Hoops HD

NEWS AND NOTES

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

-Alabama bounced back from their blowout loss at Oklahoma by doing things to Vanderbilt that I am pretty sure are against the law.  The final score was 101-44.  After barely beating Mississippi State and then losing badly to Oklahoma, whatever nap Bama decided to take…well…they’ve woken up from it.

-Kansas got revenge on rival Kansas State at home last night with a 90-78 win.  The Jayhawks have bounced back from a three game losing streak by beating Kentucky on the road, and a highly rated K State team at home.  Not a bad way to respond!

-West Virginia, who needs road wins and who needs conference wins, came close (again) at TCU last night, but couldn’t quite get the win as they fell 76-72.  The 2-7 conference record is an issue.  I think they need to be within 4 games of 500 with their final conference record (this includes conference tournament games) to be seriously considered.

-Clemson fell on the road to Boston College 62-54.  Every time we want to say something nice about Clemson they seemingly go out and do something like this.  I still think they’re inside the bubble (for now), but it goes without saying…losing games to teams that are nowhere near the NIT is NOT GOOD!

-Maryland picked up a nice win at home against Indiana 66-55.  It’s not THAT much of a setback for the Hoosiers, but it may also not be THAT much of a step forward for the Terps.  The resume still looks a little flimsy.  Indiana is just 3-5 in road games, and most of Maryland’s “good” wins have come at home against teams that aren’t exactly road warriors.  They need to do a little more in order to be safely inside the bubble.

-Nevada got a win they really needed at home against San Diego State 75-66.  This win alone won’t get them safely inside the bubble.  They still have some work to do.  But, it DEFINITELY helps.

-Duke got a scare from a Wake Forest team late in the game that REALLY could have used the win, but held them off 75-73 and is still perfect at home.  They’re far from perfect away from home, but they are perfect at home.

-Arkansas got an 81-70 win against a Texas A&M team that had been playing really well.  TAMU still has a lot of work to do because of a slow start to the season, and a win last night would have been huge for them.  Arkansas just needs some wins to strengthen their resume and get them up in the range of being a first ballot team.

-Iowa pulled away from Northwestern late for an 86-70 win and added what should be a decent win to their resume.

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:

-PENN STATE AT PURDUE (Big Ten).  Penn State is squarely on the bubble and Purdue is the top ranked team in the nation and probably on top of nearly every s curve out there.  Geez…what is something Penn State could do to help get them inside the bubble??  The thing is, it’s FAR easier said than done, but if Penn State CAN do it, they’ll shoot up everyone’s seedlists, including ours.

-PROVIDENCE AT XAVIER (Big East).  Both teams are easily in on the first ballot and Xavier is fighting for a protected seed.  If Providence can pick up a road win like this they’ll also be in the hunt for a protected seed, so it’s a big opportunity for both. (Note from Stalica – Zach Freemantle is expected to be out approximately 4 weeks with a foot injury, so it becomes critical for Xavier to show they can still get quality wins in Freemantle’s absence, especially if for whatever reason he is unable to come back this season.)

-CREIGHTON AT GEORGETOWN (Big East).  Creighton is starting to pick up some momentum and play their way inside the bubble.  This should be a very winnable road game for them tonight.

-TENNESSEE AT FLORIDA (SEC).  Florida has been playing a little better, but it would still be surprising if they’re able to knock off this Tennessee team that is coming off a huge win against Texas and well within reach of a #1 seed.

-GEORGIA AT AUBURN (SEC).  Auburn is sinking further and further down the seedlist, and while they don’t have that many bad losses, they’re just one or two losses to teams outside the bubble away from being knocked outside of it themselves.  They need to hold serve tonight.

-PITTSBURGH AT NORTH CAROLINA (ACC).  I think both of these teams, yes BOTH of them!, have a lot of work to do and could REALLY use this win tonight.  Both can make the field, but neither are safely inside the bubble yet.

-VILLANOVA AT MARQUETTE (Big East).  Marquette is perhaps playing better than anyone else in the Big East right now, and should be able to hold serve tonight.  It wouldn’t shock me if they ended up finishing atop the conference. However, with Villanova getting closer to full health, they can’t look at tonight as a gimme, either.

-SETON HALL AT SAINT JOHN’S (Big East).  Seton Hall is trying to make  run at the bubble, but they need to keep stringing together wins in order to do it.

-MINNESOTA AT RUTGERS (Big Ten).  Rutgers has lost two of their last three, but is still in very good shape.  They’ll remain that way so long as they hold serve tonight.

-OKLAHOMA STATE AT OKLAHOMA (Big 12).  BEDLAM!!!!!!  Both teams are trying to reach the bubble, and both are perhaps good enough to do it.  Oklahoma took a HUGE step toward it when they blew out Alabama over the weekend.  But, both still have work to do, and both could really use this win tonight.  Oh yeah, and it’s a rivalry game!!

-FLORIDA STATE AT NC STATE (ACC).  NC State is in relatively good shape, but they still are far from completely safe and a loss like this could knock them all the way outside the bubble.

-LSU AT MISSOURI (SEC).  After playing at a C- level by NCAA Tournament standards, meaning they were passing, but barely, Mizzou is suddenly on fire.  They’ve won three of their last four, the only loss was to Alabama, and they blew Iowa State into orbit in their last game.  They need to hold serve tonight in order to keep moving further and further inside the bubble.

