-PURDUE AT PENN STATE (Big Ten). Penn State is showing a little bit of life having won their last two games, but beating Purdue is a very tall order even with them being at home. Having said that, as good as Purdue is they don’t have a true road win yet.
-WICHITA STATE AT HOUSTON (American). Houston is a bit depleted, but they’re still racking up the wins. They’ll face another test at home today against a Wichita State team that is trying to chase the bubble.
-SAINT JOHN’S AT PROVIDENCE (Big East). This is a win that the Johnnies could REALLY use. They are outside the bubble and need some signature wins, and this would certainly qualify. Providence still has an excellent profile, but could use this win just to wash the taste of the blowout loss to Marquette out of their mouths.
-UCONN AT SETON HALL (Big East). Both teams are tournament caliber teams, both have good resumes, and both can add to it with a win today. It’s a tall order, but UConn is looking for their second true road win of the season.
-VIRGINIA AT NORTH CAROLINA (ACC). Virginia has so much work to do just to catch up to the bubble, but they have won three of their last four and look noticeably better. North Carolina is in our field right now, but they certainly have room for improvement and certainly do not have unlimited strikes. This is a big game for both teams because, quite frankly, both need to do better.
-ARKANSAS AT TEXAS A&M (SEC). Both teams are chasing the bubble and both have a lot of work to do in order to catch up to it. A win today would be a nice start.
-TEXAS AT OKLAHOMA STATE (Big 12). After not winning any games of note for most of the OOC, Texas continues to add to their resume and can add to it again today with a notable conference road win. It would be their second true road win of the season.
-VILLANOVA AT DEPAUL (Big East). Villanova is playing like a solid protected seed again, and while it’s never easy to win on the road, this is a game that a protected seed should be able to win. DePaul has shown some life this season, but is now just 0-3 in league play.
-SYRACUSE AT WAKE FOREST (ACC). Wake Forest is hovering around the bubble, and in order to stay there they need to hold serve in games like this, which are home games against non-tournament caliber teams.
-KANSAS STATE AT WEST VIRGINIA (Big 12). West Virginia has a pretty solid profile and they should be able to hold serve in this one.
-RHODE ISLAND AT DAVIDSON. We havne’t talked much about Rhody, and that probably has a lot to do with the fact that five of their last six games have been either cancelled or postponed, but they come in to this one with an 8-3 record and if they can pick this one up on the road then we may need to start paying attention to them.
-MICHIGAN STATE AT MICHIGAN (Big Ten). One of these teams is as good as we expected this year! The other isn’t. Michigan doesn’t need this win so they can have bragging rights, or so they can claim a higher protected seed. They need this win because their resume is lousy and they need some big wins just to get themselves back into the discussion. Michigan State, on the other hand, is looking like a top ten team and this is the kind of road game you would expect them to win.
-ALABAMA AT MISSOURI (SEC). This is a winnable road game for Bama, and they should be able to hold serve.
-KANSAS AT TEXAS TECH (Big 12). On last night’s podcast I beat up on Texas Tech for not having any big wins on their resume. Well…this would certainly qualify as a big win even though they are at home. Kansas is fantastic, but this will not be an easy road game to pick up.
-COLORADO STATE AT SAN DIEGO STATE (Mountain West). This is one of the tougher challenges that Colorado State has remaining on their schedule. They are solidly in the rankings and solidly inside the bubble. San Diego State is one of the better teams in the MWC, but they need some notable wins on their resume, so this one is huge for them.
-MURRAY STATE AT SIUE (Ohio Valley). Murray State needs to hold serve the rest of the way, and if they can do that they should end up inside the bubble.
-UAB AT RICE (Conference USA). UAB deserves some attention and I hope the committee members are giving it to them. If they can run through CUSA, they should at least be on the board, and probably in the field.
-DIXIE STATE AT UTAH VALLEY (Bee Hive) We at Hoops HD Love the Bee Hive!!!!
-BRADLEY AT LOYOLA CHICAGO (Missouri Valley). Loyola Chicago is safely inside the bubble right now and is working their way toward the top 25. They’re coming off a nice win against San Francisco and should be able to hold serve in this one.
-THE CITADEL AT CHATTANOOGA (SoCon). Chattanooga will have a case for a bid if they win out, but they pretty much have to win out.
-BELMONT AT UT MARTIN (Ohio Valley). Belmont is another team that’s inside the bubble and should be able to stay there by blowing through the conference schedule.
-BAYLOR AT TCU (Big 12). TCU is having a nice season, but they need some big wins. Well, this would certainly qualify. Beating Baylor anywhere (even at home) is a very tall order, though.
-IOWA STATE AT OKLAHOMA (Big 12). Iowa State continues to impress and continues to look like a protected seed. This is another tough road test against an Oklahoma team that is good and who can boost their tournament resume with a win today.
-GEORGIA AT KENTUCKY (SEC). Georgia received some votes in this week’s AP Poll!! It was by mistake and the writer meant to vote for Gonzaga, but they still received votes!! Chances are they won’t next week, and chances are they won’t win at Kentucky either.
-TENNESSEE AT LSU (SEC). Both teams are good, both have good resumes, and both have the chance to make those resumes look a little better if they’re able to pick up a win today.
-SAN DIEGO AT SAN FRANCISCO (West Coast). San Francisco is coming off a loss to Loyola Chicago, but shouldn’t have too much trouble bouncing back tonight.
-MIAMI FL AT DUKE (ACC). Miami is a reasonably impressive 12-3 and is chasing an NCAA Tournament bid. They probably don’t have it in them to win at Duke, who is chasing a #1 seed, but if they could somehow pull this off it would catapult them inside the bubble.
-UCLA AT CALIFORNIA (Pac 12). It’s nice to see some of these teams back on the court. UCLA is In fantastic shape and shouldn’t have too much trouble picking up this conference road win.
-FLORIDA AT AUBURN (SEC). Auburn is so good that we think they can win the SEC and even end up with a #1 seed. Florida is probably a tournament caliber team, but could use some more big wins on their resume to verify that.
-LOUISVILLE AT FLORIDA STATE (ACC). The good news for Louisville is that they’ve put together a string of wins. The bad news is that they really haven’t looked all that impressive doing it. This is another game that teams who make the tournament are expected to be able to win. Florida State has a lot of talent, but it’s been a disappointing year so far.
-UTAH STATE AT NEW MEXICO (Mountain West). I get the feeling that Utah State has underperformed somewhat, but that they are still capable of stringing together a bunch of wins and getting themselves back into the discussion. That being said, they need to win this one tonight.
-MISSISSIPPI STATE AT OLE MISS (SEC). It’s a conference game, it’s a rivalry game, and it’s an important game for a Mississippi State team that we have on the bubble right now.
-PEPPERDINE AT GONZAGA (West Coast). You get this a lot with the Zags, but it’s a conference game that may as well be a buy game.
-SAINT MARY’S AT BYU (West Coast). Both teams are good, both are chasing spots in the tournament, and both could really use this win. This one should be fun!
-OREGON AT OREGON STATE (Pac 12). Both teams have been very disappointing this year. Oregon State is probably a lost cause, but Oregon can get themselves back into the picture if they can string together some wins and start playing up to their potential. This is a rival game, it’s a winnable road game, and it’s one they can’t afford to lose.
