NEWS AND NOTES:
-For John Stalica’s UTR Game of the Day, which features a Chicago State team that’s trying to stay unbeaten at home – CLICK HERE
-Baylor played what I thought was one of the most impressive halves of basketball that any team has played all season as they went into the break at Kansas with a 45-32 lead. I guess they felt so proud of themselves that they decided to call it a day. Kansas played the second half as if they were playing in a buy game, and ended up blowing out a Baylor team 87-71 who was in completely control at the halfway point.
-Texas A&M, who had been tearing up the SEC, but had been doing so with a very backloaded SEC schedule, went on the road to Missouri, which was a tougher game to win than any they had won so far this season and got the 69-60 win. I think this SUBSTANTIALLY improves their resume. After a sluggish start TAMU now has just two losses since Christmas. Their remaining schedule is Tennessee, @ Mississippi State, @ Ole Miss, and Alabama. Three of those four are pretty tough, and if they can win just two of their remaining four (and perhaps just one) I think they’re a virtual lock to make the field.
-Kentucky is not allowed to hate Tennessee anymore. Kentucky is likely safely inside the bubble barring a total tank-out for the rest of the season, but that is largely because of Tennessee. Kentucky beat them for the second time this year, and did so rather impressively 66-54. Without those two wins Kentucky would likely be outside the bubble.
-Texas actually needed overtime at home against rival Oklahoma, but held on to win 85-83. Oklahoma can play really well against good teams, and really poorly against average/bad teams. That’s the one thing I’ve learned about the Sooners. They won’t make the NCAA Tournament without the auto-bid, but if they do get there they may go as far as the Final Four.
-Virginia has been in a slump. They haven’t been losing, but they’ve barely been beating really bad teams. After sweating out Louisville, they had to sweat out Notre Dame yesterday 57-55.
-Kansas State and Iowa State squared off in a battle of potential protected seeds with Kansas State getting the 61-55 win. Iowa State has now lost five out of seven, which is a little concerning, but most of those losses were to really strong opponents so they can still easily end up as a protected seed if they start stringing together wins again.
-Indiana beat Illinois in a tight one 71-68. The committee put them on the #4 line yesterday, and the Hoosiers have a clear path to a protected seed if they can keep holding serve.
-Oklahoma State, who was a team I was really starting to like, lost their second straight game yesterday to TCU, and they did not mess around doing it. They had their doors blown off 100-75.
-Texas Tech and West Virginia both need big wins and big finishes to the season in order to end up on the right side of the bubble, so yesterday’s game was huge. Texas Tech won 78-72 on the road at WVU, which is a HUGE win for the Red Raiders, and a HUGE loss for the Mountaineers.
-Rutgers had a good resume that I think got a little better yesterday. They picked up their third road win of the season as they knocked off Wisconsin 58-57 in a game that came down to the final seconds. Wisky is still in a tailspin, and they could have really used this win to pull themselves out of it. As it is, I think they’re continuing to slide further and further outside the bubble.
-Pittsburgh fell on the road to Virginia Tech 79-72. A win would have done more to help Pitt than a loss would have hurt them, but having said that VA Tech, while very good at home, is probably still not close to landing inside the bubble.
-Duke, who has not been good on the road this year, was fantastic on the road yesterday as they blew out Syracuse 77-55. Syracuse is not a tournament team, so some may not consider this a big win, but it was a dominant road win, which is something Duke does not have a lot of, and Syracuse has at least been decent at home, so I think this helps the Blue Devils out more than most may realize.
-I don’t believe Clemson is on the bubble anymore. They fell at Louisville 83-73 for what is just Louisville’s 4th win of the entire season, and that’s not the kind of loss a team that’s on the bubble needs. As for Louisville, they had a hell of a week! They nearly beat Virginia, and then did beat Clemson. Are they starting to hit a bit of a stride? Could they do some damage down the stretch and in the ACC Tournament? They obviously can’t get in without the auto-bid, but after a very frustrating year perhaps they can have a little fun just breaking as much of other people’s stuff as they can between now and the end.
-Michigan State fell to Michigan 84-72. Michigan has not always been great this year, but they have at times, and when they do play up top their ceiling, especially at home, they can be tough to beat.
-Nevada, who is playing around the inside part of the bubble, didn’t do themselves any favors with their 75-66 loss at Utah State yesterday. It is hard to win at Utah State, but it’s also the kind of game that a solid NCAA Tournament team needs to be able to win.
-Auburn, who is playing around the inside part of the bubble, didn’t do themselves any favors with their 67-65 loss at Vanderbilt. It is hard to win at Vanderbilt, but it’s also the kind of game that a Solid NCAA Tournament team needs to be able to win.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-NORTH CAROLINA AT NC STATE (ACC). North Carolina’s profile is very bland right now and I personally feel they don’t even belong in the field right now. But if they win today, my opinion will change. NC State isn’t exactly a protected seed, but they are a team that appears to be solidly in the field, and they’ve been very tough at home this year. If The Tarheels get this one, I will likely change my mind as to whether or not they belong in.
-MEMPHIS AT HOUSTON (American). Memphis is squarely on the bubble, and Houston is on the #1 line as of now as per the committee’s reveal yesterday. Obviously if Memphis can win this, then they are no longer on the bubble, but that will be much easier said than done. It would be one of the better wins any team has managed this season. A loss shouldn’t set them back, though, so it’s a chance to shoot at the moon and see if they can hit it.
-IOWA AT NORTHWESTERN (Big Ten). I believe both teams are solidly in the field (barring a total meltdown) and are now just playing for seeding. This is a chance for both teams to boost their resumes.
OTHER NOTABLE GAMES:
-Ohio State @ Purdue (Big Ten) – Purdue is solidly on the #1 line and should be able to hold serve against a team that doesn’t appear to be heading toward any sort of postseason tournament
-Bemlont @ Drake (Missouri Valley) – Belmont is just one game behind Drake in the standings, so this is a very pivotal game. I also think Drake will be one of the teams that’s on the committee’s board. I don’t think they’ll be selected without the auto-bid, but I think they will be discussed if they win out
-Maryland @ Nebraska (Big Ten) – Maryland is solidly inside the field, but one of the things that I think can make their resume look a lot better is a few more road wins, and this is a winnable road game
-UNLV @ Boise State (Mountain West) – Boise State is hanging on to the bubble by their fingernails and can’t afford to lose this one at home
