Hoops HD

NEWS AND NOTES:

-Top ranked Michigan got a big scare at Penn State. In fact Penn State had a chance to tie or win on their last possession (which was a little disappointing on the part of Penn State given how well Penn State played up until the last possession), but Michigan escaped. This was the first game for Michigan that wasn’t a complete blowout since mid-November.

-Houston and Texas Tech was once again a battle. The entire game seemed to be played within an 8pt window with neither team building up more than a two possession lead. Houston made some big plays in the final minute and held on for a massive 69-65 win. As for Texas Tech, they battled in one of the toughest places to play in the country and had a chance to win. I think they’re fine.

-TCU had a double digit lead on the road at Kansas in the second half, and had a 9pt lead with just over a minute to go, but fell apart at the end of regulation after having played such a great game up to that point. Kansas somehow got it to overtime and then once they did they took control and escaped with a 104-100 win.

-The game that won the award for most controversial last night was Auburn v Texas A&M. Auburn hit what appeared to be a game winning shot right at the buzzer after having just 0.6 seconds to even get a shot up. The shot initially counted. After they reviewed it, they waived it off and TAMU escaped. Auburn’s fans were understandably not thrilled. It was about as close as it could have been, but I think the referees got it right and here is why. The only real official clock is the one that is at the scorer’s table. Any timekeeper will tell you that the other clocks in the arenas, and by that I mean EVERY arena, will always be a few milliseconds off. They’re never all absolutely precisely synced down to the thousandth (0.001) of a second because they can’t be. The game officially ends when the light comes on behind the backboard. Sometimes this happens while some of the arena clocks still show a tenth of a second remaining. And, that’s what happened. Now, this is normally not that big of an issue because the human eye can’t even tell they’re not in perfect sync down to the thousandth of a second. You can watch ten thousand games and never see an ending where it is that close, but last night’s was.

-Louisville jumped on Duke in the first half, but then went ice cold in the second half. Duke ended up pulling away and got a big 84-73 win on the road.

-Florida, who lost on the road to Missouri over the weekend, bounced back with a big home win over Georgia. This game probably does as much for their confidence and momentum as it does for their profile.

-UCF, after getting a big win against Kansas over the weekend, could not get it done at Oklahoma State and fell on the road 87-76. Oklahoma State is now 13-2 on the year and starting to show some signs of life themselves.

-Saint John’s went on the road and got a win they really needed at Butler 84-70. The Johnnies struggled in the first half but got control of the game in the second half. Butler is in serious trouble and may be neutered for all intents and purposes since the Big East won’t offer many opportunities for the Dawgs to catch up.

-Iowa fell to Minnesota 70-67 after being behind for most of the game in what looked to be a winnable road game for the Hawkeyes. Iowa has a ton of potential, but right now their profile is kind of meh.

-LSU stubbed their toes at home and lost 78-68 to South Carolina. The Tigers actually trailed by 25 at the half.

-New Mexico picked up a nice road win at Colorado State to improve to 12-3 overall and a solid 3-1 in Mountain West play.

.

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:

-SAINT LOUIS AT VCU (Atlantic 10). This is perhaps the toughest test of the year so far for SLU. VCU has dropped four games, but three were close ones against solid opponents. They’ve been looking better and will not be easy to beat at home. SLU actually needs a win like this in order to strengthen their profile, so it’s both a tough test and a big opportunity.

-MIAMI FL AT WAKE FOREST (ACC). I highlight this because right now it just feels like a bubblicious type of game between two teams that have shown they can play well, but who need to strengthen their resumes and who could both really use this win tonight.

-STANFORD AT VIRGINIA TECH (ACC). This is another game between two teams that have shown a lot of promise and who have picked up some notable wins, but who also still have a lot of work to do and who could really use this win tonight. Stanford is starting a rough stretch of their schedule, so picking up this win and a few more will really make their profile look a lot better.

-MISSOURI AT KENTUCKY (SEC). Neither team has a strong profile and while Mizzou did pick up a nice win against Florida in their last game they still need to add a lot to their resume in order to be seriously considered. Kentucky’s resume is really weak as well. This game seems to feel like it’s more about avoiding a loss than it is picking up a big win.

-CREIGHTON AT VILLANOVA (Big East). Nova is having a fantastic season. While Creighton is starting to play a little better and is off to a solid 3-1 start in conference play, they still have a lot of work to do. A road win tonight would be huge, but it’s also not going to be easy.

-IOWA STATE AT BAYLOR (Big 12). This is a road test for the Cyclones, but they’ve passed some tough road tests already and should be able to get this one. Baylor needs to build up their profile some, and a big win like this would certainly do the trick.

