, and it’s on the road, and Purdue hasn’t always played well in true road games, but having said all that it’s still the kind of game the Boilers should roll in.

-NORTH TEXAS AT FLORIDA ATLANTIC (Aemrican). North Texas has been playing well recently having won seven of their last eight, and FAU always seems to be a crapshoot as to how well they’re going to play. The Owls should hold serve and win this one at home, but that doesn’t mean they will.

-SMU AT WICHITA STATE (American). There may be room for SMU inside the bubble, but they’ll really need to finish strong in order to get there, and that includes getting this win on the road today.

-MEMPHIS AT UAB (American). Memphis has lost their last two games and is in a bit of a tailspin. They’ll likely be challenged on the road again today against a UAB team that got off to a bit of a rough start, but that’s played pretty well for the last five or six weeks and who should be jacked pretty high up for this one.

-NEVADA AT NEW MEXICO (Mountain West). New Mexico is playing as well as anyone in the MWC right now, and they have been lights out at home. Nevada just snapped a three game losing streak with a big win against Colorado State earlier in the week, but they’ve got one of their toughest remaining games of the season tonight. A win would be huge for their resume.

NEWS AND NOTES:

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For John Stalica’s UTR Game of the Day – CLICK HERE

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:

-KANSAS STATE AT HOUSTON (Big 12). Houston just landed on our #1 line on the most recent bracket show we did, and K State is right on the bubble. I think K State is a tournament caliber team and will be there come March, and one way to REALLY boost their credentials would be to pull off the upset today. Having said that, that’s much easier said than done.

-NEBRASKA AT MARYLAND (Big Ten). Nebraska is in our field (for now) but they need more road wins in order to stay there. Winning at Maryland won’t be easy, but like I always say if a team wants to make the NCAA Tournament then they need to show they can win games that aren’t easy to win.

-SETON HALL AT MARQUETTE (Big East). I think Marquette is one of the ten best teams in the country, and that they still have a shot at getting a 2-seed or better. Seton Hall has been playing really well, but they’ve also lost two straight. A win today on the road is an extremely tall order, but even with three straight losses I still think the Hall is in good shape.

-KANSAS AT IOWA STATE (Big 12). This is a big road test for the Jayhawks who haven’t exactly passed all their tests this year. Iowa State is in the rankings and very tough to beat on their home court. It would be a huge 1-seed caliber win for Kansas’s resume if they’re able to pull it off.

-NORTH CAROLINA AT FLORIDA STATE (ACC). North Carolina is on our #1 line, and I think it is where they absolutely belong. Having said that, they could be in for a tough road test today against a Florida State team that has been playing better in recent weeks. They’ve won six of their last seven, and are a very good 6-2 in ACC play.

-TEXAS TECH AT OKLAHOMA (Big 12). Oklahoma has been tough at home this year, and they should be able to get this one today, but I’m still not as enamored as…well…nearly everyone else in the country seems to be. I don’t think they’re as good as their ranking and I personally wouldn’t have them as a protected seed, but I still expect them to win at home today. As for Texas Tech is having a good year, but is just 1-2 in true road games. A win today will be tough, but it would make their resume look a lot better if they do manage to pull it out.

-TEXAS AT BYU (Big 12). I hadn’t been all that big on Texas until recently, but after their wins against Baylor and on the road at Oklahoma in their last two games, my opinion of them has certainly improved. They’re on the road again today against another really good team and have yet another chance to really build up their resume.

-PRINCETON AT CORNELL (Ivy League). Princeton is an amazing 15-1 on the year, and this might be their toughest remaining game of the season. Cornell is an impressive 14-3 and is also unbeaten in Ivy League play. Another thing that makes this such a compelling game is how much their styles contrast on the court. Cornell likes to push the pace whereas Princeton is very methodical. This should be a good one!

-VILLANOVA AT BUTLER (Big East). Villanova is inside our bubble, but their resume is a bit flimsy and any road win like this would certainly help. Butler has shown signs of being really good at times, but so far they haven’t done it often enough for us (or anyone else for that matter) to have them inside their bubble. Still, if they can string together some wins then they can get there.

-AUBURN AT MISSISSIPPI STATE (SEC). Auburn is coming off a tough road loss to Alabama. As good as this Auburn team is, they need some good wins. This would arguably be their biggest of the season up to this point seeing as how it’s a road game against a team that many have inside the bubble.

-CLEMSON AT DUKE (ACC). Duke is still within reach of a protected seed and Clemson is still very solidly in the field, but both have room for improvement on their resumes and both could really use this win today.

-TCU AT BAYLOR (Big 12). TCU is in our field, but a big road win like this would really catapult them up the seedlist. Baylor is ranked 15th and looks to have a protected seed within their reach. They’ll remain with that status so long as they’re able to hold serve.

-UTAH STATE AT BOISE STATE (Mountain West). I really like how well this Boise State team has been playing, and it wouldn’t shock me at all if they were able to pick up another notable win this afternoon. Utah State is in the rankings and we’ve got them in our field, but this would be a huge road win that would greatly boost the value of their resume even more if they’re able to pull this one off.

-COLORADO STATE AT WYOMING (Mountain West) (Front Range). We at Hoops HD LOVE the Front Range!!!! Colorado State is having an outstanding year and can pick up another road win today against their rivals, and the more road wins a team has the better their resume looks.

