Hoops HD

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NEWS AND NOTES:

-Michigan looks like the best team in the country. Period. They are absolutely bulldozing everyone they play and have been since Thanksgiving. McNeese is a good team and Michigan beat them by about 50. The final score was 112-71. The Wolverines are simply awesome.

-There were nine top 20 teams in action last night and all held serve and won. Michigan State had a little trouble with Cornell, but was able to get the win. Alabama had absolutely no trouble whatsoever with a very good Yale team and blew them off the floor 102-78.

-Belmont lost an overtime thriller to Indiana State 81-80. They had to battle just to force OT, and then had a shot at the end to win it, but couldn’t get it to go down. As is the situation with all Under the Radar teams trying to make the NCAA Tournament, it’s a damaging loss that they won’t get the chance to recover from.

-Another Under the Radar surprise was Wright State beating Oakland, and doing so rather handily 88-73. At no point did it seem like Wright State was not in control of that game.

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HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:

MIAMI OH AT BOWLING GREEN (MAC). Miami is coming into this one a perfect 13-0, but this is by far their toughest test of the season so far. They’re on the road against a really good Bowling Green team who has played a tougher schedule and may arguably have a better overall profile. The question is can Miami remain unbeaten after tonight.

-LOUISVILLE AT CALIFORNIA (ACC). Cal is having a much better year than expected and Louisville, while good, has yet to win a true road game. For Cal, this would be a chance to pick up another notable win, and for Louisville it’s a chance to round out their profile with a true road win against a solid opponent.

-BUTLER AT CREIGHTON (Big East). Creighton has been playing better, but they have a lot of catching up to do. Butler is having a solid year and right now looks like they’d be inside the bubble, but we have a long way to go. This is the kind of road game that tournament caliber teams should be able to win, so we’ll see what Butler can do tonight.

-NEW MEXICO AT BOISE STATE (Mountain West). Both teams need to build up their profiles and both could really use this win tonight. Considering that there are a limited number of chances to pick up big wins in conference play, there should be a sense of urgency for both these teams tonight because this would be one of the better wins of the season for whichever team pulls it off.

OTHER NOTABLE GAMES:

-Wyoming @ Air Force (Front Range) – We at Hoops HD Love the Front Range!! Wyoming needs to bounce back from a loss to Grand Canyon, and quite frankly needs to pretty much run the table the rest of the way if they want to end up inside the bubble

-Florida State @ North Carolina (ACC) – North Carolina is on a solid pace to end up as a protected seed and should be able to hold serve in their conference opener

-Seton Hall @ Marquette (Big East) – Marquette’s season has basically gone off a cliff whereas Seton Hall is one of the biggest surprise teams of the year. The Pirates should be able to get this one on the road

-Pittsburgh @ Miami FL – Miami is having a really solid year despite not having a whole lot of media attention on them. They should be able to hold serve at home and improve to 12-2 overall

-Nevada @ Colorado State (Mountain West) – neither team is completely out of the picture in regards to being able to make a run at the bubble, but both teams have a ton of work to do and both could really use this win tonight

-Saint Mary’s @ Pepperdine (West Coast) – Saint Mary’s has strung together some decent wins lately and should be able to pick this one up on the road tonight

-Utah State @ Fresno State (Mountain West) – Utah State clearly looks to be the best team in the MWC, but having said that this is not the easiest game to win. Fresno has played well at times this year and they’re at home tonight

-Notre Dame @ Stanford (ACC) – Stanford is having a solid season and while Notre Dame is certainly formidable and looks to be getting better, it’s a game where the Cardinal should be able to hold serve

-Gonzaga @ San Diego (West Coast) – The Zags should be able to hold serve and get this conference road win without too much trouble

-Washington State @ Seattle U (West Coast) – Seattle is on the outside looking in, but they’ve done well enough to where they are positioned to make a run at the bubble if they can do well throughout conference play. That means holding serve in games like this one tonight

BUY GAMES:

-Milwaukee @ Wisconsin
-South Carolina State @ Tennessee
-New Hampshire @ Nebraska

NEWS AND NOTES:

-Northern Colorado followed up their surprise home loss to Denver with a big road win at Colorado 86-81. It is the 5th true road win of the season for NOCO and their biggest overall win by far. As for Colorado, it is a bit of a setback for a team that was showing signs of being able to play its way inside the bubble.

