It’s another busy Saturday in college basketball. Below is a rundown of all the action.
NEWS AND NOTES
-For Chad Sherwood’s Under the Radar Game of the Day between TAMUCC and SFA – CLICK HERE
-To sign our online petition so the President of the United States will order that Grand Canyon be allowed to play in the NCAA Tournament – CLICK HERE!!!! People, this is why WhiteHouse.Gov exists!! CLICK ON THE LINK AND SIGN THE PETITION!!!
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES
-WEST VIRGINIA AT FLORIDA (Big Twelve/SEC Challenge). Florida is hovering around our bubble, and the one thing they’re really missing is a hugely notable win. Beating a top ten team would certainly help with that, even if they are at home.
-CLEMSON AT FLORIDA STATE (ACC). Clemson has already picked up 5 notable wins at “home” in Greenville in ACC play (including Florida State); now they just need to start adding ACC road wins to their profile to solidify a profile that exponentially got better in January. The Seminoles are in a more perilous position with a 3-5 record in the ACC, but Tallahassee can be a snake pit at times. Just ask Virginia.
-VANDERBILT AT TEXAS (Big Twelve/SEC Challenge). Coming into the season we were pretty high on Vanderbilt and had a lot of questions about Texas. Now, the roles have flipped. It’s Texas that appears to be on their way to the dance and Vandy who looks to be going to the NIT.
-MICHIGAN AT PENN STATE (Big Ten). This is one of the more winnable road games that Michigan has remaining so they need to take advantage.
-GEORGIA TECH AT SYRACUSE (ACC). Syracuse has played their way inside our bubble for the time being, but they’ve been very schizophrenic all season and can’t afford a home loss to a Georgia Tech team that’s been awful on the road this year.
-BUTLER AT MARQUETTE (Big East). Butler has just one loss to a team outside the top fifteen, but having said that they really need to continue to hold serve against non tournament teams, and that includes when they are the road team.
-VIRGINIA AT LOUISVILLE (ACC). Louisville has not lost at home, whereas Virginia has struggled. Both teams have the opportunity to improve their resumes with a win today. For UVA, it gives them their best true road win of the year, and for Louisville it would be the best team they’ve managed to beat this year as well.
-IOWA STATE AT TEXAS A&M (Big Twelve/SEC Challenge). This one should be a fun one as it’s a matchup between two top fifteen teams. It’s a chance for Iowa State to pick up a monster road win, and it’s a chance for TAMU to beat the highest ranked team on their schedule. Don’t be surprised if both end up as protected seeds come March.
-XAVIER AT DEPAUL (Big East). Xavier is back on our #1 line, and needs to hold serve in games like this in order to remain there.
-LA SALLE AT DAYTON (Atlantic Ten). Dayton actually lost to La Salle earlier this year, but shouldn’t have any trouble with them at home today.
-MINNESOTA AT INDIANA (Big Ten). Indiana has won a lot of games over the past several weeks, and they’ve climbed in the rankings as a result. The thing is that none of those wins came against particularly good teams. If they win today, that won’t change.
-MIAMI FL AT NC STATE (ACC). We still feel Miami FL is a solid protected seed, and I don’t expect them to have too much trouble picking up a road win today.
-WASHINGTON AT USC (Pac Twelve). Right now USC is safely in our field, and they still have a shot to end up as a protected seed if they finish strong. Washington is right on the bubble, but one way to really boost their resume is to pick up a high quality road win in a game like this.
-TEXAS TECH AT ARKANSAS (Big Twelve/SEC Challenge). Texas Tech has been abysmal on the road, and Arkansas, while nowhere close to a tournament team, has been very strong at home. Both have tons of work to do in order to make the field, though, and although it’s not impossible, I don’t think either of them will.
-BOSTON COLLEGE AT NORTH CAROLINA (ACC). I’m expecting a very lopsided result with North Carolina rolling and remaining in strong contention for a #1 seed.
-NEBRASKA AT PURDUE (Big Ten). I like Purdue a lot, and think that a strong finish will land them on one of the top four lines. Nebraska has been playing better, but they’ll have to really go on a tear between now and the end of the season to be anywhere close to the bubble.
-OKLAHOMA AT LSU (Big Twelve/SEC Challenge). LSU keeps improving, and I think they’re good enough to make this game interesting, but Oklahoma is very strong, even when they play on the road. We do have two of the best players in the country on the floor today, so it’s definitely worth tuning tin.
-STANFORD AT UTAH (Pac Twelve). Stanford is right on our bubble, and needs quality wins between now and the end of the year in order to be safely inside it. Winning at Utah would certainly qualify as a quality win.
-GEORGIA AT BAYLOR (Big Twelve/SEC Challenge). Given how Georgia has looked on the road, and given how well Baylor has been playing lately, I don’t think it’s fair to call this game a “Challenge.”
