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SPOTLIGHT GAMES:

-GEORGIA TECH AT NORTH CAROLINA (***pod system spotlight game***). North Carolina lost their opener to Santa Clara and has taken no prisoners since. The only reason we have them as a #2 seed now is because their resume has not caught up with how good they are on the court yet. This is an EXCELLENT basketball team. They are probably one of the two best in the country. They are at home in a big conference game tonight against another very good team. Georgia Tech has fallen to both Gonzaga and Kansas away from home. This is yet another very tough road test. Both these teams are good enough to make the pod system. If Georgia Tech could pull off this upset, they may be on pace to receive a #1 or #2 seed in the end. This is big for North Carolina because of the Charlotte pod.

-VANDERBILT AT KENTUCKY (***desperation spotlight game***). Other than winning at Louisville, Kentucky has yet to pass a really big test. They really just haven’t looked all that great. They haven’t looked bad, just not great and their current resume (other than their #10 ranking) reflects that. Vanderbilt started off 4-4 and it appeared they were going to have a long season, but they have just been amazing lately. They blew out Tennessee and won convincingly over Alabama. This is a chance for them to pick up a road win and establish themselves as the early frontrunners in the SEC. Another incentive for Vanderbilt is that first/second round games are being played in Nashville, and they are not the host team, which would allow them to be placed there.


-KENT STATE AT WESTERN MICHIGAN (***at large bid spotlight game***). This is a VERY important game that most of you won’t see because it isn’t on national television. It’s too bad the TV execs don’t read this board because the stakes in this one are huge. Kent State has a 10-4 record and although they’ve been inconsistent, they have proven that they can be a great team. They lost by just two at Boston College, have posted a 10-4 record, and have a current RPI of 15. Western Michigan is 10-3. They have two really bad losses, but those were their first two games of the year and since then they’ve win 10 of 11. This would actually go down as a quality win for them if they were able to win, which would really help their resume and push them closer to at large status. Since both these teams have such good records, it will be a nice RPI nudge for them as well (at least for right now). Should be a good one in the MAC. Since you probably can’t watch it, try and listen in over the internet.


-UTEP AT NEVADA (***at large bid spotlight game***). The WAC appears to be down, but these are two teams that have played really well lately. Both got off to a slow November and early December, but right now both are red hot. UTEP has won nine straight, including a recent blowout win over a pretty good Rice team. Nevada has won seven straight including a nice win over Hawaii. This is a very high stakes game for both teams because they’ll both struggle to get quality wins on their resume from here on out. However, both have the opportunity to get one against each other and one of them will do it.





OTHER GAMES OF INTEREST:

-FLORIDA AT AUBURN. Florida continues their climb up the RPI after struggling to win any quality games OOC. A win on the road at Auburn would give them another nice boost. They looked like they’d improved against Arkansas over the weekend, but they still have a ways to go. Still, the tournament is definitely within their reach. Winning this one on the road would help immensely.

-BUCKNELL AT COLGATE. If (and it is a big if) Bucknell can run the table in the Patriot League, they may be in position to get an at large. They are currently 10-4, have an RPI in the 50s, and have a notable win at Pittsburgh. With the Patriot League being as weak as it is, there is no guarantee that winning out would even be enough, but it may be. Regardless, they are still a good team and will have the conference tournament to fall back on if the stumble along the way.

-CLEMSON AT FLORIDA STATE. Clemson played very well out of conference, but has yet to win a game in conference. This is a HUGE game for them if they want to stay on pace to make the tournament. They played very well in a loss against Duke, but it was just that, a loss. Florida State has a lot of catching up to do. They have been pretty inconsistent on the year and have not really done anything impressive other than win at home over Florida. They should have a sense of urgency as well.

-NORTHWESTERN AT MICHIGAN. Michigan is in great need of some consistency. At times this season they’ve looked brilliant like their win against Iowa and their near win against Arizona. Other times they’ve looked terrible. They need to take care of business at home against Northwestern.

-HOFSTRA AT UNC WILMINGTON. Hofstra is 10-2. For the most part their schedule has been pathetic, but they did put one hell of a scare into Syracuse before losing. They are coming off a surprising loss against Drexel. They are a good team, but like Bucknell, they pretty much need to run the table in conference to be in a position to get an at large.

-VERMONT AT STONY BROOK. Vermont has an excellent, well coached, well rounded basketball team that will be undermatched in every game they play for the rest of the year. The problem for them is they don’t have a high quality win on their resume and like Hofstra, the margin for error for them is very small because playing in the America East will not give them any opportunities for quality wins. They are a well coached, well balanced team with Taylor Coppenrath as a standout forward. They gave Kansas a pretty good scare at Kansas to open the season, so this team knows how to play.

-CINCINNATI AT EAST CAROLINA. This is a chance for Cincinnati to pick up a road win as well as a conference win. They have been playing great since their blowout loss to Illinois. They’re better now than they’ve been all season. East Carolina is young and inconsistent, but even if they play their best game they’re little match for the Bearcats. Cincinnati is 13-1 and has what it takes to make the pod system once again.

