Bubble Watch: Sunday, February 26th

Bubble teams, as usual, are in bold.

Sunday, February 26th:

Cincinnati @ South Florida (12PM ESPN3) – Huge, huge bubble game in the Big East. The Bearcats are in slightly better position but are still firmly on the bubble. South Florida is on the outside looking in and definitely need this win to improve their resume.

#24 Indiana @ Minnesota (1PM ESPN) – Minnesota has dropped four straight and are teetering on the outside of the bubble.  They surely need this win against a Top 25 team or they are likely NIT bound.

California @ Colorado (5:30PM) – California is hovering around an 8/9 seed right now but a loss would put them in the bubble conversation as the Pacific-12 is quite weak this season.

Iowa @ Illinois (6PM BTN) – Like Minnesota, Illinois is in a tailspin, dropping their last six. A must win game against an Iowa team which has done surprisingly well in conference play under third year skipper Fran McCaffery.

#16 Florida State @ Miami (FL) (6PM ESPNU) – Miami have lost three of their last four games but lost by just five @ Florida State earlier this month. For a team squarely on the bubble with state bragging rights on the line (for the 451 non-UF college basketball fans living in Florida), this is an important game.

Oregon @ Oregon State (7:30PM) – Oregon is hovering around the cut line with this being the most difficult of their three remaining games. Winning out and a Pacific 12 tournament run might just lock up a bid.

I’ll be doing daily Bubble Watches and other NCAA tournament related work until Selection Sunday (March 11th). Stay tuned.

Breaking Down Penn State’s 2011-12 Non-Conference Schedule

Penn State’s SID Brian Seigrist released the Nittany Lions’ 2011-12 non-conference schedule via Twitter last Tuesday – here’s how the slate shapes up:

Hartford (Sat. 11/12)

Radford (Mon. 11/14) – Round 1 of Hall of Fame Tip-Off Campus Round

Long Island (Wed. 11/16) – Round 2 of Hall of Fame Tip-Off Campus Round

Kentucky (Sat., 11/19)  – Hall of Fame Tip Off Game 1, Mohegan Sun Arena (CT)

South Florida/Old Dominion (Sun., 11/20) – Hall of Game Tip Off Game 2, Mohegan Sun Arena (CT)

Youngstown State (Wed. 11/23)

@St. Joeseph’s (Sat. 11/26)

@Boston College (Wed. 11/30) – Big Ten/ACC Challenge

Mississippi (Sun. 12/4)

Lafayette (Wed. 12/7)

@Duquesne (Sat., 12/10) @ Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh

Mount St. Mary’s, (Sun. 12/18)

Cornell (Wed., 12/21)

Without any unnecessary filler, I’ll dive straight into the nitty gritty after the jump…

Eating Crow: Michigan, UConn, Notre Dame

Its that time of the year, crow eating time. The time when the college basketball fans that had big enough cojones to make pre-season predictions look back at them and either pat themselves on the back, or just laugh. This will be the laughing edition.

It seems fitting to lead crow eating off with the biggest of all the crows: Kemba Walker and Connecticut. Who would have thought that the Huskies, who had to replace Gavin Edwards, Stanley Robinson and Jerome Dyson (42PPG~) would have won the Big East Tournament and make the Final 4? I didn’t, the AP/USA poll didn’t and even the coaches who had to face Connecticut this season didn’t think they’d be this good. Kemba Walker and a handful of unproven freshmen put Husky Nation on their back, all the way to the Final 4. Kemba Walker upped his PPG average by nearly 10 points and Jeremy Lamb has spearheaded the impressive freshman class with 11PPG.

The best news? Connecticut’s run isn’t even over.

Next up, the Michigan Wolverines. Michigan only garnered an eight seed and exited in the second round, but that doesn’t tell the whole story.

