Hoops HD

NEWS AND NOTES

-For Chad Sherwood’s UTR Game of the Day between Stony Brook and Vermont – CLICK HERE

-The NCAA Selection Committee released their current protected seeds yesterday.  We will look at that closely on tomorrow’s Hoops HD Report, but to of my initial takeaways are that there isn’t too much of a recency bias, and that the top of the resume is more important than the bottom of it (particularly with Houston).

-Villanova was bulldozed by Creighton yesterday.  They hit a string of late threes to “cut it” to 86-70 and make the game look slightly closer than what it was, but Creighton couldn’t miss and their defense shut down Nova.

-Virginia suffocated another opponent as they held off a North Carolina team that had been playing better, but that still could have used the big win.

-Arkansas needed overtime, but they got a huge win at Missouri 86-81.  I had been critical of Arkansas, particularly for not having any big wins.  Well, that has now changed!  This was almost a season defining win for the Razorbacks.

-Oklahoma needed a couple of overtimes, but got another huge win as they knocked off West Virginia 91-90.  The Sooners didn’t start the season off at 100mph, but they are certainly going 100mph now and seem to be continuing to pick up speed as we head toward the end of the season

-I’ve been picking on Iowa this year, but they BLASTED Michigan State yesterday.  The Spartans had been struggling, but they also still have a lot of talent and really needed the win yesterday and Iowa just totally dump-trucked them 88-58.

-Tennessee, who got a protected seed from the committee yesterday, didn’t play like a protected seed at LSU, and really hasn’t looked like one for a while.  LSU has been hovering around our bubble and they got a big win yesterday 78-65.

-Loyola Chicago blasted Drake yesterday in a showcase game for the Missouri Valley that turned out to be a clunker.  I’m much more impressed with Loyola Chicago than I am disappointed in Drake.  This Ramblers team is for real!

-UConn has also been hovering around the bubble, and they got a big road win at Xavier yesterday, who had been on a long pause due to COVID protocol.  Xavier is still in good shape, and they should improve as they get their routine back, but UConn certainly needed the win more.

-Oregon has been struggling for most of the year, but they got a big (and much needed) road win against Arizona yesterday 63-61.  That should help shore things up on their resume a little bit.

-Belmont is an Under the Radar team that continues to compete for the committee’s attention.  They beat Morehead State rather handily yesterday to improve to 22-1 on the season.

-Keep an eye on Ole Miss.  They are playing really well right now, and picked up another road win yesterday as they held off South Carolina 81-74.

-UCLA got the win at Washington…but BARELY!!  The Bruins had been in the rankings, but over the past week or so haven’t even looked like a top 50 team.

-Colorado continues to shoot themselves in the foot by dropping games to weak teams that they should win.  Their resume took another hit yesterday as they fell at California 71-62.  It was not a knockout punch, but it was certainly yet another setback for the Buffs.

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES

-MICHIGAN AT WISCONSIN (Big Ten).  Michigan is back after having to pause.  They’re still on a path to ending up as a #1 seed and have a tough test on the road against a really good Wisconsin team who is looking to bolster up their resume as well.

-LOYOLA CHICAGO AT DRAKE (Missouri Valley).  Loyola Chicago won in a landslide yesterday and will likely be safely inside the bubble if they’re able to win today.  Well, safely inside so long as they’re able to hold serve the rest of the way.  Drake probably needs this one a little more.  They could really use a big win on their resume.

-MARQUETTE AT SETON HALL (Big Ten).  Seton Hall has a solid resume, but they aren’t in a position to start skating yet.  They need to keep holding serve against teams that are outside the bubble, especially at home.

-NEBRASKA AT PENN STATE (Big Ten).  Some are saying that in order for Penn State to make the field they at least need to get to .500, and they may not be wrong.  If that’s the case they obviously need to pick at the low hanging fruit when they have the chance and get this win today.

-PITTSBURGH AT GEORGIA TECH (ACC).  Both have a chance to land inside the bubble, but both teams’ paths are getting steeper and steeper.

-MINNESOTA AT MARYLAND (Big Ten).  It is very important that Minnesota picks up a couple of road wins to help round out their resume, and it’s very important that Maryland picks up wins of any kind to get above .500 and n0t be 5 games below .500 in conference play.

NEWS AND NOTES

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

-Illinois knocked off Nebraska and got another road win to keep their hot streak going, but it was far more difficult than what anyone was expecting.  The lead seesawed back and forth and the game actually went into overtime before the Illini finally got control for a 77-72 win.

