Hoops HD

NEWS AND NOTES

-The biggest result from Saturday, by far, was Baylor’s first ever win at Kansas.  Not only was It historic, but it catapults the Bears into the discussion for a #1 seed, and perhaps even the overall #1 seed.  Of all the other teams that we are looking at for the #1 line, they probably have the best overall win, and maybe even the least damaging loss.  I know Washington is really slipping now, but they were a different team when the two played earlier in the season.

-Ohio State shouldn’t be in panic mode, but their mode should not be one of contentment either.  They fell on the road at Indiana yesterday, which was their fourth straight loss, and while none of those losses are bad as individual losses, a protected seed caliber team would have been expected to win at least a couple of them.

-West Virginia continues to look impressive as they knocked off a Texas Tech 66-54.  Texas Tech has lost two in a row, but one was to Baylor and the other was to West Virginia.  No need to panic, but they do need some more quality wins on their resume.

-As for Virginia, it may be time to panic.  They lost their second straight game as they fell to Syracuse at home yesterday 63-55.  Neither Syracuse or Boston College are within a hundred miles of making the NCAA Tournament right now, so it was not a good week for the Hoos.

-Wisconsin bounced back in a huge way with a big time road win at Penn State.  They do stumble at times, but Wisky is starting to become more consistently good.

-Rutgers could not pick up the road win at Illinois yesterday.  It was a low scoring game that seesawed back and forth, but the Illini ended up pulling it out 54-51.

-DePaul remains winless in the Big East as they fell to Saint John’s 74-67.  In most years there is nothing surprising at all about DePaul being winless in the Big East, but after the great start they got off to at the beginning of the season we were expecting a little more from them this year.

-Tulane continues to improve as they picked up another really nice win at Temple 65-51.  As for Tulane, they are tons better, but still a long ways off from the bubble.  As for Temple, I’m ready to stop thinking about them as a tournament caliber team.

-TCU knocked off Oklahoma State to improve to 3-0 in the Big 12.  I’m not too big on that yet since they haven’t played any of the heavyweights, but at the very least it does not appear that TCU will be the worst team in the conference.

-SMU, who had really been rolling, lost at East Carolina yesterday.  Now their 12-3 record looks more like it had to do with their schedule being bad than it did them being good.

-Creighton got a really nice road win at Xavier yesterday, which goes a long way toward shoring up their NCAA Tournament resume.  Xavier’s struggles continue, and their resume needs a ton of work if they want to be inside the bubble come March.

-Saint Louis got a really nice road win at Richmond, which is probably their biggest win of the year up to this point.  At 14-3 it’s probably time to sit up and pay attention to the Billikens.

-California held on to beat Washington in a 61-58 thriller.  This is just not a good sign for Washington.

-Oklahoma was completely run over by an Iowa State team who had looked absolutely pitiful over the last couple of weeks.  A nice win for the Cyclones, and a sign that they may be turning things around.

-Santa Clara, who had a bloated record but who had also played nothing but a pastry cart, got a big road win at Saint Mary’s yesterday.   I think this is a pivotal result for both teams.  It’s a sign that SMC might be in trouble, and that Santa Clara might be for real.

-Mississippi State looked like they might finally get their first win in conference play at LSU – things were looking good after hitting a runner with under 5 seconds remaining in the game. Skylar Mays had other ideas – he hit a shot at the buzzer just inside of the 3-point line to give the Tigers a 1-point win. LSU would appear to be on the good side of the fence right now – Mississippi State, not so much.

-Florida lost at Missouri.  Missouri really has not looked good all year.  And when you break it down, neither has Florida.  Right now I’d say Florida would not even be in the NCAA Tournament conversation if today were Selection Sunday.

-Last, but not least, Clemson won at North Carolina for the first time ever!!  I figured that some day it would eventually happen!!  Well, that is now the case!!  I also figured that when it did happen, the game would have quite a bit of meaning on paper.  Well, that is definitely NOT the case.  Neither team looks to be anywhere close to the bubble right now.

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES

-MICHIGAN STATE AT PURDUE (Big Ten).  Purdue has been up and down this year, and has lost their last two games.  One of them was a pitiful blowout loss to Illinois, and most recently it was a spectacular double overtime effort on the road at Michigan, so one never knows what they are going to do.  Michigan State is playing better and better as the season goes on and can pick up their ninth straight win today.

-WICHITA STATE AT UCONN.  Wichita State continues to look impressive, and in my opinion continues to look like a protected seed.  A win today will get them to 15- one on the season.

-MICHIGAN AT MINNESOTA (Big Ten).  Michigan is still looking for their first true road win of the season, which is something they’ll need to be able to do multiple times if they want to end up as a protected seed.  Today won’t be easy either.  Minney has had their struggles, but they are a very strong 7-1 at home.

