NEWS AND NOTES:
-The spotlight game of the day ended up being probably the best game of the day. I hope those in the east were able to stay up and watch it. Houston and Alabama was an absolute battle between two top ten caliber teams that both have a chance at ending up on the #1 line. Houston didn’t win the game, but top ten teams simply don’t lose at home. To anyone. The teams that end up on the #1 and #2 lines will in a normal year have less than five total losses at home combined, and with the kinds of wins that Alabama has (particularly against Gonzaga in Seattle), their top ten ranking is well deserved. Houston went in there and nearly beat them. They came so close to beating them that had a questionable no-call on a goaltend at the end been called, Houston would have won. On paper that would have been huge and been the kind of win that can get a team a #1, but the fact that it wasn’t called does not change how good Houston actually is on the court. They are damn good! Again! And…so is Bama. This was a GREAT game!
-The biggest surprise of the day was Kentucky losing at Notre Dame. Notre Dame was at home, and Kentucky hadn’t played a true road game yet, but still all indicators were that Kentucky was really good and Notre Dame…well…wasn’t. It was close the entire way, and I kept waiting for (and expecting) Kentucky to get control of the game. But…it never happened, and ND ended up with a 66-62 win after scoring a go-ahead basket in the final seconds, and then getting a transition dunk as time expired. So…a box that Kentucky still needs to check is that they have not yet won a true road game.
-Arizona has been as impressive as hell this year. They got another big win as they traveled to Illinois and beat a pretty good (or at least talented) Illini team 83-79
-UCLA got another nice win as they knocked off Marquette on the road. The game was played at a later time than originally scheduled due to travel delays, but UCLA still got it done.
-Minnesota, who we had no expectations for whatsoever this year, and even with a solid 7-1 record still weren’t paying all that much attention to, went into Michigan eysterday and completely controlled the second half in their 75-65 win. Two things to take out of this game…Minney is for real, and Michigan is not.
-The Border War resumed yesterday!! It was more of a massacre than a war. Kansas blasted Missouri into the sun with a 102-65 win.
-Oklahoma “upest” 12th ranked Arkansas in OKC yesterday. The game was such a blowout that you can’t help but wonder if it really was an upset. Arkansas had looked pretty good coming into yesterday, but Oklahoma just looked better in nearly every aspect and probably deserves more national love than what they’ve been getting.
-Neither Saint Bonaventure or UConn were at full strength for their match-up yesterday, but it was still another nice win for UConn. The Bonnies will likely blow through the A10 and land safely inside the bubble, but the chances of them getting a protected seed are small.
-Creighton dominated BYU for most of the game, and even though BYU made the final score look somewhat respectable, at no point were they actually in the game. Creighton is one of many Big East teams that has outperformed their preseason expectations.
-Georgetown knocked off Syracuse at home. This is a rivalry from the Classic Big East days, and this edition of the game did not disappoint. It did, however, make it appear that neither of these teams belong inside the bubble. Both have work to do.
-Colorado State remains unbeaten after knocking off a pretty solid Mississippi State team 66-63. The Rams will likely crack the rankings next week, and will likely stay there for the remainder of the year.
-Drake needed a win at Clemson. Drake trailed for most of the game, but came back to force overtime. Drake did not win in overtime. They are in trouble. At 6-4 overall with several missed opportunities, that just isn’t good enough for a UTR team to land inside the bubble.
-South Dakota State knocked off Washington State with a 3pt shot at the buzzer for a 77-74 win. It’s a big win for South Dakota State who is a really good UTR team, and while it’s probably an ego-bruising loss for Wazzu, they’re still in good shape overall.
-TCU is now 8-1 on the year after their win against Texas A&M in Houston. They haven’t played the toughest of schedules, but beating TAMU on a neutral floor is certainly noteworthy.
-Fresno State is now 8-2 on the year after beating a pretty good UC Irvine team. It was a home win, and nothing on Fresno State’s resume screams protected seed, but they’re still shaping up to be a good team that we need to keep an eye on.
-Xavier blasted Cincinnati in their rivalry game to improve to 9-1 on the year (with 7 wins coming at home). X hasn’t exactly been a road warrior this year, but they still have some notable wins against good teams (albeit at home) and their only loss on the year was to a very good Iowa State team.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-VILLANOVA AT BAYLOR (***Spotlight Game***). Villanova is playing yet another top ten team. Away from home. It’s just what they do this year. Both these teams are potential #1 seeds, which means this is an important game in regards to this bieng an opportunity for a huge quality win.
-FORDHAM AT MIAMI FL. Fordham is 7-4 on the year, which is tons better than what they normally are. Miami is a respectable 7-3 and needs to string together some wins to get on the map.
-FLORIDA STATE AT SOUTH CAROLINA. This would be a notable road win (at least for now) for a Florida State team that could really use some good things on their resume right about now.
-PURDUE VS NC STATE (Basketball Hall of Fame). Purdue is looking to bounce back from their loss at Rutgers, which they should be able to do. NC State is a decent 7-2, but they haven’t won any games anywhere close to the caliber of what this would be. If they were to pull this off it would suddenly catapult them onto the national scene.
-VIRGINIA TECH AT DAYTON. You get the sense that both of these teams have potential, but that both also have a lot of catching up to do, which means both should be coming into this one with a sense of urgency.
-KENT STATE AT WEST VIRGINIA. It’s a buy game, but it is one that could be reasonably competitive.
-FLORIDA VS MARYLAND (Basketball Hall of Fame Invitational). Maryland is going in the wrong direction and while Florida is still in good shape, they’re also still trying to wash the taste of the loss to Texas Southern out of their mouths. A win in a game like this could do that.
-OREGON AT STANFORD (Pac 12). Oregon is a team we were all big on at the beginning of the year, and they still have a ton of potential, but they need to hit the gas and start winning. They kind of need this one against a Stanford team that is probably ending up outside the bubble.
-IONA VS YALE (Basketball Hall of Fame Invitational). Iona is a team that we need to think of as a tournament caliber team. This will give them another win away from home on their resume, but it still won’t move the needle all that much.
-MONMOUTH AT PITTSBURGH. Monmouth missed an opportunity to get a notable win at Saint John’s earlier this week. We highlight this not because winning at Pitt is notable for a tournament caliber team, but because losing at Pitt is a bad loss for a team that’s trying to land inside the bubble.
-RUTGERS AT SETON HALL. Both of these teams are coming off wins against top ten teams at home. and it’s also a rivalry. Rutgers still hasn’t won a road game yet, but if they win this one, and secure their second top 25 win in just one week with one of them was against the top ranked tam, and the other being on the road…THAT’S A HELL OF A WEEK!!
BUY GAMES (or games that might as well be):
-Merrimack @ Indiana
-Colgate @ Saint John’s
-Jackson State @ Iowa State
-Wofford @ Coastal Carolina – if Wofford has any shot at all at landing on the bubble, they basically need to win out
-Tennessee Wesleyan (nonD1) @ Chattanooga
-Millsaps (nonD1) @ UAB
-NJIT @ Northwestern
-Long Beach State @ USC
-Green Bay @ Kansas State
