-Ohio State typically isn’t as good on the road as they are at home, but they gave Purdue all they wanted yesterday and the Boilers did not get control of the game until the final seconds, but held on for the 81-78 win. While this was nearly a huge win for Ohio State’s resume that would have pushed them up the seedlist, the loss is hardly a setback.
-Providence held off Marquette in a 65-63 thriller. Marquette had a chance to force overtime, but missed an open look right under the basket as time ran out. Both teams had been playing really well, and both can potentially be very dangerous in March. I’d go so far to say that they both look as good as anyone in the Big East right now, and yesterday’s result did not change my mind.
-It’s been a rough season for the Cincinnati Bearcats, and while they’ve looked good at times they’ve also struggled at others. The fans in that city were very excited yesterday though! CLICK HERE to see a video shot shortly after Cincinnati held on to beat East Carolina on the road!!
-Loyola Chicago continues to struggle, and while they’re at-large hopes are far from dead, they are also becoming far from a certainty. I know Drake is good, and I know it’s not easy to win there, but that’s kind of the point. Making the NCAA Tournament isn’t easy, and it requires that teams win games that aren’t easy to win. Loyola Chicago has fewer chances to do that given the make up of their conference, so whenever they lose it’s more of a setback. I don’t believe they are out of strikes yet, but they are getting there.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-DUKE AT NOTRE DAME (ACC). Notre Dame has now won 10 of their last 11 and is making a case that they belong in the field. If they were to pull this off at home tonight, it would be perhaps their biggest statement win of the year despite them being at home.
-IOWA AT PENN STATE (Big Ten). Iowa continues to hover around the area of being inside the bubble, but not solidly in the top half of the bracket. This is a winnable road game for them, and it’s one that they need to win if for no other reason than it’s the kind of game that they want to avoid losing.
-COLORADO STATE AT WYOMING (Mountain West) (Front Range). We at Hoops HD Love the Front Range!! And, we love this particular game. Wyoming is right on the bubble, and a win like this would likely be a big part in deciding whether or not they get in. Colorado State is coming off a rather surprising loss to UNLV that set them back a little bit, and winning a game like this on the road would look really good on their resume and probably rase them back up to where they were before. It’s hard to win at Wyoming, and the committee knows that.
-WEST VIRGINIA AT BAYLOR (Big 12). West Virginia has hit a major skid and unfortunately for them they aren’t likely to pull themselves out of it tonight. Baylor is coming off a road loss at Alabama, is looking to bounce back, and this is the kind of game that enables them to do that without too much trouble. WVU has lost five straight and that will likely stretch to six tonight.
-TCU AT OKLAHOMA (Big 12). TCU picked up a huge win over the weekend against LSU, which helps out their resume. If they can pick this one up on the road we will probably no longer be considering them a bubble team any more. It’s a pivotal game for Oklahoma as well, who we have inside the bubble, but this game has a pivotal feel for them as well. They’ve lost five of their last six, are heading in the wrong direction, and really need a win in a game like this.
-NEW MEXICO AT SAN DIEGO STATE (Mountain West). San Diego State is hovering around the inside part of our bubble, and will stay there so long as they can keep holding serve in games like this.
We have already seen some spectacular scoring efforts this month as Liberty’s Darius McGhee scored 48 PTS in a win at FGCU on January 15th and UNLV’s Bryce Hamilton scored 45 PTS last Friday in a road upset at Colorado State. However, those 2 pale in comparison to Bo Clark, who remains the all-time leading scorer in UCF history with 2886 career PTS. He led all of D-2 in scoring with 31.6 PPG in 1979 and had a game for the ages as a sophomore when he scored a ridiculous 70 PTS in a game against Florida Memorial University. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Bo about playing for his father and winning almost 500 games as a coach himself. Today is the 45th anniversary of Bo’s 70-PT game on January 30, 1977, so we take this time to remember his fantastic feat.
You played for your father Torchy, who never had a losing season in 14 years at UCF: what was it like to play for him, and how much of an influence was he on your own decision to become a coach? He was definitely my mentor: we lost him about a decade ago. He had the most wins in UCF history until Coach Kirk Speraw passed him. I had offers from some other schools but wanted to play for my dad. I was fortunate that we were successful: when you are the coach’s son and take 25 shots/game you are going to get a lot of criticism if you lose!
