NEWS AND NOTES
-Dayton fell in overtime on the road against a very good George Washington team. It’s not a bad loss for Dayton, but if they want to end up so far inside the bubble that they’re not sweating at all on Selection Sunday this is the kind of win that would have really boosted their profile. As for GW, they’re right on the bubble and it was a big win for them. Plain and simple, this was an exciting game between two teams who could have really used the win.
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TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTED GAMES
-BAYLOR AT WEST VIRGINIA (Big Twelve). Both teams are in the rankings and very safely inside the field, but both could use some notable wins if they want to end up as protected seeds.
-CREIGHTON AT SAINT JOHN’S (Big East). We have the Johnnies on the outside looking in right now, so they don’t want to lose at home to a team that doesn’t even look like an NIT team
-MARQUETTE AT SETON HALL (Big East). Seton Hall needs to win this if they want their profile to hold serve.
-ILLINOIS AT MICHIGAN STATE (Big Ten). Both teams are right on the bubble, so there is a sense of urgency fro both 0f them coming into this one.
-TENNESSEE AT GEORGIA (SEC). Georgia is inside the bubble, but still has a lot of room for improvement. Tennessee is on the outside looking in and could use a big road win like this.
-NOTRE DAME AT DUKE (ACC). A huge game between two top ten teams that should end up as protected seeds. Don’t be surprised if Duke lands on the #1 line.
-PROVIDENCE AT XAVIER (Big East). Both teams are in the field, but both have room for improvement, especially Xavier, who isn’t nearly as safe as Providence right now.
-TEXAS TECH AT IOWA STATE (Big Twelve). Texas Tech pulled off the huge upset in the first match up, but they aren’t likely to repeat that on the road.
-KANSAS AT OKLAHOMA STATE (Big Twelve). This is a tough road test for Kansas. If they are a #1 seed caliber team this is the kind of road game they need to be able to win.
-GEORGETOWN AT VILLANOVA (Big East). Georgetown is safely in the field, but they don’t have a win of this caliber on their profile. Nova could end up as high as a #2 seed with a strong finish.
-WYOMING AT AIR FORCE (Mountain West, Front Range). Wyoming is right on the bubble and can’t afford to drop this to their Front Range rival.
-VCU AT SAINT BONAVENTURE (Atlantic Ten). VCU has struggled since losing a key player to an injury and need to show the committee they can still win without him.
-OKLAHOMA AT TCU (Big Twelve). TCU is good enough to make good teams sweat, especially at home, so this won’t be a walk in the park for Oklahoma.
-NORTH CAROLINA AT BOSTON COLLEGE (ACC). I don’t expect UNC to have too much trouble picking up the road win in this one.
-PURDUE AT MINNESOTA (Big Ten). It’s a road game, but it’s a winnable game for a Purdue team that’s been playing very well lately and has a stretch of winnable games ahead of them.
-DEPAUL AT BUTLER (Big East). Butler continues to look better and better, and they continue to build their profile as well. They shouldn’t have too much trouble winning this one.
-TEXAS AT KANSAS STATE (Big Twelve). Both teams really need this win. Texas is just 3-6 in league play, and Kansas State is on the outside looking in.
-UNLV AT COLORADO STATE (Mountain West). Colorado State has struggled in league play, but the NCAA Tournament is still very much in their grasp so long as they take care of business against the teams they should beat.
-MISSISSIPPI STATE AT ARKANSAS (SEC). Arkansas appears to ahve a very strong profile and shouldn’t have too much trouble winning this one at home.
-ARIZONA AT ARIZONA STATE (Pac Twelve). Arizona is clearly the stronger team, but given the rivalry this isn’t the easiest road game in the world to win.
-ALABAMA AT LSU (SEC). LSU still has a strong profile, but they’ve slipped a little bit in their last few games. They don’t want to drop another home game to a team that’s outside the bubble.
-TEXAS A&M AT MISSOURI (SEC). This is a winnable road game for a TAMU team that has built up a fairly impressive profile and could land inside the bubble
-OLE MISS AT AUBURN (SEC). Ole Miss is inside the bubble and can add another road win to their profile to help build their case even more.
-LOUISVILLE AT VIRGINIA (ACC). Both teams are in the top ten. Louisville is a protected seed and Virginia looks like a #1 seed. Louisville could really improve their profile and take a huge step toward earning a #2 seed if they can pull off a high caliber win like this.
-HARVARD AT YALE (Ivy League). It’s the two best teams in the Ivy playing a hugely important game that will play a large role in determining who wins the automatic bid. On top of everything else, Harvard and Yale are rivals, so this one should be fun.
-CHARLOTTE AT OLD DOMINION (Conference USA). Old Dominion still has a chance at an at-large bid if they win out, but anything sort of that and they’ll probably need the automatic bid.
-UC IRVINE AT LONG BEACH STATE (Big West). I continue to say it, but if Long Beach wins out, they’ll be on the bubble, and maybe even inside of it.
-MISSOURI STATE AT WICHITA STATE (Missouri Valley). Wichita is high in the rankings and shouldn’t have too much trouble winning this one at home.
-DRAKE AT NORTHERN IOWA (Missouri Valley, Big Four). This is an in-state conference rivalry, but it’s also a huge mismatch. UNI should roll at home.
-SOUTH FLORIDA AT CINCINNATI (American). Cincinnati is coming off what is easily their biggest win of the year, and shouldn’t have too much trouble taking care of a struggling South Florida team at home.
-SMU AT TULSA (American). Tulsa is right on the bubble and has yet to lose a conference game. This is a huge test for them against a very good SMU team, who’s looking for a notable road win after they fell to Cincinnati earlier this week. This one should really be fun.
-UCLA AT CALIFORNIA (Pac Twelve). Some here at Hoops HD still think UCLA has a chance. I’m not one of them, but in the even they’re right and I’m wrong they definitely need this win.
-KENTUCKY AT FLORIDA (SEC). This won’t be an easy road game for Kentucky, but it’s one they are certainly capable of winning.
-UTAH AT COLORADO (Pac Twelve). As good as Utah is, their profile still has room for improvement. This is a chance to add another road win to it.
-GONZAGA AT SAN FRANCISCO (West Coast). If Gonzaga wins out I like their chances for a #1 seed.
