East Tennessee State (10-7, 3-1) at Furman (14-3, 2-2) – 7:00 PM ET (ESPN+)
Tonight’s UTR Game of the Day heads to Greenville, South Carolina for a Southern Conference matchup between a pair of traditional heavyweights as the East Tennessee State Buccaneers take on the hometown Furman Paladins. Furman got off to a 12-1 start overall, but losses in two of their last 3 contests (at UNC-Greensboro and at home against Wofford) have slowed that momentum. Even the lone win in this stretch didn’t come easy against perennial doormat Citadel. PJay Smith averages 16.3 points a game for Furman.
ETSU, on the other hand, looked like they were on the skids after losing four out of their last five games before SoCon play began. Wofford also got a road win at ETSU to give the Bucs their only conference loss to date; their wins came against VMI, Citadel and Mercer on the road. Jaden Seymour averages 16.6 points a game and 6.7 rebounds a game for the Bucs.
-Auburn, who was down a key player due to an injury, showed no signs of missing him. They blew a really good Mississippi State team off the court 88-66.
-Ole Miss picked up one of the most impressive singular wins of the year with their 74-64 road win at Alabama. Bama was looking like they may be good enough to end up on the #1 line, so for Ole Miss to go in and get that one is a HUGE boost to their resume, and is now making a solid case that they should be a protected seed. And they weren’t the only ones that got a massive road win!
-Missouri sprinted out to a huge lead against Florida and was up 50-34 in the second half. The Gators kept chipping away at it, and in the final minutes were all the way back in it with a chance to win, but couldn’t quite complete the comeback. Mizzou held on to win 83-82 and after beating them up for doing nothing on the road for most of the season, I now have to concede that they’ve now done something on the road. That was a MASSIVE road win and it completely changes the complexion of their resume.
-Marquette trailed DePaul for most of the game, but kept it close, and was able to pull out the 85-83 win in overtime and avoid the big road upset.
-Kentucky pulled away from Texas A&M in the second half and added another really big win to their resume as they held on 81-69. Kentucky is having an outstanding season in Mark Pope’s first year.
-For the second game in a row, Indiana was absolutely blown off the floor. Illinois went into Bloomington and crushed them 94-69. The fans are starting to get quite anxious in Indiana.
-Wisconsin and Ohio State came down to the wire, but the Badgers held on to win 70-68. Wisky just broke into the top 25 and is continuing to climb the metrics and the rankings.
-Arizona is now a perfect 5-0 in Big 12 play after picking up another nice win by knocking off a pretty good Baylor team 81-70. Arizona fans were a little concerned due to a rough run OOC, but I’d say they’re back on track now.
-Villanova, who had been playing really well, lost their second straight game as they fell at Xavier 69-63. This is a major setback for a team that appeared to be playing their way into the NCAA Tournament discussion.
-Saint John’s v Georgetown was a thriller with Georgetown jumping out to a controlling lead early on, but then saw the Johnnies fight back, come back, and then hold on to win 63-58. Had Georgetown managed to pull this off we’d have started to have to take them seriously, and it has been a while since we’ve said that. Saint John’s is now an impressive 15-3 on the year, and all three losses were by a single possession, so no one should be overlooking them.
-New Mexico, who had absolutely been on fire, really shot themselves in the foot yesterday with the 71-70 loss at San Jose State. They didn’t shoot themselves in the face, but they did hurt themselves with that one.
-UCF, who many had written off after they got absolutely blown up all over the place by Kansas, picked up a real nice 95-89 road win at Arizona State last night, and has a resume that indicates they should be considered for the NCAA Tournament.
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HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-SOUTH CAROLINA AT VANDERBILT (SEC). Vandy is a very solid 13-3. There isn’t much low hanging fruit in the SEC, and while a home game against South Carolina isn’t the easiest game to win, it’s not nearly as difficult to win as most other SEC games, so Vandy needs to hold serve tonight.
-STANFORD AT WAKE FOREST (ACC). Wake has been playing really well lately and can play their way inside the bubble if they keep stringing together wins.
-KANSAS AT IOWA STATE (Big 12). This is perhaps the biggest showcase game in the Big 12 this year outside the possibility of when the two face each other for a second time. Both teams are high in the rankings, both appear to be probable protected seeds, and Iowa State could end up as a #1 seed, especially if they’re able to add this win to their resume.
-CALIFORNIA AT NORTH CAROLINA (ACC). UNC has won five of their last six and should be able to pick this one up tonight without too much trouble.
-RICHMOND AT SAINT BONAVENTURE (Atlantic 10). No one in the A10 is currently inside our bubble. Perhaps a team like the Bonnies can get there, but they pretty much need to win out to do it.
-GEORGE MASON AT DAYTON (Atlantic 10). Dayton is no longer inside our bubble, but they do have a path to get there if they can blow through the rest of their schedule. Having said that, they haven’t looked good at all in their last few games, and if they drop this one at home and fall to 1-3 in the A10 then chances are they’ll need the auto bid to make the field.
