Hoops HD

NEWS AND NOTES

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-The surprise of the day had to be BYU’s loss to Pepperdine.  Pepperdine had won three out of four and had been playing well relatively speaking, but it didn’t look like they’d beat a team that appears to be squarely inside the bubble like BYU.  For BYU, it’s a setback, but it’s not a game ender.  They are still in relatively good shape as far as making the tourney.

-Ohio State had to sweat out Penn State at home, which was kind of a surprise, but they held on for the 83-79 win and maintain their status as a solid protected seed caliber team.

-Seton Hall did a fantastic job controlling the first 37 minutes of their game against Creighton!  The Hall is a bubble team and this was exactly the kind of performance they needed!  The problem was that Creighton went on a 14-2 run to close the game and ended up winning 85-81.

-Clemson snapped their three game blowout loss streak with a 54-50 win over Louisville in a defensive battle.  This was a game that both teams could have really used not just from a resume standpoint, but from a momentum standpoint.

-Providence held off Marquette in overtime 72-63.  Like so many Big East games, it was close all throughout with several momentum shifts, one of which was in overtime where it looked like Marquette just failed to show up.

-Drake got a big road win at Missouri State to remain unbeaten.  The two face each other again tonight.  Missouri State probably isn’t a team that will land inside the bubble, but it was just their second home loss of the season so the committee should give Drake some credit for that as a quality win.

-Colorado State basically blew Boise State’s doors off.  The Rams were hovering around the bubble and were really needing an impressive win.  Well, they got one!

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES

-OREGON STATE AT USC (Pac 12).  USC should win this, but after a pitiful start to the season Oregon State has gotten hot all of a sudden, so the Trojans don’t want to overlook them.

-UNC ASHEVILLE AT WINTHROP (Big South).  Winthrop is looking to remain undefeated and have a strong case that they belong inside the bubble.

-MICHIGAN STATE AT RUTGERS (Big Ten).  Michigan State is finally back on the court, and their first game is a trial by fire.  It’s actually a trial by fire for both teams as both could really use this win today.

-TCU AT KANSAS (Big 12).  TCU has shown some signs of life this year, but I don’t think they have what it takes to beat a protected seed caliber team like Kansas.  Having said that, Kansas has lost their last three games and could really use a bounce back game like this one.

-MEMPHIS AT SMU (American).  SMU isn’t out of strikes just yet, but they are running out of them.  They can’t afford to lose this one tonight.

-GONZAGA AT SAN DIEGO (West Coast).  The clear #1 team in the nation is on the road against a team that isn’t very good.  I’ll just leave it at that.

-HOUSTON AT TULANE (American).  Houston continues to look like a solid protected seed and seems like they are good enough to win out until the NCAA Tournament.

-WYOMING AT SAN DIEGO STATE (Mountain West).  San Diego State is hovering much closer to the bubble than what many of us (including myself) thought they’d be.  They should be able to win tonight, but they don’t want to just overlook Wyoming.

-BELMONT AT AUSTIN PEAY (Ohio Valley).  A win for Belmont will get them to 17-1 on the season, and that bloated of a record should be enough to at least get them sone national attention and some attention from the committee.

-STANFORD AT ARIZONA (Pac 12).  Stanford continues to straddle the bubble and they could really use a road win like this to nudge them into the right direction.

NEWS AND NOTES

-Oklahoma picked up their second win against a protected seed in less than a week as they won at Texas last night 80-79.  They led for the entire game, but Texas closed it up at the end and had a chance to win, but couldn’t get over the top.  It’s worth nothin that Texas was very shorthanded and only had 8 players available, but it’s still a great win for an Oklahoma team that has gotten red hot all of a sudden.

-Kentucky hung with Alabama for about 35 minutes last night, but couldn’t stay with them the whole way and Alabama finally opened it up in the final few minutes of the game for a 70-59 win.  Kentucky may have found a lot of answers as it was arguably one of their best games of the year, but now they need to start finding wins.

-Missouri went on the road to Auburn fully expecting to win, and didn’t.  Auburn, who had been a sleep, has now won four of their last five and while they have a long way to go they are playing a lot better and are not to be overlooked.