Coming off a sub .500 season while losing your two leading scorers (Manny Harris 18PPG, DeShawn Sims 16PPG) isn’t a recipe for a success anywhere but Ann Arbor. The Wolverines were picked to finish in the bottom third of the Big Ten by just about everyone. After stumbling out to a 1-6 start to Big Ten play (11-9 overall), these predictions looked spot on. However, a 9-4 finish, including wins over Michigan State (x2), Penn State and Illinois produced a 180 in Michigan’s season that would leave “experts” scratching their heads. The Wolverines capped off an impressive season by going down in honorable fashion in the NCAA tournament. They thrashed Tennessee in the first round and nearly knocked off #1 seeded Duke in the second round.

Michigan graduates no one and several of their contributors were just freshmen, including the impressive Tim Hardaway Jr. Its safe to say Michigan won’t be overlooked when next season’s batch of pre-season predictions are released.

The last plate of crow I will be eating has been shipped from South Bend. The Notre Dame Fighting Irish exceeded my expectations and then some. Once again, the Big East coaches also slipped up. Bubble team? More like a 2 seed.

I had some confidence in Mike Brey’s ability to replace Luke Harangody since Notre Dame played so well without him at the conclusion of last season. Did I think the team would get much better without him? Not a chance. But thats what they did. Throw out their early exit of the NCAA tournament against a Florida State team that was a huge matchup problem and the Fighting Irish surely exceeded expectations. Heck, I think any Irish fan would have taken a second round exit in the NCAA tournament in a heartbeat last September.

Will Mike Brey be able to conjure another miracle next season? The Irish lose four seniors that played major minutes (Hansbrough, Abromaitis, Scott, Nash).

Honorable mentions:

Penn State – After winning just 11 games last season, the Nittany Lions made the Big Ten Championship game for the first time in their history and reached the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2001. Penn State seemed out of sorts after losing to Maine at home in December, but rebounded nicely by finishing 9-9 in the Big Ten and punched their ticket by winning three games in Indianapolis.

Arizona – In Sean Miller’s first season, the Wildcats missed the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1984. How did they respond? By losing the Pac-10 tournament in OT on this shot and losing to Connecticut by 2 in the Elite 8. Not bad.

Brief Big Ten Tournament Predictions

Tournament Bracket

First Round:
Northwestern vs Minnesota – 3/10 2:30PM – ESPN2
Michigan State vs Iowa – 3/10, 25 minutes after NW/Minny – ESPN2
Penn State vs Indiana – 3/10 7:30PM – Big Ten Network

Second Round:
Ohio State vs Northwestern – 3/11 Noon – ESPN
Michigan vs Illinois – 3/11, 25 after OSU/NW – ESPN
Purdue vs Michigan State – 3/11 630PM – Big Ten Network
Penn State vs Wisconsin – 3/11, 25 minutes after Purdue/MSU – Big Ten Nework

Semi-Finals:
Ohio State vs Michigan – 3/12 1:40PM – CBS
Purdue vs Penn State – 3/12, 25 minutes after OSU/UM – CBS

Finals:
Ohio State vs Purdue – 3/13 3:30PM – CBS

Not many surprises here. Penn State can make a run to the semi-finals since Wisconsin isn’t the same team away from home. Don’t think they will, but I took them to spice up the predictions a little bit.

Stacked Saturday: A Primer

Today’s slate of games is waaay too much to cover in a few 140 character tweets. Starting 30 minutes ago with Louisville at Marquette tipping at 11AM and ending with three 11PM West Coast tip offs, this Saturday has just about everything for the casual and die-hard college basketball fan.

The casual fan might lean towards the more televised match ups between the biggest name schools. Fair enough, there are plenty of those today. At noon, Cincinnati travels to the Carrier Dome to take on undefeated #4 Syracuse. The two teams are a combined 33-1 on the season, although Syracuse is a bit more tested. The Bearcats came up short in their first real test (72-61 @Villanova), they want to prove their worth today. This game will be on ESPN3 and probably SNY in the NY/NJ area.

