Hoops HD

NEWS AND NOTES:

-We will start with a SURVIVAL BOARD update.  Columbia has been mathematically eliminated from qualifying for the Ivy League Tournament after their loss to Yale, and has been the first team to be eliminated.  We now have 349 teams remaining!!

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

Saturday was another insanely busy and eventful day…

-Alabama picked up yet another road win as they held off Auburn 77-69.  By #1 seed standards it’s a win that’s pretty much par for the course, but it was against a heated rival, and a rival that really needed the win for their own resume purposes, and a rival who had played exceptionally well at home this year, so for Bama to come out of there with a win (after actually being behind for most of the game) I think at the very least meets the expectations of a #1 seed.

-Arizona, another team that is being floated around for a #1 seed, did not look like it yesterday.  They fell on the road to Stanford 88-79.  This is NOT par for the course for a #1 seed.  It’s their second loss to a team with a losing record this season.  I don’t have the encyclopedia level of knowledge when it comes to NCAA Basketball trivia that our colleague John Stalica has, but I can feel very safe in saying that losing two games to teams with losing records and ending up with a #1 seed is not a common thing.  Has it even ever happened before?

-Tennessee has had a 2pt lead and been on the freethrow line with less than ten seconds to go in their last two games.  THEY’VE LOST BOTH THOSE GAMES!!  Missouri hit a near half court shot after a missed Tennessee freethrow to escape with a much needed 86-85 win.  Mizzou had nothing anywhere close to this caliber of win before yesterday, so this does a ton to improve their standings.  As for Tennessee, they’ve suffered two very swift and very hard kicks to the stomach, and a #1 seed is probably out the window.  But…they’re actually okay.  They’ll be a protected seed, and while this is a huge ego bruising experience at this point in time, it’s February 12th, not March 12th.  They’ll safely make it into the field, and this is not indicative of what they’ll be like a month from now.  They’re just as dangerous today as they were a week ago.

-I’ve been hard on Duke this year for not winning on the road.  Well, while they didn’t get the win at Virginia yesterday, they probably should have.  A foul at the end of regulation was not called, but should have been.  Time had expired, but the ball was released and still in flight, and by rule the game isn’t over until the ball hits the rim or backboard.  It was as if the referees didn’t know the rule.  Even the ACC League Office has stated the referees got the call wrong.  Virginia got the win in overtime, and Duke missed out on what would have been a season defining and resume defining win.

-UCLA got a 70-63 road win at Oregon, and it’s a game that they should probably get more credit for than what most will probably give them.  Oregon is outside the bubble, but they’ve been playing well lately, especially at home, and for the Bruins to come out of there with a win is pretty impressive.

-Oklahoma State keeps stringing together big wins, and they got another one yesterday at Iowa State 64-56.  Iowa State has now lost four out of five, but we still feel they are within reach of a protected seed, and Oklahoma State should (and will) get a TON of credit for this.  They’re now 7-5 in Big 12 play, and the conference is an absolute meat grinder.  They’ve also won seven of their last eight.  Their start to the season was a little slow, but they’re playing like a top 25 caliber team right now, and I expect their resume to keep getting better and better.  They’re at home against Kansas on Tuesday and that is gonna be a show!!

-Kansas State, who for a while I was touting as a #1 seed…is a team that I am no longer touting as a #1 seed.  They lost at Texas Tech yesterday 71-63.  I know Texas Tech isn’t exactly the worst team out there, and I know that every team has bad games, but when you’re talking about a #1 seed I feel K State has exceeded (and surpassed) the ‘bad day limit’ that 1-seeds are allowed.  They’re still a good team with some great wins, and should still be a solid protected seed, but probably not a #1 seed.  But as for Baylor…

-The Baylor Bears have now won nine of their last ten, and are doing it against Big 12 teams.  That is as good as anyone in the country right now, and with a road win at TCU you almost have to start asking whether or not they should be in the discussion for a #2 seed, or perhaps even a #1 seed.  Their only loss during that stretch was a very close game at Texas.   They go on the road to face Kansas and Kansas State in the next couple of weeks.  If they win both of those then we could be discussing them for the #1 line.

-Indiana, who had been playing very well, held on to beat Michigan 62-61, but barely!  Still, at the end of the day, it was another road win for the Hoosiers and their resume continues to look very strong.

-Providence could not get it done against Saint John’s yesterday and fell 73-68.  It’s not the easiest game to win, but it’s the kind of game you would expect a solid first ballot team to be able to win more times than not.

-Creighton continues to roll as they knocked off a pretty good UConn team (that had been starting to play better again) 56-53.  The Bluejays have now won eight straight and are playing as well as anyone else in the Big East right now.

-Rutgers vs Illinois was a hard fought game, but the Illini finally got control of it in the last few minutes and held on for a 69-60 win.  I think both teams are solidly in the field, and Illinois is continuing to climb the seedlist.