-MEMPHIS AT SOUTH FLORIDA (American).  Memphis has been on a bit of a tailspin, but should be able to bounce out of it today with what is a winnable conference road game.

-UTAH AT COLORADO (Pac 12).  These are two teams who’s resumes are decent, but that could be a lot better.  That makes this a big game because it’s a resume building opportunity.

-PITTSBURGH AT MIAMI FL (ACC).  Both teams are on the outside looking in right now, and both need to start stringing together wins if they want to be in the conversation come March.

-ARIZONA AT OREGON STATE (Pac 12).  Arizona is coming off an impressive effort against Oregon where they fell in overtime.  This wouldn’t be an earth shattering win for them today, but it would be a good one, especially when you consider Arizona has lost three of their last four and still doesn’t have a true road win.

-Iowa bounced back from their two game losing streak in spectacular fashion last night as they totally blew Maryland out of the gym.  Maryland is now 0-3 in true road games, which will be an anchor on their resume if it continues.

-BAYLOR AT KANSAS (Big 12) (***Spotlight Game***).  Simply put, these are two top for teams, and this is a #1 seed caliber game.  If Baylor picks this one up on the road then they probably have a legit argument for the overall #1 seed.  This one should be fun!

-GEORGIA AT AUBURN (SEC).  Georgia is coming off a loss to Kentucky, but they’ve had a good year so far and have been playing well lately.  Auburn has beaten a lot of decent teams, but no really great teams yet, so Georgia may make this more interesting than people think despite Auburn’s high ranking.

-OHIO STATE AT INDIANA (Big Ten).  Both teams have kind of been slumping lately, and both could really use this win.  It has a pivotal feel to it despite the fact that it’s still early January.

-ALABAMA AT KENTUCKY (SEC).  I really like how Alabama has been playing, but still think they’re overmatched in this one today against a Kentucky team that’s been playing really well and who is at home.  If Alabama does win this, they will make a huge splash onto the national stage.

-RUTGERS AT ILLINOIS (Big Ten).  Both teams have been playing really well and both are putting together tournament caliber resumes.  Rutgers has been a bit of a home court hero, so if they can pick this one up on the road things will REALLY be moving forward for them.

-DEPAUL AT SAINT JOHN’S (Big East).  Both teams have some really good wins on their resumes, but both have slumped since conference play began and both really need to win this game.

-CINCINNATI AT UCF (American).  Right now both are on the outside looking in and need to string together a bunch of wins just to get themselves solidly into the conversation.

-TULANE AT TEMPLE (American).  Temple has some big wins and still has a path to landing inside the bubble, but they need to hold serve in games like this and pick up a few more big wins before the end.

-UMASS AT DAYTON (Atlantic Ten).  Dayton is a protected seed caliber team, and should end up there so long as they hold serve in games like this the rest of the way.

-LOUISVILLE AT NOTRE DAME (ACC).  This game may not seem like much, but Louisville has just one true road win this season and it’s important that they take advantage of what looks to be a very winnable road game.

-OKLAHOMA STATE AT TCU (Big 12).  TCU’s conference schedule hasn’t exactly been front loaded, but a win today does get them to 3-0 in the Big 12.  Oklahoma State has been somewhat disappointing this season and could use a win in a game like this to help get things turned around.

-SMU AT EAST CAROLINA (American).  SMU’s schedule has been soft, and East Carolina certainly won’t change that, but a win does get them to 13-2 and add another road win to their resume.

-RHODE ISLAND AT VCU (Atlantic Ten).  VCU has a good team, but their resume is a little flimsy so they don’t have a large margin for error.  Every game will have a bit of a sense of urgency to it the rest of the way.

-CREIGHTON AT XAVIER (Big East).  This is a big game for both teams.  Creighton is pretty good, but they could use some more big road wins.  Xavier’s best win is still probably the road win at TCU, which isn’t even a team that’s clearly in the field, so they need some big wins between now and the end.

-NC STATE AT VIRGINIA TECH (ACC).  Right now this looks like two teams that are in the discussion, but two teams that still have a lot of work to do.

-WISCONSIN AT PENN STATE (Big Ten).  Wisky has been playing a lot better, but still has some work to do to offset their early season struggles.  Penn State is having a fantastic year and can keep that momentum going with a win today.

-GONZAGA AT LMU (West Coast).  The Zags blew through their last opponent and it should be more of the same today.

-SYRACUSE AT VIRGINIA (ACC).  This game suddenly has a bit of urgency to it for Virginia, who is coming off a loss at Boston College and who has a bit of a stale resume right now.  They need to hold serve at home against a Syracuse team that doesn’t appear to be anywhere close to the bubble.

-MARQUETTE AT SETON HALL (Big East).  Both teams have been playing really well lately, particularly Seton Hall, and this is another resume building opportunity for both teams.