In January of 1977 you scored a school-record 70 PTS (33-47 FG) against Florida Memorial, which led Coach AC Robinson to say, “The only way we could have stopped him was to grab both his arms and break them!”: was it just 1 of those scenarios where every shot you put up seemed to go in because you were “in the zone”? I am not a guy who brags about himself, but I scored over 50 PTS a couple of other times so it was not like I came out of nowhere. It was a unique game where we played against a run-and-gun team from the NAIA. We maintained a big lead throughout the game: I had about 14 PTS in the 1st 10 minutes and 33 PTS at the half. I was playing with a lot of confidence in my dad’s system where we pushed the ball a lot. With about 8 minutes left the announcer told the crowd that I had scored 60 PTS. Some coaches would have taken their son out but my dad let me stay in there. I got a standing ovation with about 2 minutes left: even though there were only about 800-900 people in attendance it still felt great.
In the fall of 1977 you broke a bone in your foot during an exhibition game and did not get to play while your team advanced to the Final Four: did you consider the season a success (due to your team making it so far) or a failure (due to not getting to help them do so) or other? Everyone thought the season was doomed because I was supposed to be out for 8-10 weeks. We opened up by losing close games to a couple of D-1 teams (Rice/Lamar)…and after that the team went out and won 24 straight games. We were ranked as high as #2/#3 in the nation. I had to swallow a little humble pie because I did not suit up as part of that team. We played Cheyney State in the 1st game in the Final 4 (coached by John Chaney) and they beat us by 16 PTS: that was the only game that I thought I could have gotten us over the hump if I had played. After that we lost to Eastern Illinois in the consolation game. I believe that things happen for a reason and I guess I was just not meant to play that year. We did not have 1 specific player step up to replace my scoring: everyone chipped in on offense.
In the fall of 1978 you returned from injury by scoring 44 PTS in 40 minutes in the season opener vs. Flagler: how did it feel to finally get back on the court, and did you feel comfortable playing the full 40 minutes in your 1st game back? It felt great to be back on the court and playing basketball. When you are 21 years old you have no idea that you are going to be coaching your opponent only a few years after that! To be honest, even though I scored 44 PTS I felt a little rusty and thought that I did not play as well as I could have.
In 1979 you had a career-high 8 STL vs. Blackburn: was defense a key part of your game, and if so then how were you able to balance that with your incredible scoring ability? I think that my defense was actually the reason I never got into the NBA. In my dad’s system we ran a 2-3 zone defense the entire time (like Jim Boeheim at Syracuse). I played well in the Portsmouth Invitational and at a pre-draft camp in Cincinnati but most scouts did not think that I could guard NBA players.
In 1979 you led the nation in scoring with 31.6 PPG: did you feel like you were 1 of the best players in the country, and did it bring a lot of attention to the UCF program? I never thought that I was 1 of the best players in the nation: there was some guy who led D-1 in scoring that year named Larry Bird! I was almost like a poor man’s Pete Maravich: wherever we went people came out to watch the “Torchy and Bo Show”. I was not a “Hick from French Lick” but did not like getting all of the attention. My numbers actually went down during my senior year due to the scoring of Gerald Jones but it was the best all-around basketball that I ever played. I was a target that whole year: we faced a box-and-1 or a triangle-and-2 everywhere we went. I thought that I would have a chance to make an NBA roster or play in Europe. It brought the school a lot of publicity because we led the nation in scoring…but it also created a lot of pressure. If I scored 27 PTS the night before then some people would ask me, “What was wrong with you last night?”. I would respond, “Why don’t YOU go out there and try to score 27 PTS?”
You were a 3-time 1st-team All-American: what did it mean to you to win such outstanding honors? Any time you can be named All-American it is exciting, both for you and your school, and it also made my dad proud. It is something that I can tell my kids about and they can see it listed in the media guide, which is kind of a neat thing.
You finished your career as the all-time leading scorer in school history: did you realize at the time how prolific a player you were? When you are going through it at the time you do not think about it, but when I look back on it now it seems amazing that I could score 31 PPG. It was definitely the right move for me to go to UCF and play for my dad. He was really hard on me, which showed my teammates that there was no favoritism. It was a fun 5 years for me (counting my redshirt year).