-Kentucky, who I was starting to believe in again, has now given me another reason to question whether or not they belong in the field at all.  They fell at Georgia 75-68.  I know it’s hard to win on the road…BUT THAT’S THE WHOLE POINT!!!  In order to make the NCAA Tournament and be inside the bubble, teams must win games that are hard to win!  Kentucky, with the exception of their win at Tennessee (which IS a legit huge win) has not.  They routinely come up short.  And yesterday they did so again.

-Clemson could have really used a nice road win at North Carolina yesterday, and came up about 20pts short.  North Carolina is not a team that I’m big on at all, but they have been very strong at home this year, and our Selection Committee guessing expert Jon Teitel seems to think the committee values them…and he’s probably right.  I personally don’t agree, but I always disagree with something that the committee does, and this year it will probably be North Carolina.  Clemson, on the other hand, is now hanging on to the bubble by their fingernails and needs a strong finish just to make the field at all.

-Wisconsin…OUCH!!  They had a nice win earlier in the week against Penn State on the road, and one would think that they were finally getting things turned around.  Well, they’re once again facing the complete wrong way.  They are NOT turned around!  They lost to a bad Nebraska team 73-63 in overtime, and that might sink them all the way outside the bubble.

-USC….OUCH!!!  A team that was stringing together wins, and building their resume, and climbing the seedlist, totally shot themselves in the foot yesterday with a 61-58 loss to a really bad Oregon State team.

-Arkansas, who finally won a big road game, followed that up with a home loss to Mississsippi State, which was a game they really should have won.  It’s actually the fifth straight win for Mississippi State, and it looks like they’re heading in the right direction after being in a complete nose dive just a few weeks ago.

-Seton Hall, who had been on a streak where they appeared to be playing really well, could not get the win at Villanova yesterday and fell 58-54.  Nova has been playing better, but for a team that’s hovering around the bubble like Seton Hall was it was a game that the Pirates really needed to win.

-Florida, who I thought was playing their way inside the bubble, is now a team that I no longer think is playing their way inside the bubble.  They lost at home to Vanderbilt 88-80 yesterday.  Vandy has had themselves one hell of a week!  But they are still so far from the bubble that they need high powered binoculars to see it.

A few quic Under the Radar notes…

-Keep an eye on the Drake Bulldogs.  They were a team that back in October many of us (myself included) expected to see in the top 25 at some point this season.  That’s not going to happen because it simply took them too long to get rolling and they lost a lot of games they shouldn’t have, but for the last couple of weeks they’ve been playing like the caliber of team we thought they would be, and they absolutely blasted a pretty good Southern Illinois team yesterday 82-59.

-Oral Roberts has now clinched at least a share of first place in the Summit League with their 82-73 win against Western Illinois yesterday.  One more win and they win it outright.

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:

-TEMPLE AT MEMPHIS (American).  It simply took Temple far too long to get their motor started this season, and even after they started playing at a higher level they’ve still dropped some winnable games, but they are definitely good enough to beat Memphis on the road if Memphis overlooks them.  Memphis is squarely on the bubble.  Memphis BETTER NOT overlook them.

-IOWA AT MINNESOTA (Big Ten).  Iowa has been through steep peaks and valleys this year, but all and all they appear to be very safely inside the bubble, and will remain there so long as they avoid bad losses the rest of the way.  A loss today would absolutely be a bad loss.

-MICHIGAN STATE AT OHIO STATE (Big Ten).  Michigan State is pretty solid and should end up in the top half of the bracket with a strong finish.  It’s never easy to win on the road, but Ohio State has now lost ten of their last eleven and this is a game that the Spartans should win handily.

-PURDUE AT NORTHWESTERN (Big Ten).  This is the kind of game that’s always fun.  A #1 seed caliber team on the road against a solid NCAA Tournament team that’s looking to become even more solid and who’s fans should be jacked way up for this one!

NEWS AND NOTES:

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

-Xavier went on the road for what should have been a winnable game at Butler, but ended up coming up short 69-67.  They trailed for pretty much the entire game, and by as many as 15 in the second half, but came back to tie it before Butler went ahead on a goaltending call in the final seconds.

-New Mexico, who was inside our bubble but close to it, did themselves absolutely no favors last night when they were beaten rather handily on the road at Air Force 89-77.

– And yet that was not even the most notable thing that happened yesterday. Not by a longshot. New Mexico State’s off-court woes took an even more bizarre turn yesterday with the entire coaching staff being put on paid administrative leave and their season now being suspended. Their game against California Baptist has been cancelled (NOT postponed). This was completely separate from the incident in Albuquerque that led to the cancellation of the New Mexico-New Mexico State games; Jeff Goodman (via Stadium) reported last night that there are hazing allegations within the NMSU program that led to the program now in complete limbo. California Baptist was able to scramble and get an emergency game with West Coast Baptist added to their schedule for today.

