Hoops HD

NEWS AND NOTES

-For John Stalica’s UTR Game of the Day between Saint Peter’s and Monmouth – CLICK HERE

-Duke v North Carolina was a much more thrilling game than what I was expecting.  UNC led (seemingly comfortably) for most of the game, but Duke fought their way back in, and forced turnovers, and got the game into overtime after a made freethrow – missed freethrow – offensive rebound – shot at the buzzer sequence.  Then in overtime they were again down by multiple possessions in the final minute, but forced turnovers, made shots, and then hit a shot at the buzzer to win the game.  It has been a frustrating year for UNC, but to lose like that against a highly ranked bitter rival may be more frustrating than all of the rest of the season put together.  It was a GREAT choice by John Stalica for UTR Game of the Day!

-Seton Hall got a huge road win at Villanova.  The committee had them on the #3 line yesterday.  I’m thinking that the overall look of the resume, and the way the Pirates have looked on the court, should have them on at least the #2 line.  This team is potentially Final Four good.

-For seemingly the third straight game Auburn was down big in the second half, but came back to win.  LSU appeared to be putting the game today and on their way to what would have been their biggest win of the season, but Auburn went on a three point barrage in the final minute of regulation, and then hit a last second shot at the end of overtime to get the win after the lead had changed multiple times in the final minute of the game.

-Oklahoma picked up a much needed win at home against West Virginia.  They were right on the bubble, and that win really does help them.

-It was a wild night in the Pac 12 with Oregon falling at Oregon State in a game where the Beavers dominated the second half, and Arizona losing at home to UCLA in a game that the Bruins controlled from start to finish.  Arizona is high in the predictive ratings such as NET and KenPom, but in terms of merit their wins and losses just don’t match up.

-Michigan State fell to Michigan and is now 8-5 in Big Ten play, 16-8 overall, and 3-4 in true road games.  That’s not bad, but is it worth a protected seed?  Is it better than say…Penn State…who has a better conference record, and more road wins (including one at Michigan State)?

-Purdue got a much needed road win against an Indiana team that’s been tough to beat at home this year.  They played very well in a hostile environment and pretty much led from tip to buzzer.  They honored the 19879-1980 Indiana team that won the Big Ten, and Bob Knight was there, but you know that already because that’s all anyone is talking about.  What you may have missed is what a big win it was for Purdue!

-Florida got blown out at Ole Miss.  I’m not willing to entertain the discussion of whether or not Florida belongs in at all.

-Texas Tech got a nice win at Texas, which helps shore up their resume a little bit.  They’ve got some really good wins on it, but could definitely use some more.

-East Tennessee State avenged an earlier home loss to Mercer by winning at Mercer yesterday.  This may be important because ETSU is right on the bubble, and when evaluating them and looking at that loss, at least the committee can now say “well, they did go and beat them on the road.”  That may not help much, but it can’t hurt either.

-Arizona State held on to beat USC 66-64.  It was a game the Sun Devils really needed, and that USC didn’t need quite as badly, but could have really used.

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES

-BUTLER AT MARQUETTE (Big East).  Butler was one of the teams that made the committee’s top 16 yesterday, so they should certainly be able to earn a protected seed if they can hold serve the rest of the way.  Marquette is a solid tournament caliber team, so even though they’re at home it probably won’t be easy.

-CINCINNATI AT UCONN (American).  Cincinnati has won six of their last seven and continues to improve their resume and climb closer and closer toward the tournament.  UConn is having a less than stellar season, but it still has a pivotal feel to it.  A road win would be nice, but a loss to a non-tournament team would hurt.

-SAMFORD AT UNC GREENSBORO (SoCon).  UNCG is way outside the bubble, but they should at least get a look if they’re able to win out.

-OHIO STATE AT WISCONSIN (Big Ten).  Both teams have had their ups and downs, including Wisconsin’s blowout loss to Minnesota in their last game, but both still look like tournament teams and both could improve their resumes with a win today.

-TULSA AT UCF (American).  Tulsa’s wining streak came to and end in their last game.  They’ve still got a long way to go and basically need to win out in order to land inside the bubble.

-WICHITA STATE AT HOUSTON (American).  Wichita State’s last two losses have basically been at the buzzer.  Houston has had a bit of a setback as well and could really use this win.  It’s likely that both will end up in the NCAA Tournament, but this game still has a huge sense of urgency to it for both teams.

