Hoops HD

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:

-MIAMI FL AT NC STATE (ACC).  This is a tough road game for a Miami FL team that’s on the cusp of getting a protected seed in our seedlist, and an NC State team that’s been playing really well lately and that is very tough to beat at home.  This one should be fun.

-WEST VIRGINIA AT OKLAHOMA (Big 12).  Both teams are inside the bubble (for now), but both have a lot of room to move up and both need to string together some wins if they want to stay there, so this is a big game for both teams.

-WISCONSIN AT INDIANA (Big Ten).  Indiana is in a tailspin and if they don’t pull themselves out of it they may end up sliding all the way outside of the field.  They have been dealing with injuries, but still.  Wisconsin has had a strong year overall, but they’ve lost two straight and are looking to bounce back from that.  In short, both teams could really use this game.

-KANSAS STATE AT TCU (Big 12).  Both look to be within reach of earning a protected seed, so like what seems to be the majority of Big 12 games, this is a great opportunity for both teams to pick up a big win and build their resume.

-PROVIDENCE AT CREIGHTON (Big East).  Providence is on the cusp of being within reach of a protected seed, but they haven’t done much on the road.  This isn’t an easy road game to win, but it’s the kind of game that a protected seed should be able to win.  Creighton is just 9-8 on the year and while many still think of them as being a tournament caliber team, they’ve got some work to do if they want to even make the field at all.

-NORTH TEXAS AT FLORIDA ATLANTIC (Conference USA).  This is one of the premier regular season match-ups of the season in CUSA.  FAU is on the cusp of cracking the top 25 and is close to being a first ballot team as well.  North Texas is hovering around outside the bubble, but if they pick up a road win like this it would greatly boost the value of their resume.  Simply put, I can’t wait for this one!!

-MISSOURI AT FLORIDA (SEC).  We’ve got questions about Missouri.  We still have them in our field, but aren’t quite decided just how good they actually are yet.  This isn’t the easiest game to win, but it’s the kind of game that the 20th ranked team should be able to win.  Florida has had a blah season, but they’ve racked up two straight decent wins against Georgia and LSU, so it won’t be a cakewalk for the Tigers.

-IOWA STATE AT KANSAS (Big 12).  Iowa State is on the cusp of getting a protected seed in our next projections, and Kansas is currently being projected as a solid #1 seed.  It looks like yet ANOTHER game in the Big 12 between two protected seeds that could end up boosting either team’s resume.

-DUKE AT CLEMSON (ACC).  Duke has not been the best team away from home this year, and they’re once again in for a tough road test against a Clemson team that’s won nine of their last ten, is unbeaten in the ACC, and appears to be getting better as the year goes on.

-ARIZONA AT OREGON (Pac 12).  Arizona is still within reach of a #1 seed if they can blow through the rest of their schedule.  Oregon has been disappointing this year, but they’re still a talented team and they could be way up for this one, so it won’t likely be a cakewalk for the Wildcats.

-OKLAHOMA STATE AT BAYLOR (Big 12).  Oklahoma State is within reach of the bubble, but they need to string together some wins in order to get there.  A win at Baylor would be a huge step forward for the Pokes.  Baylor just snapped a three game win streak, and playing a team at home that’s just outside the bubble maybe be one of their easiest remaining games.  That’s how strong this conference is!

-TEXAS TECH AT TEXAS (Big 12).  Texas Tech has lost four straight, and is just having a hard time finding any sort of a win in Big 12 play.  It won’t be any easier tonight as they go up against a Texas team that’s ranked in the top ten and appears to be heading toward a protected seed.

-MISSISSIPPI STATE AT AUBURN (SEC).  I’m not quite as enamored with Auburn as most of the rest of the Hoops HD crew, and I’m certainly not as enamored with them as the voters.  I think they’re a top 40 team and inside the bubble, but I’m not sure I’d even have them in the top half of my bracket.  Having said that, I thin they can hold serve in this one against a Mississippi State team that’s a respectable 12-4, but still has some work to do.

-NEW MEXICO AT SAN DIEGO STATE (Mountain West).  New Mexico has a bloated record against a weak schedule.  If they want to impress people, a win tonight would shut up everyone, including myself, that’s always pointing that out.  San Diego State is back in the rankings and will stay there for the rest of the year so long as they can hold serve for the rest of league play.