-SAMFORD AT MERCER (SoCon). A win for Samford gets them to a very impressive 15-3.
-EAST TENNESSEE STATE AT FURMAN (SoCon). A win for Furman gets them to a very impressive 15-3.
-PENN STATE AT MICHIGAN STATE (Big Ten). Penn State has had some nice wins and can really improve their position if they’re somehow able to pull off a win tonight, but it won’t be easy. Michigan State is 14-2 and looking like they could end up as a protected seed come March.
-GEORGIA AT TENNESSEE (SEC). Both teams are in the rankings, both have multiple big wins, but Tennessee just appears to be the better team. The Vols are still very much within reach of a #1 seed and should be able to pick this one up at home.
-WEST VIRGINIA AT HOUSTON (Big 12). Houston keeps winning and keeps winning decisively. Their resume doesn’t have any huge wins on it, but it is still getting better and better as the season goes on. West Virginia is a likely tournament team, and if Houston can pick this one up they will continue to climb the metrics.
-INDIANA STATE AT BRADLEY (Missouri Valley). A win for Bradley gets them to 15-3 on the year and keeps them in position of having an outside shot of reaching the bubble.
-CINCINNATI AT COLORADO (Big 12). Both teams are winless in conference, both are in a complete downward spiral, and it’s looking like neither one will end up in the NCAA Tournament at the rate their going. They both really need to turn things around, so they both really need this win tonight.
-SMU AT VIRGINIA (ACC). SMU is on the outside looking in, but they do have a path to landing inside the bubble. Having said that, this is the kind of game they need to win in order to get there.
-PITTSBURGH AT FLORIDA STATE (ACC). This isn’t an easy road game for Pitt, but it’s one they should win if they really are a solid tournament caliber team.
-ILLINOIS STATE AT DRAKE (Missouri Valley). Drake can get to 15-2 with a win and stay within reach of the bubble.
-PURDUE AT WASHINGTON (Big Ten). It’s never easy to cross multiple timezones and get a win, but Purdue is a solid team and should be able to pick this one up.
-TEXAS AT OKLAHOMA (SEC). The Red River Shootout!!! Both teams have solid resumes, but both come in at 0-3 in SEC play and are in a bit of a tailspin. It’s a rivalry game that both of them are kind of coming into with a sense of urgency.
-UTAH STATE AT UNLV (Mountain West). Utah State continues to win games, climb the polls, climb the metrics, and that should continue tonight.
Valparaiso (10-7, 3-3) at Belmont (12-5, 4-2) – 7:30 PM ET (ESPN+)
Tonight’s UTR Game of the Day heads to Nashville for a Missouri Valley Conference matchup between the Valparaiso Beacons (nee Crusaders) and the Belmont Bruins. It’s been a while since Valpo has been on a roll in conference play; they had a three game winning streak with victories against Missouri State on the road followed by home wins against Northern Iowa and Indiana State. However, the streak ended in their last contest – a 58-47 loss at Murray State. Cooper Schweiger leads the Beacons with 14.5 points a game and 6.8 rebounds per game.
Belmont has also had a 3-game winning streak in conference play; they still have it active with a road win at Indiana State along with home wins against Illinois-Chicago and Southern Illinois. So far, the only two losses in conference play for the Bruins have come at Drake and Northern Iowa. Jonathan Pierre leads Belmony with 14 points a game and 7.1 rebounds a game.
-UCLA continues to spiral downward. They’ve now lost four straight after falling at Rutgers last night 75-68. Rutgers is a very talented team, but right now they are nowhere near the bubble and this is a game the Bruins really needed. We don’t know who Mick Cronin will blame for this loss.
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HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-VILLANOVA AT XAVIER (Big East). Villanova still has a lot of ground to make up, but they have been playing better despite the loss to Saint John’s over the weekend. This is a winnable road game that they could (and need to) pick up. The lights are just about out at Xavier, but the last time they had Zach Freemantle in their lineup against Villanova, they beat the Wildcats in Philadelphia two years ago.
-MISSISSIPPI STATE AT AUBURN (SEC). Auburn is at home as the top ranked team and they’re facing a Mississippi State team that is also ranked in the top 15. It’s a showcase came for both teams with a shot at a very high caliber win. Auburn will be without Johni Broome, but they’re still a very deep and talented team that won’t be easy to beat at home.
-OLE MISS AT ALABAMA (SEC). Ole Miss is good, but Alabama is playing at a level where they may end up with a #1 or #2 seed and beating them on the road is no easy task.
-MARQUETTE AT DEPAUL (Big East). Marquette is rolling and should be able to pick this one up on the road without having to sweat too much.
-TEXAS A&M AT KENTUCKY (SEC). Both teams are on pace to end up as protected seeds, and Kentucky in particular is having a fantastic season. This is just one of those regular seasons showcase games that should be a blast to watch. It seems like we say that about every SEC game.