An hour after the tip of Syracuse – Cincinnati, two ranked Big 12 teams collide. #12 Missouri travels to College Station to take of #13 Texas A/M. Missouri dropped their opener @ Colorado, but rebounded against Nebraska (77-69). The Aggies are fresh off a POUNDING of Oklahoma State (71-48). At the same time, Maryland will be playing in Philadelphia against the #7 ranked Villanova Wildcats on CBS. Maryland is in search of their first signature win – this one would be huge.

An hour later on the Big Ten Network, #16 Illinois has the tough task of playing at the Kohl Center. The #21 ranked Badgers are 164-16 at the Kohl Center under Bo Ryan. Talk about a home court advantage. I expect Bo Ryan’s team to be focused after losing uncharacteristically against Michigan State. The Badgers were 35-1 when tied or leading with 4 minutes to play — they lost.

The above are the four games the casual fan will not want to miss. But what about the more obscure games that the more astute fan is drooling over?

#22 ranked UCF is playing at Southern Miss (5PM). The Knights can’t afford to drop too many C-USA games if they want to hold on to an at-large bid. This is no knock of the Golden Eagles, who post a 13-3 (2-1) record and a very talented Gary Flowers.

At noon on ESPN, Vanderbilt and Tennessee go head to head in the SEC. Tennessee already has 6 losses and an 0-2 start in the SEC. Its safe to say that the Vols are hungry for a win.

Oklahoma State continues their road trip against the upstart Colorado Buffalo, who are off to a 2-0 start in the Big 12, including an upset of Missouri. This game tips at 1:30 on ESPN3.

There are two bubble battles in the weak ACC: NC State @ Florida State (4PM ESPN3) and Boston College @ Miami (6PM ESPNU). Florida State is looking to build off their signature upset of #1 Duke and Boston College wants to keep their 3-0 ACC record flawless.

There are always threats of upsets on these huge Saturdays (last Saturday had many upsets), here are my top 3:

1) Penn State @ #2 Ohio State – 530 PM BTN – Why not? Penn State has upset two ranked Big Ten teams in a row, and Ohio State has struggled to put away its last few opponents.

2) #6 San Diego State @ New Mexico – 6PM MWN – The Pit. The Pit. The Pit. Throw out the embarrassing loss to Wyoming, this is undefeated San Diego State on your home court.

3) #23 Temple @ Duquesne – Noon – Duquesne is one of the most underrated teams in the nation. I don’t think they mind that title as long as they are overlooked for at least one more day.

CBS Scoreboard

Bubble Games of the Week: Bye Bye Winter Break

College students all across the nation are flooding back onto campuses this week to start the second semester, but most importantly: cheer on their men’s basketball team. Some students have more cheering to do than others. If you’re a fan of one of the teams in bold below, losing your voice is mandatory.

Monday, January 10th:
#11 Notre Dame @ Marquette – 7PM ESPN2 – Notre Dame travels to Wisconsin to take on a Marquette team that really needs a signature win on their resume. Most of the nation will be watching the BCS National Championship, the die hards will be watching this Big East match-up.

Tuesday, January 11th:
North Carolina State @ Boston College – 9PM ESPNU – Boston College can’t afford many slip ups in the ACC. North Carolina State is hanging on to the bubble picture by their finger nails.
Florida @ Tennessee – 9PM ESPN – Both teams are bubble-IN, but Tennessee can really use a win. They have been all over the place this season. Its time to buckle down in SEC play.

Wednesday, January 12th:
#1 Duke @ Florida State – 9PM ESPN – Florida State has a poor resume. No better way to improve it than a win against the #1 team in the land.
#4 Syracuse @ St. John’s – 7PM ESPNU – The Johnnies have quickly propelled their way into the field of 68. Will they solidify their spot?
Nebraska @ #12 Missouri – 7PM ESPN3 – Nebraska is an outsider, just like Colorado. Will they play as well as Colorado did against Mizzou? They hope so.
Georgia @ Vanderbilt – 8PM ESPN3 – Both teams are in – a Georgia win would prove Kentucky wasn’t a fluke.
Oklahoma State @ #13 Texas A/M – 8PM ESPN3 – Oklahoma State is bubble-IN, but a win would really help give them a single digit seed.

