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-Yesterday Purdue won a double overtime thriller at Illinois, which adds another big win to Purdue’s resume.  Illinois’ resume probably doesn’t match how good they are on the court right now, but they’ll have plenty of chances between now and the end.

-Indiana picked up their first true road win of the year as they knocked off Nebraska 78-71.  That’s not a great win, but it’s one they needed seeing as how they had no true road wins before yesterday.

-BAYLOR AT WEST VIRGINIA (Big 12).  After two straight home losses Baylor is looking to get back on track.  West Virginia is also coming off a lopsided loss to Kansas and while this shouldn’t be quite as rough because they’re at home, it still isn’t going to be easy.

-KANSAS AT OKLAHOMA (Big 12).  The Sooners are a tournament caliber team, but knocking off Kansas is a very tall order even when they’re at home.  Kansas looks like they’re good enough to end up as a #1 seed, so they’re certainly capable of winning road games like this.

-IUPUI AT OHIO STATE.  When it comes to scheduling make-up games, I guess Ohio State felt it was important to aim really low.

-BUTLER AT UCONN (Big East).  Butler is really struggling this year, and that probably won’t change today.  UConn is into the top 25, and should arguably be ranked higher.  They should be able to hold serve in this one.

-SAINT BONAVENTURE AT DAYTON (Atlantic Ten).  The Bonnies have been a bit of a disappointment so far this year, but they are starting to play better after a long shutdown.  This could potentially be a tough road game.  Dayton has been inconsistent this year, but when they play up to their potential they can be a very tough team to beat, especially when they’re at home.

-IONA AT MONMOUTH (Metro Atlantic).  These are the top two teams in the MAAC, and it’s a game that Iona needs to be able to win if they want to solidify that they belong inside the bubble.

-DAVIDSON AT VCU (Atlantic Ten).  Davidson looks to be the strongest team in the A10, but they will likely be tested tonight against a VCU team that had won seven in a row, but is now looking to bounce back after a loss to Saint Bonaventure.

-UCF AT EAST CAROLINA (American).  Both teams are pretty far outside the bubble and both would have to string together quite a few wins to get into the picture, but both also have an outside shot at doing it.

-NORTH CAROLINA AT MIAMI FL (ACC).  North Carolina’s resume has nothing on it that you would categorize as a notable win.  Miami, on the other hand, has a few decent wins (and one outstanding one at Duke), but is still right on our bubble and looks to have a lot of work left to do.  Both teams could really use this win tonight.

-OHIO U AT MIAMI OH (MAC).  Ohio U is 13-2 on the season and unbeaten in MAC play.  If they can continue to blow through the MAC, they can land inside the bubble.

-SOUTH CAROLINA AT ARKANSAS (SEC).  Arkansas had been struggling this season, but they are coming off a big win at LSU and may be starting to turn things around.  They need to hold serve at home tonight.

-SOUTH FLORIDA AT HOUSTON (American).  Houston has cracked the top ten and has kept winning despite losing a couple of key players to injury.  They should be able to hold serve in this one tonight.

-LOYOLA CHICAGO AT EVANSVILLE (Missouri Valley).  Loyola has finally cracked the rankings, and while they’ve struggled in their last couple of games they’ve still managed to win them.  They shouldn’t have too much trouble knocking off an Evansville team that’s only managed four wins this season.

-KANSAS STATE AT TEXAS (Big 12).  I’m not completely impressed with Texas’s resume, but they are still a talented team and will get the opportunities they need to solidify their resume.  They should be able to hold serve tonight in this one.

-DUKE AT FLORIDA STATE (ACC).  Florida State has been playing better, but they still have a lot of work to do.  Having said that, they have the chance to take a huge step forward tonight if they can knock off a Duke team that right now looks like they could be on the #1 line.

-WISCONSIN AT NORTHWESTERN (Big Ten).  Northwestern is outside the bubble right now, but they have still proven that they can be a dangerous team and are coming off a big win at Michigan State.  If they could somehow follow that up with a win over Wisconsin, who is looking like they could end up on the top two lines, they’ll REALLY be running toward the bubble.