-Richmond fell at home to Charleston Southern 77-72. Richmond was my dark horse team this season, and while they did get off to a promising start this season, yesterday was a very unpromising result.

-Saint Mary’s got a battle from LMU, but held on to win 78-73 in a game that featured a pretty wild last minute of play.

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HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:

-MCEEESE AT MICHIGAN. McNeese is one of the top Under the Radar teams. Michigan is one of the top teams period, if not THE top team. It’s a buy game and Michigan should win. Seeing as how they’ve been blowing out top 25 caliber teams in the last month or so Michigan may blow them out. Having said that, this is McNeese’s shot at the national stage and a shot at collecting a major signature win. They may have a better shot at winning the lottery, but at least they get to play the game.

-YALE AT ALABAMA. Another example of one of the top UTR teams going on the road and playing one of the top overall teams. Alabama likes to shoot the three, so if Yale can close out on them beyond the arc, they may be able to make this one interesting. If Yale were to pull the upset, it’s the kind of win that can land them inside the bubble. But, it’s a very tall order.

OTHER NOTABLE GAMES:

-Kent State @ Purdue – Kent State is one of the better teams in the MAC, but they are likely way overmatched tonight

-Marist @ Quinnipiac (MAAC) – neither team is anywhere near the bubble, but these look to be two of the better teams in the conference and the result in this one tonight could have a big impact on the final outcome

-Towson @ William & Mary (CAA) – these are two of the better teams in the CAA and it should be both a fun and important matchup

-Belmont @ Indiana State (Missouri Valley) – nearly every road game in the Valley is tough, but Belmont is a tough team. They have a chance at making a run at the bubble, but they need to blow through this league to do it and that means winning all the tough road games

-California Baptist @ Utah Valley (WAC) – this is the first of three games between these two this year as the league is playing a triple-round-robin. They also appear to be the two strongest teams in the conference.

-Utah @ Washington – both teams are on the outside looking in and both have work to do. Having said that, both have shown promise. Now, having said THAT, both teams really need this one tonight

BUY GAMES:

-NC Central @ Penn State
-Southern @ Illinois
-Arlington Baptist (nonD1) @ Baylor
-UMass Lowell @ Iowa
-Dartmouth @ Florida
-Cornell @ Michigan State
-New Haven @ Vanderbilt
-Long Island @ Georgia
-Houston Christian @ Iowa State
-Middle Tennessee @ Houston
-James Madison @ Arkansas
-Southern Miss @ LSU
-Prairie View @ Texas A&M
-Mississippi Valley State @ Oklahoma
-Bethune Cookman @ Oklahoma State
-Jackson State @ TCU
-South Dakota State @ Arizona
-Queens @ Auburn

-Stanford got a battle from Cal State Northridge and trailed for much of the game, but finally got control in the lats couple of minutes and held on for the 88-80 win.

–Winthrop @ Texas Tech – it’s a buy game, and given Texas Tech’s most recent win against Duke it’s one they should win easily, but Winthrop is one of the better teams in the Big South and we’ve seen them play well in some of their previous road buy games so Texas Tech better not completely overlook them.

-Northern Colorado @ Colorado (Front Range) – We at Hoops HD Love the Front Range!!! Northern Colorado is a good team who is coming off a rather surprising loss to Denver. Colorado is having a much better year than expected, so the storyline to this one is kind of fun.

-Columbia @ North Florida – This is a winnable road game for Columbia that would get them to 10 -3 on the year

-Santa Clara @ Oregon State (West Coast) – I still think this Santa Clara team has a high ceiling, but they are definitely running out of strikes and can’t afford to lose this one or any others like it

-Saint Mary’s @ LMU (West Coast) – this is a tough road test for SMC, but it’s one they should be able to win if they are a tournament-caliber team

-Gonzaga @ Pepperdine (West Coast) – if the Zags hold serve the rest of the way they should cruise to a protected seed

-UL Monroe @ Kansas State
-Cal State Fullerton @ SMU
-Principia (nonD1) @ Saint Louis
-Charleston Southern @ Richmond
-Pennsylvania @ George Mason
-Stanton (nonD1) @ UC San Diego