Chad is joined by a full panel, and they run through all of the major conferences. The SEC now has two #1 teams with Auburn being ranked atop the AP Poll and Alabama being ranked atop the Coaches Poll. Florida scored a huge win over Auburn, which is probably the most impressive singular win that any team has managed so far. Purdue continues to make a lot of noise in the Big Ten and is looking as good as anyone in the country. Arizona is as hot as anyone in the country right now and is atop the Big 12, Saint John’s is now sitting atop the Big East after a big win at UConn, and San Francisco has a huge game coming up against Gonzaga that could put them inside the bubble. We discuss all that, and more!
And, for all you radio lovers, below is an audio only version of the show…
-For the HOOPS HD SURVIVAL BOARD, which tracks who’s locked, who’s under consideration, and who needs the auto-bid to make it – CLICK HERE
-Xavier needed a win at Villanova yesterday and didn’t get it. Villanova pulled away in the latter part of the second half and was in complete control by the end of the game with an 80-68 win. It would take a huge turn in fortune for Xavier in order for them to reach the field now.
-Nebraska held off Ohio State for a big 79-71 win that both teams really needed. I think both are inside the bubble for now, but both need to continue to hold serve, and both have tough schedules remaining between now and the end.
-NORTH CAROLINA AT CLEMSON (ACC). Clemson needs to get their feet back on the ground after their big win against Duke on Saturday and refocus on tonight. North Carolina is outside the bubble and needs a win like this just to get themselves into the picture.
-BAYLOR AT HOUSTON (Big 12). Baylor is in the 7-10 seed range right now, but has battled injuries and has time to grow their profile between now and the end. A win tonight would be a huge step toward doing that, but it won’t be easy. Houston looks to be on solid pace for a protected seed, and could perhaps still reach the 1-line depending on how things play out.
Chad is joined by David Griggs and Jon Teitel, and the three of them build this week’s seedlist line by line! They debate, discuss, assess, and argue about each team as they go. Find out who they have on the #1 lines so far, who is safely in, who still has work to do, and who on the bubble just made it in and just missed it.
Below is a final copy of The Bracket, but don’t look at it until you’ve watched the show!!
And, for all you radio lovers, below is an audio only version of the show…
We are only 5 weeks away from Selection Sunday as we begin to make our NCAA tourney predictions. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel correctly picked 67 of the 68 teams that made the 2024 tourney: 62 of his 67 were within 1 spot of their actual seed and 41 were right on the money. He will spend the upcoming months predicting which 68 teams will hear their names called on March 16th. 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 he stacks up with other websites (ranked 7th out of 179 bracket veterans over the past 5 years), check out: www.bracketmatrix.com
SEED: TEAM (CONFERENCE) 1: Auburn (SEC) 1: Alabama (SEC) 1: Duke (ACC) 1: Tennessee (SEC)
-I’m fully prepared to hear all about how I said Florida was being overvalued from the rest of Hoops HD. Yesterday they pulled off the single most impressive win of the season. They beat the best team in the country on their floor. A win cannot possibly get any bigger than that. And, while it wasn’t a blowout, the Gators really didn’t even have to sweat at any point in the second half. It was just an unbelievably impressive showing for the Gators 90-81 win.
-Duke went in to Clemson and came up short. I still think Duke is the better team, but Clemson’s fans were jacked up and once Clemson got the lead in the second half they rode that momentum to one of their biggest wins of the year as they held off the 2nd ranked Blue Devils 77-71.
-Alabama was blowing Arkansas off the floor, but the Razorbacks had a huge run in the second half and nearly came all the way back to win it, but fell just short 85-81. This really was a good win for the Crimson Tide considering how well Arkansas had been playing lately and that it was on the road.
-Oregon’s losing streak has grown to five games. While none of those losses were overly damaging in and of themselves, all five added together certainly are. Michigan State held off the Ducks 86-74 to snap a two game losing streak of their own.
-Texas A&M and Missouri put on a show!! It was one of the more exciting and well played games of the day as the two went back and forth. Both teams are within reach of a protected seed, and it ended with TAMU getting one of their biggest wins of the year as they beat Mizzou on the road 67-64 in a game that came down to the final seconds.
-Marquette, who was riding really high, is still riding relatively high but not quite as high as they were before losing three straight. They fell on the road 77-67 to a Creighton team that is among the hottest in the nation and who should be shooting up the seedlist themselves.
-Arizona continues to look like one of the best teams in the country. They didn’t look that way prior to conference play, but since Big 12 play started they just keep winning and winning and doing so against really good teams. They knocked off Texas Tech 82-73 last night and continue to boost their metrics and climb the seedlist.