-UTAH AT USC (Pac 12).  Both of these teams were hovering around the bubble of our last field, and both could use some notable wins.  This is a bubblicous game, and whenever you get that it’s  really important for both teams.

-SAINT MARY’S AT SAN FRANCISCO (West Coast).  This is a really good Saint Mary’s team, and they face a Dons team that started the season off looking pretty strong, but they’ve been in a funk since conference play started and are now just 12-8 on the year.  They’re still talented, though, so SMC better not overlook them.

OTHER NOTABLE GAMES:

-Kentucky @ Tennessee (SEC) – Kentucky is an NIT team and Tennessee is a solid protected seed.  They just need to hold serve at home
-Georgia @ Ole Miss (SEC) – Georgia’s profile is pretty bland, but they have a shot to make a run at the bubble.  Picking up some road wins would certainly help
-Arkansas @ Vanderbilt (SEC) – should be a winnable road game for the Hogs
-UCF @ Tulane (American) – UCF is right outside our bubble, but continuing to string together wins should get them there
-North Carolina @ Louisville (ACC) – should be some low hanging fruit for UNC
-Pittsburgh @ Georgia Tech (ACC) – we’ve got Pitt inside our bubble, but they need to hold serve in games like this in order to stay there
-LSU @ Alabama (SEC) – Alabama is good enough to end up as a #1 seed, and should be able to hold serve at home
-Virginia @ Florida State (ACC) – This is a winnable road game for the Hoos
-Elon @ Charleston (Colonial) – this should be like a buy game
-Arizona State @ Oregon State (Pac 12) – a winnable road game for the Sun Devils where they need to hold serve
-Texas A&M @ South Carolina (SEC) – TAMU appeared to have slid out of the picture, but they’re playing better now and can get to 4-0 in the SEC with a win today
-Colorado @ UCLA (Pac 12) – should be a manageable game for the Bruins
-Portland @ Gonzaga (West Coast) – should be a winnable home game for the Zags
-UC Riverside @ UC Santa Barbara (Big West) – a win for UCSB gets them to 14-2 on the year
-Boise State @ Wyoming (Mountain West) – we like this Broncos team and feel they should be getting more attention.  This should be yet another winnable road game for them

NEWS AND NOTES:

-For our latest UNDER THE RADAR Video Podcast – CLICK HERE

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

-Charleston at UNC Wilmington was one of the more important games of the night and it’s unfortunate that a lot of people probably didn’t get to see it.  FloHoops had the rights, it is a pay service, and the general fan just doesn’t subscribe.  Charleston was incredibly impressive in the first half and appeared to be in control.  UNCW made a run in the second half to close the gap, and then got the lead very late in the game with the crowd going nuts.  Charleston was able to make big plays in the final minute despite being on the road and having all the momentum against them, and held on to win 71-69.  UNC Wilmington had a chance to win at the buzzer, but a would be game winning shot was blocked.  A foul as time expired gave Charleston two freethrows where they made the first, then missed the second, and then UNCW had a three-quarters court shot that actually hit the rim, but didn’t go down.  A lot happened in the last second of play!!

-Houston had to sweat a lot more than we expected, but they held on to beat a rather weak South Florida team 83-77 at home.

-Alabama is a #1 seed caliber team.  I am now convinced of that.  Earlier in the year they won at Houston, who’s ranked #1 right now.  Last night, they won at Arkansas, who is a possible/probable protected seeded caliber team.  They’re not perfect.  They do have losses to UConn and Gonzaga, but the collection of good wins that this team has at the top of their profile is as good as what anyone else in the country has done.  They didn’t just win at Arkansas, but won handily 84-69.

-UConn has now lost 3 of their last 4 after starting the season off 14-0.  While that’s aggravating for the Huskies, I’m not sure it’s anything more than that.  All three of those losses were against ranked teams on the road, and all three were competitive games.  Perhaps UConn isn’t the #2 team in the nation, but they’re probably still one of the ten best teams.  They seesawed back and forth with Marquette last night before coming up short 82-76.  Marquette has now won eight of their last nine, is 14-4 overall, and is climbing both the rankings and the seedlist themselves.

-TCU appeared to be handling Texas at Texas last night, and on their way to one of the more impressive road performances we’ve seen all year.  Then the second half started, Texas chipped away, then drew even, then went ahead and held on for a 79-75 win.

