Hoops HD

NEWS AND NOTES

-Purdue continues to be schizophrenic.  Last night they looked like a Final Four team as they completely blew Wisconsin (who’d won six of their last eight) totally out of the arena.  Purdue’s next two games are at Rutgers and at Northwestern.  It wouldn’t shock me at all if they won at Rutgers by double digits, and then lost by 20 to Northwestern.

-Butler snapped a three game losing streak with an overtime home win over Marquette.  Marquette led for most of the game, but kind of came unglued in the final minutes of regulation.  They did hit a big three to force overtime, but Butler took control of the overtime period and picked up another nice win.

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES

-MISSOURI AT WEST VIRGINIA (Big 12/SEC Challenge).  If the match-ups were being made today and not at the start of the season, these two would not be playing each other.  WVU is playing like a protected seed and should hold serve at home.

-IOWA STATE AT AUBURN (Big 12/SEC Challenge).  Auburn has a lot of wins against decent to average teams.  If they win today, they’ll have yet another win against a decent to average team.

-ILLINOIS AT MICHIGAN (Big Ten).  These two teams are going in opposite directions.  Illinois is on a roll and has improved as the year has gone on, and after one of the greatest Novembers in recent memory Michigan has now lost six out of nine and is trending in the wrong direction.  They could really use this win to help get things turned around.

-MIAMI FL AT NORTH CAROLINA (ACC).  Miami is outside the bubble, but perhaps within reach of it.  They need to win this one today.

-PITTSBURGH AT SYRACUSE (ACC).  Syracuse has won four in a row and has yet another winnable game today.  We have them just outside our bubble, and they will be inside of it if they keep playing like they have been.

-VCU AT LA SALLE (Atlantic Ten).  VCU needs to string together some wins.  Actually, they need to string together A LOT of wins.  Otherwise they’ll need to win the A10 Tournament.

-VILLANOVA AT PROVIDENCE (Big East).  Providence has been playing like a tournament caliber team for the past several weeks.  The problem is that before that they were playing like a CBI team, so they’ve still got a lot of ground to make up.  Nova is a top ten team, so beating them at home would certainly help.  A road win like this wouldn’t look bad on Nova’s resume either.

-FURMAN AT THE CITADEL (SoCon).  If Furman wins out, which won’t be easy but is not entirely impossible, the committee should give them a look.

-CLEMSON AT LOUISVILLE (ACC).  Louisville had to sweat out Georgia Tech in their last game, and while Clemson’s record isn’t good they have played well in some of those losses.  Nevertheless, Louisville just needs to hold serve and if they do they’ll remain well on pace to getting a protected seed.

-NEBRASKA AT RUTGERS (Big Ten).  This should be an easy bounce back game for Rutgers after a close loss to Iowa earlier in the week.

-LSU AT TEXAS (Big 12/SEC Challenge).  This is one of the more compelling match-ups because it’s kind of a desperation game for Texas, who really needs to start stringing together some wins, and a chance for LSU to add another nice road win to a resume that keeps getting better and better.

-DUQUESNE AT UMASS (Atlantic Ten).  Duquesne has a nice record at 15-3, but the wins aren’t anywhere close to good enough to get them selected.  They need to keep holding serve and hopefully pick up some big wins in conference between now and the end.

-MISSISSIPPI STATE AT OKLAHOMA (Big 12/SEC Challenge).  We have Oklahoma in our field, but barely inside our bubble, so they need to hold serve at home against a Mississippi State team that really isn’t any anyone’s bracket right now.

-VIRGINIA TECH AT BOSTON COLLEGE (ACC).  VA Tech is in our field, but their value is slipping.  This is the kind of road game that NCAA Tournament teams are expected to be able to win, so they need to get it done.

-DEPAUL AT SAINT JOHN’S (Big East).  This is a huge desperation game for both teams.  Both have good things on their resume, but both have really struggled in conference play.  They both need to string together some wins in order to safely place themselves inside the bubble, and a win today would be a nice start.

-RHODE ISLAND AT SAINT BONAVENTURE (Atlantic Ten).  This game appears to have more NIT implications than NCAA implications, but both teams are in a position to make a run at making the field if they can finish strong.

-AKRON AT OHIO (MAC).  If Akron wins out, I think they will be on the bubble and will get some consideration from the committee, but anything less than that and they’ll probably need to win the MAC Tournament.

-TENNESSEE AT KANSAS (Big 12/SEC Challenge).  This would have been a much better match-up a year ago.  Kansas should win this one rather easily despite being short handed.  We have Tennessee squarely on our bubble, but if they can win this it would shoot them way up the seedlist, even if Kansas isn’t quite at full strength.