– Also some sad news out of East Carolina; their broadcaster Jeff Charles passed away unexpectedly while on the road with the team; their game at Tulane scheduled for today has been postponed and no makeup date as of yet has been scheduled. Charles was the voice of the Pirates for 30 years and was named the North Carolina Sportscaster of the Year in 2000. Our condolences go out to his family and the ECU community.

SURVIVAL BOARD UPDATE (Click Here to View the Board):

-COLUMBIA AT YALE (Ivy League).  If Columbia loses this game, and Penn beats Harvard, then Columbia will be the first team (outside of Chicago State and Hartford) to be eliminated from the Survival Board.  It will be mathematically impossible for them to finish in the top 4 and make the Ivy League Tournament.

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:

-WEST VIRGINIA AT TEXAS (Big 12).  Texas is in the hunt for a #1 seed, and West Virginia is just trying to end up on inside the bubble.  A win today for WVU, while a VERY tall order, would skyrocket them up the seedlist.

-ALABAMA AT AUBURN (SEC).  Alabama has been on our #1 for pretty much the entire calendar year of 2023, whereas Auburn, while (presumably) good, can’t seem to get any big wins on their resume.  Well, if they can pull off the upset in this one it would fix a lot of that.  It’s a huge rivalry game, it means a ton on paper, the place is always bonkers and should be EXCEPTIONALLY bonkers for this one, and…well…truthfully I can’t wait!!

-CONNECTICUT AT CREIGHTON (Big East).  Both teams are suddenly playing really well, both are in the rankings, and both went through stretches during the season where they went into an absolute tailspin, but both have come out of it and appear to be solidifying their resumes and climbing up the seedlist.

-RUTGERS AT ILLINOIS (Big Ten).  I really like how Illinois has been playing, but still think they have room to improve their resume.  As for Rutgers, as good as they’ve been this year, they also have room to move up.  In short, this is a game between two good teams who can make their resumes look even better with a win today.

-SOUTHERN ILLINOIS AT DRAKE (Missouri Valley).  Neither team has much of a chance at getting into the field without the auto-bid, but they are two of the better teams in the MVC, and both could be very dangerous in the Round of 64.

-CLEMSON AT NORTH CAROLINA (ACC).  Clemson doesn’t have many wins in Chapel Hill in the last…oh…century or so, but they’ve got a chance to get one this year.  This is a HUGELY important game for both teams as we have both of them straddling our bubble right now, and both really need this win.

-DUKE AT VIRGINIA (ACC).  As much as I’ve criticized Duke this year for being overvalued and not being good on the road, if they are somehow able to win this one I will concede that they have addressed all of my concerns, and that they belong well inside the top half of the bracket.  But…that’s much easier said than done.  I think Virginia is 2-seed-ish good and should roll at home.

-BAYLOR AT TCU (Big 12).  It’s yet another Big 12 game between two teams that are battling it out for protected seeds.  Baylor actually has a path (albeit a steep one) to a #1 seed if they can keep winning at the rate that they are.  They’re 9-1 in their last ten games, and given the difficulty of their schedule that is utterly remarkable.  Winning at TCU, who is another team that could end up as a protected seed and who has some high caliber wins of their own, won’t be easy, though.

-MISSOURI AT TENNESSEE (SEC).  Missouri continues to land in that area of the seedlist that’s between the 9 line and the bubble.  A win in a game like this would give them a lot more stability.  Tennessee is coming off a somewhat surprising (and rather stupid) loss at Vanderbilt, but they’re still a solid protected seed and even have a path to a #1 seed if they can really finish strong.

-OKLAHOMA STATE AT IOWA STATE (Big 12).  Oklahoma State has put together an impressive string of wins after a rather sluggish start to the season, and is definitely playing like an NCAA Tournament caliber team, but they need to keep it up in order to make the field.  Iowa State has had an excellent season, but they’ve lost three of their last four, and some of those were rather surprising like a loss at Texas Tech (where they blew a huge lead) and to West Virginia.  Still, they’ve been solid at home and should be way up for this one.

-MISSISSIPPI STATE AT ARKANSAS (SEC).  After an entire season of coming up short in games against tournament-caliber opponents, Arkansas finally seems to have their motor going.  This should be a winnable game for them.  We actually selected Mississippi State in our field last night, and while they could end up making it I think they’ve got a ton of work to do.  They have won four straight, and prior to this winning streak they had lost eight of nine, but they need to keep it up in order to be safely in.  A road win in a game like this would certainly go a long way.

