Hoops HD

NEWS AND NOTES:

-For John Stalica’s UTR Game of the Day, which is one of the classics as he highlights the Winward Cup – CLICK HERE

-UCLA is in a tailspin and they got absolutely run out of the building by Maryland last night 79-61. Head Coach Mick Cronin, who had been critical of his team earlier in the week, decided to leave early after being ejected with just over 5 minutes to go. I still expect that UCLA will turn itself around, but they’re in a bit of a mess right now. As for Maryland, this was a win they kind of needed.

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HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:

-LOUISVILLE AT PITTSBURGH (ACC). Louisville keeps winning despite all the injuries they’ve had, but today will be a tough test. They’re on the road against a very good Pitt team. Pitt was also just blasted by Duke and is looking to bounce back. As good as Louisville has been, this would probably be their biggest win of the year so far if they’re able to pull it off.

-SAN DIEGO STATE AT NEW MEXICO (Mountain West). This is a big test for two teams that look like they’re good enough to make the NCAA Tournament and have very respectable profiles, but still have a lot of work to do and could really use this win today.

-IOWA STATE AT TEXAS TECH (Big 12). This is a big road test for Iowa State, but Iowa State has been passing big tests all year long. Right now they look like a team that could get a 1 seed and win the Big 12. As for Texas Tech, this would be one of their biggest wins of the year so far even though they’re at home.

-CONNECTICUT AT GEORGETOWN (Big East). Georgetown lost a tough one at Marquette earlier in the week, but it was hardly a bad loss and if anything it should instill some confidence in them. This is another big opportunity for them at home and the atmosphere around this one should be one of their bigger home games in a while. As for UConn, they’re coming off a tough road loss to Villanova and will be looking to bounce back. Their overall resume is still very solid and they still have a path to a protected seed.

-KANSAS AT CINCINNATI (Big 12). Cincinnati is in a tailspin and they need a win, any win, to pull themselves out of it. That’s far easier said than done, though. Kansas is high in the rankings and clearly the superior team. Having said that, Kansas is just 1-2 in true road games, so a win would help fill out their resume a little bit.

-FLORIDA STATE AT CLEMSON (ACC). Florida State is a respectable 11-4, but their overall resume needs a lot of work. Having said that, a road win in a game like this would mean doing a lot of work. As for Clemson, they’re coming off a loss at Louisville and this would be a nice bounce back game for them.

-VANDERBILT AT MISSOURI (SEC). The SEC is an absolute gauntlet, and as good as these two teams are they may have trouble racking up enough wins in conference play to ensure themselves a spot in the dance. That’s what makes this game so important.

-FLORIDA AT ARKANSAS (SEC). A tough road test for the Gators who are coming off a huge win against Tennessee. Arkansas has lost two straight and should have a sense of urgency coming into this one. They’ve been very strong at home this year and they need to get it done today.

-NORTH CAROLINA AT NC STATE (ACC). This is a huge rivalry game, and it’s a game that North Carolina could really stand to win. Given their shaky OOC record some people have sort of given up on the Tarheels, but the OOC schedule was really strong and I think they’ll be just fine and will start stringing together wins in conference play.

-TENNESSEE AT TEXAS (SEC). After putting together some of the most impressive and dominating showings of any team this season, Tennessee could not get their motor started at all against Florida earlier in the week and was blown off the floor. Winning at Texas may not be as tough as winning at Florida, but it is still a very tall order. Having said that, it’s the kind of game that a #1 or #2 seeded team should be able to win.

-OKLAHOMA AT GEORGIA (SEC). The Sooners have suddenly lost two straight and are 0-2 in SEC play. The complexion of their season has changed since their 13-0 start and you get the sense that this is a pivotal game for them. It certainly won’t be an easy game. Georgia is a damn good team that is 13-2 overall and just knocked off Kentucky earlier this week.

-LSU AT OLE MISS (SEC). LSU has lost two straight and has just one true road win on the season. This is another game that has a pivotal feel for it. A win for LSU would be huge and get them turned around in the right direction, a loss suddenly puts them at 0-3 in league play. It won’t be easy. Ole Miss is a perfect 8-0 at home and coming off a nice win at Arkansas.

-VILLANOVA AT SAINT JOHN’S (Big East). Villanova is really starting to come to life, and they just picked up a huge win against UConn. If they can follow that up with a road win against a Saint John’s team that’s also been playing really well, then we’ll have to start thinking of them as a likely tournament caliber team.

-ALABAMA AT TEXAS A&M (SEC). Both teams are ranked in the top ten and both are on a trajectory to end up as protected seeds. This would be one of the bigger wins of the year for Bama if they’re somehow able to pull it off.

