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NEWS AND NOTES

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-Oklahoma State knocked off Texas in an overtime thriller.  It is perhaps the biggest win of the year for the Sooners and establishes that (if they get their waiver) they deserve serious consideration as a protected seed.  Texas had been in the hunt for a #1 seed for a while, but that’s probably not in the cards anymore minus maybe them running the table.

-Missouri looked great for the first 30 or so minutes of their game yesterday and Alabama looked like they were asleep.  The Tide finally kicked it into gear and fought back to make it close, but couldn’t quite get over the top as Mizzou picked up a huge 68-65 win.

-Kentucky played great for the first 30 or so minutes of their game against Tennessee, but then went ice cold down the stretch as Tennessee got the lead, and then got complete control of the game before winning 82-71.

-Illinois played one of their best games of the season as they pretty much controlled Wisconsin In a 75-60 win.  This was a big time win for Illinois.

-Creighton held on to beat Marquette, but barely.  Creighton still has a solid resume, but they don’t seem to be quite as good in their last two games as they had been all season long prior to that.

-Virginia Tech needed overtime to get past Miami, and it wasn’t without controversy, but the Hokies did hold on and will remain in contention for a protected seed.

-Kansas continues to struggle.  Losing to West Virginia isn’t bad at all in and of itself, but Kansas simply doesn’t look like a protected seed caliber team right now.  On the flip side, it was a win that will look good on WVU’s profle.

-USC got ahead and stayed ahead of rival UCLA.  The 66-48 win puts the Trojans at 15-3 on the year and should put them into the rankings.

-Drake trailed for much of the game, but ended up pulling out an 80-77 win over a rather weak Valpo team to remain unbeaten and in the rankings.

-Seton Hall desperately needed a notable win, and got it yesterday at UConn.  UConn was asleep for the first fen minutes or so and just couldn’t catch back up.

-Toledo, who had looked like an NCAA Tournament caliber team for most of the year, did not look like one yesterday.  Ball State played a great second half and knocked off the Rockets 81-67.

-Saint Louis and Saint Bonaventure both desperately needed games and wins.  They both got to play yesterday, but SlU got the 70-59 win.  They’ll need a strong finish in order to be inside the bubble come Selection Sunday.

-Saint John’s continues to string together wins, and continues to get closer to the bubble.  They have been playing great these past few weeks, and knocked off Providence 92-81 yesterday.

-Clemson seems to be back to their old selves as they put together a decisive 78-61 win over Syracuse.

-Duke v North Carolina gave us another exciting chapter.  It was a different storyline with both teams needing the win to help get them inside the bubble, but the game itself was intense and close as UNC pulled off the 91-87 win.

-Colorado had a nice bounce back win in a thriller against Arizona as pulled it out 82-79.  This should help stabilize their resume a little bit.

-New Mexico State FINALLY gets a D1 win after being clobbered by COVID protocol all season long!  They knocked off CA Baptist 97-70.  Now, they need to get their first win against a non-transitional team!

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES

-IOWA AT INDIANA (Big Ten).  Iowa still seems to lack the number of big wins they’ll need to be a protected seed despite their high ranking.  They’ve got another big test today against an Indiana team who could use a few more wins to shore up their resume.

-DRAKE AT VALPARAISO (Missouri Valley).  Drake pulled it out yesterday, but barely.  They look to stay unbeaten and remain in the rankings today.

-EVANSVILLE AT LOYOLA CHICAGO (Missouri Valley).  Evansville is much improved this season and appears to be moving in the right direction as a program, but Loyola Chicago is very close to cracking the rankings and could play their way inside the bubble if they keep winning like they have been.

-GEORGETOWN AT VILLANOVA (Big East).  This year it seems as though these two teams are light years apart.  Villanova is fighting for a #1 seed, and Georgetown seems like a long shot for a bye in the Big East Tournament.

-BOISE STATE AT NEVADA (Mountain West).  Nevada pulled out the win the other night, which didn’t completely crush Boise State but it did set them back.  They should still be safely inside the bubble if they can hold serve and take care of business this afternoon.

-CALIFORNIA AT STANFORD.  Stanford is right on the bubble.  They took care of business against their rivals last night and need to do the same again tonight.

NEWS AND NOTES

-Penn State picked up a much needed win against Maryland on Friday night.  Penn State is still a game below 500, but their schedule has been so tough and their resume has enough good wins on it that just finishing 500 may be enough to get them selected.  Maryland, who has a similar resume, is also now just one game above 500.