-SMU AT MEMPHIS (American).  Memphis is coming off a blowout loss to Tulsa, and is slipping further and further down our seedlist.  They need a win today to sort of pull themselves out of the tailspin.  SMU has a lot of wins, but not a lot of wins against good teams.  If they can pull off this road win then the committee may start looking at them a little more closely.

-NC STATE AT GEORGIA TECH (ACC).  I like how this NC State has been playing, and we put them in our Hoops HD Staff bracket on Thursday night.  This is a chance for them to pick up another road win.

-TCU AT ARKANSAS (Big 12/SEC Challenge).  It may not be entirely fair to call this a bubblicous game because Arkansas probably is a couple of line inside it right now, but they aren’t so far inside it that I would call them safe.  TCU needs a big road win to help their profile, and this is certainly a chance for them to get it.

-CHATTANOOGA AT EAST TENNESSEE STATE (SoCon).  ETSU is inside our bubble, and I think they will remain there if they can dominate SoCon play the rest of the way.

-BYU AT SAN FRANCISCO (West Coast).  BYU is inside our bubble, and while winning at San Francisco wouldn’t be a great win, they should get some credit for it since the Dons have a fairly decent 9-3 record at home.

-USC AT OREGON STATE (Pac 12).  USC came up just short of a huge win the other night at Oregon, but a road win tonight would still help raise the level of their tournament resume.  Oregon State has shown some flashes at time, but only flashes.  They lost to a rather weak UCLA team the other night.

-STEPHEN F AUSTIN AT LAMAR (Southland).  Same story as always with SFA.  If they win out, they should be strongly in the discussion.  If not, then they’ll need to win the Southland Tournament.

-DAYTON AT RICHMOND (Atlantic Ten).  This is a really good match-up between a Dayton team that’s trying to stay on pace to earn a protected seed, and a Richmond team that has some good stuff on their resume and that could really catapult themselves into the discussion, and maybe even into the field, if they can pick up a win in a game like this.

-KENTUCKY AT TEXAS TECH (Big 12/SEC Challenge).  As per usual, Kentucky has been playing better as the season has progressed and they have the chance to pick up another really nice road win tonight.  Texas Tech really needs this one because the win against Louisville looks great, but they need more than just that on their resume if they want to be positioned a little better.

-KANSAS STATE AT ALABAMA (Big 12/SEC Challenge).  Alabama is nowhere near the field yet, but they have won seven of their last ten and are playing like an NCAA Tournament caliber team.  If they keep winning at that clip, they will be inside the bubble come March.

-BAYLOR AT FLORIDA (Big 12/SEC Challenge).  This should actually be a tough road test for Baylor.  Florida’s resume still needs work, but they have been playing better and they still have an extremely high ceiling if they can start playing up to it.  That being said, Baylor has already shown they can win tough road games, which is why they’re ranked #1.

-NOTRE DAME AT FLORIDA STATE (ACC).  Florida State actually has a path to a #1 seed if they can keep winning like they have been.  They should be able to hold serve against a Notre Dame team that’s far from an NCAA caliber team.

-UCF AT WICHITA STATE (American).  Wichita State has dropped two straight games, but is still very safely inside the bubble and should be able to bounce back with a win tonight.

-WASHINGTON AT COLORADO (Pac 12).  Washington just continues to fall into a tailspin, and they’ve got another really tough game tonight that they pretty much have to win if they want to get their season turned back around.  Colorado is very safely inside the bubble and will likely be a first ballot team.

-SAINT MARY’S AT LMU (West Coast).  SMC came from behind to win the other night against San Francisco and shouldn’t have too much trouble adding another road win to their resume tonight at LMU.

-ARIZONA AT ARIZONA STATE (Pac 12).  I really like how this Arizona team has been playing lately, but the biggest hole by far on their resume is that they have no true road wins.  They have a chance to change that tonight, and beat their rivals, so this is a big game for the Wildcats.

-PACIFIC AT GONZAGA (West Coast).  Gonzaga will stay on pace for a #1 seed if they can hold serve tonight.

UNDER THE RADAR

-COLGATE AT AMERICAN (Patriot League).  Just one game separates these two teams at the top of the standings, and that’s a big deal because the conference tournament is at campus sites.  Colgate got a big win at Cincinnati earlier this season, and is a potentially dangerous match-up in the Round of 64 if they can get there.