You broke many scoring records that belonged to your brother Mike (who scored 2085 career PTS): what kind of relationship do you 2 have, and how did it feel to have to pass him en route to getting the records for yourself? We are really close: I run some basketball camps in Orlando that he has been a part of. We have a good relationship so I think that he was really happy for me. I am proud of him too: he is in the UCF Hall of Fame as well.
After retiring as a player you became head coach at Flagler College, where you won almost 500 games: what impact did your playing career have on your coaching career? We went from NAIA to D-2, which was a big jump. It will take awhile to become 1 of the premier teams in the Peach Belt Conference. My playing career helped me as a coach, but what helped me the most was just picking my dad’s brain and watching his practices as both a player/son. 1 advantage of being a coach’s son is being able to get into the gym whenever you want! I tell my recruits that anytime you are at 1 school for almost 30 years you either love it or you are crazy. I coached all 3 of my sons (JP/Dave/Matt) at Flagler at different times: it was like déjà vu for a Clark to be coaching his son. When my dad is looking down from heaven I think he is smiling.
Posted inInterviews|TaggedBo Clark, ucf|Comments Off on Happy Anniversary!: HoopsHD interviews UCF legend Bo Clark
We are only 6 weeks away from Selection Sunday as we continue to make our NCAA tourney predictions. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel correctly picked 67 of the 68 teams that made the 2021 tourney, 62 of which were within 1 spot of their actual seed, including 47 right on the money. He will spend the upcoming months predicting which 68 teams will hear their names called on March 13th. See below for his list of who would make the cut if they picked the field today and if you agree or disagree then feel free to tweet us. To see how we stack up with other websites (ranked 19th out of 135 entries over the past 5 years), check out: www.bracketmatrix.com
-Last week Kentucky went on the road to Auburn and hung in tough with them despite being shorthanded for much of the game. This week Kentucky went into Kansas and absolutely blew the Jayhawks off of their own home floor. It took Kentucky a little while to get going so they probably won’t end up as a #1 seed, but based on how they have been playing they are good enough to make it to a Final Four. It’s harder to beat a Final Four caliber team on their home floor than it is to beat a Final Four caliber team in the Final Four, and Kentucky has shown that they can play with, and even beat, Final Four caliber teams on the road. Amazing.
-Baylor suffered their third loss of the year as Alabama picked up yet another extremely impressive win 87-78. Alabama doesn’t always play up to their ceiling, but when they do they are very tough to beat. They now have wins against Gonzaga, Houston, and Baylor, and although they were at home yesterday they’ll still get quite a bit of credit for the win.
-Louisville hung with Duke for about 32 minutes in their first game without Chris Mack, but the Blue Devils pulled away for the 74-65 win. Still, it was the best the Cardinals have looked in a long time and we may see a noticeable improvement in these last few weeks.
-Texas had what appeared to be a comfortable lead against Tennessee, but the Vols came storming back to tie the game and actually had a shot at the buzzer to win it, but the Longhorns escaped 52-51 and add another notable win to their resume. Texas’s resume has improved quite a bit in the last week or so.
-TCU is squarely on the bubble, and the 77-68 home win against LSU has done a ton to help them out.
-Xavier was down 36-19 at Creighton and looked like they were about to get blown out of the building. They came storming out of the locker room, pretty much tied the game before Creighton was even able to score, and ended up with a 74-64 road win, which is actually one of their better wins of the season.
-Illinois really had to sweat at Northwestern, which wasn’t a surprise, but escaped with a 57-54 win.
-Arkansas picked up a nice 77-68 home win against a West Virginia team that is now in a complete tailspin.
-Indiana looked impressive in their 68-55 win at Maryland yesterday, which was a much needed road win for the Hoosiers.
-After looking like they had turned their season around and that they were likely to make the NCAA Tournament as recently as a week ago, Florida State has dropped two straight games to teams that aren’t likely to be anywhere near The Tournament come March. They fell at home to Virginia Tech yesterday 85-72.
-UAB, who was squarely on our bubble, suffered a huge setback yesterday by losing at Marshall 84-81. The Blazers trailed by double digits for most of the game, and you get the sense had they played for another minute or two that they would have gotten the win. They actually came back and had a shot at the buzzer to force overtime, but came up short. It was only Marshall’s first conference win of the season, so this will really weigh down UAB’s resume and really hurt their chances for an at-large.