-NEW MEXICO AT UTAH STATE (Mountain West).  New Mexico is solidly in our field, but hovering around the middle of the bracket in that 8-10 range, and Utah State has a bloated record and a high net, but nothing much at all in the way of good wins and still has some work to do.

NEWS AND NOTES:

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

-Texas bounced back from their loss at Tennessee by snapping Baylor’s six game winning streak with a 76-71 win.  Texas had a lead for most of the game, but in the final minute Baylor was right in there and had multiple chances to tie or go ahead, but just couldn’t get over the hump.  Since it was a loss on the road to a probable protected seed, this loss won’t set Baylor back THAT much (if at all).

-Iowa State fell on the road to Texas Tech in overtime 80-77, and that WILL set them back.  The Cyclones led by as much as 23 in the second half, but blew the lead.  It was Texas Tech’s first Big 12 win, and Iowa State’s second straight loss, both of which were games you would have expected them to win.

-A couple of shout outs!  One to Chicago State who picked up yet another win as they knocked off The Citadel 76-75 with a shot that just beat the buzzer, and another to Florida A&M who picked up their second win of the season as they knocked off Alabama A&M 69-58, which was a big step in avoiding the Centenary Award.

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:

-WAKE FOREST AT DUKE (ACC).  These Tobacco Road games are always fun!  Wake was getting closer and closer to being safely inside our bubble, but they’ve now lost three straight.  Having said that, a win at Duke would absolutely turn things around for them.  Duke is a team I’ve been critical of all year, but they picked up a decisive road win over the weekend so I’m feeling a little better about them.  They have been really strong at home and could roll in this one.

-TEXAS A&M AT ARKANSAS (SEC).  This game is of huge importance to both teams.  A lot of people are still big on Arkansas, but their resume is incredibly flimsy and while they played well over the weekend at Baylor, they still didn’t pick up the win.  Texas A&M is right on our bubble, but is playing at a high level right now and will move inside of it if they keep it up.  A road win tonight would certainly continue their surge forward.

-KANSAS STATE AT KANSAS (Big 12).  The first game was a classic, and I’m really excited about this one as well.  Many probably feel that Kansas is still the superior team because while K State won the first meeting, they won it at home and it was a very close game.  If K State can somehow win this one, I think it amplifies their case for a #1 seed.  If Kansas can win it, I think it puts them solidly back in the mix for a #1 seed.  So, what we have here is a rivalry game with #1 seed implications.

-WEST VIRGINIA AT TCU (Big 12).  TCU had a somewhat surprising loss to a so-so Mississippi State team this weekend and will look to bounce back from it and keep themselves in the conversation for a solid protected seed.  They face a West Virginia team who had a nice win over the weekend and is trying to keep themselves in the conversation for any sort of a bid.  A road win like this would help WVU immensely.

-INDIANA AT MARYLAND (Big Ten).  Maryland’s resume still has some holes in it, but they’ve been unbelievable at home with an 11-1 record on the year.  Indiana appeared to be in a tailspin a few weeks ago after losing three straight, but they have since won five straight and have some VERY impressive wins in that stretch.  This would be yet another impressive win for their resume if they can pull this one off on the road.

-NORTHWESTERN AT IOWA (Big Ten).  I think this Northwestern team is being a little undervalued.  They’ve won five of their last seven, have some very solid wins on their resume, and are playing really well.  They’ll be tested today by an Iowa team that has some very nice wins on their resume, but also has some holes to fill as well and who could really use this win to help shore things up a little bit and insure that they are safely inside the bubble.

-SAN DIEGO STATE AT NEVADA (Mountain West).  San Diego State is a good team that is solidly in our field (for now), but their resume is a little bland.  This is a tough road game and it would help give them a nice nudge upward if they’re able to win it.  As for Nevada they are squarely on the bubble and need to string together some wins in order to get inside of it, so this is a big one for them tonight.

OTHER NOTABLE GAMES:

-Mississippi State @ South Carolina (SEC) – I don’t know why anyone would have Mississippi State on their bubble, but we seem to!  If they lose this they’ll be off of it, though
-Clemson @ Boston College (ACC) – Clemson continues to string together wins and shouldn’t have too much trouble picking up this one tonight
-Virginia Tech @ Miami FL (ACC) – Miami FL has lost four of their last seven, but has a winnable home game tonight against a team that’s outside the bubble
-Nebraska @ Illinois (Big Ten) – Illinois is 6-1 in their last seven games and shouldn’t have too much trouble picking this one up tonight
-VCU @ Davidson (Atlantic Ten) – VCU should get seriously looked at if they win out, but anything short of that and their only hope will (probably) be the auto-bid
-Central Michigan @ Kent State (MAC) – Kent State should get seriously looked at if they win out, but anything short of that and their only hope will (probably) be the auto-bid
-UConn @ DePaul (Big East) – UConn is just 2-6 in their last eight games and needs to win this one on the road (and they should) in order to snap out of that slump
-Vanderbilt @ Alabama (SEC) – Bama got blasted over the weekend, but should be able to regroup and bounce back tonight
-Ole Miss @ Kentucky (SEC) – Kentucky is looking to bounce back after their loss to Kansas and should be able to take care of business in this one
-Boise State @ Air Force (Mountain West) – Boise State is hovering around our bubble, but I believe they’ll make it if they keep holding serve.  They can add yet another road win to their resume tonight.