NEWS AND NOTES
-For Jon Teitel’s latest Seed List, where he shows you what he thinks the Selection Committee would do if today were Selection Sunday – CLICK HERE
-For Chad Sherwood’s Under the Radar Game of the Day – CLICK HERE
-Baylor, who had looked awful on the road all season long, didn’t just pick up their first road win when they beat Iowa State, they picked up one of the more impressive road wins anyone has managed this season. That changes the complexion of their profile in a huge way.
-Four overtimes!! Twenty extra minutes!! USC and Arizona gave us an entire half of free basketball before USC pulled off the win in four overtimes. USC led in the final minute three different times, but finally pulled it off for one of their biggest wins since Andy Enfield arrived on campus.
-Dayton was in the rankings and appeared to be sailing safely toward a bid. They’re still relatively safe, but they now have a loss to a La Salle team that’s outside the top 200. It’s a very damaging loss, and it’s rare that you see a team inside the bubble have multiple sub 200 losses, but it is the kind of loss they can overcome.
-Chattanooga, who won at Dayton earlier this year and looked to have a strong profile, shot themselves in the face as well with their loss at Furman. Chattanooga should still be okay for a bid if they win out, but if they drop any more then chances are they’ll need the automatic bid to make the field.
-Texas A&M’s win at Tennessee may not seem like that big of a win, but it is somewhat notable since it is currently the only home loss for the Vols.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES
-CINCINNATI AT SOUTH FLORIDA (American). Cincinnati is still reeling from their loss at SMU, which was their third loss in the final seconds to a highly ranked team. They need to pick up this winnable road game today.
-MICHIGAN STATE AT PENN STATE (Big Ten). Penn State has just one home loss, but Michigan State should still be able to pick up the victory and remain in #1 seed contention.
-LOUISVILLE AT CLEMSON (ACC). Louisville has started adding some meet to their profile and can pick up their second true road win on the season and remain unbeaten in conference play.
-RHODE ISLAND AT SAINT JOSEPH’S (Atlantic Ten). Saint Joe’s is right on our bubble, so every game has a pivotal feel. They don’t want to drop any games at home against non-tournament teams.
-OHIO STATE AT INDIANA (Big Ten). Both teams are improving and both have improved their resumes in recent weeks, but both still have a lot of work to do.
-UCF AT SMU (American). SMU is still unbeaten, but that still doesn’t mean anything as far as the NCAA Tournament is concerned.
-PURDUE AT ILLINOIS (Big Ten). Purdue continues to look like a protected seed and shouldn’t have too much trouble picking up the win on the road today.
-VILLANOVA AT BUTLER (Big East). Butler hasn’t looked that strong since conference play started, but they’re still high in the rankings and still have a strong profile. A win in a game like this could really give them the momentum they need to turn things around. Both teams still have a chance to end up as protected seeds.
-NC STATE AT WAKE FOREST (ACC). Wake has lost their last few games, but all were against very strong teams. They are still in reasonably good shape, but they need to get the momentum turned back in their favor. NC State is good, but with Wake being at home it’s a more winnable game for them and one they need to take advantage of.
-STANFORD AT OREGON (Pac Twelve). Oregon is unbeaten at home and needs to continue to hold serve against non-tournament caliber teams
