News, Notes and Highlighted Games for Sun, 2/18

NEWS AND NOTES

-The new bracket projections should be posted either late tomorrow night or early tomorrow morning. Be sure and check it out once it's posted


HIGHLIGHTED GAMES

-USC AT ARIZONA STATE (Pac Ten). USC is coming off an impressive road win against Arizona, which is one of many impressive wins for them on the season. Arizona State has hung tough their last five games losing all of them by five points or less, but really can’t seem to get over the top. Still, USC could be in for a bigger fight than they realize. A win keeps them right in the hunt to finish at or near the top of the Pac Ten.

-NOTRE DAME AT CINCINNATI (Big East). The road has not been a kind place for Notre Dame, but if there was ever any such thing as a gimme road game, this would be it. They really need this one because they’re closer to the bubble than they’d like to be, and they need to show that they can at least beat someone on the road. This win would also get them to 8-5 in the league.

-MARYLAND AT CLEMSON (ACC). Both of these teams need this win. Maryland is close to the bubble and although they’ve won two in a row, one of the things that sticks out about them is that they’re just 5-6 in the league with some very tough games ahead…including this one. Clemson needs this one because they want to make their resume a little more solid. They’ve lost six of their last eight and are in a bit of a tailspin right now and really need a win in a game like this. Like Maryland, they’re just 5-6 in league play. This conference is very tough and could send up to as many as eight teams, but that is by no means a guarantee. Both these teams are close to the bubble and need to play their way further inside of it.

-GEORGIA TECH AT DUKE (ACC). Duke just ended a four game losing streak in a big way with an impressive win at Boston College. They need to keep that momentum going if they want to begin to build their resume back up and get a good seed. Georgia Tech needs to win games just to get themselves into the tournament. They have some really impressive wins, but have struggled in conference play. They have pulled themselves out of that slump somewhat seeing as how they’ve won their last four games. Right now, they are right in the mix, but a win here would really make their case for an at-large a solid one.

-NORTHWESTERN AT ILLINOIS (Big Ten). Illinois is coming off a dissapointing road loss to rival Indiana, but they are playing much better basketball and need a win today in order to keep making their case that they’re an NCAA Tournament team. This is an in-state rival, but it is a team that Illinois should be able to beat at home. A loss in this one would be rather damaging for the Illini.

-OHIO STATE AT MINNESOTA (Big Ten). This would appear to be an easy road win for Ohio State, but they struggled down the stretch in their last road outing against Penn State. OSU is in contention for a #1 seed and can get it if they win out.

-VIRGINIA TECH AT NORTH CAROLINA STATE (ACC). Virginia Tech is coming off a huge road win against North Carolina, and a win today would make three in a row and sustain what is a very impressive NCAA Tournament resume. This team is now playing for seed, and will have several opportunities between now and the end to build on that.