-Wake Forest, who doesn’t have all that good of a resume and who doesn’t look all that good on the court, did not look good on the court at all yesterday as they were blown out at Syracuse 94-72. I don’t see why so many seem to be so high on this Wake team.
-Texas A&M, who we thought was hovering around the bubble, probably isn’t anymore. They lost at home to South Carolina 74-63.
-BYU suffered what is probably their worst loss of the year as they failed to get by Pacific 76-73. Pacific was just 5-13 coming into the game, so this one is going to knock BYU down a peg or two.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-OHIO STATE AT PURDUE (Big Ten). Purdue has been projected as a protected seed all season long and will likely end up there on Selection Sunday. Ohio State has a solid profile, but if they could somehow pull off this win it would be their most impressive win of the season to date.
-MARQUETTE AT PROVIDENCE (Big East). This one should be fun. Both teams have good resumes, both are good enough to end up as protected seeds, both have a lot of momentum coming into this game, and both seem to be improving as the season goes on.
-MINNESOTA AT WISCONSIN (Big Ten). Minnesota has been good at times, but they are currently way outside the bubble and will need some really big wins (like this one) to get back into the discussion. Wisky looks to be a solid protected seed and with a strong finish they could end up as high as the #2 line.
-SAINT PETER’S AT IONA (Metro Atlantic). Saint Peter’s is one of the better teams in the MAAC, but they’re nowhere close to being anywhere near the bubble like Iona is, and they are on the road. If Iona continues to blow through the MAAC they should make the field even if they don’t win the auto-bid.
-LOYOLA CHICAGO AT DRAKE (Missouri Valley). Drake has been somewhat of a disappointment this year, but they are still capable of playing really well, and considering that Loyola Chicago has had to sweat out a lot of their conference wins lately, an upset is not out of the question at all.
Some of us here at HoopsHD are big fans of games that last 4 overtimes, aka “quadruplers”. 1 of the few games in NBA history that featured 4 overtimes was a Lakers-Cavaliers game from a few decades ago that Cleveland won by a final score of 154-153. Some of the amazing stat lines from that contest include Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (42 PTS/17 REB/7 AST/8 BLK), Magic Johnson (30 PTS/11 REB/8 AST), and Foots Walker (8 PTS/7 REB/18 AST/4 STL). However, the most amazing # of the night was put up by Norm Nixon, who tied an NBA record for most minutes played in a game with a scintillating 64! HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Ray Goss, Duquesne radio play-by-play man who covered all of Norm’s college games, about the 1977 Eastern 8 tourney final and Norm’s great defensive skills. Today marks the 42nd anniversary of the quadrupler on January 29, 1980 so we take this time to reflect on Norm’s life/legacy.
Norm grew up in Georgia: how did he end up at Duquesne? John Cinicola was an assistant coach who went down to Georgia to recruit Tree Rollins and another player. He happened to spot Nixon and when he came back he told the head coach about him.
In his final home game as a senior he scored 29 PTS in a 7-PT 2-OT win over an undefeated Detroit Mercy team that had several future NBA players: how were they able to pull off the upset, and how on earth was he able to make a 360-degree slam-dunk despite standing only 6’1”? Detroit was actually 21-1 at the time so we were heavy underdogs. Norm got a technical for hanging on the rim: Detroit coach Dick Vitale was so upset after the game that he had his team get on the bus without taking a shower! However, the upset that stands out to me was at #8 Providence in 1974 when Norm was just a freshman. The Friars had a future 2nd overall draft pick in Marvin Barnes. Nixon missed a layup at the end of regulation but they recovered to win it in OT. Nixon stole a pass at the very end and passed the ball to Bernie O’Keefe with 4 seconds left, who made the shot to win it 88-87. Norm could definitely leap: he had marvelous body control and hit a number of baseline fadeaway jumpers during his career.
In the final seconds of the 1977 Eastern 8 tourney final he winked at Coach Cinicola and then made 2 FTs to clinch a 3-PT win over Villanova en route to being named tourney MOP: how was he so confident, and what was the reaction like when the team got back to campus? Villanova had an outstanding player who had sprained his ankle the previous night in the semifinal: Coach Rollie Massimino had him play despite the fact that he was limping around on 1 leg. It was actually Don Maser who made a pair of FTs with 6 seconds left to seal the win. We had to beat Penn State/UMass just to make the final game. We partied that night and flew back the next day. Our travel secretary contacted someone at the airline and they served mimosas on the plane: Coach Cinicola was freaking out because some of his players were underage!
