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HAPPY MARCH MADNESS EVERYBODY!!!!  It’s not March yet, but conference tournaments do tip off tonight, so as far as we are concerned, IT IS MARCH!!

CLICK HERE for our first installment of our CHAMPIONSHIP WEEK VIDEO NOTEBOOK, as well as our most recent UNDER THE RADAR video podcast

NEWS AND NOTES

-For Chad Sherwood’s UTR Game of the Day between Belmont and Eastern Kentucky – CLICK HERE

-The game of the night was Alabama at Arkansas, and the Razorbacks certainly showed they can play with top ten teams.  They were basically in control for the whole game, and whenever Alabama would make a run at them they’d answer.  They ended with a very impressive 81-66 in (the margin was widened with a lot of late freetrhows in the final couple minutes).  Arkansas is playing their best basketball of the season at exactly the right time.

-Virginia has had a few head scratching losses this season, and we saw another one last night as they feel at home to an NC State team that’s nowhere near making the field.  It’s a bit of a setback for the Hoos, and may knock them down the seedlist a bit, but they’re still in good shape overall.   Speaking of head scratching losses….

-North Carolina was basically run off their own floor by Marquette last night.  The final score was 83-70, but the margin for most of the second half was a lot more than that.  Marquette is nowhere near the field, and is just 11-12 overall for the season, but they have perhaps the most impressive slate of wins that any non-tournament team has ever had.  They’ve beaten Wisconsin, Creighton, and won handily at North Carolina.

-Clemson went into Wake Forest and won 60-39.  That isn’t too important in and of itself other than that it is just the second true road win of the season for Clemson, so I think it did help them out some.

-Saint Bonaventure picked up nice (and hard fought) win at Davidson 56-53.  If the Bonnies can hold serve, which basically means winning nearly all of their remaining games, then they should be relatively safe for a bid.

-Seton Hall did what no bubble team should ever do, and that’s lose to a team that’s having a lousy season.  They fell to Butler last night 61-52, and that one is gonna leave a mark!

-Indiana is in real trouble.  They looked good for the first ten minutes or so against Rutgers, but looked absolutely lousy after that as Rutgers basically blew them off the floor.  The Scarlet Knights’ NCAA Tournament drought will almost assuredly end this year, unless the tournament is cancelled again for whatever reason.

-Xavier is in trouble.  They are squarely on the bubble and were beaten rather handily by a Providence team that is squarely outside the bubble.  They need some big wins between now and the end in order to feel safe.

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES

-GONZAGA AT SANTA CLARA (West Coast).  Gonzaga is cruising to a #1 seed and continues to hold on to the overall #1 ranking in both polls.

-IOWA AT MICHIGAN (Big Ten).  Both teams are ranked in the top ten, and Michigan appears to be on pace to lock up a #1 seed, especially if they can continue to win games like this.  I’ve been impressed with how Iowa has played in their last few games, but they will need to play at a very high level to beat a #1 caliber seeded team on the road.

-NEBRASKA AT ILLINOIS (Big Ten).  Illinois is coming off a rather surprising loss to Michigan State.  They had been on an absolute rampage before that.  This should be an easy bounce back game for them.

-WESTERN KENTUCKY AT HOUSTON.  This is a HUGE opportunity for both teams, and it’s great for both of them that it got scheduled.  For Houston, it’s a chance to add another solid win to their resume.  For WKU, it’s a chance to pretty much lock up a spot inside the bubble, and even if they don’t win the game they should be able to improve their adjusted efficiency numbers a little bit and and give their NET a bit of a nudge.

-UCLA AT UTAH (Pac 12).  This isn’t the easiest road trip in the world to make, but for a team that appears to be good enough to land in the top half of the bracket like UCLA it’s a game they should be able to win.

-BELMONT AT EASTERN KENTUCKY (Ohio Valley).  I think Belmont needs to win out to have any sort of a shot at an at-large, and even if they do win out that still might not be enough, but they will at least be in the conversation.

-OHIO STATE AT MICHIGAN STATE (Big Ten).  Michigan State surprised Illinois in their last game, so the Buckeyes don’t want to overlook them.  It’s a good chance to pick up a solid road win after falling to Michigan over the weekend and keep themselves well on pace to earn a #1 seed.

-USC AT COLORADO (Pac 12).  Both are probable tournament teams, but both could also climb the seedlist with a win tonight.  USC is still within reach of a protected seed if they can finish strong.

-BOISE STATE AT SAN DIEGO STATE (Mountain West).  This game is hugely important for both teams.  Both are looking to lock up tournament bids, and while it’s possible that both will make it, if one of these teams can sweep this series they’ll be breathing a lot easier.

-SAN FRANCISCO AT BYU (West Coast).  BYU just needs to hold serve the rest of the way and they should be fine for a bid.  They’ve actually got a solid chance of landing in the top half of the bracket.

-OREGON AT STANFORD (Pac 12).  Both teams appear to be inside the bubble, but neither look like they are in the top half of the bracket, and both are still in a situation to where they could slide outside of it.  This is a huge opportunity for both teams, and both need to come in with a sense of urgency.