-UMASS LOWELL AT VERMONT (America East) – If Vermont wins, they’ll have a 3 game lead over UMass Lowell with just five games remaining and if Lowell can win they’ll just be a game back.  Lowell has been one of the stories in college basketball this year, but a first place finish could be out of reach if they can’t get this one.

-UCLA AT OREGON (Pac 12).  Some feel UCLA could still end up as a #1 seed, and if they win out perhaps they can, but that’s easier said than done.  This will be a very tough road test for the Bruins.  It took Oregon a while to get rolling, and it perhaps took them a little too long because in order to get inside the bubble they’ll pretty much need to win out, but they are suddenly playing really well and will be jacked way up for this one.  They’ve won six of their last eight and are very tough to beat at home.  And if they can keep stringing together wins all the way until the end, they may have a shot at a bid.

UC RIVERSIDE AT UC IRVINE (Big West).  THE RIVER-VINE CUP!!!!  One of our favorite made up rivalries!!!

OTHER NOTABLE GAMES:

-Marquette @ Georgetown (Big East) – should be a winnable game for Marquette and keep them in the race for 1st in the Big East
-Providence @ Saint John’s (Big East) – Providence is in a position to go in on the first ballot, and should be able to hold serve in this one
-NC State @ Boston College (ACC) – this should be some low hanging fruit for NC State and enable them to pick up a winnable road game
-Pittsburgh @ Florida State – Pitt appears to be safely inside the bubble and will remain there so long as they continue to hold serve
-Penn State @ Maryland (Big Ten) – I personally think Maryland is being a little overvalued, but I do believe they are inside the bubble and expect they’ll be able to hold serve in this one
-Kentucky @ Georgia (SEC) – Kentucky is right on our bubble and needs to hold serve in this game in order to stay there
-Kansas @ Oklahoma (Big 12) – Kansas is still very much in the hunt for a 1 seed and for 1st place in the Big 12, but they need to hold serve in games like this in order to stay there
-Vanderbilt @ Florida (SEC) – Florida is outside the bubble, but can reach it with a strong finish to the season.  They can’t afford to drop a home game to a team that’s nowhere near the bubble
-UL Monroe @ Southern Miss (Sun Belt) – Southern Miss is playing really well right now, and should get a look from the committee if they’re able to win out
-UNLV @ San Diego State (Mountain West) – I’ve been critical of San Diego State, but they have absolutely put together a string of wins that is both long and impressive.  They should be able to continue that at home today, and will safely land inside the bubble and probably go into the field on the first ballot if they keep holding serve
-Wisconsin @ Nebraska (Big Ten) – Wisconsin is right on our bubble.  I think they’re good enough to make the field, but they need to hold serve in games like this
-Georgia Tech @ Wake Forest (ACC) – Wake needs to string together wins between now and the end in order to make the field
-Saint Mary’s @ Portland (West Coast) – SMC is coming off a somewhat surprising road loss to LMU, which was their first in conference play, but is still in great shape and should be able to get this one on the road
-Indiana @ Michigan (Big Ten) – I really like how the Hoosiers are playing and believe they have a path to a protected seed.  They should be able to hold serve in this one
-USC @ Oregon State (Pac 12) – USC is coming off a blowout loss to Oregon and continues to hover around the bubble.  This is a road win that they have to get
-Kansas State @ Texas Tech (Big 12) – there aren’t many ‘gimme games’ in the Big 12, and even this isn’t an easy game to win, but it’s easier than most of the rest of the games in the league.  K State is on pace to get a protected seed, and may even still have a path to a #1 seed
-Louisville @ Miami FL (ACC) – Miami is rolling and could end up as a protected seed.  They should have no trouble holding serve in this one
-Arizona @ Stanford (Pac 12) – many think Arizona has a shot at the #1 line.  I don’t think their resume tops out quite that high, but I could see the committee giving it to them, especially if they’re able to win out
-Arizona State @ California (Pac 12) – Arizona State is outside the bubble and needs a strong finish to get back in.  A loss in a game like this could all but kill them
-Seton Hall @ Villanova (Big East) – Seton Hall is coming off a loss, but they are still definitely trending in the right direction and could easily end up inside the bubble if they keep it up.  It’s never easy to go on the road and win, but this is the kind of game that an NCAA Tournament caliber team is expected to be able to win.
-Wyoming @ Boise State (Mountain West) – We’ve got Boise in our field, but close to the bubble.  They need to hold serve in this one
-Texas A&M @ LSU (SEC) – TAMU is trending in the right direction after a very unimpressive start to the year, but they still have a lot of work to do and all their games have a pivotal feel to them.  They need this one on the road tonight
-BYU @ Gonzaga (West Coast) – The first meeting between these two was a thriller, but the Zags are at home for this one and should roll
-Utah State @ San Jose State (Mountain West) – If Utah State has any shot at all of landing inside the bubble they basically need to win out