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.
Under the Radar Game of the Day – Friday, February 5
South Dakota at South Dakota State, 8:30 PM Eastern, MIDCOSN2/espn3
The Under the Radar Game of the Day features an absolutely huge rivalry matchup in the state of South Dakota tonight as a pair of teams that are undefeated so far in Summit League play matchup head to head. The Yotes of South Dakota (10-6 overall, 8-0 in Summit League play) will be travelling to Brookings, SD to take on their rival Jackrabbits of South Dakota State (10-3 overall, 4-0 in conference). This is actually the second of at least three matchups between these two teams, as South Dakota puled off an upset 91-78 win back on December 12 during an all-Dakotas round-robin event that did not count towards conference standings.
The South Dakota Coyotes have been red hot, winning 9 straight games. In fact, they have only lost once since their earlier win over the Jackrabbits, and that was against an undefeated Drake team. Stanley Umude has been leading the way, averaging 20.5 points and 7.3 boards per game, while A.J. Plitzuweit is adding 16.3 points per game. The Jackrabbits will need to find a way to slow down this two-headed monster if they want to avoid a second loss to the Yotes. This was something they completely failed to do last time out, as Umude exploded for 41 points and 11 rebounds!
The Jackrabbits have also been playing very well since the teams last met, and have not lost a game in that time. Unfortunately, with COVID shutdowns, they have only gotten on the floor 5 times in that stretch. They do, however, hold fairy impressive wins already on the season against Utah State, at Bradley and at Iowa State. Noah Friedel leads the team with 17.6 points per game, and three other players are also averaging double figures. Most notably, perhaps, Baylor Scheierman is averaging close to a double-double, with 13.8 points and 9.2 rebounds. South Dakota State has a on of offensive firepower, and will need to be hitting on all cylinders, especially after not having played a game in almost two weeks, if they want to move into sole possession of first place tonight. Regardless of who wins tonight, however, there will be a chance for revenge tomorrow, as the teams will go at it one more time.