For John Stalica’s UTR Game of the Day, which could be part of a historic season for Fordham in the Atlantic Ten – CLICK HERE
SURVIVAL BOARD WATCH:
-ALBANY AT MAINE (American East). Albany will be eliminated with a loss today and an NJIT win over Vermont. They could still tie either Maine or NJIT for 8th place, but would not have either tiebreaker if they lose their next two.
–ATLANTIC SUN – Austin Peay was eliminated from the Atlantic Sun on Thursday. Jacksonville State could be eliminated today if they lose and both Queens and Jacksonville win.
-HARVARD AT CORNELL (Ivy League). Harvard is eliminated with a loss today.
–MAC – Miami OH will be eliminated due to tiebreakers if they lose at Northern Illinois and Central Michigan beats Ohio U. Western Michigan could also be within one game of elimination of they lose and Central Michigan wins
-EASTERN ILLINOIS AT LITTLE ROCK (Ohio Valley). Little Rock will be eliminated if they lose.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-ILLINOIS AT INDIANA (Big Ten). I like this Illinois team and how they’re playing, but I like this Indiana team more. Indiana is also at home, and I believe as a path to a protected seed if they can keep winning at the clip they have been. Illinois has a good profile, and a loss today won’t hurt them much (if at all), but a win would really help them.
-SETON HALL AT UCONN (Big East). UConn is coming off a close loss at Creighton, but the had won four out of five before that and after a slump back in January seem to be playing at a high level again. They’re at home against a Seton Hall team that is squarely on the bubble. A win in a game like this for the Pirates could make their season and be the difference as to whether they make it or not.
-TEXAS TECH AT WEST VIRGINIA (Big 12). West Virginia’ schedule and season has been brutal. They need wins down the stretch, and this is perhaps their most winnable remaining game. It comes against a Texas Tech team that has started to play better these past couple of weeks and has beaten Kansas State and Texas in their last two games, but who has struggled on the road and against the strength of the Big 12.
-RUTGERS AT WISCONSIN (Big Ten). Rutgers has two really strong road wins this year, but that’s all they done on the road. They’re safely inside the bubble, but I think they can help their resume and their seed if they can manage a win today. Wisconsin is squarely on the bubble, and while they’ve looked good at times throughout the season, they’ve looked not good more often than not these last few weeks and need some wins just to help them land in the field.
-TENNESSEE AT KENTUCKY (SEC). Tennessee is a solid protected seed who is coming off of a big win against Alabama after two straight losses, and will want to keep that momentum going. Kentucky is also coming off one of their biggest wins of the season at Mississippi State, which they needed just to help themselves secure a spot in the field. They can help themselves out a lot more if they’re able to win this one today. The Wildcats won the first meeting between these two down in Knoxville, which is the only reason we are projecting Kentucky into the field at all, so the Vols will be up for this one to get some payback.
-IOWA STATE AT KANSAS STATE (Big 12). Iowa State had been slumping, but they are coming off a big win against TCU. Still, as good as they Cyclones have been this year, they haven’t been the best team on the road, and they face a Kansas State team that looks to be on their way to a protected seed. It’s possible that they both end up with protected seeds, especially if Iowa State can pull off this win today.
-WAKE FOREST AT MIAMI FL (ACC). Wake is outside the bubble, but if they were to get a road win in a game like this it would be a huge step in the right direction. Miami FL is a top 25 team that’s really just playing for seeding at this point, and who still has a shot at a protected seed if they can finish strong.
-OKLAHOMA STATE AT TCU (Big 12). Oklahoma State is coming off a loss at home to Kansas, but they’ve still been playing at a really high level these past few weeks and continue to build up a good resume and climb the seedlist. TCU was having a fantastic year, but has been setback by injuries and could really use a big win to resuscitate things a bit after four straight losses.
-FLORIDA AT ARKANSAS (SEC). For a few minutes I thought Florida was starting to come on strong and was about to make a run at the bubble, but only for a few minutes. Arkansas is in that 10-12 seed range (or at least that’s how it feels) and cannot afford to lose a game at home to a team that’s outside the bubble.
-KANSAS AT BAYLOR (Big 12). Both teams are ranked in the top ten, it’s the two most recent national champions, and both are within reach of a #1 seed. So while this is obviously a big showcase game with #1 seed implications, it’s not like either team is playing for their Tournament lives today. In fact we are at a point to where even if one of these teams fell completely apart and lost all of their remaining games they’d probably still end up making the NCAA Tournament, so it’s also a match-up of two teams that we think are total locks.
-PITTSBURGH AT VIRGINIA TECH (ACC). VA Tech is not within reach of the bubble, but they are extremely difficult to beat at home. I think Pitt is solidly in the field right now, and will deserve a fair amount of credit if they’re able to win this one today, which would improve their seed. The Panthers have just kept getting better and better as the season has gone along.
-UTAH AT ARIZONA STATE (Pac 12). Aside from winning out and then getting several rounds into the Pac 12 Tournament, these two teams are pretty much out of chances. I think if either of them wants any chance at all then they have to win this one today.
