Highlighted Games for 1/16

News and Notes

-The new bracket projections were posted yesterday. Be sure and scroll down and look at it if you haven't seen it yet.


HIGLIGHTED GAMES

-MIAMI, FL AT BOSTON COLLEGE (ACC). Boston College is 12-4 on the year and unbeaten in the ACC so far, but they haven’t faced any of the better teams yet. They’ll need some big wins if they want to feel safe on Selection Sunday. They shouldn’t be facing much of a challenge tonight, so this is the kind of game they need to expect to win.

-SAINT JOHN’S AT DE PAUL (Big East). De Paul has been playing much better and are in my bracket as a bubble team right now, but they still have quite a bit of work to do as far as building their resume goes. They really need to win this game at home, because it’s against a non-tournament caliber team.

-IOWA AT INDIANA (Big Ten). Indiana is very hot right now having won seven out of eight. Their only loss in that stretch was a close road loss to Ohio State. Iowa has been playing better since conference play began as well, so this could end up being a more competitive game than most people expect. Iowa still has a lot of work to do in order to be considered for the tournament, but that doesn’t mean they will be easy to beat. They’ve won five of six with the only loss coming on the road against Illinois.

-UAB AT MEMPHIS (Conference USA). Memphis, as expected, has been dominating Conference USA. UAB may be one of the few teams that might give them some trouble. The Blazers are 10-7 and have been inconsistent all season, but there have been times where they’ve played some very tough basketball. They nearly upset Florida and managed to defeat a pretty good De Paul team this year. Still, they aren’t as solid or consistent as Memphis.

-TEXAS AT OKLAHOMA STATE (Big Twelve). Oklahoma State’s last game was postponed due to bad weather, and just before that they were blown out by Kansas. They still have an excellent team and have another chance to beat a quality team tonight. Texas has been playing outstanding basketball lately. Their resume has improved, and this is another opportunity to put another high quality win on it if they can pull this off. They’ve won eight out of nine and have won some big games, but this is probably a bigger test than any they’ve faced so far this season. Oklahoma State is outstanding, and very tough to beat at home.

-CONNECTICUT AT PITTSBURGH (Big East). Connecticut is coming off their first road win and their best win of the season against Saint John’s. The problem with that is that they need to beat teams much better than Saint John’s if they want to make the NCAA Tournament. As of now they’ve made no case for themselves whatsoever, which is why this is a big opportunity. Pittsburgh has a great resume so far and is challenging for a spot in the pod system. They are also the only team who is unbeaten in Big East play.

-KENTUCKY AT SOUTH CAROLINA (SEC). South Carolina has been blown out in their last three games, and that trend could very easily continue tonight. Kentucky is looking for their eleventh straight win, and to remain unbeaten in SEC play. It’s never easy to win on the road, but Kentucky appears to be the better team and should be able to pull it out.

-AIR FORCE AT UTAH (Mountain West). Air Force has had a scare in their last two games. They needed to come from fifteen down to beat New Mexico and were almost beaten by Wyoming over the weekend. Utah appears to be a less than mediocre team at 5-12, and Air Force looks like one of the best in the country, so this is the kind of game Air Force should expect to win on the road.

-MARYLAND AT VIRGINIA (ACC). Virginia has got to be one of the more inconsistent teams in college hoops this year. They looked fantastic against Arizona to open the season, and have another blowout win against Gonzaga. They also hung with North Carolina on the road. However, there have also been many games where they have struggled. As of now, they’ve lost three in a row and need to string together some wins just to get back into the picture. They are at home against a very good Maryland team, and Maryland could be in trouble if Virginia shows up…or Maryland could win in a blowout. One just never knows with Virginia. Either way, Maryland is a very solid team. A win would sustain their resume and improve their standing in the conference, as well as give them another road win. They’re 15-3, but their only true road win came against Saint John’s.