Thursday, January 13th:
Old Dominion @ Drexel – 7PM ESPNU – Drexel’s stock has plummeted. A big opportunity here.

Friday, January 14th:
No Bubble Games.

Saturday, January 15th:
Marquette @ #23 Louisville – 11AM ESPN2 – Second big chance of the week for Marquette, this time, on the road.
Maryland @ Villanova – 1PM CBS – Maryland has come up short in their big games this season. They travel to Philadelphia to take on their second opponent from the City of Brotherly Love. They hope to fair better than they did against Temple.
Nebraska @ #3 Kansas – 2PM ESPNU – Like Marquette, second opportunity of the week for Nebraska. Another huge road game.
Oklahoma State @ Colorado – 130PM ESPN3 – Oklahoma State has the chance to solidify their spot, or Colorado can attract more attention via a win.
North Carolina State @ Florida State – 4PM – Two ACC outsiders. Must win for both.
Georgia @ Ole Miss – 5PM ESPN3 – Important SEC bubble clash. More important for Ole Miss, who doesn’t have any good wins.
Baylor @ Iowa State – 6PM ESPN3 – Iowa State has dropped from my LockBox, but Baylor needs this win to stay in the hunt.
Boston College @ Miami – 6PM ESPNU – Yet another ACC bubble match-up. These teams are in better shape then the rest, but still a must win.
Dayton @ Xavier – 8PM CBS-CS – Xavier is in worse position than Dayton.

Sunday, January 16th:
#11 Notre Dame @ St. John’s – Noon ESPN3 – Huge noon showdown in the Garden.

Resume Rundown: January 5th

I just completed the first “Resume Rundown” for the 2010-11 College Basketball season. There are a few things to keep in mind when viewing it:

– The teams listed are all teams vying for at-large bids. No 1-bid league leaders, or other league leaders are included. Ex: Duke, Syracuse, etc. I included Butler at the bottom for fun – I assume they lead the Horizon in this Rundown (even though they current are not).
– There are 18 one-bid leagues, 13 other conference winners (31 auto-bids). This leaves 37 at-large bids. I have it divided in 19 “Lock” teams and 18 “bubble-IN” teams. The rest are “bubble-OUT”.
– If there is a question mark after a team’s Good Win / Bad Loss team, that means it is potentially a GW or BL. Ex: Virginia. They can tank in the ACC or prove to be a solid mid 100 RPI team.
– RPI and SOS are taken from the beginning of this week (Jan 3rd).
– Top 100 wins aren’t very reliable right now. There are a bunch of mid-majors that played tough teams that won’t finish Top 100. This pads the Top 100 win stats of some teams.
– I haven’t done extensive resume comparisons, I’m merely just laying everything out. The actual order of the bubble-IN and OUT teams will be more accurate as the season progresses.
– I will release a Rundown every week, with everything updated. I will be releasing the Lockbox either later today or tomorrow. Stay tuned for that.

Please be sure to contact me if you see any Good Win / Bad Losses that I forgot to add. Any mistakes in record (there will be some, as RPI vs Overall records differ), etc.

Feel free to edit my Rundown and update one for yourself.

Resume Rundown download

Bubble Games of the Week: Conference Kick-Off

Its that time of year. Non-conference schedules are winding down, and conference games are heating up. Can you smell that? Its Bracketology in the air.

I will be writing weekly “Bubble Games of the Week” which covers not every game that every bubble team is involved in, but simply the games that can help bubble teams. So if Dayton is playing Northern Sisters of the Poor, I won’t include it. If they are playing @ #1 Duke, I will. I will make note of such games at the end of the week (Sunday Night), if Dayton loses, as well as a summary of how these bubble games went.