-Creighton could have really used a massive road win, and they came real close to getting it at Xavier last night.  The Bluejays held a lead for most of the second half, but Xavier kept it close and finally got control with less than a minute to go and held on (after nearly giving it away in the final seconds) 90-87.

-Missouri was blown out at Texas A&M 82-64.  This doesn’t break Missouri’s back, but it sure as hell stubs their toes.  They have a really good 13-3 overall record, but when they’ve lost games, they have not messed around in doing so.

-Pitt seemed to be in control of Duke for about 25 minutes, but then Duke caught fire and ended up getting a much needed 77-69 win.  Duke still has some holes on their resume that needs patching up, but holding serve against a good Pitt team certainly helps with their stability.

-It’s time to start having questions about Mississippi State.  They lost at Georgia last night 58-50 and that bloated early season record that they racked up against a somewhat weak schedule is not looking all that impressive.

-Baylor had been in a bit of a tailspin, and picking up a road win at West Virginia last night was huge.  None of their losses were bad, but it was a bit of a death by paper cuts situation to where they were starting to pile up.  It’s their first Big 12 win, so it was one that Baylor kind of needed to get momentum shifted back in the right direction.

-Memphis and UCF were two teams that were hovering around the bubble that really needed some big wins, and last night they faced off against each other in a double overtime thriller that was close all throughout.  UCF finally held on for a much needed 107-104 win.  Memphis could have really used this win for their resume as well, especially since it was a road game.

-Indiana no longer looks anything like a top 25 team, and one needs to start wondering if they even look like an NCAA Tournament team.  They were basically blown out at Penn State last night 85-66, and are now just 1-4 in Big Ten play.

-UAB lost at home to Western Kentucky 80-78.  This is their third close loss in a row, but it’s also a second loss in a row to a team that is nowhere near the NIT right now, much less the NCAA Tournament.  UAB still has a high ceiling, but unless they win the Conference USA Tournament I don’t see them making the NCAAs.

-Boise State got a hugely impressive road win at UNLV last night 84-66.  UNLV was a team that we thought was on the bubble, but they’ve now lost 3 of their last 4 and are going in the wrong direction.  Boise State, on the other hand, has our attention after winning that decisively on the road.

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:

-MICHIGAN AT IOWA (Big Ten).  Both teams have shown that they can play at a high level, but both have only done so a limited number of times this season.  Both still have work to do, and both could use this win tonight.

-ARIZONA STATE AT OREGON (Pac 12).  Some say they feel that Arizona State’s 13-3 record is a bit of a mirage, and while I agree that it could be a BIT of one, I don’t agree that it is a COMPLETE one.  Like most road games this will be a tough one to win, but it’s a game that they can and should win if they really are a solid tournament caliber team.

-SOUTHERN MISS AT MARSHALL (Sun Belt).  Both teams are good, but both are outside the bubble and seem to be sliding further and further away from being able to reach it.  Nevertheless, this is an important game on paper for that reason, and it should be a fun and exciting game on the court as well.

-GONZAGA AT BYU (West Coast).  Gonzaga has struggled in their last two road games, but won them both.  BYU isn’t in our field right now, but a win tonight would result in them taking a big step forward.  They’re also 7-1 at home, so it won’t be a cakewalk for the Zags at all.

-UTAH AT UCLA (Pac 12).  Utah has some really good notable wins, but they haven’t always been consistently good.  I still think they’re a tournament team, and even though they’re overmatched tonight it’s a chance to really boost the value of their profile if they can pull off a huge upset win against a top ten UCLA team.

OTHER NOTABLE GAMES:

-Minnesota @ Ohio State (Big Ten) – Ohio State shouldn’t have too much trouble holding serve at home
-Colorado @ USC (Pac 12) – The Trojans have had their ups and downs, but as of now the ups seem to be outnumbering the downs, and they should be able to hold serve tonight and stay inside the bubble
-Sam Houston @ Southern Utah (WAC) – Sam Houston is a good team, but their resume can’t handle too many more losses.  If they can blow through the rest of league play the committee should give them a serious look, though
-LMU @ Saint Mary’s (West Coast) – This SMC team is really good and they should be able to hold serve at home tonight
-Arizona @ Oregon State (Pac 12) – this should be a winnable road game for an Arizona team that’s looking to bounce back from a rather surprising home loss to Washington State