-Tennessee got all they wanted from a Mississippi State team that also appeared to be asleep, that that has also been playing well lately.  The Vols hung on for the 56-53 win, though.

-Saint Louis finally got back onto the floor and played their first conference game at home against Dayton, which you can see by CLICKING HERE is the greatest rivalry in sports!!  The rust was evident as Dayton (who did play well) pretty much led from tip to buzzer.  It’s not time for the Billikins to panic, but it is time to realize that being able to play and win games is going to be important to their postseason chances.

-SMU needed a road win at Memphis to help keep them within reach of the bubble, and came up short 76-72.  SMU can still get there, but the hill they need to run up just got a lot steeper.

-Pitt lost their second game in a row, this one at home to North Carolina, and takes a further slide down the seedlist and is now likely outside the bubble.  On the flip side, it was a big win for the Tarheels who need to start stringing a few wins together to get themselves back into the discussion.

-Drake picked up a big road win against a Missouri State team who had just one loss on the season.  The two play again tonight and if Drake can get the sweep I think they should be considered to be safely inside the bubble.  I hope the committee is watching and sees it that way.

-Duke and Georgia Tech exchanged punches in what could have been a pretty big win for the Yellowjackets, but it was Duke who prevailed and picked up a win that they desperately needed.

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES

-BYU AT PEPPERDINE (West Coast).  BYU continues to hang around the mdidle of the bracket and I think will land in the top half of it so long as they hold serve against the rest of the conference that isn’t Gonzaga.

-MIAMI FL AT FLORIDA STATE (ACC).  Miami has looked good in the last couple of games, but Florida State has looked so good the past week or two that it looks like they may be able to win the ACC.  This is another winnable home game for the Noles.

-VANDERBILT AT FLORIDA (SEC).  Florida seems to be hitting their stride having won three of their las four and beating some good teams in that stretch.  They have another winnable home game tonight against a Vandy team that is improving, but still has a long way to go.

-PENN STATE AT OHIO STATE (Big Ten).  Ohio State has won four of their last five and beaten some really good teams in that stretch.  They shouldn’t have too much trouble adding to that string of wins tonight and keeping themselves solidly in the discussion for a protected seed.

-CREIGHTON AT SETON HALL (Big East).  Creighton has some big wins this year and could end up with a protected seed if they’re able to continue to hold serve.  Their next four games are really winnable, but they will be tested tonight by a Seton Hall team that is hovering around the bubble and at times has looked a lot better than their resume.

-VIRGINIA TECH AT NOTRE DAME (ACC).  VA Tech just fell to Syracuse rather decisively and somewhat surprisingly.  Before that they had won seven of eight, so they are still in really good shape and have a winnable road game tonight.

-MARQUETTE AT PROVIDENCE (Big East).  Both teams appear to be outside the bubble, but when you look at some of their wins and see how they’ve played in a lot of their games they both have the potential to play their way into the field, so tonight’s game is important for both teams.

-OLE MISS AT ARKANSAS (SEC).  Arkansas is outside the bubble, but close enough to it to where they could end up playing themselves in.  They need to hold serve in games like this, though.

-KANSAS STATE AT BAYLOR (Big 12).  This is a conference game, but given how the two teams have looked for most of the year it could end up looking like a buy game by the end.

-WISCONSIN AT MARYLAND (Big Ten).  Maryland is staring to come to life, having picked up road wins at Illinois and Minnesota in their last two games.  They can really show that they are alive if they’re able to knock off a Wisconsin team that looks like a solid protected seed right now.  Wisky, on the other hand, is looking to rebound from their loss to Ohio State.

-LOUISVILLE AT CLEMSON (ACC).  This game is important for both teams.  Clemson got off to a great start, but they’ve been blown off the court in their last three games and need to get some of their momentum back.  Louisville is a solid 10-3, but other than Virginia Tech their resume doesn’t top out as high as most other protected seeds and they need to pick up some more quality wins if they want to be on par with those teams.

-DRAKE AND MISSOURI STATE (Missouri Valley).  Drake won the first game last night in what was a bit of a thriller and will remain unbeaten, and should be inside the bubble, if they’re able to get the sweep tonight.