-NORTHWESTERN AT RUTGERS (Big Ten).  What Rutgers really needs is wins on the road, but in the meantime they also need to hold serve at home.

NEWS AND NOTES

-Maryland picked up a really nice road win against Illinois last night, which was arguably their biggest of the year.  They fell behind early, but came back to get within 2 at the half, and then took control in the second half.

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES

-KANSAS AT TCU (Big 12).  Kansas is on pace to earn a #1 seed, and they’ve got another somewhat challenging, but very winnable road game today.

-MIAMI FL AT FLORIDA STATE (ACC).  Florida State continues to play like a protected seed, and they shouldn’t have too much trouble holding serve at home today.

-LSU AT AUBURN (SEC).  Auburn has gone through a very impressive three game stretch and looks to continue that as they host a really good LSU team today.  LSU is still the first place team in the SEC, but as of now they don’t have the best profile.  That’s especially true after they lost to Vanderbilt earlier in the week.  However, if they can win this game on the road today, they’ll arguably have one of the best profiles.

-MICHIGAN STATE AT MICHIGAN (Big Ten).  It’s a rivalry game between a Michigan State team that’s looking to solidify themselves as a protected seed and could use a road win (which is something they’ve struggled with), and a Michigan team that’s coming off loss to Ohio State and looking to get some of their momentum back.  This game does have a bit of a pivotal feel to it for the Wolverines, as a loss would drop them to 13-10 on the year and 4-8 in the conference.

-BOSTON COLLEGE AT VIRGINIA TECH (ACC).  VA Tech has fallen outside our bubble, and will be in even more trouble if they end up losing this game today.

-SMU AT TEMPLE (American).  SMU’s resume needs some work, but I still think they have a path to the NCAA Tournament.  They really need a strong finish to make it happen, though.

-RHODE ISLAND AT GEORGE WASHINGTON (Atlantic Ten).  Rhody is now inside our bubble, and will likely stay there so long as they can hold serve in games like this.

-KENTUCKY AT TENNESSEE (SEC).  I think Kentucky will ultimately end up being a protected seed.  If they are that caliber of a team, then this is the kind of road game that they should be expected to win.

-SAINT LOUIS AT DAYTON (Atlantic Ten).  ROUND 2 OF THE ARCH BARON CUP!!!!!!  The first game was an overtime thriller that Dayton came from behind to win.  Now that Dayton’s at home, it may not be quite so close.  SLU is also coming off a rather damaging loss to Duquesne, so if they want any shot at all at landing inside the bubble then it will take a win like this to get them there.

-WEST VIRGINIA AT OKLAHOMA (Big 12).  Oklahoma is a team that’s squarely on the bubble, and could use a big win like this to help them land on the right side of it.  West Virginia is trying to lock down a protected seed, and a road win like this would certainly help.

-PURDUE AT INDIANA (Big 12).  This one is BIG!  It’s a rivalry game, both teams are in our bracket, but neither is safely in the first ballot range, so a win in a game like this would really help.  It would especially help Purdue, who really needs a road win.

-FLORIDA AT OLE MISS (SEC).  Florida continues to hover around inside our bubble, but nowhere close to being a first ballot team yet.  A road win like this would certainly help.

-RICHMOND AT FORDHAM (Atlantic Ten).  I think Richmond has a path to landing inside the bubble, but it will require them to finish the season very strong and avoid any losses to teams like…well…Fordham.

-SETON HALL AT VILLANOVA (Big East).  It’s two Big East frontrunners and two likely protected seeds going after what would be a huge win on their NCAA Tournament resumes.  If Seton Hall were to win this, then you have to start wondering if they’ve got an outside shot at the #1 line.

-ARKANSAS AT MISSOURI (SEC).  Arkansas is inside the bubble, but not entirely safely inside of it.  They need to be able to beat teams like Mizzou on the road if they want to hold on to their spot.

-VIRGINIA AT LOUISVILLE (ACC).  Virginia has been playing better lately and after being outside the bubble for a while, now appears to be on a path that will land them in the NCAA Tournament.  A win today would CERTAINLY put them on that path.  Louisville continues to pile up the wins, and may also be in discussion for a #1 seed by the end of the year.

-MINNESOTA AT PENN STATE (Big Ten).  Penn State is looking more and more like a protected seed to me.  They just won at Michigan State and are really playing well.  Minnesota looks like a bubble team that can’t win on the road, so they need a win like this to help boost their resume.

