Rhode Island lost its second straight game, this time at Davidson. The Rams continue to slide down the bracket. They are a No. 7 seed this morning and have fallen three lines after their last two losses.
Michigan, 77-58 winners over Nebraska in the Big Ten Tournament, moved up to a No. 5 seed to take Rhode Island's place.
Nebraska saw its NCAA Tournament hopes end with that loss to the Wolverines. The Cornhuskers needed quality wins, but came out flat against Michigan. As it stands now, Nebraska is 1-7 vs Quadrant 1 foes and 4-9 vs Quadrants 1-2. The Cornhuskers also have a bad loss at Illinois. Even if you mentally upgrade the win at Minnesota, it's not enough to merit selection.
Also in the Big Ten Tournament, Ohio State lost to Penn State for a third time this season. The Nittany Lions are a bad matchup for the Buckeyes and bad for Ohio State's seed. The Buckeyes are a No. 5 seed in the latest bracket after the loss. Arizona moved up to take their place as a No. 4 seed.
Oklahoma finally looked like a good team, albeit against what is left of Iowa State. The Sooners finished the regular season with a 81-60 win over the Cyclones and have now won two of their last three. I'm not ready to take them off the bubble just yet. OU is still just a .500 team against Quadrants 1-3.
The regular season ends Saturday for every conference except the American, which finishes on Sunday.
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vs. Kentucky Florida is at home, so you have to like Kentucky's chances, although the Gators are 2-0 at home vs Quadrant 1. The Gators are off the bubble for sure with a win. Result : W, 80-67 | |
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vs. St. John's Providence has proven to be just as capable of beating Villanova as losing to UMass. The last thing the Friars need is a fourth bad loss, but that is what a loss to the Johnnies would be. Result : W, 61-57 | |
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vs. West Virginia Texas' tournament hopes are hanging on by a thread. The Longhorns are just 17-13 on the season, and while none of their losses are especially bad they are numerous. Texas will have to find a way to win at couple more games if it harbors hopes of staying in the field. Result : W, 87-79 (OT) | |
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at LSU Mississippi State has the opposite problem of Texas. The Longhorns' schedule is too strong and the Bulldogs' is too weak. MSU has not been poor away from home, with just a 3-7 record, but two of those wins are in Q1. Result : L, 78-57 | |
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vs. Alabama The Aggies are one win away from clearing the bubble, so slumping Alabama visits at the right time. A loss by Texas A&M at home could still leave some doubt. Result : W, 68-66 | |
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at Texas A&M Last call for Alabama. The Crimson Tide has lost four straight, including a blowout loss at home to Florida last time out. The Tide is just 17-13 and a loss here means likely having to win at least two conference tournament games just to merit serious consideration. Result : L, 68-66 | |
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vs. Baylor The Wildcats are only 3-9 vs the top quadrant and 8-10 vs. Quadrants 1-2. They don't have any bad losses, but with a non-conference schedule as poor as Kansas State's, that would be expected. A loss gets the Wildcats dangerously close to the bottom of the bracket Result: W, 77-67 | |
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at Kansas State Baylor is trying to get one more good win to breath some life into the Bears slim hopes. They are only 4-10 vs Q1 and 10-12 against the top three quadrants. That last number is especially bad. A loss to KSU may mean needing a deep run in the Big 12 Tournament. Result : L, 77-67 | |
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vs. Clemson The Orange need quality wins. They are on a three-game skid now after losing at Boston College, which makes the need for quality wins even more urgent. Clemson would fit the bill, but Syracuse will likely need more than that eventually. Result : W, 55-52 | |
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vs. Boston College Florida State is currently just 10-10 vs the teams in the top three quadrants. That is a pretty mediocre record against that group and a loss to BC would drop that number further. The Seminoles have some higher quality wins and that may be enough to get them in, but they have played themselves down the bracket this week. Result : W, 85-76 | |
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vs. Creighton It's a must win for Marquette and the Golden Eagles will ultimately need more than this win, but if they lose today, it's win the Big East or NIT. Result : W, 85-81 | |
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vs. Stanford The Sun Devils took most of the conference season to get here, but they are finally on the bubble. After dominating the first two months of the season, ASU is 8-9 in the Pac-12 and trying to hang on. Stanford has been better lately, but ASU already has two bad losses and a loss to Stanford would make it three. Result : L, 84-83 | |
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vs. Oregon, 4:30 p.m., Pac-12 Network Washington struggled to hold off Oregon State on Thursday and now the Huskies get the Ducks. Oregon's NCAA Tournament at-large hopes died at Washington State on Thursday, but the Ducks can still do some damage to Washington's. | |
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vs. Arkansas, 6 p.m., ESPN2 Michael Porter Jr. won't be playing in this game which Missouri needs to win. The Tigers ended a three-game losing streak with a win at Vanderbilt. Arkansas is finishing strong, having won six of seven and is no longer a bubble team. | |
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vs. Louisville, 6 p.m., ESPN NC State has the high quality wins to get into the NCAA tournament. The Wolfpack's problem is the number of quality wins overall (7-7 vs Q1-2) and three bad losses. Losing to Louisville would not be a bad loss, but that is a team they are competing with for a spot in the field. | |
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at NC State, 6 p.m., ESPN The Cardinals have to have short memories. They cannot let the Virginia loss linger or they might let the Cavaliers beat them twice. Winning in Raleigh, North Carolina is hard enough on its own. Louisville needs quality wins and this would qualify. | |
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vs. Marshall, 6 p.m. The Blue Raiders look like they will be an NCAA Tournament team as long as they do not lose to someone they shouldn't. Rhode Island clinched the A-10 title, then lost at home by 30 to St. Joseph's. MTSU cannot make that same mistake. | |
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vs. Colorado, 6 p.m., Pac-12 Network Utah had won five in a row before the loss at home to USC last Saturday. That was a missed opportunity for a team that still needs quality wins. That will have to wait for the Pac-12 Tournament. Quality wins may not be enough if the Utes lose to Colorado. | |
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at Saint Louis, 8 p.m. St. Bonaventure better have its legs back under them after that three OT classic against Davidson Thursday night. The Bonnies already have two bad losses and not much to make up for a third. | |
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at Seton Hall, 8 p.m., CBS Sports Network It looked like Butler had righted the ship after three straight losses in mid-February, but the Bulldogs took a bad loss to St. John's on the road. The Red Storm were playing without Shamorie Ponds and his 21.6 points per game, which makes it even worse. It illustrates the problems Butler has away from home. They are on the road again against Seton Hall and a win would go a long way to a safe selection Sunday. | |
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vs. UCLA, 10:15 p.m., ESPN USC has a resume that is not as good as the numbers might indicate. The Trojans are 4-5 vs. Quadrant 1 and 4-3 vs Quadrant 2, but the best of those eight wins are neutral court victories over Middle Tennessee and New Mexico State. They need some higher quality wins, but UCLA is about the same as they already have. They will be the second seed in the Pac-12 Tournament. | |
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at USC, 10:15 p.m., ESPN UCLA is also lacking quality wins, but does have a couple of pretty good ones at Arizona and over Kentucky. The Bruins are just 5-9 vs Quadrants 1-2 and have a bad loss at Oregon State. Adding a road win over USC would be a nice step toward an at-large bid. | |
