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NEWS AND NOTES

-For Day 3 of our Championship Week Video Notebook – CLICK HERE

-For Chad Sherwood’s UTR Game of the Day – CLICK HERE

-Northwestern won at home against Michigan in Christian Laettner type fashion on a length of the court pass with less than two seconds to go.  It was perhaps the most exciting game of the day that wasn’t a conference tournament game, and considering what was at stake it may be the most exciting win in Northwestern basketball history.  If they’re not a guaranteed lock, they are definitely a virtual lock.  Michigan could have really used the road win on their profile, but is still in reasonably good shape.

-Wake Forest desperately needed a big win on their resume, and yesterday they got it at home against a Louisville team that was flirting with the #2 line.  Not only that, but they they came from behind in order to get it.  Danny Manning didn’t do it overnight, and Wake still has some work to do, but I’d say that program is in very healthy shape even if they don’t make the NCAAs this year.

-Dayton had what appeared to be a comfortable lead over VCU for about 35 minutes, but VCU kept chipping away at it and were right in there with less than a minute to go before the Flyers opened it up and got the win.  It’s a pretty big win historically for Dayton.  I wouldn’t compare it to any of their tournament wins, but it is their first ever outright first place finish, and they’re now 12-1 in their last 13 games.  The A10 isn’t on par with the power conferences, but it is way ahead of the UTR conferences.  Dayton has seven true road wins, and five of those came against teams with winning home records.  Last year’s committee had a fetish for top 50 wins, and stupidly seemed to value home top 50 wins against teams with losing road records more than true road wins against teams who were outside the top 50 but who played very well at home.  If that’s the case again this year the Flyers may not get a seed that matches how good they are, but they are good.  Because of the A10’s crappy TV deal they’re typically buried on networks that not a whole lot of people get, but they are good.

-Florida picked up a nice home win against Arkansas, which doesn’t set the Razorbacks back all that much (if at all) since it was a road loss to a likely protected seed.

-Illinois picked up a home win against Michigan State, and because of that I guess we’ll have to start looking at them.  If they win their final game at Rutgers (which they should) and pickup their 9th Big Ten win, and then beat someone with a pulse in the Big Ten Tournament then they will end up with a fairly decent case.

-Marquette picked up a nice road win which greatly helps their chances.  They beat Xavier.  On the flip side Xavier let a bubble team absolutely run over them for the second time this year.  Xavier’s best win is at Creighton.  Their second best win is probably over Clemson, who is not a tournament team.  Xavier’s final game is at DePaul, and then their first Big East Tournament game is also against DePaul.  If they lose one of those then the only way they’ll be able to go to the NCAA Tournament is if they buy tickets.  Even if they win both of those, they still may need to win the quarterfinal game against Butler in order to feel completely safe.

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES

-NEBRASKA AT MINNESOTA (Big Ten).  Minnesota has won a very impressive seven straight games and have a win at Maryland in that stretch.  They should be able to extend that to eight against Nebraska tonight.

-HOUSTON AT CINCINNATI (AMERICAN).  Cincinnati is cruising toward the top half of the bracket, and if they win out through the conference tournament they’ll enter the NCAA Tournament with 30 wins.  Some feel that Houston is on the bubble.  I think they’re too far outside of it, but if they want any chance at all to make the field without the auto bid they need to win this game.

-FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL AT MIDDLE TENNESSEE (Conference USA).  If Middle Tennessee wins their last two games, which they should, I think they’ll make the NCAA Tournament even if they don’t win the conference tourney.

-UT ARLINGTON AT LOUISIANA MONROE (Sun Belt).  UTA shouldn’t have too much trouble picking up another road win.  This is another team that I feel deserves an at-large bid (assuming they win out) if they aren’t able to win the conference tournament.  Hopefully the committee feels that way as well.

-TULSA AT SMU (American).  SMU can clinch at least a share of first place with a win today, and they’re pretty much a lock for the NCAA Tournament and are just playing for seeding.

-IOWA AT WISCONSIN (Big Ten).  Wisky has been in a bit of a tailspin and needs to win this game at home in order to pull themselves out of it.  I don’t see Iowa making the field, but at the very least if they win this game they’re probably on the brink of being discussed.

-CALIFORNIA AT UTAH (Pac Twelve).  Cal is on the bubble, and Utah is…well…outside of it.  This is the kind of road win that Cal really needs.  If they pick this one up and pick up their final game at Colorado I THINK they’ll be okay.