-TEXAS TECH AT TEXAS (Big 12).  This is a game that both teams really need.  Texas Tech has been playing well, but their resume is still a little flimsy.  A road win like this could really help straighten it out.  Texas is just outside the bubble, so every game has a somewhat pivotal feel to it.

-SOUTH FLORIDA AT MEMPHIS (American).  Memphis doesn’t have much at all on their resume.  They’ve already had a few slip-ups in games like this and really can’t afford another one.

-DRAKE AT NORTHERN IOWA (Missouri Valley).  If Northern Iowa wins out through the regular season then I think they’ll be inside the bubble and in the field regardless of the conference tournament.

-EAST TENNESSEE STATE AT MERCER (SoCon).  ETSU lost the earlier meeting between these two, and they cannot afford to lose the second one.  Otherwise they’ll probably need to win the SoCon Tournament if they want to go dancing.

-NEW ORLEANS AT STEPHEN F AUSTIN (Southland).  Even if SFA wins out, they’ll probably still need to win the conference tournament to make the NCAAs, but at the very least they should get a serious look from the committee.

-OKLAHOMA STATE AT BAYLOR (Big 12).  Baylor is ranked #1 and is the consensus overall #1 seed.  They should be able to hold serve at home today.

-DUKE AT NORTH CAROLINA (UTR Game of the Day)

-NEBRASKA AT IOWA (Big Ten).  Iowa has had a rough week, both politically and on the court.  This is a very winnable home game for the Hawkeyes and they kind of need it to bounce back after getting pasted by Purdue earlier this week.

-SAINT JOHN’S AT CREIGHTON (Big East).  The Johnnies looked like they were on a path to the tournament for a while, but they’ve just dropped too many games in conference play.  They’d pretty much need to go 6-2 the rest of the way to have any sort of a shot.  Creighton, while coming off a loss, still looks like they could end up with a protected seed if they finish strong.

-STANFORD AT COLORADO (Pac 12).  Colorado looks like a solid first ballot team, and Stanford is squarely on the bubble, and after their loss at Utah Thursday night you get the sense that they need a road win like this to shore up their resume.

-SAN DIEGO STATE AT AIR FORCE (Mountain West).  San Diego State’s toughest games are behind them, and they seem to have a clear shot at winning out and landing on the #1 line.

-PROVIDENCE AT XAVIER (Big East).  Interesting game here.  Providence is coming off a big win against Creighton, and despite the rough start is playing really well.  The problem is that they still have a long way to go before you could consider them a tournament team.  Last week, we would have said the same thing about Xavier, but after back to back road wins against Seton Hall and DePaul, they appear to be heading in the right direction and can take another step forward if they can win tonight.

-WAKE FOREST AT SYRACUSE (ACC).  Syracuse has been playing a lot better in recent weeks and if they keep it up they should land in the NCAA Tournament.  They need to hold serve tonight against Wake, though.

-VANDERBILT AT MISSISSIPPI STATE (SEC).  Mississippi State is squarely on the bubble and needs to hold serve against a Vandy team that just won their first SEC game in over two years.

-SAN FRANCISCO AT BYU (West Coast).  BYU looks like a team that’s in the 7-10 seed range of the NCAA Tournament.  San Francisco is improving as a program, but still just looks like an NIT team this year, so it’s important BYU doesn’t lose this one at home if they want to hold serve.

-GONZAGA AT SAINT MARY’S (West Coast).  Gonzaga is in contention for a #1 seed, and to solidly hold onto it I think they need to win road games like this one, especially when you consider that they don’t have as many opportunities as some of the other candidates in power conferences have.

-UCLA AT ARIZONA (Pac 12).  Arizona has played really well the past couple of weeks and shouldn’t have too much trouble keeping that going tonight.

-USC AT ARIZONA STATE (Pac 12).  Arizona State is outside the bubble and needs to string together some wins to end up on the right side of it.  USC is inside the bubble, but could really use a road win like this to help tighten up their resume.

-BOISE STATE AT UTAH STATE (Mountain West).  I think Utah State is playing better and should get a serious look from the committee if they win out and don’t go out too early in the conference tournament.

-OREGON AT OREGON STATE (Pac 12).  Oregon looks to be a solid protected seed, but picking up another road win certainly wouldn’t hurt, especially if it comes against their in-state rivals.