-OKLAHOMA AT KANSAS (Big 12). It’s a bubblish Oklahoma team on the road against a 1 1-seed-ish Kansas team.
-SYRACUSE AT FLORIDA STATE (ACC). Florida State is one of the best teams in the ACC and is still in a position to finish first. They need to hold serve at home in games like this in order for it to happen, though.
-NORTHWESTERN AT PENN STATE (Big Ten). I think Penn State has more than proved that they are a protected seed caliber team at this point, and will easily end up there if they keep winning at the clip they have been.
-PURDUE AT OHIO STATE (Big Ten). These appear to be two tournament caliber teams, although both have had their share of dry spells that have set them back. Both could really benefit from this win today.
-SAINT JOSEPH’S AT RHODE ISLAND (Atlantic Ten). Rhody hasn’t beaten anyone all that good since conference play started, but they have at least held serve and beaten all the teams that NCAA Tournament teams are supposed to beat. They shouldn’t have too much trouble picking this one up today.
-DAYTON AT UMASS (Atlantic Ten). Dayton is continuing to blow through the conference and they shouldn’t have too much trouble adding another road win to their resume today.
-TEXAS TECH AT OKLAHOMA STATE (Big 12). Texas Tech is rather safely inside the bubble, but they aren’t so safe that they can start losing games to teams that are nowhere close to making the field.
-MISSISSIPPI STATE AT ARKANSAS (SEC). This is another very bubblicious game. We have Mississippi State on the outside looking in, and we have Arkansas just barely in our field, so the margin for error is very small.
-EAST TENNESSEE STATE AT VMI (SoCon). We have ETSU squarely in the bubble, and we feel like they will be strongly considered if they win out, but fail to win the conference tournament.
-OLE MISS AT KENTUCKY (SEC). Kentucky has won 7 out of 8 and are playing at a level that suggests they can win out through the regular season. If they do that then they will easily be within the range of a protected seed.
-WISCONSIN AT NEBRASKA (Big Ten). The top of Wisconsin’s resume is really impressive, but at just 14-10 they need to pick up winnable games like this when they have the chance.
-GEORGETOWN AT BUTLER (Big East). Butler is coming off a nice win against Xavier, and has another winnable game at home today against a decent Georgetown team that has almost no bench at all.
-WEST VIRGINIA AT BAYLOR (Big 12). West Virginia hasn’t knocked off any of the super heavyweights, but they’ve still done enough to suggest that they should be a protected seed. If they win today, then their resume will improve a ton. Baylor is the #1 overall team and will obviously remain that way if they continue to win.
-LOUISVILLE AT CLEMSON (ACC). Louisville is coming off a somewhat surprising loss at Georgia Tech. It should’t hurt them too badly so long as they don’t make a habit out of it, but having said that Clemson has gotten their share of upset wins at home this year, so they don’t want to overlook the Tigers.
-NOTRE DAME AT DUKE (ACC). Notre Dame is starting to flirt with the bubble, but they still have a lot of work to do. Having said that, winning at Duke would complete a large amount of work that needs to be done. Duke is still a solid protected seed and will remain that way if they continue to hold serve.
-LSU AT ALABAMA (SEC). LSU has dropped a couple after dominating the first half of conference play. They’ve got another tough test today against an Alabama team that’s pretty tough to beat at home.
-CHATTANOOGA AT FURMAN (SoCon). Furman should get some attention from the committee if they are able to win out.
-VCU AT RICHMOND (Atlantic Ten). It’s a big rivalry game, and on paper this year it is a hugely important game between two bubble teams. There is a chance that neither of these teams will make the NCAAs, but there’s also a chance that both make it, and whoever wins this will definitely have an advantage when it comes to comparing one of them against the other.
-COLORADO STATE AT WYOMING (Mountain West) (Front Range). Colorado State will need to win the MWC Tournament to make the NCAAs, but the way they’ve been playing they should be able to make quite a bit of noise. Oh yeah, and we at Hoops HD LOVE the Front Range!!!
-ILLINOIS AT RUTGERS (Big Ten). Illinois is in a bit of a slump. They aren’t in any danger, but a win today would certainly shift a lot of momentum back their way. Rutgers is a home court hero, and because they can’t win on the road they need to keep winning at home, but eventually, they’re going to need to win a road game. Preferably two.
