NEWS AND NOTES:
For John Stalica’s UTR Game of the Day – CLICK HERE
-Houston picked up a highly impressive 75-68 road win at BYU. They held a lead for most of the game, but it was close all throughout and BYU made a run at them in the final minutes. On paper, it’s one of Houston’s biggest wins to date considering that it was a true road game, and is the kind of win that indicates that they’re very much in the hunt for a #1 seed.
-Kentucky struggled offensively all night long and fell rather decisively at South Carolina 77-62. It’s a nice win for the Gamecocks, and while it’s a bit of a missed opportunity for Kentucky, they are still very much in the protected seed range.
-Texas got a BIG win at Oklahoma 75-60, which is probably their best of the year. It looks great on paper and they were very impressive on the court. After a big road win for Oklahoma over the weekend, the questions of how good they actually are still remain. We know they’re good, but are they really top 15 caliber good?
-Wisconsin got a battle from rival Minnesota, and Minney almost pulled off the college hoops version of the onsides kick at the end of hte game. They were down 3, they went to the freethrow line, they made they made the first, they missed the second, they got the rebound, they got off a great looking shot, but…they missed it. Wisky held on for another nice road win 61-59.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-PROVIDENCE AT SETON HALL (Big East). Seton Hall is coming off a triple OT loss to Creighton, but is still playing really well and still moving up the seedlist. Providence hasn’t been the same since injuries set in and is right now squarely on the bubble. A win in a game like this could go a long way toward helping them land on the right side of it, but wins like this are not easy to come by.
-LSU AT GEORGIA (SEC). I still think Georgia is outside looking in, and they were beaten handily by Kentucky in their last game, but they still have a path to making the field if they can string together some wins.
-NC STATE AT VIRGINIA (ACC). Both still have work to do, but Virginia finally got a win on the road in their last game. They need to hold serve over their next few games if they want to move inside the bubble.
-MIAMI FL AT NOTRE DAME (ACC). Miami has been a huge disappointment this year and needs to string some wins together just to get back in the discussion. They sure as hell can’t afford to lose this one tonight.
-MARYLAND AT IOWA (Big Ten). I think Iowa is outside the bubble and that Maryland is even further outside the bubble. Both have a lot of work to do if they want to be on the right side of it come March.
-GEORGE WASHINGTON AT RICHMOND (Atlantic 10). Richmond is still about 100 miles outside the bubble, but they’ve won eight in a row and while the path for them to get there is steep and narrow, it’s also not impossible. GW has had a pretty decent year and should be able to give them a test tonight.
-SAMFORD AT FURMAN (SoCon). BUCKY BALL!!!! The Samford Bulldogs are looking for a nation’s best 18th straight win tonight.
-AUBURN AT ALABAMA (SEC). A hugely important game tonight! It’s a rivalry game between two really good teams whose resumes could both still use some work if they want to end up as protected seeds. It should be a crazy atmosphere and a huge statement win for whoever is able to pull it off, especially if Auburn does it on the road.
-FLORIDA ATLANTIC AT RICE (American). This should be a routine conference road win for FAU, but nothing for FAU has been routine this year.
-INDIANA STATE AT UIC (Missouri Valley). This should be a routine road win for Indiana State and improve them to 17-3 on the year.
-DRAKE AT MISSOURI STATE (Missouri Valley). Like Indiana State, Drake is looking for a shot inside the bubble and if they can continue to string together wins and finish atop the standings they should get a pretty serious look. They need to pick this one up on the road tonight.
-VILLANOVA AT SAINT JOHN’S (Big East). Nova is 11-7 on the year, but they’re still playing really well and have a strong resume. They nearly knocked off UConn in their last game. A win on the road against the Johnnies would give their resume a nice boos. Saint John’s could use this one as well. They come into this one on a three game losing streek.
-MISSISSIPPI STATE AT FLORIDA (SEC). We’ve got Mississippi State inside the bubble, but a road win in a game like this would help them strengthen their grip. Florida is on the outside looking in and could really use this win themselves. Both teams should have a sense of urgency coming into this one.
-ILLINOIS AT NORTHWESTERN (Big Ten). It’s not easy to win at Northwestern, but Illinois is really good and is capable of winning games that are not easy to win. The Illini look like a potential protected seed and Northwestern looks like a team that should be safely in on the first ballot if they can manage a few m0re big wins.
-MARQUETTE AT DEPAUL (Big East). There aren’t many easy road wins in the Big East, but this is perhaps one of them. Marquette should hold serve in this one and stay within the range of a protected seed.
-KANSAS STATE AT IOWA STATE (Big 12). Both teams are moving up our seedlist, but Iowa State is moving up a lot higher and a lot faster whereas K State is still trying to play their way safely inside the bubble. A win tonight on the road would be another big step forward for K State.
-ARKANSAS AT OLE MISS (SEC). Ole Miss has a bloated record, but is just 2-3 in SEC play and a loss tonight at home against a team that’s pretty far outside the bubble would be a rather big setback. Despite the big record, Ole Miss needs to hold serve tonight.
-UTAH AT WASHINGTON STATE (Pac 12). Utah is a team that a lot of people like, but they are just 1-3 in true road games and I think they’ve got to do a little better than that. This is a big road swing, and a big game for them tonight. A win at Wazzu would help make their resume look a lot better.
-COLORADO STATE AT NEVADA (Mountain West). Colorado State is back in the rankings and both teams have a very solid shot at making the NCAA Tournament, but both still have some work to do. A road win like this would really help out Colorado State’s resume, and as for Nevada, they’ve lost three straight and are below .500 in the conference after opening the season up 14-1. A win tonight would help pull them out of the tailspin they seem to be in.
-NEW MEXICO AT SAN JOSE STATE (Mountain West). New Mexico has been playing really well, and adding more road wins to their resume will make it look even better. This is a game they should be able to win tonight, which would allow them to continue to climb both the rankigns and our seedlists.
-COLORADO AT WASHINGTON (Pac 12). Colorado has no true road wins and that is a glaring problem. They need to take care of business tonight and start winning some games away from home or else I think there are going to be some huge red flags with their resume come March.