-HOUSTON AT TULSA (American).  Houston is playing a lot better, and is now an impressive 12-3 on the season.  This is another winnable road game for the Cougars.

-DUQUESNE AT GEORGE WASHINGTON (Atlantic Ten).  A win gets Duquesne to 14-2 and gives them another road win, but all they’ve really done is gobble up cupcakes and they’ll need to take down some decent teams before the end of the season if they want the committee to take them seriously.

-NORTHERN IOWA AT MISSOURI STATE (Missouri Valley).  Northern Iowa is squarely on our bubble, and if they can keep winning they will probably land inside the bubble and get a bid.  They need to play better than they have in their first few conference games, though.

-VMI AT EAST TENNESSEE STATE (SoCon).  ETSU’s chances of landing inside the bubble are probably less than fifty percent, but I think they do have a chance if they can run through the rest of their conference schedule.

-CLEMSON AT NORTH CAROLINA (ACC).  Both teams are way outside the bubble right now, and there is a very good chance that neither team gets close to it, but as bad as North Carolina has looked this may be Clemson’s chance to finally pick up their first road win against the Tarheels!

-TEXAS TECH AT WEST VIRGINIA (Big 12).  If you like defense, then this may be the game for you!  Both teams have played well tis season, particularly West Virginia, but both still have work to do, particularly Texas Tech.  This is a win that would look really good on either team’s resume.

-AIR FORCE AT NEW MEXICO (Mountain West).  New Mexico’s chances are small at best, but they do have a chance.  A win today gets them to 15-3 overall.

-WASHINGTON STATE AT STANFORD (Pac 12).  Stanford is coming off a nice win against Washington and should be able to hold serve in this one tonight.

-ARKANSAS AT OLE MISS (SEC).  Arkansas has played well this year, but it hasn’t been against the toughest of schedules.  A road win in a game like this would help shore things up a little bit for them.

-SAINT LOUIS AT RICHMOND (Atlantic Ten).  Both teams have played well at times.  Both have resumes that are decent, but not quite good enough yet, and both could really use this win.

-UNC GREENSBORO AT FURMAN (SoCon).  These are two of the better teams in the SoCon, and while both have just outside shots to land inside the bubble, it’s not entirely impossible.  A win today would certainly help things.

-WAKE FOREST AT DUKE (ACC).  Duke shouldn’t have too much trouble winning this one and remaining on a solid pace to land on the #1 line.

-MISSISSIPPI STATE AT LSU (SEC).  LSU has been playing well, but is also in a position where their can really benefit from winning big games.  Mississippi State has been a bit disappointing this year and needs to win more than just one game like this in order to get things turned around.

-WASHINGTON AT CALIFORNIA (Pac 12).  Washington is in a bit of a tailspin.  If they fail to win at California, the plane may just crash.

-OKLAHOMA AT IOWA STATE (Big 12).  The Sooners have been playing really well lately and have a somewhat winnable road game against an Iowa State team that’s been struggling.  A win for Oklahoma will get them to 12-3 on the season, and seemingly on a path to land in the top half of the bracket.

-KANSAS STATE AT TEXAS (Big 12).  Texas is in a bit of a slump.  They don’t need to win this game as much as it is that they can’t really afford to lose it.

-NEVADA AT UTAH STATE (Mountain West).  I hesitated to even write this one up given how much Utah State has been struggling.  Their margin for error is down to zero.  They pretty much need to win out.

-SANTA CLARA AT SAINT MARY’S (West Coast).  This is a big one.  Santa Clara comes in at 14-3, but doesn’t really have any wins of note.  If they get this one on the road then it changes the complexion of their entire resume and season.  SMC is having a big year and is coming off a big overtime win against a pretty good BYU team.

-FLORIDA AT MISSOURI (SEC).  Florida has been disappointing this year, but they still have time to turn it around.  They can’t afford to lose this one on the road, though.

-PORTLAND AT BYU (West Coast).  BYU has had some crushing losses, but is still in good shape over all.  They will stay that way so long as they can hold serve in games like this.

-BOISE STATE AT SAN DIEGO STATE (Mountain West).  San Diego State is unbeaten, ranked in the top ten, on pace to get a protected seed, and perhaps even end up as a #1 seed.  They shouldn’t have too much trouble tonight.

-USC AT UCLA (Pac 12).  USC has a good record and some decent wins, but they still have work to do.  A slip up on the road against UCLA would hurt them both on and off paper.

-ARIZONA STATE AT OREGON.  Oregon needed overtime to get past Arizona the other night, but shouldn’t have as tough of a time tonight.  They’re still high in the rankings and on pace to end up as a protected seed.

UNDER THE RADAR

-CHARLESTON AT WILLIAM & MARY.  These are two of the better teams in the Colonial, and the winner of this game will have a huge leg up on a first place finish even though it’s early.