-UNC GREENSBORO AT MERCER (SoCon). UNCG should at least get a look from the committee if they’re able to win out.
-MARYLAND AT MICHIGAN STATE (Big Ten). Michigan State had gone through a bit of a slump, but they picked up a really big road win at Illinois earlier this week and can get the momentum shifted entirely back their way if they can knock off Maryland. Maryland has yet to win a game this big on the road, or for that matter, at home. To me, winning this would validate them being a solid protected seed.
-AUBURN AT MISSOURI (SEC). Auburn has won five straight in a pretty tough stretch, and although none of them were easy, they did get all the wins. This should be a winnable road game for them tonight. And if they fall behind by about 20, do not be concerned. That’s when Auburn is at their best!
-HOUSTON AT SMU (American). Houston is dominating the league and will likely end up in the top half of the bracket if it continues. This could be a tough road test, though, as SMU has won a lot of games and still has an outside shot of playing their way inside the bubble.
-TENNESSEE AT SOUTH CAROLINA (SEC). South Carolina has won seven of their last nine, and are starting to play their way onto the bubble. Their margin for error is very small, but if they can continue to win at that clip then they have a good chance of ending up in the field.
-PITTSBURGH AT VIRGINIA TECH (ACC). Both teams are on the outside looking in, and it will need to string together a bunch of wins in order for that to change.
-DEPAUL AT CREIGHTON (Big East). Creighton has won six of their last seven, including a win at Seton Hall in their last game. They have been on an absolute rampage and appear to be heading toward a protected seed. They need to hold serve and extend that at home tonight against DePaul.
-SETON HALL AT PROVIDENCE (Big East). Seton Hall is looking to bounce back from their loss against Creighton a few nights ago. They’re still looking like a very strong protected seed that could end up as high as the #2 line. They will get a test tonight against a Providence team that has played pretty well since beginning conference play.
-VANDERBILT AT FLORIDA (SEC). Florida continues to flirt with the bubble, and can’t afford to drop a game like this at home to a team that’s about a thousand miles outside the bubble.
-NORTHERN IOWA AT LOYOLA CHICAGO (Missouri Valley). I believe Northern Iowa should be in the NCAA Tournament if they win out, but fail to win the conference tourney. This will be somewhat of a tough road test, but it’s still a game that UNI should be able to win.
-WASHINGTON STATE AT USC (Pac 12). We have USC in the 9-11 seedish range. They should be relatively safe so long as they don’t go into a funk and start losing games to non-tournament level teams.
-PACIFIC AT SAINT MARY’S (West Coast). Saint Mary’s is still inside the bubble according to most bracket experts, but I think the ice they are walking on is very thin. They cannot afford anymore losses to teaks that are outside the bubble, like Pacific, who beat them earlier in the year. This is a rematch of the quadrupler!!
-VIRGINIA AT NORTH CAROLINA (ACC). Virginia continues to walk on the edge between being inside the bubble and outside the bubble. In the end, I think they will make it, but in order to do that they need to pick up wins in games like this.
-GONZAGA AT PEPPERDINE (West Coast). Gonzaga continues to dominate this league, and that isn’t likely to change tonight.
-COLORADO AT OREGON STATE (Pac 12). Colorado fell to Oregon earlier in the week after leading for much of the game, but they are still in really good shape and are playing at a really high level right now. Road wins always look good on the resume and they have a chance at that tonight.
-UTAH STATE AT FRESNO STATE (Mountain West). Utah State is right on the bubble, and since they don’t play anyone else this year that the committee is really looking at, their margin for error is virtually zero. Still, if they win out I think they’ll get in.
-BYU AT SAN DIEGO (West Coast). BYU seems like they’re continuing to improve and they’ll not only make the NCAA Tournament if they keep it up, they’ll be wearing white in the Round of 64.
-ARIZONA AT STANFORD (Pac 12). Stanford is squarely on the bubble, and they are very close to running out of strikes. This game should feel like a must win for them, because it sort of is. Arizona seems to be safe, but a win tonight would be their best road win of the year and would improve the value of their resume by quite a bit, so there is a lot to play for.