-IOWA STATE AT TEXAS TECH (Big 12).  These are two ranked teams that look like they could end up as protected seeds.  Like most Big 12 games, it’s a chance for both of them to add another big win to their resumes.

-TENNESSEE AT VANDERBILT (SEC).  Tennessee is coming off a blowout loss at Kentucky and is looking to bounce back in a winnable road game against Vanderbilt.  Tennessee should win it, but Vandy is good enough to where they can beat teams on their home floor that overlook them.

-AIR FORCE AT BOISE STATE (Mountain West).  Boise State is squarely on the bubble and needs to hold serve against the Falcons in this one.

-We will be recording our Under the Radar Video Podcast later on tonight.  We should also have another staff bracket up some time today.  Be on the lookout for both of those things!

-Sunday was kind of a slower and chalky day after what was a crazy Saturday.  Iowa picked up a big time road win at Minnesota, which really strengthens their resume.

-Villanova, Ohio State, Saint John’s, and Iona all held serve at home in conference games

-PURDUE AT ILLINOIS (Big Ten).  These two go at it in a rare Monday matinee!  It’s should be a really good one too as I think both teams will be protected seeds by the end of the year.  Illinois hasn’t always played like a protected seeded caliber team, but they have been lately and this would be a big win for their resume.

-NOTRE DAME AT HOWARD.  This was to be an MLK Day Showcase game a year ago when Howard had Makur Maker on the team.  Howard is a team to watch in the MEAC, and Notre Dame is still a big brand name, but neither of these teams are likely to end up anywhere close to the bubble.  Still, I like that they are getting the game played even if it is a year late.

-MURRAY STATE AT EASTERN ILLINOIS (Ohio Valley).  After a big win at Belmont over the weekend Murray State is running down hill and should be inside the bubble if they can hold serve for the rest of the year.

-INDIANA AT NEBRASKA (Big Ten).  Indiana has been playing well, but they need some road wins on their resume.  This is a winnable road game that they really kinda need.

-WYOMING AT NEVADA (Mountain West).  Wyoming is hovering around the bubble right now, and picking up conference road wins will help strengthen their case.

-BELMONT AT SIUE (Ohio Valley).  Belmont did lose over the weekend to Murray State, but they are still very much in the conversation for a bid.  They can’t lose to anyone else, but if they hold serve against the other 8 teams in the league they should be okay.

NEWS AND NOTES:

-Nothing normal happened on Saturday.  It was seemingly college basketball’s drunkest day in a very long time.

-Baylor lost at home for the second time in a week, this time to an unranked Oklahoma State team.  The Cowboys pretty much led from tip to buzzer.  Baylor actually had to come from behind to even have a chance of winning the game late, and while they got close, they couldn’t get over the hump.  The #1 ranked team almost never loses at home at any point during the year, especially when it’s a team that’s ranked that high this late in the season when it isn’t just an early season guess as to where teams are in the rankings.  I don’t know if the #1 team has ever lost twice at home in the same week.  But, it happened yesterday.

Other things happened too…

-Northwestern went on the road to Michigan State, and of course picked up the 64-62 win.  Northwestern was actually in control late and nearly blew it.  A (questionable?) foul call with seconds to go put the Spartans on the line with a chance to tie it, but they were unable to sink the freethrows and Northwestern got a huge upset.  That snaps a four game losing streak for Northwestern.

-Arkansas, who had looked pitiful for most of the season, went into LSU yesterday and pulled off a huge upset win.  The Razorbacks still have a lot of work to do, but they also have talent, and if this can be the start of a turnaround for them then they still have time.

-USC also lost for the second time in a week to an unranked team when they fell to Oregon 79-69.  USC’s unbeaten record may have been a bit inflated.  I still think this is a good Trojans team, but don’t feel they are quite protected seed good.  As for Oregon, they have gone from being a huge disappointment to a huge turnaround story after winning at both UCLA and USC this week.

