NEWS AND NOTES
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-Baylor pretty much led Texas the whole game. the Longhorns made some good runs in the second half, and even had the lead for a while, but Baylor turned it on down the stretch and ended up pulling away in the final couple of minutes for an 83-69 win. The debate between Baylor and Gonzaga is an interesting one. Both have beaten protected seeded caliber teams rather handily, but Baylor’s wins have been true road wins whereas Gonzaga’s have been neutral site wins. That, and while Gonzaga’s wins against Kansas and Iowa were hugely impressive, it’s now starting to look like Kansas and Iowa aren’t quite as good as Texas Tech, Oklahoma, and Texas. Baylor has the better resume. I don’t know if they have the better team, but I do think Baylor’s current resume is better. Of course had they played each other as it had been scheduled there would be nothing to debate.
-Iowa held on to beat Michigan State, but they really had to sweat, and they had to come from behind to do it. Nevertheless, the Hawkeyes did get the win, but they continue to not look like a protected seed to me. Speaking of not looking like a protected seed…
-Tennessee was upset by Ole Miss 52-50 last night in a rather unimpressive showing for the Vols. They haven’t looked good in their last several games. They’ve been blown out by Florida, suffered another loss to Missouri, barely beat Mississippi State, and have lost to Ole Miss. Well, they did blow out Kansas in that stretch, but other than that Tennessee hasn’t looked good lately.
-Illinois needed overtime, and it was a sloppy finish to regulation and through most of the overtime, but they got the 75-71 win at Indiana.
-West Virginia had all kinds of problems at Iowa State, which was a bit of a surprise, but they held on for the 76-72 win.
-Purdue, who had really been on a roll, fell at Maryland in a 61-60 thriller. It wasn’t the best played game you’ve ever seen, but it was exciting, and it was a very important win for a Maryland team that has a good tournament resume, but who also probably needs to inflate their overall record a little bit.
-North Carolina had been on a roll and Clemson had been in a funk, but it was Clemson who got the win last night 63-50, which was a game they kind of needed considering how much they’d been struggling lately.
-Toledo knocked off a pretty good Akron team 91-76 last night and is continuing to roll. Drake has gotten some much deserved love, and so has Loyola Chicago, but Toledo should be in that conversation as well. This is a really good team that seems to be getting better as the season goes along.
-USC held on to beat a Stanford team that continues to straddle the bubble. This was a big opportunity missed for the Cardinal.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES
-HOUSTON AT EAST CAROLINA (American). Houston is ranked in the top five, and may even have an outside shot at a #1 seed if everything falls right. They are certainly good enough to win out.
-SOUTH CAROLINA AT FLORIDA (SEC). The Gators are really on a roll and are looking better and better each time out. They should be able to hold serve in this one and keep the momentum going.
-LSU AT ALABAMA (SEC). This is a golden opportunity for an LSU team that we all thought would be good, but hasn’t produced yet. Winning on the road against top ten Alabama will certainly qualify as “producing.”
-VIRGINIA TECH AT PITTSBURGH (ACC). After a brief stint where it looked like Pitt was starting to improve, they’ve kind of come back down to Earth. VA Tech, on the other hand, continues to look impressive. They’re coming off a nice win against rival Virginia and have won five of their last six. This is another winnable game for the Hokies.
-KENTUCKY AT MISSOURI (SEC). Mizzou continues to impress and Kentucky, while showing some signs of improvement and having a ton of talent, continues to look like a sub-NIT team. Mizzou should be able to hold on at home.
-SETON HALL AT PROVIDENCE (Big East). Both teams are either right on or outside the bubble, and both need to start stringing together wins. Both are good, or they’ve at least looked that way at times, but both still have a lot of work to do.
-VCU AT RHODE ISLAND (Atlantic Ten). We still have VCU outside the bubble, but in the discussion. They need to keep stinging together wins and holding serve in games like this.
-VILLANOVA AT SAINT JOHN’S (Big East). The Johnnies have won four straight and are starting to sneak up on people. Today’s game is a very tall order, but if they can get it done then you have to start thinking of them as a team that could make the Tournament.
-VIRGINIA AT NC STATE (ACC). NC State has dealt with a lot this year, and it doesn’t get any easier tonight as Virginia comes in looking to bounce back from a loss to rival Virginia Tech. A conference road win is always a good way to do that.
-GEORGETOWN AT CREIGHTON (Big East). Creighton continues to look like a team that could end up as a protected seed. They shouldn’t have too much trouble holding serve tonight in what is one of the more winnable conference games they’ll play.
-SMU AT TULSA (American). SMU is running out of chances. They basically need to win out against everyone except Houston in order to be solidly in the discussion. Of course if they end up facing Houston again and beating them that changes everything.
-OKLAHOMA STATE AT TCU (Big 12). I really like how this Pokes team is playing and if they can win their waiver, they will be in the NCAA Tournament and perhaps even be a protected seed. TCU has looked good at times and it’s not the easiest place to win, but it is certainly within the Pokes’ capabilities.