-ALABAMA AT VANDERBILT (SEC). Both teams are protected-seed caliber teams and Vandy is still unbeaten on the season. They’ll be tested tonight at home, but they are at home. Sometimes when a team relies as much on the 3 as Alabama does, it’s hard for them to go on the road and win against a good defensive team. It will be fun to see what happens tonight.

-CALIFORNIA AT VIRGINIA (ACC). Cal has some decent wins on their profile and making the NCAA Tournament is definitely within reach. They can really boost up their profile if they’re somehow able to get this one on the road.

-SMU AT CLEMSON. SMU is coming off a big home win against North Carolina, but they’re just 1-1 in true road games and will likely face an even tougher test tonight. Clemson may not be as good as the Tarheels, but winning at Clemson is probably harder to do than it is to beat North Carolina at home, so it’s a big test for the Ponies.

OTHER NOTABLE GAMES:

-Indiana @ Maryland (Big Ten) – Indiana is starting to string together wins and they need to keep it up. This is a road game, but it’s one they should get and kind of need to get

-Connecticut @ Providence (Big East) – UConn is in the hunt for a 1-seed and while Providence is coming off a nice win against Saint John’s and should have some momentum built up for this one at home, it’s one UConn should still win

-Belmont @ Northern Iowa (Missouri Valley) – these are two of the better teams in the MVC and both could potentially be dangerous in the Round of 64. Belmont’s last two losses have been by a single point, so a win like this on the road would be big

-Richmond @ Saint Bonaventure (Atlantic 10) – both teams have respectable records, but both need to build up their profiles and have a razor thin margin for error when it comes to landing inside the bubble

-George Mason @ Fordham (Atlantic 10) – this should be a winnable road game for Mason and improve them to 15-1 on the season

-Oklahoma @ Mississippi State (SEC) – The Sooners have won five straight, but only have one true road win so far. They should be able to pick up their second one tonight

-Washington @ Purdue (Big Ten) – Purdue should be able to hold serve at home. Washington can boost their profile up into orbit if they’re somehow able to win this, but it isn’t likely

-Kansas State @ Arizona (Big 12) – Arizona shouldn’t have too much trouble holding serve at home

-Arizona State @ BYU (Big 12) – BYU is having an amazing year and while Arizona State looked good at times during the OOC portion of the season, they have fallen back to Earth and may end up getting buried under it tonight

-Arkansas @ Ole Miss (SEC) – it’s never easy to win on the road, but this is one that Arkansas should be able to get

-Utah @ Colorado (Big 12) – the Buffs have work to do and they need to hold serve at home tonight

PILLOW FIGHT OF THE NIGHT

-Xavier @ Marquette (Big East) – 3 years ago, this was the Big East championship game. Now it’s looking more and more like a battle for 10th place.

To watch our latest HOOPS HD REPORT Video Podcast – CLICK HERE

NEWS AND NOTES:

-Nebraska is still unbeaten and is now (deservedly) ranked in the top ten. They got a battle from Ohio State last night, but held them off 72-69.

-Michigan State did not get a battle from USC. They really didn’t even get a pillow fight. They absolutely blew out the Trojans 80-51. This was the second game in a row where USC was completely blown out of the state of Michigan.

-McNeese had to come from behind to beat Stephen F Austin at home, but they escaped with a 66-64 win. SFA is a good team, but if McNeese is a top 40 caliber team they shouldn’t have had to sweat that much at home against them.

.

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:

-TEXAS TECH AT HOUSTON (Big 12) (***Spotlight Game***). Both teams have had good seasons so far, but you also get the sense that both have improved as the season has gone on and that the games they lost prior to now they’d likely win if they were to replay them now. Texas Tech knocked off Duke in NYC while Houston’s only loss was a close one to Tennessee back over Thanksgiving. This one should be a fun one tonight. Both are capable of making the Final Four.

-DUKE AT LOUISVILLE (ACC). Louisville has been kind of meh on the road this year, but they’ve been fantastic at home. Duke comes in with just one loss on the entire season, but this would still be one of their biggest overall wins if they can pull it off. Both teams are in the rankings, Louisville is competing for a protected seed and Duke is competing for a 1-seed.

-GEORGIA AT FLORIDA (SEC). Both teams could use this win for different reasons. Georgia has only played one true road game so adding a conference road win to their profile will make it look a lot better. Florida is just 9-5, but all of their losses have been close games and most have been against really good teams, so they need a win just to get things kickstarted and to try and build up some momentum.

-SAINT JOHN’S AT BUTLER (Big East). Both these teams have work to do and both should have a sense of urgency coming into this one. The Johnnies are just 9-5 and if they don’t start stringing wins together soon they won’t make the field at all. Butler has been solid and still has a chance of making The Dance, but they have more work to do and a win today would help.

