NEWS AND NOTES
-For our latest BRACKET RUNDOWN where we build a seed list while discussing and debating all the teams, as well as this week’s UNDER THE RADAR Podcast, which for the second and last time will be roped in with the Bracket Rundown – CLICK HERE
-For Today’s UTR Game of the Day, which is a really good one between Western Kentucky and Old Dominion – CLICK HERE
-Texas and TCU played in a double overtime thriller that came down to the final seconds of the second overtime where TCU had a shot at winning it, but came up just short. It was a scene that was both very touching and very unfortunate as we learned yesterday that Andrew Jones of Texas has been diagnosed with leukemia. In fact I was not aware of it, and I don’t think anyone else at Hoops HD was either, until we learned about it during this game. We certainly hate this for him, his family, his teammates, and his friends. Whenever something like this happens I can’t help but selfishly feel that it is entirely unfair for everyone that it effects. We certainly wish him the best.
-Xavier and Villanova once again met as top ten teams! And once again, Villanova was the only one that looked like a top ten team. They blew Xavier out of the gym…again. That seems to be the common result when these two get together in Philadelphia.
-Michigan State defeated Rutgers at home. By just 4. In overtime. Michigan State is beginning to show a little rust in their armor after getting blown out by Ohio State and then needing overtime to get by Rutgers.
-Louisville picked up their first big win of the season, which is something they desperately needed. They won at Florida State 73-69. A profile with nothing on it now has a quality win on the road, which is infinitely better than nothing. They still have a lot of work to do, but this is a start. Louisville actually overcame a double digit deficit to pull off the upset.
-Notre Dame lost at Georgia Tech just eight hours after I got through praising them for how well they’d played since losing Bonzie Colson. It doesn’t sink the Irish, but they are really spinning in the wind right now. It’s never good when you fail to do something that Grambling succeeded in doing.
-Minnesota is terrible.
-Arkansas was blown out at home by LSU. I wasn’t all that big on LSU last night when we were building the seed list, but that was a rather impressive showing on the road against a really good team.
-SMU lost at home to Temple, which is pretty much the last thing they needed right now. The way things are going they will have to sprint to the finish just to land on the bubble.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES
-MARYLAND AT OHIO STATE (Big Ten). Both teams have had pretty solid seasons, and Ohio State has looked really good in their last few games. Both can continue to add quality to their resumes.
-TULSA AT HOUSTON (American). Houston has shown some signs of having a pulse, but right now they appear to be on the outskirts of the bubble and need to string together a bunch of wins to end up on the right side of it. They certainly can’t afford to lose any home games to non-tournament teams.
-WICHITA STATE AT EAST CAROLINA (American). Wichita is on cruise control and should continue to cruise tonight on the road.
-PORTLAND AT GONZAGA (West Coast). It’s difficult for Gonzaga to do anything the rest of the way other than hold serve, but if they continue to do that they should be in shape to get a really solid seed, and possibly even a protected seed.
-OREGON STATE AT ARIZONA (Pac Twelve). I like the way this Arizona team has been playing despite their recent loss at Colorado. I still think they’re really good and will have a really solid resume by the end of the year.
-CLEMSON AT NC STATE (ACC). Clemson has had an amazing season so far, but any road game in the ACC is going to be tough and this one is no exception. NC State is coming off their big win against Duke and if they knock off a second ranked conference team they’ll even their ACC record at 2-2, will have all kinds of momentum, and will be in business.
-PEPPERDINE AT BYU (West Coast). It’s still possible that BYU could flirt with the bubble, but they pretty much need to win out in order to do it.
-NEW MEXICO STATE AT GRAND CANYON (WAC). This is one of the games that I’m looking forward to the most. I feel that New Mexico State, on the court, is a top forty caliber team that belongs in the NCAA Tournament even if they trip up in the WAC Tourney. The problem is that their resume may be somewhat lacking. This would be a big time road win both on and off paper because Grand Canyon is not the easiest place in the world to pick up a win. It should be a great atmosphere as these two have a sort of budding rivalry going on, and it’s actually a stakes game because of what it means to New Mexico State.
-LOUISIANA TECH AT MIDDLE TENNESSEE (Conference USA). Middle Tennessee continues to roll along and if they can blow through this league they should be right in the mix for an at-large bid.
-OREGON AT ARIZONA STATE (Pac Twelve). Arizona State may have come down to Earth a little bit last week, but they are still having a fantastic season and should be able to beat an Oregon team at home that is currently nowhere close to the bubble.
-SAN DIEGO AT PACIFIC (West Coast). San Diego’s chances at an at-large bid are not entirely zero, but they’ll need to beat all the non-tournament caliber teams in this league, and take down Gonzaga, or Saint Mary’s, or both at some point.
-SAINT MARY’S AT SANTA CLARA (West Coast). The Gaels need to hold serve in conference play, which so far they’ve been able to do.
-CALIFORNIA AT WASHINGTON (Pac Twelve). Washington has an inconsistent profile, but there are enough good things on it to suggest that they have a chance of making the field. In fact our mock committee selected them last night.
-UTAH AT UCLA (Pac Twelve). Both of these teams are going entirely in the wrong direction and need to get things turned around. A win tonight would certainly help.