-NORTHWESTERN AT MINNESOTA (Big Ten).  It’s the same story with Minnesota.  They have some great wins at home, but that in and of itself may not be enough.  A home loss in a game like this would really sink them.

NEWS AND NOTES

-For Chad Sherwood’s UTR Game of the Day – CLICK HERE

-It was a pretty crazy night with two top ten teams losing to opponents who are nowhere near the bubble, and Baylor trailing for most of the game against Iowa State before finally getting control of it in the final minute of play.

-Illinois wasn’t as lucky.  Just the other night we were talking about how well they were playing and discussing how we thought they could end up on the #1 line.  Then they go out and pretty much get handled by a Michigan State team that almost no one thinks is in the field right now.  It wasn’t a backbreaking loss by any means, and there is a good chance they still end up on the #2 line, but it was a bit of a surprise.  Sparty may have opened a path for themselves to make the field, but they’ve still got a ton of work to do between now and the end.

-Oklahoma had an even more inexplicable loss.  They fell 62-57 to a Kansas State team that hasn’t looked any good at all at any point this season.  Like Illinois, Oklahoma was really playing well.  Again, it’s much more of a surprise than a setback.  The Sooners will still likely end up as a protected seed and will have multiple chances to make up for it.

-Virginia Tech was another ranked team that went down in a bit of a surprising result.  Georgia Tech just walked all over the Hokies last night 69-53.  Georgia Tech has looked really good at times, and they still may have a path to the NCAA Tournament, but they will really need to finish strong and play well in the conference tournament in order to get there.

-Texas picked up a big win over Kansas in what was probably the game of the night.  IT was close all throughout and it actually went into overtime.  Kansas had gone through a slump back in January, but they had totally pulled out of it and were playing really well heading into this one.  Texas was coming off a close loss to a very good West Virginia in a game that was equally as exciting.  They ended up on the right side of it last night.  Both teams will likely end up as protected seeds.

-Ole Miss bounced back from their loss to Mississippi State to pick up another big win last night, and take another big step toward making the NCAA Tournament.  They went on the road and knocked off Missouri (who has hit a bit of a tailspin themselves) 60-53.

-LSU, who had been playing really well and appeared to be making a case that they were a solid tournament team, did not play really well yesterday.  They fell to a Georgia team that nearly everyone was expecting them to beat 91-78

-Richmond and VCU, two bubble teams in the Atlantic Ten, picked up wins yesterday as well.

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES

-CLEMSON AT WAKE FOREST (ACC).  Clemson is in really good shape right now, since they only have one true road win on the season a win today could help improve their resume even though it doesn’t seem like it would be that big of a win on paper.  Doubling their total number of road wins is at least something.

-SAINT BONAVENTURE AT DAVIDSON (Atlantic Ten).  Every remaining game will feel like a big game for the Bonnies because they may have a smaller margin for error when it comes to proving themselves because they played in fewer games.

-NC STATE AT VIRGINIA (ACC).  Virginia has lost two straight and needs this one more as a bounce back win than they do anything else.  So long as they don’t go into a complete tailspin they should end up as a protected seed.

-MARQUETTE AT NORTH CAROLINA (ACC).  North Carolina is coming off a blowout win against Louisville and is in a stretch where they’re playing better now than they have all season.  This is another winnable home game for them.

-SETON HALL AT BUTLER (Big East).  Seton Hall continues to hover around our bubble, and around a lot of other people’s bubbles as well.  They need to hold serve in games like this in order to stay on the right side of it.

-INDIANA AT RUTGERS (Big Ten).  It’s getting close to panic time for Indiana.  They’ve got four tough games remaining in the regular season and they probably need to win at least two of them to feel completely safe.  Rutgers is in better shape, but they could still use a few wins themselves, so both teams have quite a bit to play for tonight.

-FLORIDA STATE AT MIAMI FL (ACC).  Florida State seems to be playing as well as anyone in the ACC, and this game should be a layup win for them, but it is a road game and it is against a rival, so they better not completely overlook them.

-ALABAMA AT ARKANSAS (SEC).  This should be the game of the night.  Both teams are in a stretch where they are playing great basketball.  Alabama has already established themselves as a top ten team, and while Arkansas didn’t really get rolling until the last week or two, they can show that they are capable of beating highly ranked teams tonight,w which would give their resume a huge boost.

-DEPAUL AT CREIGHTON (Big East).  If Creighton can finish strong they’ll have a strong case for a protected seed.  They are pretty much a lock for the NCAA Tournament no matter what happens, but they could certainly slide down the seedlist if they go into a tailspin.

-TENNESSEE AT VANDERBILT (SEC).  Tennessee is slumping.  They’re in no danger of missing the field, but they’ve lost two of their last three and just haven’t looked like a solid protected seed ont he court for a while now.  Perhaps a road win against a rival will get their motor started again.

-XAVIER AT PROVIDENCE (Big East).  Xavier is right on the bubble, so every game feels like a big game.  Their record is solid, but they  could still use a little more meet on their profile.  Another road win would certainly help.