NEWS AND NOTES:
-So TCU…..
The Horned Frogs did something yesterday that might happen once a year, but perhaps not even that often. They not only won a road game against one of the top two ranked teams, they absolutely blew their doors off!! They had an injury to a key player and it looked like Kansas had momentum going into the half despite being down double digits, but TCU STILL blew Kansas to the moon!! I do need to point out that Kansas did have a similar result a year ago to Kentucky where they got blown off their own floor, and as I recall Kansas still ended up having a pretty decent season, so it’s not game over by any means, and perhaps it isn’t even a reason to be overly discouraged if you’re a Kansas fan. But…WOW!!!!!!!
-Missouri, who looks to be an NCAA Tournament caliber team, was all jacked up yesterday to host Alabama. And….they got absolutely killed 85-64. It was an impressive road win and margin of victory for the Tide, who in my opinion look like the best overall team right now.
-UCLA’s winning streak came to an end as they fell at Arizona 58-52, but Arizona is a team that’s likely to end up as a protected seed so this loss won’t hurt UCLA all that much. Had they won it, then we’d probably be looking at them as a potential #1 seed, but a loss is hardly a setback.
-Oklahoma State got a big 61-59 win against an Iowa State team that had been playing well and that appeared to be heading toward a protected seed. This gives the Cowboys a much needed boost. Even thought hey were at home it’s still a big win for them. They’re not quite inside the bubble, but they took a step toward it with this win yesterday.
-Miami FL came up just short at Duke when they fell 68-66. A win for the Canes could have helped strengthen their case for a protected seed because while Duke isn’t in that range, they’re still very tough to beat on their floor. In fact, they’re still unbeaten on their floor.
-Marquette picked up a VERY impressive 74-53 win at Seton Hall yesterday. It may not sound overly impressive on the surface, but Seton Hall had been playing very well in recent weeks, and Marquette hadn’t beaten anyone that was as good as them on the road so far this season. Well, they won yesterday, and they didn’t mess around while doing it. Considering they’ve won 7 of their last 8, and the only loss was a close road loss at Xavier, Marquette might be playing as well as anyone in the Big East right now.
-Both Xavier and Providence won at home yesterday, but were not particularly dominant in doing so. The Musketeers begin their stiff road tests this week with trips to UConn and Creighton coming up this week; they will be the team to beat if they pick off 1 or 2 of these games.
-Baylor really had to sweat, but they picked up a 62-60 road win against a pretty solid Oklahoma team, which keeps them within range of earning a protected seed.
-Ohio State had been going in the complete wrong direction, and Iowa had really been playing well these past few weeks. So of course the Buckeyes beat the Hawkeyes rather handily yesterday 93-77. It was a win that Ohio State DESPERATELY needed because they really were sinking into the quicksand.
-Pittsburgh, who had been playing very well and appeared to be looking like a tournament caliber team, really stubbed their toes yesterday by losing 71-64 at home to a Florida State team that is…well…BAD!
-North Carolina really needed a big win, and they got it against rival NC State 80-69. NC State’s Terquavion Smith was injured during the game after a foul that occurred under the basket and had to be taken off on a stretcher, so we certainly wish him the best. It was a scary scene to say the least. Reports are that he is okay.
-Saint Mary’s won at home against Santa Clara. That may seem like a ‘Dog Wags Tail’ type of announcement, but I really liked how Santa Clara had been playing and to see Saint Mary’s absolutely blow them off the court 77-58 was impressive. Gonzaga is high in the rankings, and given their resume they should be, but over the past couple of weeks we’ve seen Gonzaga have to sweat out their conference games, and Saint Mary’s has been blowing through them. It is probably time to start paying a lot more attention to the Gaels!
-Arizona State is squarely on the bubble, and yesterday they showed us why. They lost 77-69 at home to a USC team that’s actually outside the bubble. Teams on the bubble need to win home games against other bubble teams.
-Northwestern has been out of action due to health issues with the team and has had two key games postponed. They have not yet been cancelled, but they also have not yet been rescheduled. We hope that those can be made up because as fans of the sport, we want to see them! (Update from Stalica – Northwestern has rescheduled their game at Iowa on Tuesday, January 31; no word on the Wisconsin game yet.)
-One noteworthy UTR game from yesterday – after a pair of free throws from Cal Poly against UC-Davis yesterday at the 4:49 mark, the Mustangs led UC-Davis 63-50. However, the Aggies would close the game on a 15-0 run and topped it off with a layup by Ty Johnson with 8 seconds remaining to escape with a 65-63 victory.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-BUTLER AT UCONN (Big East). UConn is in a tailspin, but they are still have a strong resume due to all their big early season wins and will be okay so long as they can pull themselves out of it. Having said that, if they drop this one at home, then they will be in even more trouble.
-MICHIGAN STATE AT INDIANA (Big Ten). I’ve been very critical of Indiana for…well…most of the season, but they’ve really impressed me in their last two games, and as well as Michigan State has been playing this is still yet another game they can win, especially at home. This would be a nice win for whichever team pulls this off.
-MARYLAND AT PURDUE (Big Ten). Maryland is NCAA Tournament level good, and Purdue is #1 seed level good. And they’re at home. So…
-MEMPHIS AT CINCINNATI (American). Memphis is solidly on our bubble, and Jon Teitel actually has them as one of the last teams in right now. They can get there, but their margin for error is small and they need this one on the road today. (There will also be 70s uniforms from both teams as this will be the last matchup in Cincy between these two teams before UC goes to the Big 12)
-TEMPLE AT HOUSTON (American). This should be more low hanging fruit for the Cougars.