-Texas Tech, who was coming off what was perhaps the single biggest win of the season, followed that up with a loss at Kansas State yesterday.  Sometimes after a really big win a team’s head can go way up into the clouds and it’s kind of hard to get their feet back on the ground, so that may have been a little bit of what happened yesterday, but had you said to anyone int he world that Texas Tech would play at Baylor and at Kansas State and go 1-1 on the week, those are NOT the results you would have thought likely.

-Alabama could have really used a road win at Mississippi State last night, and didn’t get it.  Mississippi State seems like a very NIT-ish kind of team, and it’s the kind of road game that protected seed caliber teams should be expected to be able to win.

-Iowa State held on to beat Texas at home 79-70.  Someone in the Big 12 is going to eventually start to slip.  It’s a mathematical fact that every time you play a game one of the teams has to lose.  But, so far it’s looking like that team won’t be Iowa State.  They nearly won at Kansas earlier this week, and had a nice win against Texas at home yesterday.

-Kentucky blew out Tennessee yesterday 107-79.  It was a home win, but it was still highly impressive given the quality of the opponent and the margin of victory.

-Marquette held on against Seton Hall at home to pick up another big win.  They have strung together several wins over the past week and their resume keeps looking better and better.

-In an Under the Radar game of note, Murray State went into Belmont and totally blew them off the floor.  Belmont didn’t shoot well at all and had a lot of uncharacteristic turnovers, whereas Murray couldn’t miss and basically controlled the whole game from tip to buzzer despite early foul trouble.  Murray State is solidly inside the bubble.  No question about it.  If today were Selection Sunday and Murray were to lose in the OVC Tournament, they’d still get in.

-Florida State still has work to do, but at least they’re starting to do it.  They picked up a road win at Syracuse yesterday 76-71, which was their fourth straight win.  Perhaps they’ve finally woken up and are starting to look a little bit like the team we though they’d be back in November.

-Auburn had to come from behind, but they did manage the road win at Ole Miss.  They are looking more and more like a #1 seed.

-Florida picked up a nice road win at South Carolina, which isn’t a great win, but it is a road win and it does help.

-Texas A&M had to come from behind to beat Missouri on the road, but they got it done 67-64 and add another road win to their bubblish resume, which helps make it look a little better.

-TCU got a big win against Oklahoma 59-58.  It was a home win, and TCU does need to do a little bit more away from home, but it was still a nice win and it gets them to 12-2 on the year.

-Stanford, who is a team we think is squarely on the bubble, lost to a Washington team yesterday that is nowhere near the bubble.  That one is gonna hurt a little bit.

-Wyoming, who is another team we have right on the bubble, picked up a nice win at Utah State yesterday 71-69.  This isn’t an Earth-shattering win, but it’s still a win they’ll get some credit for.  Utah State is not an easy place to play.

-BYU got a big road win against San Francisco 71-69.  Both teams look to be top 40 teams, which means they are safely within the range of making the NCAA Tournament, so it was a really nice road win for the Cougars.

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:

-BUTLER AT VILLANOVA (Big East).  I’d normally say that this is a blah game where we should just expect chalk and for Nova to hold serve, but after yesterday I think anything can happen.

-PENN STATE AT OHIO STATE (Big Ten).  Penn State has won three of their last four and is noticeably better, but winning on the road against a protected seed caliber team like Ohio State is a huge task.

-NIAGARA AT IONA (MAAC).  Like we seemingly say every week, if Iona can hold serve throughout conference play then they should end up inside the bubble.

-IOWA AT MINNESOTA (Big Ten).  This one should be fun.  It’s a conference rivalry between two teams that appear to be NCAA Tournament caliber teams and who can build up their resumes with a win today.

-GEORGETOWN AT SAINT JOHN’S (Big East).  The Johnnies appear to be on the outside looking in right now, but they will definitely have their opportunities between now and the end of the year to get to where they need to be.

-LOUISIANA TECH AT SOUTHERN MISS (Conference USA).  This LA Tech team is someone we’ve mentioned on the Under the Radar podcast a lot.  I know the path to landing inside the bubble is long and narrow, but there may actually be one if they can continue to blow through CUSA.