Hoops HD

NEWS AND NOTES:

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-Purdue had to sweat a little bit at Iowa, but only a little bit.  They picked up another solid road win 83-73 and the resume continues to look really impressive.

-Stanford continues to straddle the bubble.  They’re just inside, they’re just outside, and now they’ve picked up another big road win against USC 64-61 that’s making us once again sit up and take notice.  They haven’t been consistent so far, but they’ve done enough to at least be within reach of the bubble.

-Ohio State picked up another nice road win at Minnesota 75-64, which is something that helps.  Their resume is pretty solid, but adding more road wins to it makes it look even better.

-Loyola Chicago once again had to sweat out a win at Southern Illinois.  It was an absolute rock fight, but they escaped with a 44-39 win.

-UAB hit a last second three point shot to add another road win to their resume as they knocked off Western Kentucky 68-65.  The win doesn’t help as much as the loss would have hurt, but this UAB team continues to build a compelling resume.

-Saint Mary’s trailed 25-6 at the start of game to San Francisco, and the Dons just seemed to be dominating.  But some how, on the road, against a good team, SMC just kept chipping away and chipping away, and late in the game they got the lead, and managed to hold on to it for a 72-70 win.  It was so strange.  It was a two point game that never really felt like a close game.  And while that was happening…

-BYU stubbed their toes at Santa Clara and fell 77-76.  It’s not easy to win at Santa Clara, but it is the kind of game that you would expect BYU to win.  It doesn’t totally sink them, but it does set them back a tad.

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:

-WYOMING AT AIR FORCE (Mountain West) (Front Range).  We at Hoops HD LOVE the Front Range!!!  Wyoming is hovering right around the bubble, and this is the kind of game they cannot afford to lose.

-OHIO U AT BUFFALO (MAC).  Ohio U is probably out of strikes, but if they want any chance at all of winding up on the bubble then they need to win out.

-AKRON AT TOLEDO (MAC).  Toledo is on the outside looking in, but they are the first place team in the MAC and will at least have a compelling case if they continue to dominate.

-UNLV AT COLORADO STATE (Mountain West).  Colorado State is very safely inside the field for now, and will probably cruise to the top half of the bracket so long as they continue to hold serve.

-BOISE STATE AT FRESNO STATE (Mountain West).  Boise State keeps looking better and better, and they have a chance to add another road win to an already decent resume.

NEWS AND NOTES:

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-Providence at Xavier may have been the game of the night.  Providence jumped out to a big lead early, and Xavier just kept chipping away at it.  Finally X got the lead late in the game and appeared to be in control with momentum, but with the game tied as the clock was winding down they missed a chance at a go-ahead basket, which was followed by a Providence three-pointer with less than two seconds to go for a thrilling 65-62 win, and a very nice road win on the resume of the Friars.  They are climbing the rankings, but they still appear to be undervalued right now.  Perhaps this will result in people valuing them a little more.

-Florida really needed a notable win.  They’ve had several chances where they’ve come up short.  Last night they had another chance at Tennessee.  Last night, despite playing well, they came up short again with the Vols getting the 78-71 win.

-Texas A&M at LSU was another exciting game with quite a bit on the line for a TAMU team that has looked good, but not gotten a big time win to put them solidly inside the bubble.  Last nights’ game was close all throughout, but TAMU just struggled to score on several straight possessions late in the game and LSU escaped with a 70-64 win.

-Marquette remains red hot and picked up another impressive road win as they knocked off Seton Hall 73-63.  Seton Hall is now in a bit of a tailspin and really needs a win of any kind to help pull them out of it.

-Iowa State hadn’t won on the road in the Big 12 for several years, but finally picked one up yesterday as they won at Oklahoma State 84-81.  This was another exciting game that was close throughout.  Oklahoma State had been playing really well lately, so this is one that the Cyclones deserve some credit for.

-Davidson finally got into the rankings.  The bad news for them is that they likely won’t be there next week.  VCU jumped out to an early lead, and actually widened it throughout the second half.  Davidson came thundering back and was in a position to get the win, but came up just short 70-68.  Davidson is still safely inside the bubble.  This wasn’t a major setback, but it was a bit of a setback.

-Creighton, who were were all big on and who seemed to be playing really well lately, totally crapped the bed at Butler yesterday as they were inexplicably beaten rather handily 72-55.

-Miami FL escaped from Virginia Tech 78-75.  They hit a game winning shot as time was running out to pick up the road win.