-INDIANA AT IOWA (Big Ten). Indiana has been on fire lately. As much as I beat them up earlier in the year, I now think they’re a legit top 25 caliber team. This is a tough road game, but it’s one they can win given how they’ve been playing. It’s a big game for Iowa as well, who’s trying to position themselves safely inside the bubble.

-KENTUCKY AT MISSISSIPPI STATE (SEC). Both teams are high in the rankings and this is yet another high level showecase for the SEC. It’s one of two SEC games today that features two top 15 teams. Kentucky is looking to bounce back from their loss at Georgia. As good as they are, they’ve struggled in true road games. Things don’t get any easier against Mississippi State tonight, who should be jacked way up for this one. They are an incredible 14-1 this season and perfect in the SEC.

-WASHINGTON STATE AT GONZAGA (West Coast). I was really big on Wazzu, so of course they somehow dropped one at home to Pacific earlier this week. They may have been looking ahead to this one. It’s a fun regional rivalry, and for the first time it’s actually a conference game! Gonzaga is still good enough to play their way into a strong protected seed and do a lot of damage in March, but they need to hold serve in games like this.

-BOISE STATE AT UTAH STATE (Mountain West ). These are two of the better teams in the Mountain West. The storyline for Boise State is that they’re on the bubble and they could use a big win in a game like this to give their resume a huge upgrade. The story for Utah State is that they’re really good, they’re in the rankings, and they can continue to climb the polls if they can keep stringing together wins in the conference.

-BAYLOR AT ARIZONA STATE (Big 12). Both teams are good, but both could really use this win. Both come in at 10-4 and while they’ve looked good and have some decent wins, neither is really on cruise control.

-UCF AT ARIZONA (Big 12). Arizona is starting to come together after playing a brutal OOC schedule and dropping a few games against it. They should be able to hold serve against a decent, but not great, UCF team. UCF can give their resume a huge boost if they could somehow pull this one out on the road.

-UC IRVINE AT UC SAN DIEGO (Big West). I’m probably more excited for this game than any other today!! Both teams are good, and I think both can land inside the bubble and make the Big West a two-bid league. It goes without saying that this would be a huge win on either team’s resume, so it should be a fun one to watch.

OTHER NOTABLE GAMES:

–Notre Dame @ Duke (ACC). Duke is one of the teams that’s contending for a 1 seed and should be able to hold serve at home

-USC @ Illinois (Big Ten) – Illinois is on fire right now and should be able to hold serve against a USC team that’s nowhere near the bubble

–La Salle @ Saint Bonaventure (Atlantic 10) – Saint Bonaventure needs to bounce back from a loss. A win still gets them to an impressive 15-2

–Creighton @ Butler (Big East) – Creighton is about to start a stretch of games that should be winnable. They need to hold serve in all these games. today is a road game, but it’s one they should win

–Auburn @ South Carolina (SEC) – Auburn is on fire and they’ll likely be ranked #1 in the new poll if they can take care of business in this one

–East Carolina @ Memphis (American) – Memphis has had a great year and they should be able to cruise through this one today

–BYU @ TCU (Big 12). BYU is on the outside looking in and could use a notable road win to take a step in the right direction

–Cornell @ Columbia (Ivy League) – this game should be a ton of fun. It’s the conference opener after Columbia’s very impressive 12-2 run in OOC games

–Princeton @ Harvard (Ivy League) – Princeton may have a shot to land inside the bubble, but they probably have to run the table to do it

–Bradley @ UIC (Missouri Valley) – Bradley is looking to bounce back from the loss to Drake and get to 14-3 on the year

–Georgia Tech @ SMU (ACC) – SMU has a lot of work to do, but they do have a path if they can perform well in the ACC

–Wake Forest @ Miami FL (ACC) – Wake hasn’t been getting a lot of attention, but they are 11-4 overall, 3-1 in conference play, and have a winnable road game today which will keep them well positioned if they take care of business

–Houston @ Kansas State (Big 12) – Houston is starting to string together wins and should be able to pick this one up on the road. They’re still one of the best teams in the Big 12

–Rhode Island @ Richmond (Atlantic 10) – Rhody doesn’t have the best profile, but a win does get them to 13-3 overall and evens their record in the A10 at 2-2

–Evansville @ Drake (Missouri Valley) – Evansville has been playing well lately, but this is still one that Drake should win at home

–San Francisco @ Santa Clara (West Coast) – a bay area rivalry. San Francisco is 14-4 and while they have a lot of work to do to reach the bubble, they do have a path. This would be a nice road win for them if they can pull it off

–Liberty @ Louisiana Tech (Conference USA) – these were the two preseason favorites, and even though LA Tech has stumbled early, Liberty is also coming off a loss. This should be a good one

-New Mexico State @ UTEP – UTEP is 12-3 and can improve upon that if they can get a win over their rivals tonight

–Saint Mary’s @ San Diego (West Coast) – This should be a winnable road game for SMC, which would be their 3rd of the year

NEWS AND NOTES:

-Oregon picked up a big road win at Ohio State 73-71, which may have been the most exciting contest between these two schools in basketball and football this year! Oregon is now 14-2 with three true road wins, and of the three this was probably the most impressive.