I’m working on releasing my first “LockBox” and “Resume Rundown”. The LockBox isn’t something I created, but something I find very useful. Its a color coordinated Excel sheet that breaks down what the bubble picture looks like. Its very user friendly, an example: LockBox. The Resume Rundown will also be an Excel sheet of all teams that aren’t conference leaders (standings, tie breaker = RPI) and are vying for an NCAA appearance. Its broken down into teams that are “sitting pretty”, teams that are “Bubble-IN” and teams that are “Bubble-OUT”. Its basically a fleshed out LockBox. Look for these two items to be released early this week. They will be released weekly or semi-weekly and then more frequently as the season progresses. Enjoy.

Note: Bubble teams in BOLD.

Monday, January 3rd:
#13 Georgetown @ St. John’s – 7PM ESPN2 – St. John’s is directly in the bubble picture despite two bad losses to Fordham and St. Bonaventure. The Johnnies have started off 2-0 in the Big East with wins over Providence and West Virgina.
#19 Michigan State @ Northwestern – 7:30 BTN – Northwestern started off their B10 campaign 0-1 after a loss to Purdue. The Wildcats need as many wins as they can muster in conference due to a cupcake filled OOC.

Tuesday, January 4th:
#5 Pittsburgh @ Providence – 7PM ESPN3 – Providence is in need of some big wins, after having none in their OOC. This is a big opportunity.
Arkansas @ #12 Texas – 9PM ESPNU – Arkansas has a bad RPI (147) and SOS (327). A road win against Top 15 Texas will help all facets of their resume.
Missouri State @ Creighton – 8:05 – A bubble battle in the MVC. Both teams have outside shots at an at-large, but this game is a must if either team wants to keep that hope alive.

Wednesday, January 5th:
UAB @ #1 Duke – 7PM ESPN2 – UAB is another team with an outside shot at an at-large. Along with Southern Miss, the Blazers are looking to be the 3rd team out of C-USA.
Drexel @ VCU – 7PM – Drexel is a bubble in team as of now. A win against a decent VCU team will only help their case.
Michigan @ Wisconsin – 8:30PM – A young Michigan squad is looking to squeeze their way into the NCAA tournament. The B10 is stacked, but also provides many chances at big wins. This is one of them.

Thursday, January 6th:
Northwestern @ #20 Illinois – 9PM ESPN2
Xavier @ #25 Cincinnati – 7PM ESPN2 – Xavier is right around the bubble. They have a decent RPI (53) and good SOS (40) but their only good win is against Butler.

Friday, January 7th:
Cleveland State @ Butler – 7PM ESPNU – Huge game in the Horizon League. These are the only two teams with shots at an at-large. Their opponent is also the only chance of a “good win” in the Horizon League. A must win for both; the loser faces a lot more pressure to win the Horizon League tournament (pending the second game later in the season).

Saturday, January 8th:
Marquette @ #5 Pittsburgh – 2PM ESPN3 – Marquette’s blind resume (RPI & SOS) is bad, but those numbers will look a lot better after the Big East season. They still need some big wins, though.
#11 Kentucky @ Georgia – 4PM ESPN3 – Georgia’s sub par SOS (198) is hurting them. Playing Kentucky will help them no matter what, but a win would really help their resume.
West Virginia @ #13 Georgetown – 11AM ESPN2 – West Virginia has great numbers (RPI: 14, SOS: 1) but have started their Big East slate 0-2.
St. John’s @ #15 Notre Dame – 8PM ESPNU
#17 Kansas State @ Oklahoma State – 1PM ESPN2 – Oklahoma State is bubble-in, but due to a low SOS (131) any B12 wins will help.
Tennessee @ Arkansas – 130PM ESPN3
Florida State @ Virginia Tech – 3PM ESPN2 – Both teams aren’t in the greatest shape, Florida State being the more fortunate. A must win for both.
Miami @ Clemson – 6PM ESPNU – Another ACC bubble game. Miami is IN, Clemson is OUT as of now.
Iowa State @ Nebraska – 8PM ESPN3 – Similar to the FSU – VT game, both of these B12 teams need a win, as their RPI and SOS aren’t great. (RPI: 103, SOS: 284 — RPI: 108, SOS: 264, respectively).