-Oklahoma got a much needed road win at West Virginia 72-62, which gives their resume a much needed boost.  It is now West Virginia who is in need of a boost as they seem to be in a bit of a tailspin.

-Florida State, who had been red hot, was not red hot yesterday.  They lost to a rather underwhelming Georgia Tech team on the road 75-61, which is not a good thing to do when you’re trying to make a case that you’re a solid tournament team.

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:

-WISCONSIN AT NEBRASKA (Big Ten).  This is a very winnable road game for a Wisconsin team that looks like they could end up on one of the top two lines.

-MURRAY STATE AT TENNESSEE TECH (Ohio Valley).  We believe Murray State is inside the bubble and that they’ll stay there if they can continue to blow through the OVC.

-RICE AT LOUISIANA TECH (Conference USA).  LA Tech would essentially have to win out to get on to the bubble, but they’re a good team and it’s not outside the realm of possibility.

-OHIO STATE AT MINNESOTA (Big Ten).  This is a tough road game for Ohio State, and while Minnesota isn’t a team that’s exactly safely in the field, it’s still hard to win on the road there.  Minney, on the other hand, is within reach of the bubble and needs to string together some wins in order to get there.

-LOYOLA CHICAGO AT SOUTHERN ILLINOIS (Missouri Valley).  Loyola Chicago has struggled in most of their conference games.  In fact they’ve had to come from behind in most of their wins.  But, they’ve been winning them, and they’ve got another winnable game today.

-NORTH TEXAS AT SOUTHERN MISS (Conference USA).  North Texas is another team from CUSA that could end up on the bubble if they’re able to win out.

-BELMONT AT AUSTIN PEAY (Ohio Valley).  Belmont is entirely out of strikes.  If the next game they lose comes before the conference tournament they likely won’t be going anywhere.

-PURDUE AT IOWA (Big Ten).  Purdue looks to be a protected seed and Iowa looks like a solid tournament team.  A road win against a tournament team looks good for a protected seed and a win of any kind over a protected seed looks good for a team that’s trying to build their resume, so there is something at stake for both teams.

-CALIFORNIA AT UCLA (Pac 12).  UCLA is coming off the big home win against Arizona and shouldn’t have too much trouble tonight against a Cal team that has struggled this year.

-UAB AT WESTERN KENTUCKY (Conference USA).  UAB is squarely on the bubble and will have a strong argument for a bid if they can continue to string together wins and dominate CUSA.  This is a bit of a trap game.  It isn’t easy to win at WKU, and failing to do so would anchor down their resume.

-SAINT MARY’S AT SAN FRANCISCO (West Coast).  This one should be fun!!  It’s a Bay Area rivalry, both teams appear to be safely inside the bubble (for now). but both also need to build their resumes, which makes this a fun game both on and off paper.

-LMU AT GONZAGA (West Coast).  Gonzaga again looks to be heading for the #1 line and shouldn’t have any trouble holding serve at home in this one.

-STANFORD AT USC (Pac 12).  Stanford is outside the bubble, but they have a path to it if they can start stringing together wins.  That’s easier said than done, though.  A win tonight would go a long way, but it won’t be easy to get against a USC team that appears to be safely in the top half of the bracket.

-BYU AT SANTA CLARA (West Coast).  This isn’t an easy road win for BYU, but it’s one that they should be able to get.

NEWS AND NOTES:

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-Auburn had to sweat out Mizzou, and it was quite a shock since Auburn is the top ranked team and Mizzou is closer to the Stallings Award than they are the NCAA Tournament, but they managed to escape with a (surprisingly) thrilling 55-54 win.

-UCLA beat Arizona at home rather handily 75-59.  It’s a setback for the Wildcats in the context of getting a #1 seed, but only in that context.  There is no dinging anyone who loses on the road to a top ten team.

-Duke also had to sweat against a team that seemed to a total non-threat, but managed to win a (surprisingly) thrilling game at home against Clemson 71-69 in a game that came down to the final seconds.

-Michigan State fell behind big to Illinois, but came back, made it close, and almost picked up another highly impressive road win, but Illinois held on 56-55 for one of their more notable wins of the year despite it being at home.

-Kentucky needed overtime to get by Mississippi State, which was surprising because they seemed to be in control the whole way but Mississippi State kept it close enough to make a run at the end.  The Wildcats escaped with an 82-74 win.