In 1979 as a player for the Lakers he tied Eddie Jordan for the NBA lead with 201 STL, and his 1187 career STL remains in the top-100 all-time: what was his secret for playing great defense? He had great quickness: he was the PG for the Lakers before Magic Johnson arrived. I remember 1 game he played at Cleveland when I went to the team hotel: the 1st guy I saw was Jerry West, who directed me to Norm, who hooked me up with tickets to the game. We had a 100th anniversary celebration a few years ago and tried to do a huge group photo. Norm stood up and demanded that I get in the photo even though I was not a player myself: he is such a nice guy. 1 year the legendary Beano Cook did color commentary for our broadcasts. I had a tryout for CBS doing NBA broadcasts and it happened to be a Lakers-Pacers game in Indianapolis. I ran into Norm at the airport and he introduced me to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar/Adrian Dantley/etc. Pat Riley was their TV analyst/travel secretary at the time and he helped me get onto the team’s plane after a weather delay. They gave me a contract for the following season but after the 1977 Blazers-76ers Finals series tanked in the ratings CBS decided to do only 1 game/week and they chose some other guy named…Brent Musburger!
On January 29, 1980 he scored 20 PTS and tied an NBA record for most minutes played in a game with 64 in a 1-PT 4-OT loss to Cleveland: how big of a factor was his conditioning on the court? There are certain players I have watched over the years who never seemed to breathe hard and he is certainly in that category. Bjorn Borg’s resting pulse rate was 35.
Take me though the magical 1980 Finals: In Game 4 Julius Erving scored 23 PTS and made his famous up-and-under move in 3-PT win by 76ers: could you tell at the time that you were witnessing 1 of the most athletic moves ever executed on a court? Dr. J was the best. I did not see him at UMass but just watching him on TV was great.
In Game 6 Magic Johnson had to replace Abdul-Jabbar at center due to his severely sprained ankle and had 42 PTS/15 REB to beat the 76ers/win the title/become the only rookie to ever be named Finals MVP: what did it mean to him to win a title? I was not in touch with him at the time but I am sure that there was elation. He never jumped up and down: he always kept things on an even keel.
On November 30, 1982 he faked a FT at the end of a game against the Spurs that caused a double lane violation, but the referees incorrectly ruled it a jump ball instead of having him take another shot, and after the Lakers got the ball he made a 20-foot jumper to tie the game en route to the Lakers winning by 5 PTS in double-OT: why did he decide to fake the FT, and how did it feel to lose to the Spurs several months later after their protest was upheld and the teams had to replay the final 3 seconds? I was unaware of that but you see something new every day on the court.
The 76ers swept the Lakers to win the 1983 Finals: were they just a completely different team after acquiring Moses Malone in the offseason? I saw Moses in the Roundball Classic featuring the best high school players in the nation against the area all-stars. It was big news when Moses came in for that game.
After being traded to San Diego in 1983 he led the league with 914 AST, and his 8.3 APG remains among the all-time top-15: what was his secret for being a great PG? He could beat a guy 1-on-1 with his 1st step but he was not a shoot-first guard: he looked to pass all of the time.
After retiring he worked as a color analyst for Laker home games: how did he like the job, and what does he hope to do in the future? He became an agent for a few players and also got into some production stuff with his wife Debbie Allen.
When people look back on his career, how do you think that he should be remembered the most? He is 1 of the best players in Duquesne history, if not the best. He made our school’s all-century team and was the 2nd Laker behind Jerry West to score 1000 PTS as a rookie. He was a 1st round pick but the Lakers had 3 picks in the 1st round that year so they took Kenny Carr/Brad Davis ahead of him.
-Wyoming needed some heroics in the final few seconds against Air Force, but they managed to pick up the road win 63-61 and remain well within reach of bubble.
-Colorado State hasn’t lost very often, but when they have they had not messed around. They were pretty much handled at home yesterday by a so-so (at best) UNLV team 88-74. The Rams are still inside the bubble, but this will set them back.