Sunday, January 9th:
Maryland @ #1 Duke – 8PM – Always a big rivalry game, but this game holds extra significance for the Terps. They are bubble-OUT and this type of win would be HUGE for their resume, obviously.
#3 Kansas @ Michigan – TBD CBS
Missouri State @ Wichita State – 830PM ESPNU – Another MVC bubble game. Wichita State has the best resume in the MVC, but its borderline at-large worth right now. It will be interesting to see how Missouri State does this week (@Creighton, @ Wichita State), certainly a tough stretch.
UCLA @ USC – 1030PM – Two bubble teams from the Pac-10. UCLA has a more traditional resume: 1.5 bad losses (VCU, Montana), 1 good win (BYU neutral court) and RPI: 62, SOS: 34. USC has 4 Sub100 RPI losses but has wins against Texas and Tennessee. Their RPI is 55 and SOS 23.

Games to Watch: December 20th-26th – Christmas Week

This week is off to an interesting start, Jacksonville just beat #19 Florida in OT. There aren’t any games to watch tonight, but there are a few good match ups during this slow week.

Tuesday, December 21st:
UNLV @ #11 Kansas State – 9PM ESPN2 – After a 9-0 start, UNLV has lost 2 of their last 3 games. One against Louisville, and one against UC Santa Barbara. Kansas State is an opportunity for UNLV’s third OOC scalp.
USC @ #18 Tennessee – 7PM ESPN3 – How will the Vols respond to dropping two games in a row against mid-majors Oakland and Charlotte?

Wednesday, December 22nd:
Dayton @ Seton Hall – 7PM ESPN3 – Will Seton Hall survive without Hazell and possibly Herb Pope? Their post season destiny might depend on it.
Drexel @ #5 Syracuse – 7PM ESPN3 – Drexel upset Louisville a week ago. Is another Big East upset in store?
#3 Kansas @ California – 11PM – The Jayhawks travel to play the unimpressive (6-4) CAL Bears. Kansas had trouble with Pac-10 opponent USC, what about CAL?
#10 Missouri vs. #21 Illinois – 9PM ESPN2 – The Missouri-Illinois collegiate rivalry lives on. Illinois is fresh off their loss to U-Illinois Chicago, how will they rebound from a horrible loss?
#22 Texas @ #12 Michigan State – 7PM ESPN2 – Texas just beat UNC in a CBS thriller, another huge matchup for both teams.
Xavier @ Gonzaga – 11PM ESPN2 – Gonzaga finally got that huge OOC win against Baylor, will they follow up with a victory over a solid mid-major in Xavier?

Thursday, December 23rd:
#9 Georgetown @ #17 Memphis – 8PM ESPN2 – Big time match up. The Hoyas have certainly challenged themselves away from home (Temple, Old Dominion, Missouri).
UTEP @ #23 BYU – 9PM – Solid mid-major match up. BYU was just handed their first loss of the season against UCLA, UTEP needs this win to have any chance at an at-large.
Belmont @ #19 Tennessee – 730PM ESPN3 – Oddly enough, these two teams have already played this season. Belmont lost by 9; their only other loss (8-2) is to Vanderbilt.
Oakland @ #2 Ohio State – 8PM – Oakland continues to challenge themselves. Should be a great individual matchup between Benson and Sullinger.

Friday & Saturday, December 24th-25th:
Christmas Break

Sunday, December 26th:
Richmond @ Seton Hall – Noon ESPN3 – One of only two games on the day after Christmas. The Spiders travel to take on Hazell-less Seton Hall.

