Hoops HD

NEWS AND NOTES

-For the latest Hoops HD Report where we break down another very busy week in college hoops – CLICK HERE

-For our UTR Game of the Day – CLICK HERE

-Louisville got another HUGE win at Notre Dame last night in double overtime.  Their resume has gone from being extremely bland to suddenly having two big road wins, which makes them look like a solid tournament team.  Another overtime game between Louisville and Notre Dame.  No big deal.

-Oklahoma, who we were touting as a likely #1 seed, went into Kansas State last night and were completely run off the floor.  It was a huge win for the Wildcats, who may have been exercising a little bit of frustration after losing to rival Kansas on a missed last second shot.

-It was a blistering display of offense where both teams lit up the scoreboard!!  Cincinnati got a big road win at UCF 49-38.  Well, in football that would be considered lighting up the scoreboard at least.

-North Carolina has now beaten Clemson at home 59 times in a row.  Clemson fell behind early, but played their way back into it.  They just couldn’t play their way into the lead.

-Kentucky had a comfortable lead late in the second half at South Carolina, and then for over 7 minutes (I believe) did not make a single field goal which enabled the Gamecocks to come from behind and get the win.

-Georgia picked up a huge road win at LSU in what was another thrilling game.  It was one that the Dawgs desperately needed.

-Texas A&M FINALLY won a conference game.  They came as close to not winning but still winning as a team can possibly come.  A shot at the buzzer for Ole Miss seemed to go 80 percent of the way into the hoop before somehow rattling out.

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES

-VILLANOVA AT GEORGETOWN (Big East).  This edition of this long time rivalry is suddenly a huge mismatch.  Nova is looking at a #1 seed and Georgetown would have to improve just to make it to the NIT.

-SMU AT WICHITA STATE (American).  Coming into the year this was a game we had been looking forward to, but SMU has really been disappointing and is off to just a 2-3 start in the American.  They’ll need to win a game like this and finish on a huge hot streak just to land on the right side of the bubble.

-AUBURN AT ALABAMA (SEC).  For the first time in many years, both teams are in the hunt for the NCAA Tournament.  Auburn is off to such a good start that it looks like they can end up as a protected seed, and Alabama is a lot more bubblish, but if they can string together some wins they can certainly land in the safety zone.  A win tonight would really help with that.

-ARKANSAS AT FLORIDA (SEC).  As we discussed the other night, you get the sense that this is a huge game for both teams.  Arkansas is just 2-3 in conference play and is capable of being a lot better than what their current resume indicates, and Florida has been inconsistent all year.  Every time it looks like they’re coming out of a funk they drop a game that you would expect them to win.  Still, both are likely tournament teams and this would be a quality win for whoever pulls it off.

-UMASS AT RHODE ISLAND (Atlantic Ten).  Rhody has been blowing through the league so far and that should continue.  They’ve got another sub-NIT caliber team at home tonight and they need to hold serve.

-TEXAS TECH AT TEXAS (Big 12).  Texas Tech is having such a good season that they’re flirting with the #1 line, but in order to end up there it basically means having to win every game they play.  Texas is just 2-3 in league play and I keep waiting for them to kick it into gear.  A home win tonight would certainly go a long way.

-HOUSTON AT TULANE (American).  This game probably has bigger NIT stakes than it does NCAA stakes, but neither team is completely out of reach.  If it’s going to happen for either one of them then they need to win this one tonight.

-STEPHEN F AUSTIN AT ABILENE CHRISTIAN.  SFA still has a very slim shot of ending up on the bubble if they win out, so we will continue to highlight their games.

-SAINT JOHN’S AT XAVIER (Big East).  The Johnnies looked strong out of conference, but injuries have plagued them and they’re now so far out of the picture that it’s unlikely that they’ll catch up.  Xavier, on the other hand, looks to be cruising toward a protected seed.

-SETON HALL AT CREIGHTON (Big East).  It’s another Big East match-up between two very likely tournament teams.  Seton Hall will be flirting with a protected seed if they can pick up a few road wins like this one.

-ARIZONA AT CALIFORNIA (Pac Twelve).  This is the textbook definition of a winnable conference road game for Arizona.

-TENNESSEE AT MISSOURI (SEC).  Both teams are having good seasons, but both have room to improve and have shown at times that they could be better than what their current resume indicates, and whenever teams like that are in games like this it’s a big game.

-OHIO STATE AT NORTHWESTERN (Big Ten).  Ohio State is red hot and can keep that momentum up with another conference road win tonight.

-IOWA STATE AT TCU (Big 12).  This is a very pivotal game for TCU.  They’ve had a great year, but are just 1-4 in league play.  This is a winnable conference home game that they really cannot afford to lose because as good as they’ve been so far they will slip down the seed list, and maybe even outside the bubble, if they can’t finish better than four games below .500 in league play.

-AIR FORCE AT COLORADO STATE (Mountain West, Front Range).  We highlight this totally meaningless game that won’t even impact the NIT for one reason and one reason only!  WE LOVE THE FRONT RANGE!!

-UTAH STATE AT BOISE STATE (Mountain West).  Boise State is on a roll, but their margin for error is small and they need to hold serve in games like this.  A home loss to a sub-NIT team would not be a good thing.

-NEW MEXICO AT UNLV (Mountain West).  There are still very slim hopes that UNLV can string together enough wins to land inside the bubble, but they’d pretty much need to win out to do it.

-NEVADA AT SAN JOSE STATE (Mountain West).  Nevada is blowing through conference, nearing the top 25, and appears to be headed safely toward the top half of the bracket.  They just need to hold serve in games like this.