ILLINOIS AT INDIANA (Big Ten). Illinois has been on an absolute tear. Or…at least they had been. They’re coming off a rather inexplicable home loss to USC, which ended a solid five game winning streak. Indiana has been playing a lot better as well, but is also coming off a rather bad (and decisive) loss and is looking to bounce back at home tonight.
-LOUISVILLE AT SYRACUSE (ACC). Louisville’s resume just keeps getting better and better as they keep winning. This is another winnable road game for the Cardinals.
-GEORGETOWN AT SAINT JOHN’S (Big East). Georgetown is noticeably better than they’ve been in a very long time. While making the NCAA Tournament is still a possibility, they still have a very long way to go to get there. Saint John’s keeps winning games and I have a feeling that by the end of the year their resume is going to look very solid.
-PROVIDENCE AT CREIGHTON (Big East). Creighton has a stretch of winnable games right in front of them, and if they can hold serve in all of them they should be in decent shape. We certainly wouldn’t advise losing against a Providence team that has not shown much life in Big East play, save for a near miss at UConn.
-MIAMI FL AT DUKE (ACC). This is a winnable game for Duke that may end up looking a lot like a buy game.
-MISSOURI AT FLORIDA (SEC). I’ve been beating up on Mizzou quite a bit for not doing anything on the road. They can shut me up in a big hurry if they can somehow get this one at Florida. The Gators are a team that can end up as high as a #1 seed, and the last home game they played was a blowout against Tennessee.
-OHIO STATE AT WISCONSIN (Big Ten). Wisconsin has cracked the rankings and can continue to add to their resume. Ohio State has some really good wins, but they still have some work to do. Having said that, a road win at Wisconsin would constitute “doing a lot of work.”
-TEXAS TECH AT KANSAS STATE (Big 12). Texas Tech has some really good things on their resume, but they’ve got some really big holes in it as well. This is the kind of road game that isn’t easy to win, but that a tournament caliber team should be able to win.
-CLEMSON AT GEORGIA TECH (ACC). Clemson hasn’t done much on the road. This is a winnable road game, and they need to win it. Simply as that.
-WYOMING AT BOISE STATE (Mountain West). Boise State is squarely on our bubble and must hold serve in games like this one.
-ARKANSAS AT LSU (SEC). Both teams are on the outside looking in and while both will have a lot of opportunities to build up their profile between now and the end of the year, both will be overmatched in most of their games between now and the end of the year, so this one has a sense of urgency to it.
-NEW MEXICO AT SAN JOSE STATE (Mountain West). New Mexico should be able to add a conference road win to their profile tonight.
-IOWA AT USC (Big Ten). This is a winnable road game for Iowa. It’s not an easy game to win on the road, but it’s one that they should be able to win.
-BAYLOR AT ARIZONA (Big 12) . Arizona has been playing much better over the last couple of weeks and can add another nice win to their resume tonight against a good, but beatable, Baylor team.
-UCF AT ARIZONA STATE (Big 12). This game has a very bubbilicious feel to it. Both teams are positioned to play their way inside the bubble, but both still have some work to do in order to make that happen. Tonight’s game is big for both teams.
-COLORADO STATE AT SAN DIEGO STATE (Mountain West). Colorado State is playing really well, but this is still a game that a tournament caliber team like San Diego State should be able to win at home.
We start off by looking at the utter ridiculous strength in the SEC. Tomorrow night features three SEC games where both teams are ranked in the current top 15. Auburn is ranked #1 in the poll, and while they did lose a key player in Johni Broome over the weekend, the prognosis appears to be that he will return before the end of the year. Arizona is starting to heat up in the Big 12, Iowa State is ranked as high as #2 in the nation, and Kansas and Houston are continuing to string together wins. Utah State continues to climb the rankings out of the Mountain West and won a thriller against Boise State this past weekend, The Big Ten has more than half the conference in position to make the NCAAs, Memphis looks like they’re good enough to run the table in the American. We discuss all that, and more.
And, for all you radio lovers, below is an audio only version of the show…
For Jon Teitel’s latest Bracket Projections –CLICK HERE
-Oregon barely held on, but did get a very nice road win against Penn State. The game came down to the wire, but the Ducks picked up their 4th true road win of the season with the 82-81 win. Penn State has now lost three straight and it doesn’t get any easier as they head to Michigan State on Wednesday. Speaking of the Spartans…
-Michigan State picked up another nice road win as they beat Northwestern 78-68.
-UCLA AT RUTGERS (Big Ten). UCLA has now lost four of their last five, and in each game they’ve looked worse than the previous one. This is not an easy road game to win, but it’s the kind of game they should still be able to win if they’re a solid tournament team.
-MINNESOTA AT MARYLAND (Big Ten). Maryland is safely inside the bubble (for now) and should be able to hold serve at home in this one.
-WOFFORD AT FURMAN (SoCon). This is one of the premier rivalries in the SoCon. Furman is 14-2 and while the path they have to landing inside the bubble is extremely narrow and basically requires them to win out, they do at least have a path.