-GEORGE WASHINGTON AT SAINT BONAVENTURE. Nothing really to say here. A loss would be devastating for GW. Saint Bonaventure is just 1-12 and is one of the worst teams in the country. GW is one of the better teams and is contending for the Worcester pod. Expect an absolute blowout.

-FORDHAM AT TEMPLE. Temple has played a brutal schedule this year and that is a big reason why they are 5-6. Fordham, believe it or not, has managed some good wins and is coming off a surprising blowout win against Richmond. They may actually wind up a few steps above the cellar of the A-10 this year. However, they are probably not good enough to beat Temple at Temple. Temple should even their record at 6-6 and you can expect to see them in the bracket this upcoming Sunday.
-MIAMI FL AT VIRGINIA. Interesting ACC matchup. Miami is having a better year than many expected. Virginia got off to a great start, but has struggled lately. Injuries have had a little to do with that, but they need a conference win at home here. Conference standings and head to head competition within a conference is very important and both these teams need to overachieve to get all the wins they can get .

-TEXAS AT TEXAS A&M. another very interesting game. This is perhaps one of the more intriguing basketball games these two have played against each other in awhile. TAMU racked up eleven wins against some pretty weak competition out of conference. Despite being unbeaten, they did not appear to be legit until they went into Kansas and nearly came out with a win. TAMU did not win a single conference game last year. They are off to an 11-1 start this year and even though they lost their conference opener, they proved they could play some ball. A win over their arch rivals would be huge for them. It’s also a big game for Texas. They are trying to get into the Oklahoma City, so all conference games are important because chances are two big twelve teams will be headed there.

-KANSAS AT IOWA STATE. Iowa State is unbeaten at home and winless on the road, which is pretty much typical for them. Kansas will have a hard time beating them at their place. They did pass their first road test despite being short handed with a big win at Kentucky. This is another big challenge for them. Both teams are multi dimensional and well coached and Iowa State is VERY tough at home so it should be a good one. Kansas better be on upset alert.

-TEXAS TECH AT KANSAS STATE. Kansas State is another team that racked up a big record by playing nothing but cupcakes out of conference. They were blown away by Rutgers in their first real test though. Texas Tech has looked good for the most part this year. They’ve had some bad losses, but all and all they are playing well. They really need a road win here. They played excellent in their conference opener against Oklahoma State, but could not finish them off in what would have been a huge win for them. They really need this conference road win to get them on pace.

-SOUTH CAROLINA AT LSU. South Carolina is 0-3 on the road, but two of those losses were at Kentucky and at Kansas, so that isn’t too bad. They really need to win this one. They are 9-4 and are a pretty good basketball team, but have come up close but not quite in a lot of their games against highly ranked teams. This is one they cannot afford to lose.

-MISSISSIPPI STATE AT TENNESSEE. Tennessee has not looked good lately and has looked inconsistent the whole year. Mississippi State is a good team but their schedule strength is hurting them right now. That should change as they continue through conference play, but the SEC is down this year and they can’t afford too many losses if they want to make the pod system. Don’t expect too many letdowns from them though.

-SOUTHERN ILLINOIS AT EVANSVILLE. The road has not been all that kind to Southern Illinois. They are 12-3, but all three of those losses have been road losses and they have looked somewhat inconsistent in a lot of their games. Evansville is not an easy place to win either. It’s a big game for SIU who is competing for an at large bid.

-SOUTHWEST MISSOURI STATE AT NORTHERN IOWA. Northern Iowa is playing great this year. The Missouri Valley is pretty tough and is going to be one of the conferences to watch this year. NIU is well balanced, well coached, passes well and shoots well. They are at large contenders as well with a record of 12-3. Two of those losses were at Cincinnati O.T. and at Iowa in the final seconds, so they are a legit team.

-BRADLEY AT WICHITA STATE. The third big game involving the Missouri Valley tonight. Both these teams could wind up with at large bids if they do well in conference, but Wichita State is the definite frontrunner right now. They, along with conference counterpart Northern Iowa, may be two of the best teams most people have not seen or heard of. They are 10-1 and are a legit tournament caliber team. They need to pad their record and their resume as much as possible. Although the MVC has a lot of wins, very few of them were quality wins, so they will wind up having to beat out each other for NCAA tourney spots.

-CHARLOTTE AT UAB. Big C-USA matchup here. Charlotte is way down in the RPI, but that will change quickly so long as they keep winning. A win on the road at UAB would give them the biggest boost they’ve had all season. This is a chance for both teams to pick up a potential quality win, which both these teams could really use. It should be an interesting game to watch. UAB loves the full court press and transition game. Charlotte is big underneath and will want to slow it down some.

-NEBRASKA AT COLORADO. These are two teams with pretty good records, but they don’t appear to be all that good and will likely slip down the rankings as they get deeper into conference play if they don’t improve. Nevertheless, both have good records and this is a win that will look good on either team’s resume.

-PENN STATE AT ILLINOIS. Huge mismatch here. Expect the Illini to win in a blowout.

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