-UCF AT OKLAHOMA STATE (Big 12). UCF just picked up the huge win against Kansas, but they need to get their feet back on the ground because they’re going on the road to Oklahoma State who is 12-2 overall, a perfect 10-0 at home, and who could really use this win themselves. There is something at stake for each team in this one

-TCU @ KANSAS (Big 12). Kansas is looking to bounce back from a tough road loss at UCF and get themselves right again. TCU is a good team that’s looking for a signature win. While TCU is good, and while they appear to be getting better, I don’t know if they’re quite good enough to pull this one off, but we shall see.

-NEW MEXICO AT COLORADO STATE (Mountain West). I’m highlighting this only because New Mexico is right on the bubble and they need to win games that are hard to win in order to land inside of it. This game, being on the road against a pretty good team, qualifies as a hard game to win.

-UCLA AT WISCONSIN (Big Ten). Both teams should have a huge sense of urgency coming into this one because both have a ton of work to do and both could really use this one tonight.

-TEXAS A&M AT AUBURN (SEC). Auburn has a lot of work to do and they’re coming off a really tough multi-overtime loss to rival Georgia. I do think the Tigers are getting better, but they need to start winning. Texas A&M has a bloated record, but they don’t have any wins that are nearly as good as this one would be, so they also have a lot to play for.

OTHER NOTABLE GAMES:

-Michigan @ Penn State (Big Ten) – Michigan has just been bulldozing everyone and I expect for that to continue tonight

-Western Michigan @ Miami OH (MAC) – Miami should be able to hold serve at home and remain unbeaten on the year

-South Carolina @ LSU (SEC) – LSU is having a big year and should hold serve at home

-Iowa @ Minnesota (Big Ten) – Iowa is an impressive 12-2 and is climbing the rankings. They don’t have much on their resume yet because the schedule is backloaded, but they should be able to add a conference road win to it tonight

-George Washington @ Dayton (Atlantic 10) – neither team is inside our bubble, or for that matter even on our board, but these were two of our favorites in the preseason to win the A10 and both still have a path (albeit a very steep one) to get there if they can blow through the league

-Texas @ Tennessee (SEC) – Texas has struggled this year and needs a win like this in order to get things turned back around. Having said that, games like this are incredibly difficult to win. Tennessee is having a solid year and should hold serve at home

-NC State @ Boston College (ACC) – it’s a road game, but it’s one that NC State should easily win. They need to hold serve in this one

-Utah State @ Air Force (Mountain West) – Utah State can get to 13-1 on the year with a win

-San Diego State @ Nevada (Mountain West) – if either team is going to make a run at the bubble then they need to start stringing together wins

We recorded our first HOOPS HD BRACKET RUNDOWN Video Podcast of the season. To watch us build the seedlist line by line – CLICK HERE

NEWS AND NOTES:

-Seton Hall had another crazy late game comeback, this time against Creighton, and picked up a 56-54 win. Seton Hall was squarely in our field last night, but it is fair to start to wonder how many games like this they can continue to pull out.

-Tulsa suffered just their second loss of the season as they fell at North Texas 72-67. The game was close all throughout, and it is not easy to win at North Texas, but I’d still say this was a damaging loss for Tulsa. In order to land inside the bubble a team must win games that are hard to win. Tulsa just hasn’t played that tough of a schedule and they needed this win yesterday to show they can win at a place like North Texas, which is legit hard to win at.

-Belmont has now lost two of their last three games and each of those losses was by a single point. Still, these were the kinds of games they needed to win in order to land inside the bubble. Yesterday’s 68-67 home loss to Southern Illinois may sink them.

-Indiana held serve at home against Washington with a 90-80 win and improved to 11-3 on the year. I’m still not sold on the Hoosiers, but I’m not ready to sell them off myself yet either.

.

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES

-NEBRASKA AT OHIO STATE (Big Ten). It’s another tough road test for Nebraska, who is having an amazing year, but who we are still learning about. If they really are one of the 15 best teams in the country then they should be able to win a game like this. Ohio State was outside of our bubble last night, but they are definitely close enough to it to reach it if they can start stringing together wins. This is a big opportunity for them tonight.

-USC AT MICHIGAN STATE (Big Ten). USC really got their noses bloodied by Michigan in thier last game, but that seemingly happens to everyone Michigan faces. Michigan State is also coming off a tough lost to Nebraska and is looking to bounce back, so both these teams should be hungry tonight

-STEPHEN F AUSTIN AT MCNEESE (Southland). These are probably the two best teams in the Southland and if McNeese can win out (which they are good enough to do) we could see them inside the bubble.

-Yale @ Brown (Ivy League) – in order for Yale to have any shot at all of landing inside the bubble they pretty much need to run the table in the Ivy League, which they are certainly good enough to do

-William & Mary @ Charleston (CAA) – these are potentially two favorites to win the CAA, so it should be a fun one tonight