-Boise State suffered an upset loss at Nevada in what was probably the most exciting game of the evening.  Nevada trailed for most of the game, but kept it close the whole way, bot the lead late, and scored the winning basket with less than three seconds remaining.  Boise State managed to get up a good shot from just past mid court that almost went down, but that rimmed out, which gave Nevada the 74-72 win.  It is a bit of a setback for the Broncos, but they are still inside the bubble.

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES

-IOWA STATE AT OKLAHOMA (Big 12).  Iowa State is having the season from hell, and Oklahoma is looking like a solid protected seed that keeps climbing up the seedlist.

-ALABAMA AT MISSOURI (SEC).  Both teams are being projected as protected seeds, both are ranked in the top 20, and both have a chance at picking up another big win.  Alabama is unbeaten in SEC play, but this would be one of their bigger wins of the season, especially considering that it’s a road game.

-VIRGINIA TECH AT MIAMI FL (ACC).  Miami is coming off a win against Duke, but it has been a season to forget for the Canes.  VA Tech is high in the rankings and could end up as a protected seed.  This is the kind of road game that they should be expected to win.

-SETON HALL AT UCONN (Big East).  I think both teams are inside the bubble, but I wouldn’t call either team safe yet.  They both have room for improvement and stability, and could both really use this win today.

-TOLEDO AT BALL STATE (MAC).  I think Toledo is good enough to win out, and if they do they should be in the NCAA Tournament whether they win the MAC Tournament or not.  I just hope the committee feels the same way.

-BELMONT AT SIUE (Ohio Valley).  Belmont has a slim shot at an at-large if they win out but fail to win the conference tournament, but anything short of that and chances are they’ll need the auto-bid.

-KANSAS AT WEST VIRGINIA (Big 12).  Kansas had been on a bit of a skid, but they did win their last game against rival Kansas State and that may snap them out of it.  West Virginia, like Kansas, is a team that you would describe as being on the bubble for a protected seed, so this is a big game in that regard.

-DRAKE AT VALPARAISO (Missouri Valley).  Drake is unbeaten and in the rankings and will remain that way so long as they can hold serve in this one.

-SAINT BONAVENTURE AT SAINT LOUIS (Atlantic Ten).  This is a hugely important game for both these teams.  Both are perhaps good enough to make the NCAA Tournament, but both have taken big hits due to shutdowns and both desperately need wins that the committee will notice.

-SAINT JOHN’S AT PROVIDENCE (Big East).  The Johnnies have strung together some big wins and are getting closer and closer to the bubble.  If they can keep the momentum going they should make the field.

-EVANSVILLE AT LOYOLA CHICAGO (Missouri Valley).  Drake is getting a lot of the attention, especially after getting into the rankings, but Loyola Chicago isn’t far behind and could end up jumping over them and winning the league.  They are a damn good team!

-SYRACUSE AT CLEMSON (ACC).  Clemson has gone through a bit of a rough patch, but is still in good shape overall and will still likely land in the top half of the bracket.  Syracuse needs to string together some wins just to get in the conversation for being on the bubble.

-WISCONSIN AT ILLINOIS (Big Ten).  Another big game between two teams that could easily end up as protected seeds.  Both teams are in good shape, but this will still be a resume boost for whoever pulls it off.

-OUR LADY OF THE LAKE (nondiv1) AT HOUSTON.  Ummm….okay.  Not exactly Gonzaga, but…whatever.

-TEXAS AT OKLAHOMA STATE (Big 12).  Texas is coming off a loss to Baylor and we aren’t projecting them on the #1 line anymore, but they are still a solid protected seed and could end up playing their way back up there.  Oklahoma State is having a really good year, but is coming off a somewhat surprising loss to TCU.  A win today would be a huge bounce back.

-TEXAS TECH AT KANSAS STATE (Big 12).  Texas Tech’s resume is solid and their team seems to be getting better as the season goes on.  They shouldn’t have too much trouble picking up this conference road win.

-PITTSBURGH AT VIRGINIA (ACC).  Every time I get excited about Pitt they lose several games in a row.  Every time I give up on them, they win a few big games.  They have a lot of work to do to get inside the bubble, but it’s not impossible.  Virginia looks like they’ll be a protected seed and should be able to hold serve today.

-WASHINGTON AT OREGON (Pac 12).  Oregon is coming off a somewhat surprising and slightly damaging loss to Washington State.  If they end up losing today they will really be in trouble.