-ALABAMA AT SOUTH CAROLINA (SEC). South Carolina has a bloated record with a lot of decent wins, but no real good wins. A win today won’t change that, but it’s important that they hold serve.
-SAINT JOSEPH’S AT RHODE ISLAND (Atlantic Ten). The more and more I see this Joe’s team, the better I think they are. They can add another conference road win to their profile today and improve to a very impressive 18-3 overall.
-KENTUCKY AT KANSAS (Big Twelve/SEC Challenge). When these two met last year it wasn’t pretty with Kentucky absolutely dominating. As good as Kansas is at home, it may not be pretty this year either, but with the opposite result. Right now, we don’t even have Kentucky as a protected seed. Now, if they manage a win today that would certainly change.
-GEORGIA STATE AT LITTLE ROCK (Sun Belt). These are two of the better teams in the Sun Belt, and we currently have Little Rock inside our bubble. It’s hard to say what the real committee will think of them, but they’ll certainly be in the discussion, and perhaps in the field, if they can blow through the rest of their schedule.
-SAINT PETER’S AT MONMOUTH (Metro Atlantic). Monmouth has had a great year overall, but they do have some losses on their profile that smell pretty bad. They should be fine if they win out, but they really can’t afford any more.
-WASHINGTON STATE AT UCLA (Pac Twelve). UCLA’s record is just 12-9, but they’ve played a tough schedule and managed some big wins. This is a big game simply because it’s winnable, and they need wins right now.
-SAN DIEGO STATE AT UNLV (Mountain West). San Diego State isn’t inside our bubble yet, but if they win out, which I certainly think they’re good enough to do, I’m guessing they will be.
-SAN FRANCISCO AT GONZAGA (West Coast). The Zags have been one of the more disappointing teams this year, and are in danger of missing the field altogether. They basically need to win out in order to feel safe.
-SETON HALL AT CREIGHTON (Big East). Creighton had been sneaking up on people, and I think they would have made our last field had they pulled off the win at Georgetown, but they ended up melting down late in the game. Still, they’re playing well, but still have a lot of work to do if they want to make the field. Seton Hall has looked really good this year, and I think they’ve been a little undervalued nationally. This will not be an easy game for them to win, and the Pirates will deserve credit for it if they do, but probably still won’t get it. At least not from the media. Hopefully the committee is watching.
-PROVIDENCE AT GEORGETOWN (Big East). Georgetown was sluggish out of conference, but are an impressive 6-2 in the Big East. They’re at home against Providence, but seeing as how all three of Providence’s conference losses came at home, Georgetown may fare better if it were at Providence.
-YOUNGSTOWN STATE AT VALPARAISO (Horizon League). We still have Valpo safely inside our bubble, but it’s hard to say if the actual committee would. Jon Teitel is guessing that they would not. I do think Valpo will be okay if they win out, though, which they’re good enough to do and should do.
-SEATTLE AT GRAND CANYON (WAC). THE TEAM OF THE PEOPLE IS BACK IN ACTION!!! Sign the petition if you haven’t yet!! CLICK HERE to do it
-OREGON STATE AT ARIZONA (Pac Twelve). Arizona has been really beat up with injuries, but they should still make the field. Just not as a protected seed. Oregon State is on the outside looking in right now, but they can change that with a big road win. Unfortunately, that’s much easier to say than to do.
-UC SANTA BARBARA AT UC IRVINE (Big West). We talked about this during Under the Radar, but if UC Irvine wins out they should get a serious look for an at-large if they end up needing it.
-SAINT MARY’S AT PACIFIC (West Coast). Saint Mary’s continues to face unchallenging competition, but they also keep winning, which they need to do since their margin for error is so small.
-LONG BEACH STATE AT HAWAII (Big West). Similar to UC Irvine, I think the committee will look at Hawaii if they can win out. Granted, both teams can’t win out, so….
News, Notes, and Highlighted Games: Sunday, Jan 31st
Below is a rundown of all of today’s action, and a look back at some notable outcomes from yesterday…
NEWS AND NOTES
-For Chad Sherwood’s Under the Radar Game of the day between James Madison and William & Mary, who are two of the better teams in the Colonial – CLICK HERE
-We’ll start off with the Team of the People, who suffered their first WAC loss when they fell at home to Seattle after missing a last second shot. It was somewhat surprising given how well the Lopes have played at home this year, but they’re still in first place, they’ve still looked like the best team in the WAC most of the time, and….THEY STILL NEED A WAIVER!!! CLICK HERE TO SIGN THE PETITION IF YOU HAVEN’T ALREADY!
-We say this every Saturday, and maybe many other nights during the week as well, but yesterday was another incredible day for college basketball. The Big Twelve/SEC Challenge gave us two games that ended up being far more exciting than I thought they would going into the day. I knew it wouldn’t be the easiest thing in the world for Oklahoma to go into LSU, but figured it’s a huge deal for any team that gets to play Oklahoma at home and figured the Sooners would be used to it. They had to overcome a double digit second half deficit to come back and win in the final seconds. It’s another big win for the Sooners, who continue to look like the #1 overall seed, and it is a crushing loss for an LSU team who still needs big wins in order to land inside the bubble.