-COLORADO AT WASHINGTON STATE (Pac 12). The one thing Colorado needs more than anything else on their resume right now is true road wins. They’re just 1-4 on the road, but their one win was just the other night at Washington. This may be a slightly bigger test, but if they can get this one then their resume will suddenly look a lot better.

-ARIZONA AT OREGON (Pac 12). Arizona suffered a surprising loss at Oregon State the other night and will be looking to bounce back from that. Oregon is just outside our bubble, so they could really use a win like this to help get them on the right side of it. As for Arizona, this is the kind of game they need to win if they want to remain solidly in the range of a protected seed.

-KENTUCKY AT ARKANSAS (SEC). Arkansas is a talented team that’s underperformed quite a bit this year. Kentucky is a solid protected seed who can help themselves out even more if they can pick up some big road wins. They fell at South Carolina earlier this week, and their only two road wins on the season are against Louisville (which really doesn’t count) and Florida, so this would help boost their resume if they can pull this one off today.

-DAYTON AT RICHMOND (Atlantic 10). Dayton is now on our #4 line, and has a good chance of ending up as a protected seed, especially if they can run the table in the A10. Having said that, they will be challenged on the road today. Richmond is playing really well. They’ve won nine straight and are unbeaten at home, so even though they’re not inside the bubble right now it’s still a win the Flyers should get quite a bit of credit for if they’re able to pull it off.

-JAMES MADISON AT APPALACHIAN STATE (Sun Belt). I think both of these teams are right on the bubble and both may have a shot at landing inside of it, but this is one of the few big remaining opportunities to impress the committee that each of them have, which is what makes this such a pivotal and high stakes game. App State won the first meeting, and they also have a win over Auburn, so their resume does have some good stuff on it. James Madison, of course, had the big win at Michigan State at the start of the season.

-NC STATE AT SYRACUSE (ACC). Both teams are outside the bubble, and while both still have a reasonably decent shot at making it, they don’t have an infinite number of strikes remaining and could really use a win today.

-UCF AT CINCINNATI (Big 12). This is another bubblicious game between two teams that have some good things on their resumes, but still have a lot of work to do and who could both really use a win tonight.

-OHIO STATE AT NORTHWESTERN (Big Ten). Ohio State is outside our bubble and in order to get on the right side of it they need some wins like this one on their resume. Northwestern is a bit of a home court hero, but they’ve still done enough to belong inside the bubble and can remain there so long as they can hold serve in games like this today.

-OLE MISS AT TEXAS A&M (SEC). I really think Ole Miss needs this road win. They’ve got a good record, but their resume is a little flimsy overall in terms of notable wins, and this would easily be their biggest singular win of the year if they’re able to pull this off. It won’t be easy, though. TAMU is a good team that may be slightly undervalued right now and they should be able to hold serve at home in this one.

-UTAH AT WASHINGTON (Pac 12). Utah has just one road win on the season and they weren’t able to win at Washington State the other night. In fact they were blown out. A lot of people like this Utes team, but I think they’re in trouble if they can’t do better on the road.

OTHER NOTABLE GAMES:

–Virginia @ Louisville (ACC). Virginia is slowly getting closer and closer to the bubble. They need more road wins, and this should be a routine road win for them.

–Georgia @ Florida (SEC) – both teams are outside the bubble for now, but are perhaps close enough to it to reach it by the end of the year. Both could really use a win today

–Georgetown @ Providence (Big East) – Providence is squarely on the bubble and it’s very important that they holds serve at home. Oh yeah! And it’s Ed Cooley’s return to campus!

–Missouri @ South Carolina (SEC) – South Carolina is coming off a big win against Kentucky. They want to get their feet back on the ground and hold serve at home today

–Akron @ Miami OH (MAC) – I still think Akron has an outside shot of getting onto the bubble if they can win out

–Pittsburgh @ Miami FL (ACC) – If Miami wants to get back inside the bubble then they need to start stringing together wins and holding serve in games like this

–Indiana @ Illinois (Big Ten) – Illinois is coming off a loss to Northwestern, but is back home against an Indiana team that isn’t the best on the road, so they should be able to bounce back

–Grand Canyon @ UT Arlington (WAC) – another road test for the Lopes, but it’s also another one they should win

–Samford @ East Tennessee State (SoCon) – Samford’s win streak came to an end, but they’re still having a great year and will still be in position to at least get a look from the committee if they can keep winning

-Georgia Tech @ Virginia Tech – VA Tech is outside the bubble, but is perhaps within reach of it if they can hold serve in games like this and start to string together some wins

–Tennessee @ Vanderbilt (SEC) – this should be a winnable road game for Tennessee, and keep them in the conversation for a #1 seed

–Northern Iowa @ Drake (Missouri Valley) – Drake can still make a run at the bubble if they can continue to blow through the MVC. They need to hold serve at home in this one

–DePaul @ Creighton (Big East) – Creighton is in great shape and shouldn’t have any trouble winning what amounts to a buy game tonight

–LSU @ Alabama (SEC) – the Tide just got a big win against Auburn and should be able to hold serve in this one

–Gonzaga @ Pacific (West Coast) – The Zags are outside the bubble, but they should still blow through this one even though it’s a road game