NEWS AND NOTES
-For Chad Sherwood’s Under the Radar Game of the Day, which features the two best teams in the Big Sky – CLICK HERE
-Princeton got a big home win against Columbia last night, which pretty much knocks Columbia out of the race for first place in the Ivy. It’s now most likely down to just Yale and Princeton.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES
-TEXAS TECH AT KANSAS (Big Twelve). Texas Tech’s profile keeps on improving. A win today against the overall #1 team is probably too tall of an order, but a loss isn’t going to hurt them.
-RHODE ISLAND AT DAYTON (Atlantic Ten). Dayton is in a bit of a tailspin despite the fact that they won their last game. They don’t want to slip up at home against a team that’s nowhere near the bubble.
-CINCINNATI AT EAST CAROLINA (American). Cincinnati is right on the bubble, so every game is pivotal. This isn’t a win that would help much, but it is a loss that would hurt a lot.
-BUTLER AT GEORGETOWN (Big East). We think Butler is inside the bubble, but they’re far from safe. They can’t afford to go into the tank between now and the end. This is a road game, but it’s a road game they can win and should win.
-VCU AT GEORGE WASHINGTON (Atlantic Ten). This is a huge bubblicious match-up between two teams that desperately need notable wins right now. Both are squarely on the bubble, and although it’s possible that both get in, it isn’t likely.
-VILLANOVA AT MARQUETTE (Big East). Nova will be looking to rebound from their loss at Xavier earlier this week by picking up a nice conference road win at Marquette. Marquette is nowhere near the tournament, but it’s still a road win.
-OKLAHOMA AT TEXAS (Big Twelve). This should be a fun one. It was really competitive the first time these two met, and I still think Texas could end up as a protected seed. This won’t be an easy game for the Sooners to win, but it is the kind of game that #1 seeds are able to and expected to win.
-ARIZONA AT UTAH (Pac Twelve). Both of these teams are gunning for protected seeds, and this will end up being a very nice win for whoever pulls it off. Arizona is coming off a frustrating loss at Colorado and is looking to rebound, and Utah is looking to continue to build on their momentum.
-LOUISVILLE AT MIAMI FL (ACC). Miami is still gunning for a protected seed and this would be another nice win on their profile. Louisville is still aiming to win at least a share of the ACC regular-season title.
-NC STATE AT SYRACUSE (ACC). Syracuse is solidly in the field and it should stay that way so long as they hold serve, which means not losing home games to non-tournament teams.
-ILLINOIS STATE AT WICHITA STATE (Missouri Valley). Illinois State won the first meeting between these two, so Wichita will be looking to avenge that. More importantly, any loss for Wichita would be a damaging loss since they don’t face any tournament caliber teams the rest of the way, so it is important that they hold serve.
-SOUTH CAROLINA AT MISSISSIPPI STATE (SEC). Mississippi State is nowhere near the tournament, but they’re suddenly playing really well so this could be a challenge for Angry Frank and South Carolina. The Gamecocks are pretty safe, but the more road games they win the safer they are.
-KENTUCKY AT VANDERBILT (SEC). Vandy has bee a disappointment all season long, but these past couple of weeks they’ve been playing a lot better and although I think it’ll take a big time sprint to the finish, landing on the bubble and in the field is not entirely out of the question. A win at home today would be big. Kentucky hasn’t been the best road team this year, but they’re still knocking on the door of getting a protected seed, so it would be a big win for Vandy if they can pull it off.
-TEXAS A&M AT MISSOURI (SEC). This should be a winnable road game for a very solid TAMU team.
-NOTRE DAME AT FLORIDA STATE (ACC). Notre Dame is looking more and more like a protected seed, and if they can pick up a road win against FSU then it will give their profile yet another boost. Florida State has not looked anything like a tournament team in weeks, and it will take a big turnaround to get them back inside the bubble. A win today would do wonders for them.
-MARYLAND AT PURDUE (Big Ten). A win today would, by far, be Maryland’s biggest of the year. The one thing that’s really missing from their profile and separating them from the other #1, #2, and even #3 seeds is a big time road win against a ranked team. Purdue can still fight their way up to a protected seed as well, but they’ll need a strong finish.
-DEPAUL AT PROVIDENCE (Big East). Providence has been schizophrenic all year, and actually lost the first game between these two. They’re still pretty safe as far as making the field, but their profile has been in decline, and it will really take a hit if they slip up and lose at home today.
-MASSACHUSETTS AT SAINT BONAVNETURE (Atlantic Ten). Saint Bona is right on our bubble, and can’t afford any slip ups to teams like UMass who aren’t anywhere close to even making the NIT.
-AUBURN AT ALABAMA (SEC). Alabama is a fringe bubble team right now. Losing at home to your rival is never fun. Losing at home to your rival and having your NCAA Tournament resume crushed in the process is even worse. Bama cannot afford to lose this game.
-BOISE STATE AT SAN DIEGO STATE (Mountain West). San Diego State is right on the bubble, and I’m guessing that more likely than not, they’ll get an at-large bid if they need it so long as they win out.
-WEST VIRGINIA AT OKLAHOMA STATE (Big Twelve). West Virginia is having an outstanding year and appears to be a solid protected seed. This isn’t exactly an easy road game to win, but it is one of the less difficult conference road games, and it’s the kind of road game that a protected seed should pick up.
-KANSAS STATE AT IOWA STATE (Big Twelve). Iowa State should end up as a protected seed so long as they hold serve at home and avoid losses to non-tournament teams.
-NORTH CAROLINA AT VIRGINIA (ACC). North Carolina does not have a monster road win, which is one of the reasons we’re not considering them as a slam dunk #1 (or for that matter, #2 seed). If they get this win today, that all changes. Virginia has suffered some incredibly close road losses to highly ranked teams in recent weeks, so as good as their profile is, it’s just a few plays away from being even better. They’ve been outstanding at home and should be jacked for this one.