-VCU held off Saint Bonaventure 67-64 for a win that they really needed.  At 15-4, VCU may be the best team in the A10, but they are still not safely inside the bubble.

-It was an ugly game, but for the second night in a row Winthrop got a win against Radford.  They are in complete control of the Big South now, and have a really good chance of winning out.

-Georgia Tech vs Clemson was another thriller that came down to a last second 3 point shot for Clemson that banked in and gave them a 74-72 win.  Georgia Tech has had a lot of close losses this year, but the window of opportunity is shutting for them to build a tournament caliber resume.

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES

-INDIANA AT OHIO STATE (Big Ten).  Ohio State is being projected on our #1 line and looking to stay there, whereas Indiana is around the middle of the bracket.  It’s easier said than done, but the Hoosiers could make themselves a lot safer with a win today.

-WAKE FOREST AT FLORIDA STATE (ACC).  This is a really good Florida State team who’s profile could improve quite a bit between now and the end of the ACC Tournament.  They just need to hold serve today.

-DRAKE AT LOYOLA CHICAGO (Missouri Valley).  We have both of these teams inside the bubble and both will probably stay there so long as they don’t lose to anyone the rest of the way other than each other.  This should be a really good and fun series to watch.

-KANSAS STATE AT OKLAHOMA STATE (Big 12).  This is a really good Oklahoma State team that could still end up as a protected seed (pending their waiver).  They should be able to hold serve today.

-UCONN AT XAVIER (Big East).  Xavier has been shut down because of COVID and the top of their resume could use some building, but they are still an impressive 11-2 on the year and will have the opportunities they need to climb the seedlist.  UConn has fallen down to the bubble and needs to string together some wins just to feel safe.

-OKLAHOMA AT WEST VIRGINIA (Big 12).  Both teams are good, both have improved as the season has gone along and are playing their best basketball right now, and both look like probable protected seeds, so this would be a really nice looking win for whoever pulls it off.

-TCU AT TEXAS (Big 12).  Texas is in a bit of a tailspin, and they barely held on to beat a really weak Kansas State team their last time out.  They need a win in a game like this just to shift the momentum and confidence back their way.  TCU still has a path to land inside the bubble, but they need a few wins like this one to get them there.

-TENNESSEE AT LSU (SEC).  Tennessee is still looking like they will end up with a protected seed, but they need to start playing better.  LSU is squarely on the bubble and a win in a game like this could really help their resume.

-BOSTON COLLEGE AT SYRACUSE (ACC).  Syracuse has been a team that’s been kind of easy to forget about this year, but they could still end up playing their way into the field.

-OREGON AT ARIZONA (Pac 12).  Oregon has slid down the seedlist, and COVID protocol has probably made it harder for them than normal to play up to their ceiling.  This would be a big win for them if they could pull this one out.

-BOWLING GREEN AT TOLEDO (MAC).  Toledo may be out of strikes, but if they can win out they should at least get a look.

-IOWA AT MICHIGAN STATE (Big Ten).  Iowa is still being looked at as a probable protected seed by most who forecast the bracket.  Michigan State’s season has bene tumultuous to say the least, but they are still talented and it wouldn’t surprise me if they strung together a few big wins to get themselves back into the discussion.

-KANSAS AT IOWA STATE (Big 12).  After going through a stretch where they lost five of seven Kansas can (and should) pick up their third straight win tonight, which may get them back on track to playing like the team we thought they’d be for most of the year.

-GEORGIA AT ALABAMA (SEC).  Alabama remains close to the top ten and has a very good chance of landing on on one of the top two lines if they can play like they have been and finish strong.

-SAINT LOUIS AT FORDHAM (Atlantic Ten).  SLU has a lot of talent and they’ve been hit hard by COVID protocol which has made it difficult for them.  They need a strong finish to land inside the bubble.  A loss today isn’t likely, but if it happens they are probably sunk.

-ARKANSAS AT MISSOURI (SEC).  Arkansas is hovering right around the bubble, and if they really want to show they belong in the field they can do so by winning a game like this.  Missouri is having a great season, but they were blown out by Ole Miss in their last game and will be looking to bounce back from that.

-VILLANOVA AT CREIGHTON (Big East).  Creighton seems to be slipping down the seedlist, but they are still in the rankings, they are still talented, and the opportunities they need to end up as a protected seed are still in front of them.  Villanova is in contention for a #1 seed and a road win in a game like this would certainly help.

