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NEWS AND NOTES

-Tennessee’s first game as the #1 ranked team matched them against Vandy, who has a lot of work to do just to get to the NIT.  They got the win, but had to come from behind to do it at the end of regulation, and then win in overtime.  The last two minutes of regulation might be the greatest combination of sloppy basketball and exciting basketball that I have ever seen in my entire life!  There were multiple unforced turnovers, a flagrant foul, really bad passes, and just an all around performance that would have made the Three Stooges proud!

-The end of Providence v Xavier was sloppy, but not quite THAT sloppy.  It was an exciting game that seesawed back and forth and that both teams desperately needed to win, but Providence ended up pulling it out.  It’s just their second conference win of the season, and to get it on the road really helps out the Friars.

-TCU picked up their biggest win of the year (at least on paper) by knocking off Texas.  It was a home win, but their resume was so flimsy that this is probably still the best win on it to date.

-I think the Atlantic Ten has completely eaten itself.  Whatever little hope their was for VCU and Saint Louis to land inside the bubble is now almost completely gone after both lost to teams that are about a hundred miles from even making the NIT.  VCU fell at Rhode Island, and Rhody didn’t really have to sweat at any point in the second half, and Saint Louis lost at Duquesne.  Duquesne has now won five straight and is in a four way tie for first place.  I don’t want this to sound like a backhanded compliment (even though I know it does) because Keith Dambrot has done an amazing job at a Duquesne program that has virtually no history of basketball success, or even basketball mediocrity.  They’ve just been flat out terrible.  But as improved as they are, they’re still not having the kind of season that would land them anywhere close to getting an at-large bid the NCAA Tournament, and yet they are your first place team!

-Purdue picked up a nice road win at Ohio State.  Ohio State has yet to win a game in the year 2019.  If this keeps up it may end up being just a so-so win for the Boilers.

-Oklahoma had to come from behind after falling behind big early, but got the win on the road against rival Oklahoma State to end a two game loosing streak.

-Stony Brook picked up their 10th true road win of the season, but barely.  They needed overtime to beat an Albany team that is not even in the top 300.

-UC Irvine picked up an exciting win at Hawaii in one of the more exciting games of the night.  It have been the toughest remaining game for the Eaters other than their trip to UC Santa Barbara, so if they continue to rack up wins they could end up pretty close to the bubble themselves.

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES

-MICHIGAN STATE AT IOWA (Big Ten).  This is a tough road test for a Michigan State team that’s in contention for a #1 seed, but they’ve been tested before and as tough as it is to win a road game like this, it’s the type of win that a #1 seed should be able to pull off.

-TULSA AT CINCINNATI (American).  Cincinnati is inside the bubble and should remain there so long as they hold serve, which means avoiding losses to non-tournament caliber teams, especially at home.

-MEMPHIS AT TEMPLE (American).  Temple is squarely on the bubble, so every game for them has a pivotal feel to it.  Memphis has won seven of their last eight and has quite a bit of momentum built up coming into this game, so Temple better not overlook them.

-NC STATE AT LOUISVILLE (ACC).  Both teams are in the rankings, but Louisville’s profile clearly looks to be better despite being the team that isn’t ranked as high.  NC State’s best win of the season is probably a home game against Auburn, and that’s looking less and less impressive.  A win in a game like this could really polish up their resume.

-MIAMI FL AT SYRACUSE (ACC).  Syracuse has been bi-polar all year long, and one never knows what they’re going to do.  They should be able to win this game at home, but they were beaten at home rather handily by Georgia Tech not that long ago.  That was right before they went to Duke and won.

-ARIZONA AT USC (Pac Twelve).  If Arizona wants any hope of being on the right side of the bubble, they need to basically win out.

-WASHINGTON AT OREGON (Pac Twelve).  I want to like this Washington team.  I want to say that I think they’re the best team in the Pac Twelve, and are deserving of an NCAA Tournament bid.  This is a tough road test against a big rival.  If they aren’t able to pull this off then it will be a lot harder for me to say that.

-PORTLAND AT SAN FRANCISCO (West Coast).  San Francisco cannot afford any slip ups.  In fact their schedule is so weak that simply winning all their games against teams that aren’t Gonzaga may not quite be enough.

-GONZAGA AT SANTA CLARA (West Coast).  Gonzaga is a #1 seed caliber team.  Santa Clara..well..isn’t.

UNDER THE RADAR

-SAMFORD AT WOFFORD (SoCon).  Wofford has a top 30 net ranking, if they can finish in first place of the conference and either win out or come close to it my guess is that the committee will take them whether they win the conference tournament or not.

-CHATTANOOGA AT FURMAN (SoCon).  Chattanooga has gotten hot since conference play began.  Furman still has a strong resume, particularly because of their win at Villanova, but basically need to win every game the rest of the way to have a realistic shot at an at-large bid.