Games to Watch: December 13th-19th – Finals Week

A slow week of games due to finals week. A bunch of nice contests of Saturday, but nothing like last Saturday. This is also the last big weekend of non-conference games, as the following weekend is Christmas, followed by most teams starting their conference schedules.

Monday, December 13th:
No Games of Note.

Tuesday, December 14th:
Oakland @ #7 Tennessee – 7PM – Oakland just played Illinois close, and nearly beat Michigan State. Can they play another top team down to the wire? The Volunteers are fresh off their dominant performance against the formerly #3 ranked Pitt Panthers.

Wednesday, December 15th:
No Games of Note.

Thursday, December 16th:
No Games of Note.

Friday, December 17th:
Oregon @ Virginia – Oregon looks like they are going to have another rough season. The Cavaliers look to extend their impressive three game winning streak (Minnesota, Virginia Tech, Radford).

Saturday, December 18th:
UCF vs Miami – 1PM – The undefeated Knights of Central Florida are looking for their second win against a major instate opponent. They defeated the ranked Florida Gators earlier in the season, will they do it again against Miami?
Arkansas @ Texas A & M – 2PM ESPN2 – Arkansas has a tough task ahead of them as they travel to College Station. The Aggies have beaten Temple and most recently Washington.
Cleveland State @ West Virginia – 2PM ESPN3 – Ex-Rutgers coach Gary Waters has coached his team to a 12-0 start. WVU will be their biggest test yet, this should be interesting.
South Carolina @ #2 Ohio State – 2PM CBS – One of two games on CBS at 2PM. South Carolina lost to Michigan State by 9 earlier in the season, but I believe the Buckeyes are on another level when compared to Sparty.
Stanford @ Butler – 2PM CBS – Stanford travels to Indiana to play a tested Butler team. The Cardinal beat Virginia handedly (although that was when they were reeling) but has lost to Murray State and Tulsa since then. I’d go with Butler.
#6 Kansas State @ #24 Florida – 3:30PM – Yet another big game on KSU’s OOC schedule. They travel to Gainesville to play a Gator team that defeated a decent Kent State team last Thursday.
#25 Texas vs North Carolina – 4PM CBS – Big time matchup on CBS. The teams will play on a “neutral” court in North Carolina. It wasn’t too long ago that Texas was disgraced in an uninspiring performance against USC. Big time rebound chance.
Gonzaga vs #9 Baylor – 4:30PM ESPN2 – Another challenging matchup in Gonzaga’s OOC. Gonzaga is 1-5 against KenPom Top 50. They could really use this win if they have any chance at an at-large bid.
Richmond vs Georgia Tech – 5PM – This will be a tough game for the Yellow Jackets. They haven’t beaten anyone, and haven’t looked that good besides their close loss to Syracuse in Atlantic City.
#18 BYU vs UCLA – 5:30PM – UCLA will have their hands full with undefeated BYU. The Cougars are looking for their second win against a Pac-10 opponent in a row; they beat Arizona by 18 this past Saturday.
Wichita State vs LSU – 8PM – The jury is still out on Wichita State. They won’t have much of a chance at an at-large unless they win their remaining OOC games (LSU & Tulsa) and even then their chance is slim.
Virginia Tech vs. Mississippi State – 8PM – The Hokies just handled Penn State rather easily this past Sunday. If they want to salvage their dreams of dancing, this win is a must.
Wake Forest @ Xavier – 8PM CBS CS – Wake Forest is really bad. They have lost to 3 sub-200 KenPom teams (Stetson, Winthrop and UNC-Wilmington).

Sunday, December 19th:
Stony Brook @ #23 Notre Dame – 4:30PM ESPNU – This game probably won’t be close, but its just a shout-out to hometown hero Bryan Dougher and the Seawolves who are really struggling without Tommy Brenton.