-TEXAS STATE AT LITTLE ROCK (Sun Belt). If Little Rock wins out the regular season, I’m guessing that they’ll be okay for an NCAA bid regardless of what happens in the conference tournament. They’ve had a tremendous season.
-GONZAGA AT BYU (West Coast). Gonzaga is outside of our bubble and if they want to play their way into it, they need notable road wins. This is perhaps their last remaining opportunity at a notable win, so it is hugely important that the Zags take care of business. Otherwise they’ll need the automatic bid in order to feel safe. Hell, that may be the case even if they do win this game.
-DARTMOUTH AT YALE (Ivy League). Yale and Princeton are in a two horse race for first place in the Ivy and the automatic bid that comes along with it.
-BAYLOR AT TCU (Big Twelve). There are hardly any winnable road games in this conference, but TCU is perhaps one of them. Baylor should get it done today.
-FLORIDA AT LSU (SEC). Florida has fallen outside of our bubble, and really needs a strong finish in order to end up back on the right side of it. That means picking up road wins in games like this. LSU is pretty much out of the tournament picture, and it’d take a tremendous sprint to the finish in order for that to change.
-GRAND CANYON AT CAL STATE BAKERSFIELD (WAC). The Team of the People!!! This will not be easy as Bakersfield is one of the three best teams in the conference along with New Mexico State.
-SAINT MARY’S AT SAN FRANCISCO (West Coast). It hasn’t always been pretty. In fact, it has rarely been pretty, but Saint Mary’s has managed to hold serve in this conference (for the most part) and avoid bad losses. They should be okay for a bid if they win out in the regular season and avoid an early exit in the conference tournament.
SURVIVAL BOARD GAMES
-EASTERN KENTUCKY AT TENNESSEE TECH (Ohio Valley). Because of their win earlier in the season, EKU has the tiebreaker over Austin Peay at the moment for the 8th and final spot in the Ohio Valley tournament. They just need to either win today or have Peay lose at SE Missouri State. However, winning at Tennessee Tech will be a tall order.
-SE MISSOURI STATE AT AUSTIN PEAY (Ohio Valley). The Governors should be able to take care of their own business against SEMO, but still need help from Tennessee Tech to get into the OVC Tournament as described above.
-LOUISIANA-MONROE AT TROY (Sun Belt). The Trojans must win to remain alive for the Sun Belt Tournament, but even with a win today, they could still be eliminated if Georgia State, South Alabama, Texas State and Arkansas State all win today.
-Additional Games of Note: Columbia faces elimination today with a loss at Penn and a Yale home win over Dartmouth. Appalachian State could be eliminated with a loss at Georgia State and a win by Arkansas State at home over Texas-Arlington.
Throwback Thursday: The 1987-88 UConn Huskies
Click here for David Griggs’ daily News and Notes that includes tonight’s matchups
Click here for Chad Sherwood’s Under The Radar Game of the Day between Jacksonville and North Florida (River City Rumble)
Finally, click here for the season finale of the Under The Radar Podcast – we are also 4 days away from the season premiere of Championship Week notebooks!
It’s not often that we focus on a team in the modern NCAA era that won the NIT, but this UConn team definitely fits the bill of a team and program that evolved from such a championship. It’s even stranger to focus on a team that finished dead last in its conference, but that is a testament to just how strong the original incarnation of the Big East was back then – this was a league that included Georgetown, Villanova, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, St. John’s, Seton Hall, Providence and Boston College.
And it’s not like UConn had been a completely hopeless program – they were kings of the old Yankee Conference that included the likes of UMass, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine. They actually made it to the NCAA Tournament a whopping 13 times before the formation of the Big East. They were simply a team that was not able to overcome programs like Georgetown, Villanova, Syracuse and St. John’s in their zenith. After the 1985-86 season, they hired Jim Calhoun from nearby Northeastern University as head coach for UConn.
After a rough debut that included a 9-19 record in his first season at UConn, Calhoun’s team managed to improve by 5 wins in the regular season and even managed a win in the Big East tournament against Providence before losing in the semifinals to Pittsburgh. UConn’s star players on this team were Cliff Robinson, Phil Gamble and Tate George, and even included current Stony Brook head coach Steve Pikiell on the roster. While the Huskies only went 4-12 in Big East play, 9 of their 12 losses were by less than 10 points – this was a team still in its infancy. 2 of their 4 wins in the Big East came against Top 25 teams – one was at #9 Syracuse; one was at home against #14 Georgetown. They also had some notable wins away from home against Princeton and Pepperdine.
When the NIT did come calling, UConn didn’t waste any time advancing – they won their opener in overtime against West Virginia 62-57. After a win against Louisiana Tech at home, the Huskies hit the road to play VCU – they would defeat the Rams 72-61 to earn a trip to the NIT Final Four at Madison Square Garden. They would win the rubber match against Boston College 73-67 (as the two teams split during the regular season) and then defeat Ohio State 72-67 the following night to clinch the program’s first postseason title in its history.
This was a preview of great things to come for UConn – only 2 years later did UConn take the jump from NIT all the way to a Big East tournament championship AND a #1 seed in the East Regional for the first time in program history. What happened in East Rutherford can simply be described as the best of times and the worst of times; you can click here to see UConn’s thrilling comeback against Clemson in the Sweet 16. There was also heartbreak in the form of the Duke Blue Devils – click here to see Christian Laettner’s “other” miracle shot that vaulted Duke into the Final 4 that season. But the final foundation for UConn’s program had been laid – they would go on to win 4 national championships beginning in 1999 and 6 more Big East tournament championships.