-NORTHWESTERN AT RUTGERS (Big Ten).  Rutgers needs to hold serve today, which they should be able to do, but Northwestern has played some pretty good teams down to the wire in their last couple of games, so they don’t want to overlook them.

-GONZAGA AT SAN FRANCISCO (West Coast).  Gonzaga is running down hill.  They should be able to win out and if they do (and perhaps even if they don’t) they’ll have a #1 seed locked up.

-NORTH CAROLINA AT VIRGINIA (ACC).  UNC has been playing a lot better lately, and a win like this could solidify that they are a tournament caliber team.  Virginia seems to go through periods where they struggle, but they’ve won ten of their last eleven and are very dangerous right now.

-UCLA AT WASHINGTON (Pac 12).  UCLA is in the middle (and for their sake hopefully the end) of a stretch where they just haven’t looked good at all.  They’ve lost three out of four, and in their last two games they were blown out by USC and beaten handily by Wazzu.  They can’t afford to lose to a Washington team that’s in contention for the Stallings Award.

-USC AT WASHINGTON STATE (Pac 12).  USC is looking really good right now.  They’re 11-1 in their last 12 games and will try and get to 18-3 on the season with a win tonight.  Wazzu is heating up a little bit as well having won three of their last four.

-UTAH AT STANFORD (Pac 12).  Stanford is hovering around the bubble and flat out cannot afford to lose home games to non-tournament teams.  They need to hold serve.

-COLORADO AT CALIFORNIA (Pac 12).  Colorado is coming off one of their better played games of the year where they just totally blew Stanford off the court.  They should’t have too much trouble beating a struggling Cal team on the road.

-UNLV AT BOISE STATE (Mountain West).  I still think Boise State is the best team in the Mountain West, but they haven’t always played like it.  They’ve had their share of slipups and really can’t afford too many more.  Their last four games will be a big test with two game series against Utah State and San Diego State, but they don’t want to start looking ahead to those and overlook UNLV tonight.

NEWS AND NOTES

CLICK HERE for the latest HOOPS HD BRACKET RUNDOWN where we build a seedlist on the air and assess, discuss, and debate each team as we go

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

-Purdue had a lead at Minnesota for the whole game and seemed poised to pick up a major road win, but Minney pulled it out in the final minute.  Purdue had a chance to force overtime in the final seconds, but couldn’t get up much of a shot and the Gophers held on for a 71-68 win.

-Winthrop, who has just one loss, began a stretch of back to back road games at Radford last night, and totally ran away with it.  If they can do the same thing tonight and win out we may see them crawl inside the bubble.

-Colorado has been up and down this year, but they were definitely up last night with a decisive road win at Stanford.  Stanford is still hovering around the bubble, but I think they are on the right side of it.  Colorado gave their resume a nice boost last night.

-Belmont is now 20-1 on the year after their decisive win against Eastern Kentucky last night.  The problem for Belmont is that none of their wins have come against anyone in the top 150 of the NET, so it’s still a weak case for an at-large bid, but they should at least get a look from the committee.

-Washington State ran away from UCLA last night in a bit of a surprising result.  UCLA made a run late to cut it to 81-73, but for most of the game the lead was bigger than that.

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES

-SAINT BONAVENTURE AT VCU (Atlantic Ten).  Both teams are hovering around the bubble, and both desperately need this win.  They both pretty much need to dominate their schedules the rest of the way to secure a spot inside the bubble.

-WINTHROP AT RADFORD (Big South).  Winthrop won convincingly the other night and if they can do the same tonight there will probably be some talk of them belonging inside the bubble if the can win out.

-GEORGIA TECH AT CLEMSON (ACC).  Clemson is safely inside the bubble and can climb up the seedlist if they can continue to string together wins down the stretch.  Georgia Tech is outside of our bubble, but they have played like a tournament team at times and they do have the opportunities they need between now and the end to play their way into the field.

-RICE AT WESTERN KENTUCKY (Conference USA).  WKU pretty much has to win out through the regular season to get inside the bubble, but they are good enough to do that.  Having said that, they seemingly have a history of slipping up and losing games that they should win, so they don’t want to overlook a Rice team that’s having a decent year.

-ILLINOIS AT NEBRASKA (Big Ten).  Illinois has been on a roll lately and shouldn’t have too much trouble keeping that up on the road tonight.