NEWS AND NOTES

-For our latest UNDER THE RADAR Video Podcast – CLICK HERE

-For John Stalica’s UTR Game of the Day between Belmont and Murray State – CLICK HERE

-Iowa and Rutgers seesawed back and forth last night, but Iowa was able to pick up the 85-80 win.  The Hawkeyes didn’t get control of the game until the final seconds, so it was another game to where Rutgers was close to picking up a huge road win, but came up just short.

-DePaul did not come up just short last night.  Creighton pretty much blew them off the floor in an impressive road win for the Bluejays.

-Memphis did not come up just short either.  They lost by 40 to Tulsa. Tulsa never showed a lot of promise, especially when they went through that stretch of losing five out of seven, but they haven’t lost since then, they just blew Memphis to the moon, and they are starting to piece together a resume that will get the attention of the committee if they keep it up.

-Penn State got a nice road win at Michigan, which puts them back on a bit of a roll.  Michigan is digressing somewhat.  They’ve now lost six of their last nine, so the game this Saturday against Illinois is pretty huge.

-Arkansas could have really used the road win at Mississippi State last night.  It’s not that a win would have boosted their resume so much as that this is the kind of road game that you expect tournament caliber teams to be able to win, and they came up short.

-Duquesne looked pretty good in the first half at Rhode Island and I was ready to buy into the fact that the Dukes might have a case for the NCAAs.  Then the second half started.  By the time it was over, they had been blown off the court 77-55.

-Syracuse picked up their fourth straight win as they held on to beat Notre Dame 84-82.  Three of those four wins have come on the road, so the Orange have really improved and are starting to make a case for themselves.

-Northern Iowa, which is a UTR team that we’ve been putting inside our bubble, fell on the road to Southern Illinois last night, which is a huge anvil that has fallen on their toes.  They fell behind by as much as 16, cut it down to 2 and had a chance to win in the final minute, but couldn’t quite get it done.  I still think they can land inside the bubble and get a bid without winning their conference tournament, but they pretty much need to win out.

-Virginia Tech needed two overtimes, but picked up the win against North Carolina after trailing for much of the game.

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES

-MINNESOTA AT OHIO STATE (Big Ten).  Minnesota is still looking for their first road win, and while there are some good things on their resume, it still needs work.  Ohio State is trying to pull themselves out of a tailspin.  They’ve lost five out of their last six and need to take advantage of what should be a winnable game tonight.

-LIBERTY AT NORTH FLORIDA (Atlantic Sun).  Same story as always with Liberty.  If they win out, they will get a look.  This is probably their toughest remaining game.

-WASHINGTON AT UTAH (Pac 12).  Washington has lost three out of their last four since losing their starting PG.  They’ve been playing better than what the final results indicate, but it is still a struggle.  Utah is an average team that’s played well on occasion, so this is a winnable road game for the Huskies and it’s one that they really need.

-MICHIGAN STATE AT INDIANA (Big Ten).  Michigan State has won nine of their last ten and are once again playing like a solid protected seed.  Winning at Indiana won’t be easy, though.  The Hoosiers are home court heroes that could use this win to help shore up their tournament resume.

-UCONN AT HOUSTON (American).  Houston keeps improving as the season goes along, and they should be able to hold serve and win this one tonight.  They’re on pace to land in the top half of the bracket.

-WASHINGTON STATE AT COLORADO (Pac 12).  The Bufffs are having a good year, and this is simply a winnable conference game where they need to hold serve.  Wazzu has won two in a row, and is better this year than what they typically are, but Colorado should still be able to win this one.

-PEPPERDINE AT SANTA CLARA (West Coast).  Santa Clara can continue to bloat out their record, but they’ll need a couple of wins over the NCAA Tournament caliber teams in the conference to get the attention of the committee.  That being said, they’ll also need to hold serve tonight.

-BYU AT PACIFIC (West Coast).  This is a winnable road game for the Cougars, so they should be able to hold serve and put another road in on their resume.

-SAN FRANCISCO AT SAINT MARY’S (West Coast).  SMC should be able to pick this one up at home without too much trouble, but the Dons have been playing a little better lately so they don’t want to overlook them.

-USC AT OREGON (Pac 12).  USC is coming off a big win against Stanford, that convinced many they were an NCAA Tournament team.  Oregon has had a few stumbles, but they are still looking like a protected seed, so if USC could somehow win this one, they will pretty much convince everyone that they are a first ballot caliber team.

-UCLA AT OREGON STATE (Pac 12).  Oregon State continues to hover around outside our bubble, so they need to hold serve tonight against UCLA to keep themselves within reach of making the field.