-TEXAS STATE AT GEORGIA STATE (Sun Belt).  These look to be the two best teams in the Sun Belt, and it’ll be fun watching them go at it tonight.

-FLORIDA GULF COAST AT LIPSCOMB (Atlantic Sun).  Lipscomb is trying to remain unbeaten in ASun play.

-UAB AT NORTH TEXAS (Conference USA).  North Texas still has a bloated record and can improve to 18-2 overall if they can hold off UAB tonight.

-MARSHALL AT LOUISIANA TECH (Conference USA).  This is a potentially tough road test for a Marshall team that’s looked really strong since league play began.

-BELMONT AT MURRAY STATE (Ohio Valley).  This looked like it was going to be a showcase game for the OVC, but Belmont has dropped two league games already.  Murray is strong, but to date they don’t have a win as good as this one on their resume, so if they want to make any sort of a case for themselves then they need this one.

NEWS AND NOTES

-So Minnesota came within seconds of picking up what may have been the most single impressive road win of the season (or at least forcing overtime), but Michigan hit a shot as time expired on both the shotclock and the game clock to pull out a much more exciting than expected win.  Michigan is in a bit of a slump, and you know they’re good because their definition of a slump is a close win against a pretty good team, and a road loss against another pretty good team, but they haven’t had their best week.

-Kentucky seemed like they were up by about 15pts at tip off.  Mississippi State made a few runs, but for the most part they were blown off the court by a Wildcats team that just keeps getting better and better.

– Kansas State has now won three straight games against a ranked team by knocking off Texas Tech at home.  On the flip side, it was the third straight loss for Texas Tech and while none of those losses were bad, their resume is looking a little light by protected seed standards.  Their best overall win was probably against Nebraska in Kansas City, and Nebraska isn’t exactly a road warrior.  They’ll need some bigger wins between now and the end of the season to end up on one of the top four lines.

-One of the more shocking results of the night was Buffalo’s loss at Northern Illinois.  Buffalo fell behind early, which we’ve seen them do.  They came back and got the lead and appeared to be in control, which we’ve seen them do.  But, they failed to hold onto the lead, which we haven’t seen them do.  It’s definitely a setback, but the Bulls are still in really good shape to make the NCAAs as an at-large.

-Auburn fell at South Carolina, which is another big step in the right direction for a Gamecocks team that has completely turned things around, and another setback for an Auburn team that has very few decent wins, let alone good wins.  Their NCAA Tournament resume is nowhere close to matching their ranking.

-Alabama blew Ole Miss’s doors off.  A really impressive home win for the Crimson Tide after a couple of really heartbreaking recent losses.

-Indiana has now lost five straight games, and only one of them was a close game.  Northwestern ended up winning by 7, but at no point did it appear that they were not in control of the game.  IU’s tailspin is probably about to get worse since their next game is against Michigan.

-Fresno State had a huge second half comeback against a rather weak San Diego State team to stay at the top of the Mountain West standings and keep their at-large hopes alive.

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES

-PROVIDENCE AT XAVIER (Big East).  Both of these teams are slipping further and further outside the bubble.  It’s still possible that either team could end up making the field, but they’re gonna need to sprint to the finish.

-TENNESSEE AT VANDERBILT (SEC).  Tennessee is a #1 seed contender, which basically means they have to beat everybody.  Vandy looked solid at times prior to conference play, but they’ve lost all five of their SEC games and things aren’t going to get any easier tonight.

-GEORGIA AT LSU (SEC).  LSU has really come on strong lately and shouldn’t have too much trouble against a Georgia team that seems to be on pace to finish below .500

-TEXAS AT TCU (SEC).  Texas is schizophrenic, but at least they have some big wins on their resume.  TCU does not.  They have a good record against sub NCAA Tournament caliber teams, and could really use a win in a game like this.

-VCU AT RHODE ISLAND (Atlantic Ten).  VCU already has a conference loss, but if they can finish in first place and blow through the league the rest of the way they should end up making the field.

-PURDUE AT OHIO STATE (Big Ten).  It’s starting to get a little bit desperate at Ohio State.  They’ve lost four straight games, and their next win will be their first of 2019.  Purdue has had several close losses throughout the season, but seems to be firing on all cylinders now having won six of their last seven.  This is another road game that they can win.

-EAST CAROLINA AT HOUSTON (American).  Houston should have very little trouble holding serve and improving to 19-1

-SAINT LOUIS AT DUQUESNE (Atlantic Ten).  Saint Louis is perfect in conference play, and if they can continue to dominate and not lose games to…well…the vast majority of the league, they should be on the right side of the bubble come March.

-UCF AT TULANE (American).  This is a winnable conference road game for UCF.  The better way to say it is that UCF is hovering around the bubble, and they better not lose this game.

-DEPAUL AT MARQUETTE (Big East).  This sounds crazy to say, but DePaul has a few good things on their resume and if they can string together a couple of wins this week we may need to start thinking of them as a tournament contender.  That’s much easier said than done, though.  Marquette is a contender for a protected seed, and beating them on the road is a very tall order.