-ARIZONA STATE AT STANFORD (Pac Twelve).  Stanford has won four in a row and if they can get both of these wins at home this week you have to start looking at them as a possible NCAA team, which is crazy to think of considering how bad they were just a month ago.  Arizona State is headed in the opposite direction and needs to win a game like this just to stabilize themselves.

-FRESNO STATE AT SAN DIEGO STATE (Mountain West).  Both of these teams pretty much need a miracle finish to land anywhere close to the NCAA Tournament.

It was another busy week in college basketball, and the panel starts off by talking about the Big Twelve, namely Texas Tech’s big win over West Virginia and the extracurriculars that followed with the court storming, and Kansas’s huge win over West Virginia this past weekend.  We discuss Villanova’s continued dominance, Stanford’s surprising turnaround in conference play, the continued strength of the SEC, Michigan State’s recent struggles, and much more!

And for all you radio lovers, below is an mp3 version of the show…

NEWS AND NOTES

-For the UTR Game of the Day featuring North Dakota and North Dakota State – CLICK HERE

-For Jon Teitel’s interview with Hall of Famer Ann Meyers-Drysdale – CLICK HERE

-For the bracket projection from Jon Teitel where he attempts to forecast what the NCAA Selection Committee would do – CLICK HERE

-For the bracket projection from David Griggs where he selects his own personal bracket – CLICK HERE

-We will be recording The Hoops HD Report tonight and there is MUCH to discuss, so be sure you tune in to that.

-My biggest criticism of Duke was that they had yet to beat an NIT caliber team in a true road game.  That is no longer the case.  They picked up a HUGE road win last night at Miami, where they were extremely impressive.  Duke came out ice cold to begin the second half, they fell behind, the crowd was going crazy, and the last thing I expected was for them to compose themselves, rebound, come back, and win the game.  I know they had some huge OOC wins, but in my opinion this was hands down Duke’s biggest win so far.

-Boston College pulled a mild stunner at home against Florida State. So far, Clemson is the only team that has beaten BC at Chestnut Hill, but by the same token this is not as bad a loss for FSU as it would be in recent years.

-They weren’t the only ones.  Kansas may have gotten the biggest singular road win of the season last night at West Virginia.  We had been critical of Kansas, particularly for dropping some home games that we almost never see them lose, but they picked up an enormous one last night.

-Michigan had to sweat out Maryland and be helped out by a foul called in the final seconds (which IMHO was the correct call) in order to escape with just a one point win at home.  This was surprising considering how impressive they looked on Saturday at Michigan State.

-Butler continues to look amazing at home and mediocre on the road.  Providence continues to pretty much look the same.  It’s no surprise that Providence beat Butler at home. While both Maryland and Butler are both stockpiling a large quantity of losses, Butler has a few quality wins (namely Ohio State, Villanova and Marquette) to offset that a bit.

-Penn State, who I once thought of as a potential tournament team, is NOT a potential tournament team. Minnesota and Nebraska both have a faint pulse, and the Huskers were fortunate to hold off last-place Illinois thanks to a buzzer-beating 3 to win their game in Lincoln.

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES

-CLEMSON AT NORTH CAROLINA (ACC).  Fun fact: Clemson has never won at North Carolina.  Never.  Not ever.  Not even once.  They come into this game in the middle of their best season in recent memory, but this is still probably the toughest game they played all year.  UNC hasn’t always looked the part away from home, but they’ve looked the part enough of the time to indicate that they are really damn good.  They’re also not away from home tonight.  There at home.  Where Clemson has never won.  Never.  Not ever.  Not even once.

-WISCONSIN AT PURDUE (Big Ten).  Purdue is now ranked #3 in the nation and is flirting with the #1 line.  Wisconsin comes in at just 9-9 and having lost two in a row.  This just isn’t their year.

-CINCINNATI AT UCF (American).  Cincinnati won’t have all that many chances at improving their resume the rest of the way, but this is a road game that could actually help build it a little bit.  UCF is at least an NIT team, and it should be a decent road win for the Bearcats.

-LOUISVILLE AT NOTRE DAME (ACC).  The win at Florida State completely turned around Louisville’s resume and they can build it up even more if they can win this one on the road agains an Irish team that isn’t a protected seed, but should still be able to make the NCAA Tournament.

-GEORGIA AT LSU (SEC).  This game has a pivotal bubblicious feel for both teams.

-VANDERBILT AT MISSISSIPPI STATE (SEC).  I still have Mississippi State outside the bubble, but they are close enough to it to reach it, especially if they’re able to heat up in conference play.  Having said that, they’re just 1-3 in the league right now.

-NORTHERN ILLINOIS AT BUFFALO (MAC).  I think this Buffalo team is REALLY good.  They may be good enough to blow through the MAC, and if they are then they could end up flirting with the bubble given what their RPI will likely be.

-OKLAHOMA AT KANSAS STATE (Big 12).  K State is coming off a missed last second shot against Kansas that could have won them the game and changed the entire complexion of their resume and their season.  They’re at home against a top five Oklahoma team that is gunning for the #1 line.

-KENTUCKY AT SOUTH CAROLINA (SEC).  Kentucky still has work to do to end up as a protected seed, but I do think the team is continuing to get better and they’ll certainly get their chances in conference play to get the wins that they need. South Carolina is coming off of a win at Georgia and can certainly play spoiler at home again.

-PITTSBURGH AT SYRACUSE (ACC).  Syracuse cannot afford to lose this one.  It’s really that simple.  They are just 1-4 in ACC play, and this is the most winnable ACC game remaining on their schedule.

-OLE MISS AT TEXAS A&M (SEC).  Will Texas A&M FINALLY win an SEC game? It’s one thing to lose to 5 probable NCAA Tournament teams in your conference (Florida and LSU at home and Alabama, Kentucky and Tennessee on the road), but losing to Ole Miss would be more crippling.