-Alabama tripped over the marble on the floor.  They lost on the road to Georgia 82-76 in a game they really had no business losing despite it being a road game.

-Cincinnati needed a road win at Temple to inch closer to the bubble, and they seemed to be in control for most of the game, but one part of the game where they were not in control was the end.  Temple ended up getting the 61-58 win and improving to 11-6 on the year.  Temple is a hundred miles outside the NCAA Tournament, but they aren’t as bad as we thought they’d be this year.

-I’ve been dogging Texas all year for a lack of notable wins.  Well, they have one now.  It was an impressive beatdown on the road against a really good TCU team 73-50.  I will no longer dog Texas for not having any impressive wins.  They certainly have one now.  In spades!!

-Wyoming and Boise seesawed back and forth with both teams appearing to be in control at different parts of the game.  It came down to the wire and Boise ended up with a very important 65-62 win.  It was a big win for the Broncos, and a missed opportunity for the Cowboys, but while there aren’t an infinite number of opportunities the rest of the way, they will have a few others.

-Oregon had appeared to have things turned around, and seemed to have a winnable home game against Colorado yesterday.  They didn’t win it, though, and this is a bit of a setback for a team that appeared to be poised to thunder down the stretch.

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:

-FLORIDA AT TENNESSEE (SEC).  Tennessee is a fringe protected seed and Florida is a fringe bubble team.  The Gators need a win like this (and probably more than just one) to get safely inside the bubble.

-XAVIER AT PROVIDENCE (Big East).  Xavier is safely in the top half of the bracket, and Providence is a team that we think that has been way undervalued and should be on the verge of a protected seed.

-CREIGHTON AT BUTLER (Big East).  Creighton is another team from the Big East that should be safely in the field.  This looks to be a very winnable road game tonight.

-NORTHWESTERN AT MICHIGAN (Big Ten).  Michigan has underperformed all year, but they are coming off a nice road win against Indiana and have what should be another winnable home game tonight.  Perhaps they are starting to get things turned around.

-SMU AT SOUTH FLORIDA (American).  SMU is still outside the bubble, but I still think they are good enough to reach it if they can finish strong the rest of the way.  That would obviously include not losing at South Florida.

-MIAMI FL AT VIRGINIA TECH (ACC).  Miami continues to hover around the bubble.  In short, road games against teams that are nowhere near the bubble are the kinds of games that NCAA Tournament teams should be able to win.

-BOSTON COLLEGE AT NORTH CAROLINA (ACC).  I think UNC is still pretty far outside the bubble, but a lot of people still like them.  Either way, this is a game they should be able to win tonight.

-SAINT BONAVENTURE AT GEORGE MASON (Atlantic Ten).  The Bonnies can make the field, but their path to get there is still really narrow.  They need this win tonight, and pretty much most of the rest of the wins on their schedule the rest of the way.

-ARKANSAS AT OLE MISS (SEC).  Arkansas is hovering around the bubble, and this is the kind of game they need to be able to win on the road.

-IOWA STATE AT OKLAHOMA STATE (Big 12).  Iowa State is having a big year, but Oklahoma State is playing with a purpose despite not being eligible for the NCAA Tournament, and they won’t be easy to beat at home tonight.

-OKLAHOMA AT WEST VIRGINIA (Big 12).  You get the sense that both teams need this win.  West Virginia probably doesn’t need it as much as the Sooners, and neither team will be dead in the water if they lose, but both need wins between now and the end in order to be safely in the field.

-VCU AT DAVIDSON (Atlantic Ten).  Davidson is in the rankings, safely inside the bubble, and will easily make the field barring a collapse between now and the end.  VCU is a decent team, but it’s a team Davidson should be able to beat at home.

-PENN STATE AT INDIANA (Big Ten).  Indiana’s resume is improving, but they need to hold serve in this one tonight.

-TEXAS A&M AT LSU (SEC).  TAMU continues to hover around the bubble and is in big need of a win like this.  LSU continues to hover around a protected seed and needs to be able to hold serve in games like this at home.

-FLORIDA STATE AT GEORGIA TECH (ACC).  Florida State has won six straight and is on a rampage.  They should be able to make it #7 tonight as they have another winnable conference road game.

-SAN DIEGO STATE AT UTAH STATE (Mountain West).  San Diego State is a team that looks like they’re hovering around the bubble.  They have a challenging but winnable road game tonight.