NEWS AND NOTES:
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-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.
