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.
News, Notes, and Highlighted Games: Sunday, Feb 28th
NEWS AND NOTES
-Folks, the conference tournaments haven’t actually begun yet, but the win-and-advance stage of the season sort of has. The Survival Board, which is the #1 most valued and relied upon resource that is available to the Selection Committee, is now in full force with a team or two coming off it each day. You can check that out by CLICKING HERE
-In addition to that, several conferences have completed their seasons, and their tournaments are already set. We have complete information in the match-ups, as well as the dates and times for each conference tournament. All you need to do is CLICK HERE
-For Chad Sherwood’s Under the Radar Game of the Day, which has CENTENARY AWARD Implications – CLICK HERE
-I’ve really liked Texas for weeks now, and yesterday they picked up a huge home win against Oklahoma. Since I think they’re playing like a protected seed, the win wasn’t that shocking. It definitely helps their profile, though.
-North Carolina still doesn’t have a true road win against a team that’s anywhere close to being a protected seed. Although they played well at Virginia yesterday, they didn’t win it. I think teams need at least one of those to be considered a slam dunk for a #1 seed. UNC is good, and definitely talented, but they don’t have that massive road win yet.
-Utah picked up a huge win at home against Arizona, who has now dropped to straight. I’m beginning to think Utah is probably going to end up as a protected seed when you look at how well they’ve played down the stretch.
-Maryland came into yesterday with their best win away from home being at Wisconsin, and that came at a time when Wiscy wasn’t playing too well. Well, after yesterday’s loss at Purdue, that’s still their best win. I don’t see them getting up on the #1 or #2 line without at least one big road win, and right now they don’t have it. They look more like a #4 or #5 seed than a #1 or #2 seed based on how they’ve played on the road.
-Vanderbilt continues to get closer and closer to our bubble, and they picked up another big win against Kentucky yesterday. Kentucky hasn’t exactly been a road warrior this year, but it’s still a nice win for a Vandy team that’s been fairly disappointing this year, but is now beginning to make a case for themselves.
-Notre Dame went down to Florida State yesterday, and must have gone to the beach instead of showing up at the game. FSU, who has not looked good at all recently, absolutely ran them off the floor, which is the kind of result they needed considering they had been slipping out of the picture.
-Temple really does look good at times. Yesterday was not one of those times. They did win, against UCF, at home, by two, but I guess they won and that’s what’s important.
-Dayton has not looked good at all these past two weeks, and they got absolutely boat raced at home by a Rhode Island team that’s nowhere near the field. Dayton is in free fall mode right now.
-VCU got a much needed road win against a George Washington team yesterday. Both teams were on the bubble, both really needed it, and VCU came out with it.
-San Diego State missed seven straight freethrows down the stretch, and fell at home to Boise State 66-63. San Diego State had clinched first place, but their profile is still really weak, so they’ll likely need to win the automatic bid in order to make the field.
-Florida desperately needed to win at LSU yesterday. Florida did not win at LSU today. I think Florida is now in serious trouble.
HIGHLIGHTED GAMES
-PENN STATE AT MICHIGAN STATE (Big Ten). Michigan State could still end up as high as the #1 line depending on how strong they finish.
-XAVIER AT SETON HALL (Big East). Xavier is coming off their big win against Villanova, but they better get their feet back on the ground because Seton Hall has been playing really well lately, and this is a showcase game for a team that will likely make the tournament, and perhaps definitely will if they pick up this win.
-HOUSTON AT UCONN (American). UConn is inside the bubble for now and will stay that way so long as they hold serve, but they’re by no means a lock. They don’t want to end the season by dropping multiple games to non-tournament teams.
-SAINT LOUIS AT SAINT JOSEPH’S (Atlantic Ten). Saint Joe’s should be okay so long as they avoid bad losses, and a loss today would be a very bad loss.
-DUKE AT PITTSBURGH (ACC). These two teams appear to be going in the wrong direction. Duke is now looking like a protected seed, and another road win will help strengthen the case that they are. Pitt has hit the skids somewhat and could use a notable win to pull them out of it.
-VALPARAISO AT GREEN BAY (Horizon League). I don’t think Valpo has any shot at an at-large bid, but I suppose they’ll at least get a look if they win out.
-TULSA AT MEMPHIS (American). Tulsa is a fringe bubble team that needs to finish strong. A road win at Memphis isn’t the best win that a team can pick up, but any road win against a team with any sort of a pulse helps.
-IOWA AT OHIO STATE (Big Ten). Iowa is a solid protected seed and this is the type of road win that protected seeds are expected to be able to get. Ohio State is outside the bubble and is a long way from reaching it. If they want any shot at all they pretty much need to win out.
-ARIZONA STATE AT COLORADO (Pac Twelve). Colorado picked up a big win earlier this week against Arizona, which helped a ton, and they shouldn’t have too much trouble winning today.
-NIAGARA AT MONMOUTH (Metro Atlantic). Monmouth is right on the bubble, and a loss today will almost assure that their only way in is the automatic bid. Even a win today doesn’t guarantee them a spot.
-MICHIGAN AT WISCONSIN (Big Ten). I love how Wisconsin has been playing and expect that they’ll pick up a few more big wins between now and then end. Michigan is very close to the bubble, and although it’s a tall order a win in a game like this would make a world of difference.
-WASHINGTON STATE AT OREGON STATE (Pac Twelve). Oregon State is still in contention for a bid, and we believe they’re right on the cut line so they don’t want to drop a home game like this one.
-USC AT CALIFORNIA (Pac Twelve). Both teams are safely inside the field, and both are likely in on the initial ballot, but both have room to improve their resume and therefore improve upon their overall seed.
-WASHINGTON AT OREGON (Pac Twelve). Washington is squarely on the bubble, and a win in a game like this will make a huge difference on whether or not they make it. Oregon is looking like a solid protected seed and they’ll stay that way so long as they hold serve.