NEWS AND NOTES
-Like all Saturdays, yesterday was CRAZY! New Mexico State had one of the more impressive showings of the day despite the loss. They led Kansas for most of the second half in Kansas City, and had a shot at the buzzer that would have sent the game to overtime, but came up just short. This is by no means a bad loss for New Mexico State. Based on how they looked yesterday, and how they’ve looked all year, they certainly seem good enough to blow through the rest of their schedule, and if they do that then they probably won’t need to win the conference tournament to make the NCAAs
-Seton Hall won an overtime thriller against Kentucky, which saw a halfcourt three at the buzzer by Kentucky to send it to overtime. Despite appearing to have all the momentum, Seton Hall got it done in overtime and picked up a huge win. Kentucky is still looking for their first really big notable win of the season.
-Marquette knocked off rival Wisconsin in a game that seesawed back and forth and went into overtime. With wins against Louisville, Kansas State, and Wisconsin, Marquette is putting together quite the resume.
-K State is NOT putting together quite the resume. They lost on the road at Tulsa yesterday, and have yet to pick up a road win this season. Tulsa is now at 7-3, and while all seven wins have come at home you kinda do have to sit up and take notice.
-Northwestern came form behind to beat crosstown foe DePaul. It’s a semi decent win for a Northwestern team that nearly beat Michigan, and should be formidable in Big Ten play.
-Oklahoma blew out Wichita State, is 8-1 on the year, and although they haven’t exactly knocked off any likely protected seeds, they still appear to be pretty good.
-Louisville v Indiana was a thriller with the Cards leading most of the way, but Indiana keeping it close and getting the lead late, and coming out with a big home win for them.
-Cincinnati won their ninth straight with a decisive win over crosstown rival Xavier. Cincinnati has been quiet this year, but they’ve won all their games since losing the rock fight opener to Ohio State.
-Western Kentucky came from behind to pick up a huge road win at Arkansas. It was the first true road win of the year for WKU, and the fact that they came from behind when things weren’t going well may say something about their mental toughness.
-Syracuse came from 15 down to beat rival Georgetown in another thrilling edition of that rivalry. It would have been a huge quality win for the Hoyas, not to mention a feelgood win over a rival, had they pulled it off. Nevertheless, Georgetown appears to be getting better and could be in position to make quite a bit of noise in the Big East for the first time in several years.
-Army overcame a 13 point loss to come back and beat Air Force!! I find it strange that they would schedule a basketball game against another service academy at the same time as the Army v Navy football game. That’s the only reason I mention this. Why not play this at literally any other time?
-Notre Dame vs UCLA wasn’t always pretty, but it was exciting. The lead underwent big shifts, but in the end UCLA pulled it out and improved to 7-2 on the year (all seven wins have come at home, so they’ll eventually need to win someplace else).
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES
-ARIZONA AT ALABAMA. Arizona is off to a better than expected start and has a winnable road game today against a decent but not great Alabama team.
-VCU AT VIRGINIA. VCU already has a huge road win against Texas, which is important because the Atlantic Ten is struggling and their chances at notable wins will be very limited the rest of the way. Virginia is looking like a potential #1 seed, so if VCU can some how do the impossible and win today, they’ll be catapulted into national relevance.
-TENNESSEE VS GONZAGA (Game in Phoenix). Gonzaga is ranked #1 and on pace to earn a #1 seed with some of the wins they’ve already picked up. This would certainly be another big one if they’re able to pull it off. Tennessee is also looking like a protected seed, but up until now they have not picked up any really big wins, although they did take Kansas to overtime. This would be their first win against a likely protected seed if they’re able to pull it off
-SAINT LOUIS AT OREGON STATE. Both teams are off to good starts, and Saint Louis has a couple of really nice wins on their resume, but they still have a somewhat small margin for error. Oregon State has a good record, and we’re still looking at them as a potential dark horse in the Pac Twelve this year. This is their first real test of the season, though, so it will be interesting to see how they do.
-NEVADA VS GRAND CANYON (Game in Phoenix). Nevada is coming off a real nice win against a previously unbeaten Arizona State team. Grand Canyon is tough, and this is a great showcase game for them to play in, but they’re probably also a little overmatched.
-PURDUE AT TEXAS. Both teams are solid, and both have already picked up some nice wins, but both still have a lot of room to improve and this would be a really nice win for whoever it is that pulls this off.
-SEATTLE AT WASHINGTON. This is a regional match-up that is not technically a buy game, but practically is. Seattle does have a somewhat impressive 9-2 record, so it’ll be interesting to see what they can do against the local heavyweight.
BUY GAMES
-South Carolina State @ Virginia Tech
-Princeton @ Saint John’s – The Johnnies can remain unbeaten with a win
-Incarnate Word @ LSU
-Coastal Carolina @ Wofford
-Navy @ Lipscomb
-Cal State Northridge @ San Diego
-Samford @ Alabama A&M
-Southern @ Iowa State
-Montana State @ Washington State