-OKLAHOMA AT OKLAHOMA STATE (Big 12).  BEDLAM!!!!!  Oklahoma is in a bit of a tailspin, and although none of their recent losses are bad things will probably be magnified a little bit if they fail to win this one.

-WISCONSIN AT ILLINOIS (Big Ten).  After hitting a bit of a skid where they lost four out of five, Wisky just knocked off Michigan.  I’d say that they’ve turned things around.  They’ve got a very winnable game tonight against Illinois.  It is perhaps the most winnable road game remaining on their schedule.

-COLORADO STATE AT NEVADA (Mountain West).  Despite only having one loss, Nevada seems to be slipping.  They’re still winning, but barely, and they’re playing teams that aren’t all that good.  They need to hold serve tonight.

UNDER THE RADAR

-UMBC AT VERMONT (America East).  Vermont is still perfect in league play and is keeping pace with Stony Brook

-STONY BROOK AT ALBANY (America East).  Stony Brook is unbeaten in league play, and has another winnable road game, which would add to their overall total, which is the highest in the nation.

-UC IRVINE AT HAWAII (Big West).  UC Irvine is one of the two best teams  in the Big West, but they have what is perhaps their toughest road game tonight.

CLICK HERE for last night’s Hoops HD Report Video Podcast

-Last night was a rather chalky night with Kansas, Michigan State, and North Carolina all picking up wins at home.  All beat ranked teams, but all won as expected.  The biggest game of note was Nebraska losing at Rutgers.  That’s a rather costly loss for a Nebraska team that’s been a little flimsy on the road.

-AUBURN AT SOUTH CAROLINA (SEC).  Auburn is trying to rebound from their home loss to Kentucky and pick up what would be just their second road win of the season.  They face a South Carolina team that’s also coming off a loss, but has been playing pretty well since league play began.  I’ve been railing kind of hard on Auburn, but if they win this then I’ll respect them a little bit more.

-MINNESOTA AT MICHIGAN (Big Ten).  Minnesota has a decent resume, but still has room to improve.  Michigan is still fighting for a #1 seed and is looking to rebound from their first loss of the year.  They should be way up for this one.

-MISSISSIPPI STATE AT KENTUCKY (SEC).  Mississippi State has a rather hollow resume despite being in the rankings.  If they can pick up a road win like this one then it will no longer be hollow.  Kentucky is looking more and more like a solid protected seed as the season plays on.

-TEXAS TECH AT KANSAS STATE (Big 12).  K State has gone from looking like an NIT team to looking like a protected seed in a matter of a week.  They face a Texas Tech teak that also has a good chance of ending up as a protected seed, so this will be a high quality win for whoever pulls it off.

-VILLANOVA AT BUTLER (Big East).  Nova is looking to remain unbeaten in Big East play, and Butler is looking to get up off the mat.  This has not been an easy place for Villanova to win in recent years, so while they clearly look like the superior team I wouldn’t take this one for granted.

-CLEMSON AT FLORIDA STATE (ACC).  Florida State is in a tailspin and really needs to pull this one out at home to get back on track.  Both teams have just one conference win coming into this one, and really need to get it turned around.

-TOLEDO AT KENT STATE (MAC).  These are two of the better teams in the MAC that were strong OOC, but have both tripped up a little bit early and fallen to 3-2.  The loser of this will have very little chance of keeping pace with the top of the conference.

-BUFFALO AT NORTHERN ILLINOIS (MAC).  This is another winnable road game for Buffalo.  They’re good enough to win out, and if they do there is a really good chance they end up as a protected seed.

-DUKE AT PITTSBURGH (ACC).  This is a big showcase game for Pitt, and if they win it their chances of making the NCAA Tournament increase exponentially, but it’s much easier said than done.  Duke is a #1 seed caliber team who is looking to improve to 3-0 in true road games, and 7-1 away from home.

-WAKE FOREST AT VIRGINIA (ACC).  Virginia shouldn’t have any trouble rebounding from their close loss at Duke.

-OLE MISS AT ALABAMA (SEC).  This is a really important game for both teams.  Both have some good wins, but both still have a lot of work to do in order to feel completely safe on Selection Sunday.

-INDIANA AT NORTHWESTERN (Big Ten).  Indiana has lost four straight games, and desperately needs to pick up a win in this one.  It may be easier said than done.  Northwestern doesn’t look like a tournament team, but they’ve played pretty well at home this year.  They’re 8-3 overall with a 2pt loss to Michigan and an overtime loss to Oklahoma accounting for two of those three losses.  They also lost by just two earlier this year in Bloomington.

-SAN DIEGO STATE AT FRESNO STATE (Mountain West).  Fresno State can improve to 5-1 in conference, which keeps them within reach of first place, and keeps their at-large hopes barely flickering.