-Boise State needed overtime, but they got the win at Fresno State and are continuing to roll. In fact they now have a two game lead in the Mountain West Standings over Colorado State and it’s arguable that they now have the better resume.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-DUKE AT LOUISVILLE (ACC). Duke continues to roll and is still within reach of a #1 seed, whereas saying Louisville was in a tailspin would be the understatement of the year.
-LSU AT TCU (SEC?Big 12 Challenge). LSU is flirting with a protected seed and this is the kind of road win that would look really good. TCU is flirting with the bubble and needs notable wins of any kind.
-LASALLE AT DAVIDSON (Atlantic Ten). Davidson is looking to bounce back from their first loss in a while, and they shouldn’t have any trouble doing that. If they do, then they’re in trouble.
-MIAMI FL AT GEORGIA TECH (ACC). Miami’s resume is slowly improving and this should be another winnable road game for them, but GA Tech surprised Florida State earlier in the week, so they won’t want to overlook them.
-MICHIGAN AT MICHIGAN STATE (Big Ten). Michigan is starting to get better, but they still have a lot of work to do. Having said that, winning at Michigan State would certainly qualify as “doing a lot of work.” Sparty is flirting with the #2 line and should be able to pick this one up at home.
-OKLAHOMA AT AUBURN (SEC/Big 12 Challenge). Auburn is the top ranked team and Oklahoma is inside the bubble, but can’t exactly put things on cruise control yet. A loss for the Sooners won’t set them back, but a win would really propel them forward.
-XAVIER AT CREIGHTON (Big East). I like both of these teams and both of their resumes. With Xavier being the road team it’s a chance for them to really polish up a resume that’s already pretty shiny, and for Creighton it’s a chance to kind of do the same.
-MISSOURI AT IOWA STATE (SEC/Big 12 Challenge). Iowa State should roll in this one. In one sense it’s too bad they didn’t get matched up with a better opponent, but in another it may be kind of nice for them to get to come up for air. This is one of the more winnable games they have remaining on their schedule.
-NC STATE AT NORTH CAROLINA (ACC). We did not even have North Carolina on our board on Thursday when we did the Bracket Rundown. I will continue to highlight their games because they can reach the bubble if they begin to string together wins.
-WEST VIRGINIA AT ARKANSAS (SEC/Big 12 Challenge). This is a great match-up for this event. Both teams appear to be inside the bubble, but neither are completely safe and both could really use a win in a game like this.
-ARIZONA STATE AT ARIZONA (Pac 12). It’s a rivalry game between two teams that are nowhere near equals. Arizona is a solid protected seed and Arizona State doesn’t appear to be on pace to make any sort of postseason tournament at all.
-INDIANA AT MARYLAND (Big Ten). Indiana needs road wins to solidify their case for a bid, and this is a winnable road game. It’s as simple as that.
–TEMPLE AT SMU (American). SMU is still outside the bubble, but I still think they can reach it if they keep winning. I also think they are good enough to keep winning.
-VIRGINIA TECH AT FLORIDA STATE (ACC). Florida State fell in their last game, but prior to that they had been on a tear and can continue to take steps forward if they can keep building up the wins.
-BAYLOR AT ALABAMA (SEC/Big 12 Challenge). Baylor is one of the top teams in the nation and appears to be heading for the #1 line. It’s always fun to see them go on the road and take on a team like Alabama, who is really good and who is looking for another big win. Bama has looked like a protected seed at times, but only at times. We’ll see what they do today.
-KANSAS STATE AT OLE MISS (SEC/Big 12 Challenge). We’ve kind of forgotten about K State, but they are actually on my board and it’s not outrageous to think they can still make the NCAA Tournament. This is a winnable road game and road wins always look good on resumes.
-OKLAHOMA STATE AT FLORIDA (SEC/Big 12 Challenge). The Gators are in a tailspin and will end up missing The Dance if they can’t pull themselves out of it. They’re at home against a solid Oklahoma State team, and it’s a game that they need to win.
-SAINT JOHN’S AT VILLANOVA (Big East). Nova hasn’t always looked great this season, but they’ve looked great often enough to where I think they will end up as a protected seed. They should be able to hold serve in this one today.
-ILLINOIS AT NORTHWESTERN (Big Ten). This won’t be an easy road game for Illinois to win, but it’s the kind of game that a top 25 team should be able to win.