-Washington State, who I had just gotten done praising a few days ago, lost in overtime to Pacific 95-94. They were behind for much of the game, but got the lead in overtime only to lose it when a last second shot went in for the Tigers. Pacific is not a good team, and to lose to them at home will put.a big dent in Wazzu’s profile.

-A couple of surprising Under the Radar results, Lipscomb lost at home to Queens, which was a bit of a shock, and Vermont picked up a big win against UMass Lowell. Vermont is the normal conference frontrunner, but they had looked really sluggish for most of the season so far, so that was a big one yesterday.

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HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:

-MINNESOTA AT WISCONIN (Big Ten). Wisky can get to 13-3 and stay well positioned if they can hold serve and get this one against their rivals.

-UCLA AT MARYLAND (Big Ten). UCLA has lost three of their last four, and Coach Mick Cronin basically called is team out earlier in the week. This is something he’s done in the past, and when he’s done it, he’s sometimes gotten a response. Maryland is not an easy place to win, but if UCLA were to pull this off it would turn things around for them in a big way and make their resume look a lot better.

NEWS AND NOTES:

-For our latest Under the Radar Video Podcast – CLICK HERE

-Villanova is on a roll! They held on for what was perhaps a season defining win as they beat UConn 68-66. After a bit of a sluggish start they’ve now won eight of their last nine and have beaten both Cincinnati and Villanova in that stretch. They still have work to do, but they are definitely trending in the right direction.

-Texas A&M got a huge road win at Oklahoma 80-78, which is one of their better wins of the season so far. Oklahoma has now dropped two straight and while they’re still in good shape overall, they are in a bit of a tailspin after the 13-0 start.

-Ole Miss got a really nice road win at Arkansas 76-66. It was just the second true road win of the season for the Rebels and it came against a team that’s typically very tough to beat at home.

-After getting absolutely dump-trucked over the weekend by Kansas, UCF bounced back with a big 75-74 win over Colorado. Colorado has exceeded all expectations, but they still don’t have quite as strong of a profile as they need to start thinking of them as a solid tournament team. But, they’ll certainly have those chances between now and the end.

-George Washington followed up their big blowout win against Dayton with an impressive 75-67 road win at Rhode Island last night. This has sort of come out of nowhere. GW is now suddenly looking like the strongest team in the Atlantic 10.

-Dayton is NOT looking like the strongest team in the Atlantic 10. They lost at UMass 76-72 last night, and are starting to look like a team that doesn’t belong in the NCAA Tournament at all. At the end of November we were singing their praises and saying we thought they could end up as a protected seed. Now it’s looking like they may be headed to the NIT. Playing in the Atlantic 10 means that if they hit the skids and lose several games in a row their profile takes a major hit because they don’t have the opportunities to offset those losses with big time wins late in the year.

-Drake, who had dropped two straight, rebounded in a big way with a 64-57 road win at Bradley. The road to landing inside the bubble is still very narrow for Drake, but last night’s win was one they should get a lot of credit for considering how good Bradley is and that it was a road game.

-Saint Bonaventure, whose bloated record had gotten our attention, fell 73-68 at Saint Louis last night. The Atlantic 10 seems set on eating itself and becoming a one-bid league this year.

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HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:

-OREGON AT OHIO STATE (Big Ten). Ohio State has been a little inconsistent this year, but when they’ve looked good, they’ve looked REALLY good. Oregon is having a great year, but in their last two games they were blown out by Illinois and barely got by Maryland. Both those games were at home, and this will be a very tough road test tonight.

-PURDUE AT RUTGERS (Big Ten). Purdue is having a great year, but to date they only have one true road win, so this would strengthen their resume a little bit if they’re able to pull this off. Rutgers has lost three of their last four and is in a bit of a tailspin.

-WASHINGTON AT MICHIGAN STATE (Big Ten). The Spartans have been looking really strong and should be able to hold serve in this one.

-VMI AT SAMFORD (SoCon). A win for Samford gets tthem to a very impressive 13-3 on the year.

-PACIFIC AT WASHINGTON STATE (West Coast). I really like this Wazzu team and they can get to 14-3 on the year with a win tonight.

-UC IRVINE AT CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE (Big West). This will be a tough road game for UC Irvine, but they have had a great season, they have a path toward landing inside the bubble, and this is the kind of game they need to be able to win in order for that to happen.

-OREGON STATE AT SANTA CLARA (West Coast). This is a bit of a challenge for Oregon State on the road. If they can pull off the win it will get them to 13-4 on the year.