-Coming into Saturday, Kentucky had lost at Auburn, and at LSU rather badly, neither of whom currently look like tournament teams. So, I didn’t think they’d fare too well going into Kansas, who is a protected seed that’s extremely difficult to beat at home. Kentucky didn’t win the game, but I was far more impressed with how they played yesterday than I have been with them at any other point this season. They overcame foul trouble to force overtime, and kept hitting big shot after big shot throughout regulation every time it looked like the momentum was shifting toward Kansas. If they play like that the rest of the year they’ll probably win out.
-Texas A&M and Iowa State was entertaining as expected. Iowa State led for much of the game, but TAMU finally got the momentum in the final minutes and picked up one of their biggest wins of the year.
-West Virginia went into Florida, and the chirping between the two teams started before the game even tipped off. That could have been a tactical error for West Virginia if they were doing that to get into the heads of the Florida players. Florida ran them off the court, and picked up their highest profile win of the year, which suddenly makes their tournament resume look a lot better.
-Virginia got a big road win at Louisville, and made it look easy. That helps their profile out a ton because they had really struggled on the road coming into the game.
-Miami FL lost at NC State. Miami has looked really good for most of the season, but they’ve had some really bad games that made you scratch your head, and yesterday was one of them.
-I think Butler is in trouble. They lost to Marquette, and are suddenly just 3-6 in conference play. Losing to Marquette in and of itself isn’t that bad, but it’s bad when they have multiple other losses just like it, and are lacking in big wins. I think they need to get to .500 in order to feel safe, and if they finish any more than two games below 500 in league play I think they’re out.
-Saint Mary’s barely held on to beat Pacific. The only reason I bring that up is because I think losing that game would have killed them.
Last, and perhaps least, it was a bad day for our Big West frontrunners after we just got done talking them up. We felt that if either UC Irvine or Hawaii won out (and we realize that only one of them could have) that they would land inside the bubble. Both lost yesterday. At home. That’s not good. So, it looks like that in order for either of them to make it they’ll need the automatic bid.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES
-VILLANOVA AT SAINT JOHN’S (Big East). Nova continues to look like they could end up on the #1 line, and this is a very winnable conference road game for them.
-GEORGE WASHINGTON AT GEORGE MASON (Atlantic Ten). I know the A10 wants this to be a rivalry, but right now GW is slipping further and further outside the bubble and George Mason isn’t good enough to get excited about playing.
-WAKE FOREST AT NOTRE DAME (ACC). Notre Dame is coming off a loss, but they’re still in good shape and should stay that way so long as they hold serve at home in this one.
-MARYLAND AT OHIO STATE (Big Ten). Maryland is coming off their biggest win of the year at home against Iowa, but it’s still never easy to win on the road, and if they want to keep their profile solid and prove they are a protected seed then this is the kind of game they need to win.
-TEMPLE AT SOUTH FLORIDA (American). Temple is so far outside the bubble right now that I’m hesitant to even highlight this game, but if they win out I guess it’s possible.
-NORTHWESTERN AT IOWA (Big Ten). I don’t think losing at Maryland did anything to hurt Iowa, so I still feel they can end up as a #1 seed, and shouldn’t have too much trouble winning today.
-CONNECTICUT AT UCF (American). I don’t know if it’s more accurate to say that UConn needs more wins, or that UConn cannot afford any more losses. Either way, UConn needs to win this game. Or, UConn can’t afford to lose this game.
-WICHITA STATE AT EVANSVILLE (Missouri Valley). I think Evansville still has a chance to land inside the bubble, but it’s an outside shot at best due to a weak strength of schedule, and they’ll need to win out to the conference championship to do it. Wichita, on the other hand, has been playing outstandingly well since getting back to full strength, and this would be another solid road win for their profile.
-CALIFORNIA AT COLORADO (Pac Twelve). I like Colorado’s profile and feel that they’ll land in the field so long as they continue to hold serve. Cal, on the other hand, has been pitiful on the road, and the more rumblings I hear, the more important I think that’s going to be to the real committee. Cal desperately needs some quality road wins or else they’ll be watching the tournament on television.
-RUTGERS AT MICHIGAN STATE (Big Ten). Michigan State seems to have turned things around, and plays what is perhaps their most winnable remaining home game of the season today.
-VIRGINIA TECH AT PITTSBURGH (ACC). VA Tech is getting better, but they still have a ways to go. Pitt’s profile is good enough to get them in right now, but there is room for improvement, and they don’t want to worsen it by losing at home to a non tournament team.
-OREGON AT ARIZONA STATE (Pac Twelve). Oregon has been playing really well lately, and they have some big road wins to go along with that, including at Arizona earlier in the week. I think they pick this one up as well and continue to work toward earning a protected seed.