-WASHINGTON STATE AT COLORADO (Pac 12).  Colorado has hit a bit of a skid lately and needs to pull themselves out of it.  This is a winnable home game for them that they need to hold serve in.

-BOISE STATE AT COLORADO STATE (Mountain West).  Boise State looks to be solidly in the middle of the field and has a path to land in the top half of it and be wearing white in the Round of 64.  Colorado State has a few nice wins and is hovering around the bubble, but they still have a lot of work to do and have a big opportunity tonight.

-UTAH STATE AT UNLV (Mountain West).  Utah State is another MWC team that is hovering around the bubble and needs to hold serve.

NEWS AND NOTES

-For the latest Hoops HD Report Video Podcast – CLICK HERE

-The game of the night was, by far, Texas Tech at West Virginia.  Two really tough defensive teams somehow managed to play a high scoring game that saw West Virginia control nearly all of the first half, then Texas Tech go on a flurry of a run and tie it at halftime and then appear to be in control for most of the second half, and then a late comeback that saw WVU win in the final seconds 88-87.  It was just a really fun game between two really good teams.

-24 hours ago, Utah State was a team that we thought was well within reach of the bubble.  Then they lost to UNLV last night.  Now, we no longer think that.

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES

-TULSA AT TEMPLE (American).  It’s hard to totally count out Tulsa due to their win over Houston, but they still have a lot of work to do.

-RICHMOND AT SAINT JOSEPH’S (Atlantic Ten).  Richmond is outside the bubble and has been a bit of a disappointment this year, but I still think they have the potential to be good and can still land inside the bubble if they continue to string together wins.

-OKLAHOMA AT TEXAS (Big 12).  It’s the basketball version of the Red River Shootout!  Oklahoma is fresh off their big win against Kansas, and Texas is within reach of getting a #1 seed.  They’ll be without Shaka Smart, but they are still one of the best teams in the country.

-KENTUCKY AT ALABAMA (SEC).  Alabama has landed in the top ten, and deservedly so.  I don’t think I’ve ever said this about this match-up, but Alabama needs to avoid a bad loss to Kentucky to stay high in the rankings.

-MISSISSIPPI STATE AT TENNESSEE (SEC).  Tennessee has lost two straight and slipped a little bit, but they should be able to bounce back tonight in what is a very winnable home conference game.

-SMU AT MEMPHIS (American).  SMU has a path to landing inside the bubble, but they pretty much need to take care of business in all their conference games minus Houston.  Winning on the road at Memphis isn’t necessarily easy, but making the NCAA Tournament isn’t necessarily easy.

-NORTH CAROLINA AT PITTSBURGH (ACC).  Both teams are outside the bubble, but within reach of it.  Pitt is trying to bounce back from a rather damaging loss to Wake Forest.  Both teams should be coming into this one with a sense of urgency.

-DRAKE AT MISSOURI STATE (Missouri Valley).  These are two of the best teams in the MVC, and its’ a chance for Drake to pick up a really good road win that could jump out at the committee.  Drake is also unbeaten, so this game has several storylines.

-DAYTON AT SAINT LOUIS (Atlantic Ten).  It’s the Arch Baron Cup!!!  It’s the greatest rivalry in all of college sports!!!  It’s also the first conference game for SLU.  The Billikins still have a lot of work to do, which includes trying to get several conference games made up and rescheduled.

-BUTLER AT UCONN (Big East).  UConn has been in a bit of a tailspin, but they should be able to pull themselves out of it and get a win tonight.

-MISSOURI AT AUBURN (SEC).  Auburn isn’t the easiest place to win, but Missouri is making a case that they should be a protected seed, and these are the kinds of road games that protected seeds need to be able to win.

-GEORGIA TECH AT DUKE (ACC).  GA Tech is inching closer and closer to being inside the bubble.  They’ve looked good this season after a bit of a slow start, and this could be another nice win on their resume.  Duke is also outside the bubble and needs to string together some wins just to get back into the conversation.

-LSU AT TEXAS A&M (SEC).  LSU has taken a few steps back and needs to get a win on the road tonight to help get things turned back around.