-NORTHWESTERN AT PURDUE (Big Ten).  Purdue’s resume and team both continue to improve and they shouldn’t have too much trouble taking care of Northwestern at home today.

-CREIGHTON AT MARQUETTE (Big East).  Creighton is coming off a really head-scratching loss to Georgetown and will be looking to bounce back.  Marquette has been so up and down this season that you never know what they’re going to do.  They did beat Creighton earlier this year.  The problem is the number of games they’ve lost to teams that are nowhere near making the field.

-COLORADO STATE AT WYOMING (Mountain West) (Front Range).  Colorado State won the first one the other night in a thriller.  If they can pull off the sweep it should push them a little bit further inside the bubble and make them feel a little safer.

-NORTH CAROLINA AT DUKE (ACC).  This is something I never thought I’d say when describing this game.  North Carolina is right on the bubble, and Duke is outside of it.  Both need to string together wins, and both need this one tonight.  A loss would almost be more damaging than a win would be helpful.  Also, these schools are just 12.87 kilometers apart!!  And they have never met in the NCAA Tournament!!

-NEBRASKA AT MICHIGAN STATE (Big Ten).  Michigan State has so much work to do and has been hit pretty hard by COVID shutdowns.  They are so talented that I can’t help but continue to highlight their games because while they are nowhere near the field now, it wouldn’t shock me if they played their way in before the end.

-TENNESSEE AT KENTUCKY (SEC).  Tennessee had been in a slump, then they blew out Kansas, but aside from that still seem to be in a slump.  They’re still very safe and will likely end up as a protected seed, but they need to snap out of it.  Kentucky has been in a slump since November and despite being very talented has shown very little signs of coming out of it.

-ARIZONA AT COLORADO (Pac 12).  Arizona is ineligible for the NCAA Tournament, but they’ve still been playing well and the committee will give some credit to the teams that beat them.  Colorado could really use some credit right about now as their resume looks a little flimsy and they seem to be sliding down the seedlist.

-NOTRE DAME AT GEORGIA TECH (ACC).  They’ve got a lot of work to do, GA Tech could still get close to the bubble if they can string together some wins.

-UCLA AT USC (Pac 12).  It’s a rivalry game between two of the better teams in the Pac 12 who,while good, haven’t had as many opportunities at big wins as the protected seeds have had and could really use this one.  It’s important both for the resume and for bragging rights.

-UTAH STATE AT FRESNO STATE (Mountain West).  Utah State is outside the bubble, but they may have a path to the field if they can finish strong.

NEWS AND NOTES

CLICK HERE for our latest HOOPS HD BRACKET RUNDOWN, where we reveal our latest staff bracket line by line  

-For Chad Sherwood’s UTR Game of the Day, which is a good one between South Dakota and South Dakota State – CLICK HERE

-Pacific made everyone sit up and pay attention for a half as they actually led Gonzaga for nearly all of the first 20 minutes, but then the second half started and the Zags blew them out.

-Ohio State picked up another big time win as they went on the road to Iowa and pulled it out 89-85.  The game was back and forth with a lot of momentum shifts, and Iowa’s continued defensive struggles came back to haunt them.  Again.  As for Ohio State, they are making a case that they deserve a #1 seed.

-Rutgers got a big win against Minnesota in another game that was back and forth the whole way.  Minney still hasn’t won a single road game, and they are running out of chances.  No team has ever finished inside the bubble without at least two true road wins, but then again it’s been a bit of a crazy year, so…who knows?  But, it would certainly benefit them to beat SOMEONE on the road!

-Colorado State pulled out a 74-72 thriller over Front Range rival Wyoming to keep themselves inside the bubble (well, at least inside OUR bubble).

-Oregon had been slowed down by COVID this year, their resume doesn’t seem to match what they’re capable of in a normal year, and they went into last night just needing to hold serve against Wazzu.  Last night, they failed to hold serve against Wazzu.  Washington State held on for a 74-71 win, which will knock Oregon even further down the seedlist.

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES

-MARYLAND AT PENN STATE (Big Ten).  Penn State has a losing overall record, but they may be closer to the NCAA Tournament than people think given how hard their schedule has been.  Even in a lot of their losses they’ve played tough.  They certainly need this one tonight.  Maryland could really use it as well because while they are just 10-8, which isn’t spectacular, their schedule has been brutal.

-BOISE STATE AT NEVADA (Mountain West).  Boise State continues to impress and shouldn’t have too much trouble picking up another road conference win tonight.  Nevada seems to be getting better, but they still have a long way to go.