-Kansas State has now won five straight, and not just that but beat some pretty good teams in that stretch. They held off rivals Kansas 81-73 yesterday on their home court. Kansas, while good, has struggled in true road games this season, but it’s still a huge win for the Wildcats.
-Mississippi State needed a big win yesterday and got it at Georgia 76-75. They were in a stretch where they had lost five out of seven and really needed a win like this. Georgia has now dropped six of their last eight and may be in real trouble. Their schedule isn’t getting any easier with four straight top 15 teams coming up.
-Vanderbilt picked up an 86-78 home win over Texas that they really needed. Both of these teams were hovering around the bubble and could have really used this one. Things aren’t getting easier for Texas as their next two are against Alabama and Kentucky.
-UCF, who can’t seem to beat teams that are actually inside the bubble, fell short again yesterday. Baylor got the big 91-76 win and breathed easy all throughout. UCF is running out of chances as they are now just 13-10 on the year.
-Pittsburgh may be all but done. They fell on the road to North Carolina yesterday 67-66. The way it’s looking I don’t expect either one of these teams to land inside the bubble.
-BYU, who appeared to be playing their way onto the bubble prior to yesterday, did not appear to be doing that yesterday. Cincinnati blew the Cougars off the court 84-66.
-Last, but not least, in what was perhaps one of the bigger surprises of the day, UC San Diego blew UC Irvine out of their own gym. We knew UCSD was good, but we didn’t think they’d be good enough to just run UC Irvine over on their own floor. UCSD now has road wins at Utah State and at UC Irvine. Those two teams are a combined 17-3 at home, and UC San Diego accounts for two of those three losses. They BETTER be on the committee’s radar!! Are you guys reading this??
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HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-RUTGERS AT MARYLAND (Big Ten). Maryland is coming off a close loss to Ohio State, but overall their profile has really gotten better. They should be able to hold serve against Rutgers at home today.
-XAVIER AT VILLANOVA (Big East). Xavier is right on the bubble, so every game has a pivotal feel to it. If they win, it’s a big win on the road against a not great but still solid Villanova team. If they lose, then it means another loss on their profile to a team that’s currently not inside the bubble.
-TEMPLE AT MEMPHIS (American). Memphis’s only conference loss from earlier in the year as to Temple. They can get some revenge for that, bounce back, and keep themselves on pace for a potential protected seed.
-OHIO STATE AT NEBRASKA (Big Ten). This is another super bubblicious game. Both teams appear to be squarely on it, and it feels like a hugely pivotal game for both of them. Both have some good wins, but both still have a lot of work to do.
HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel will spend the upcoming months covering several Georgetown basketball home games, with (hopefully) a very special reward coming in March. He was in attendance Saturday afternoon at Capital 1 Arena and prepared this photo essay about the Hoyas’ matchup against Seton Hall. If you would like to check out his prior coverage, please go to:
Another solid pregame meal: Chick-fil-A sausage biscuit/nuggets/fruit. Today was Georgetown’s “Pink Game” in support of those battling cancer:
Even the mascot got in on the pink action:
Let’s tip it off:
Last week we learned that both Leonard Hamilton/Mike Woodson will not be returning to their teams next season, but at least this game features a pair of African-American coaches facing off during Black History Month (Shaheen Holloway on the left and Ed Cooley on the right):
The Pirates have been bit by the injury bug this month and were playing without 4 members of their regular rotation: Chaunce Jenkins/Dylan Addae-Wusu/Scotty Middleton/Emmanuel Okorafor. However, they were able to hang around for a half due in large part to SO G Isaiah Coleman, who made a pair of jump shots and a 3:
Georgetown was relatively healthy and looked to its 2 stars to save the day. FR Thomas Sorber dominated the paint with several layups and a dunk and looked well on his way to becoming a Freshman All-American next month:
SR Micah Peavy made a corner 3 and several long jumpers en route to a 15-PT 1st half that helped the Hoyas build a 34-26 halftime lead:
Coleman only scored 2 PTS in a 30-PT home loss to Butler last Wednesday but bounced back in a big way to finish with a team-high 21 PTS. Sadly, none of his teammates scored more than 8 while Georgetown kept the pedal to the metal. Peavy got it done on both ends of the court with 22 PTS/3 STL, Sorber became the 1st FR this season to have 8 double-double, and the Hoyas had the home crowd feeling happy with a 60-46 victory.
Seton Hall skipped the postgame press conference, but while Sorber was reviewing his stats I was able to ask him if he had a Super Bowl prediction. As he grew up about 30 miles away from Philly in Trenton, NJ, he smiled and answered exactly as you would expect with “Fly Eagles Fly!”, as he thinks his team in green will get its revenge against the Chiefs:
That is a wrap for now but check back later this month when Providence visits DC to face their former coach.