NEWS AND NOTES

-For Day 2 of our Championship Week Video Notebook – CLICK HERE

-For Jon Teitel’s outstanding interview with Jackie Stiles – CLICK HERE

-For Chad Sherwood’s UTR Game of the Day – CLICK HERE

-Losing at Kentucky didn’t hurt Vandy in the sense that you don’t get dinged for losing games like that, but it did hurt in the sense that Vandy is in a position where they need to win big games to land inside the bubble.  Last night was a big game where they had a lead most of the way and were still in a position to win the game with less than two minutes to go, but came up just short.

-Congrats to Purdue who clinched an outright first place finish in the Big Ten.  Doing it on their home court against Indiana had to make it feel even better.

-Iowa State and Oklahoma State went down to the wire with Iowa State picking up another big win and holding on to second place in a very strong Big Twelve.  I think we all need to start looking at moving Iowa State way up the seed list.  Perhaps we already have.

-Duke knocked out Florida State at home.  Duke was already ahead of Florida State, so beating them at home probably doesn’t move them up that much nor does it ding Florida State all that much.

HIGHLIGHTED GAMES

-AUBURN AT GEORGIA (SEC).  Georgia has a very small chance of getting in.  They’ll essentially need to win out, go deep in the SEC Tournament, and beat some pretty good teams along the way.

-ARKANSAS AT FLORIDA (SEC).  Arkansas appears to be safely inside the bubble, and despite the loss to Kentucky, Florida is still in pretty good shape to earn a protected seed.  This would be another nice win on the profile of both teams.

-MICHIGAN AT NORTHWESTERN (Big Ten).  Michigan could really use another road win, but there isn’t a whole lot of reason to panic.  If they win this game there is almost no reason to panic.  Northwestern, on the other hand, may need to panic if they don’t pull this one off.  This is a hugely important game for both teams, and the loser will really be sweating going into the weekend.

-RHODE ISLAND AT SAINT JOSEPH’S (Atlantic Ten).  Rhode Island will likely be considered if they win out and do well in the conference tournament, but even if they do all that I still feel they have a weak case.

-BOSTON COLLEGE AT NOTRE DAME (ACC).  Notre Dame is in good shape and just needs to hold serve.

-VCU AT DAYTON (Atlantic Ten).  I think both teams are reasonably safe, especially Dayton who has a decent shot at ending up in the top half of the bracket if they win out, but they’re not locked in yet simply because going into the tank would mean losing to several sub-level tournament teams.  But, if they only games they lose the rest of the way are to each other, then they should be okay.  VCU appears to need this one more than Dayton does.  If the Flyers do get this one, then they are the outright first place finisher.

-OLE MISS AT ALABAMA (SEC).  Some are still projecting Alabama to be close to the field, and I suppose it’s possible that they could make it, but they’ll really have to kick it in gear down the stretch.

-TEXAS AT TEXAS TECH (Big Twelve).  Texas Tech has an outside shot at best, and if they lose this game they probably won’t even have an outside shot.

-MICHIGAN STATE AT ILLINOIS (Big Ten).  Some are saying that if Illinois wins their last two and avoids an early loss in the Big Ten Tournament that they’ll get a serious look, and I guess I agree with that, but I’m not sure I agree with them being good enough to do it.  Michigan State is inside the bubble, but they more games they win  the easier they will breathe.

-LOUISVILLE AT WAKE FOREST (ACC).  Wake is still within reach of bubble, at at some point they’ll need a notable win to break them through.  Winning this game would certainly help.  Louisville is looking like they’ll end up as a protected seed, and could still land as high as the #2 line.

-KANSAS STATE AT TCU (Big Twelve).  This game has a very bubblicious feel to it.  Many had been projecting TCU in, but they’ve lost five straight, and although none of them were particularly bad losses, it’s rough that they weren’t able to pull out a win in at least one of them.  K State is in a major tailspin as well and not being able to pick up a road win against a team that’s clinging to the bubble may cause them to lose their grip and slip out of the picture.

-MARQUETTE AT XAVIER (Big East).  This is another high stakes game between two teams who desperately need to shore up their resumes.  Xavier has lost five straight, and while none were bad losses, they’re also falling backward toward the bubble.  A tournament team should be able to win at home against a team that is likely in the lower half of the bracket.  Xavier needs this one bad.  Marquette has been playing a little better, including a rather decisive win against Xavier just a few weeks ago, but a win would really help cement them into the field.

-WASHINGTON STATE AT USC (Pac Twelve).  USC is coming off a loss to Arizona State.  That’s just not good.  They really need to be able to beat sub NIT teams at home like Wazzu.  To fail to do so would also not be good.

-WASHINGTON AT UCLA (Pac Twelve).  UCLA should end up as a solid protected seed if they hold serve in their final two regular season games.