-DUKE AT SYRACUSE (ACC). Duke has not been a good road team, and therefore can really help out their resume today if they’re able to win at Syracuse. Syracuse isn’t a tournament team at all, but they’ve played well enough at home to where Duke will deserve (and get) some credit if they’re able to pull this off.
-TEXAS A&M AT MISSOURI (SEC). TAMU is still on most people’s bubbles despite being 11-2 in SEC play. They did get off to a slow start for the season, and they haven’t played the roughest of schedules in conference, but I still think they deserve to at least be inside the bubble at this point. Well, if they win today, then I think most people will agree. Mizzou hasn’t always been good this year, but when they have been good, they’ve been REALLY good! There have been times where they’ve also been REALLY bad, but they’re inside the bubble and if TAMU can win on their floor, then TAMU will be inside of it too.
-NEVADA AT UTAH STATE (Mountain West). We have Nevada on the bubble, but inside it and Utah State outside the bubble and needing to string together a lot of wins in order to reach it. A road win like this would really help strengthen Nevada’s profile and go a long way toward them making the field, and a win for Utah State keeps their NCAA Tournament hopes flickering for a little while longer.
-AUBURN AT VANDERBILT (SEC). I’m highlighting this because I think it’s more important than what most may realize. Auburn’s resume is still kind of flimsy despite their recent blowout win against Missouri. Prior to that, they had lost five of six. They need wins, and they need road wins, and while Vandy is not a tournament team, they can be kind of tough to beat at home.
OTHER NOTABLE GAMES:
-Notre Dame @ Virginia (ACC) – Notre Dame had to sweat out Louisville in their last game, but did get the win will remain a solid protected seed so long as they continue to hold serve
-Oklahoma @ Texas (Big 12). Texas is coming off a bit of a surprising loss at Texas Tech, but they are still a very strong team and still have a shot at reaching the #1 line
-Mississippi State @ Ole Miss (SEC). Mississippi State is a bubble team that needs to avoid losses to non-bubble teams in order to end up on the right side of the bubble
-DePaul @ Xavier (Big East) – DePaul actually win the first meeting between these two, and Xavier would be in control of the Big East if they could just take care of business against the likes of DePaul and Butler
-Villanova @ Providence (Big East) – Nova has been playing better, but Providence is solidly inside the bubble, has been very tough at home all season, and should be able to win this one
-Georgia @ Alabama (SEC) – Bama is coming off a road loss to Tennessee, but is still on our #1 line should be able to cruise at home through this one
-Gonzaga @ Pepperdine (West Coast) – I normally say there are no easy road games, but this should be an easy one for Gonzaga
-Clemson @ Louisville (ACC) – I normally say there are no easy road games, but this should be an easy one for Clemson, who is right on our bubble and who needs to finish strong
-Creighton @ Saint John’s (Big East) – Creighton has been on a roll, they are climbing the seedlist, and can keep adding to their resume if they keep stringing together wins. This should be a winnable road game for them
-Colorado @ Arizona (Pac 12) – Arizona is a solid protected seed and should be able to hold serve at home tonight
-Michigan State @ Michigan (Big Ten) – it can be tough to win at Michigan, and this is a rivalry game, but Michigan State is clearly the superior team and can get one step closer toward locking up a spot inside the bubble
-North Texas @ UTEP (Conference USA) – If North Texas wins out and avoids an early loss in the CUSA Tourney, and if the teams on the bubble continue to crash and burn, I think the committee will look at them. Maybe SERIOUSLY look at them.
-BYU @ Saint Mary’s (West Coast) – Saint Mary’s still has an outside shot at a protected seed if they can win out, which would mean beating Gonzaga one more time
-Stanford @ USC (Pac 12) – Stanford has suddenly become kind of tough to beat after knocking off Arizona and nearly knocking off UCLA in the past week or so, but it’s a game that USC cannot afford to lose
-California @ UCLA (Pac 12) – UCLA is cruising and is on pace to get a protected seed, and depending on how things shake out they could end up as a #1 seed
UTR WATCH:
-FORDHAM AT VCU (Atlantic Ten). These are the top two teams in the A10 and they are separated by just one game. While there are still five games to go, it is an extremely pivotal game in regards to first place.
-LINDENWOOD AT MOREHEAD STATE (Ohio Valley). Morehead State can clinch a share of first place and a bye into the semifinals of the conference tournament with a win today
-HOWARD AT COPPIN STATE (MEAC). Howard has a one game lead with 5 games to go and is trying to hold on to 1st place
-SOUTHERN VS GRAMBLING (SWAC). This game is actually being played in Salt Lake City as part of the NBA All Star Weekend, and will be getting extensive media coverage. It’s obviously a big rivalry game, and it’s also important to the SWAC standings as both teams are trying to catch Alcorn State. This game is being televised on ESPN2, TNT, and NBA TV.
-SOUTHLAND – Northwestern State and TAMUCC are tied atop the standings, and both are in action today.
-BIG WEST – UC Santa Barbara and UC Irvine are tied atop the standings with 4
AMERICA EAST – Vermont has a two game lead with just four games to go, and is at NJIT today.