-MOREHEAD STATE AT MURRAY STATE (Ohio Valley). Murray State is inside the bubble and will stay there so long as they continue to blow through the OVC. Morehead hasn’t lost a conference game yet, so they could be challenged today, but if they are a tournament caliber team then they need to be able to win this one at home.
-KENTUCKY AT KANSAS (SEC/Big 12 Challenge). I love how this Kentucky team has been playing, and was impressed with how they looked at Auburn a week ago despite being shorthanded for most of the game. For the second week in a row they are on the road against a team that could potentially end up as a #1 seed. A loss won’t set them back, but a win would push them forward. Kansas will have the opportunities they need to end up as a #1 even if they were to lose this game, but a win would certainly help.
-MISSISSIPPI STATE AT TEXAS TECH (SEC/Big 12 Challenge). Mississippi State has not win a road game yet, and I can’t consider them a tournament caliber team until they do. I don’t think they’ll get this one today, but if they do, then HOLY COW! Texas Tech is looking more and more like a protected seed as the season goes on and I think they’ll hold serve tonight.
-VIRGINIA AT NOTRE DAME (ACC). Some here at Hoops HD feel the Irish are within reach of the bubble. I’m personally not seeing it, but…okay. Whatever. Obviously teams who can’t beat non-tournament teams at home don’t belong in the tournament themselves, so they’ll need to win this one.
-UCONN AT DEPAUL (Big East). It isn’t easy to win at DePaul, but the Big East is filled with teams who are capable of winning games that aren’t easy to win, and UConn is one of them. I really like their team and their profile and it wouldn’t shock me if the Huskies ended up as a protected seed.
-CALIFORNIA AT USC (Pac 12). USC is coming off a rather surprising loss to Stanford and needs to rebound. Fortunately, Cal is the kind of team that’s good to be playing when you need to rebound.
-UAB AT MARSHALL (Conference USA). UAB is squarely on our bubble, and the more the season progresses the more I think they belong in the field. This won’t be an easy road win, and it’s the kind of loss that can sink a team’s resume, but getting into the field requires being able to do things that aren’t easy to do.
-SANTA CLARA AT SAN FRANCISCO (West Coast). The loss to SMC from Thursday where they blew a big lead has still got to be stinging for the Dons. They don’t need to be panicking yet, but they do need to be at least a little anxious. They need to take care of business at home today against a Santa Clara team that’s been looking pretty good as of late.
-HOUSTON AT UCF (American). Houston continues to blow through the American and appears to be cruising toward a protected seed. They should be able to win this one without too much trouble.
-TENNESSEE AT TEXAS (SEC/Big 12 Challenge). I had been extremely critical of Texas, but was very impressed with their road win at TCU, and while Tennessee is a team that is flirting with a protected seed I think this is a game that the Longhorns can win.
-PEPPERDINE AT SAINT MARY’S (West Coast). This is a conference game that is should end up looking an awful lot like a buy game. SMC should cruise.
-WAKE FOREST AT SYRACUSE (ACC). I don’t like Wake’s profile nearly as much as everyone else at Hoops HD seems to, but I think they should be able to win this one on the road. If they can’t then I’ll be even less impressed with them than I already am.
-PORTLAND AT GONZAGA (West Coast). The Zags should once again cruise in this one.
-GRAND CANYON AT NEW MEXICO STATE (WAC). Neither team has much of a chance to get inside the bubble, but both teams are good, both are fun to watch, this has turned into a really good rivalry, and unfortunately it may be one of the last times we get to see these two go head to head with NMSU on their way to CUSA soon. As for first place in the WAC, this is a hugely important game.
-STANFORD AT UCLA (Pac 12). Stanford made a huge statement with their win at USC earlier in the week. If they can follow that up with a win against UCLA, who just beat Arizona rather handily in their next game, then it will indicate that Stanford definitely belongs inside the bubble.
-BYU AT PACIFIC (West Coast). It’s a road game, but it still shouldn’t be one that’s all that tough for BYU to win.
-OREGON STATE AT OREGON (Pac 12). Oregon is looking much better than they did in the first half of the season (at least for most of the time) and should be able to hold serve at home against their rivals tonight.
-WINTHROP AT LONGWOOD (Big South). The Winwood Cup is one of our favorite rivalries on Hoops HD and has huge stakes in the Big South this year. Longwood is still unbeaten in league play and Winthrop is in 1st place in the opposing division – so this will be the only time both teams play in the regular season.
