A quick rundown of some of the more bubble relevant games for this evening. Check out Part One and Part Two posted earlier today. And there are treats in the newly opened Twitter Page. My night picks, which complete a busy day at the window are below. Cheers!
South Carolina at Tennessee, 6:00. Lines, Tenn -10.5, O/U 142.5
The Gamecocks put themselves on the Bubble radar by virtue of their win last month over UK. They have to get a split in games against the Vols to add a resume win. That puts less pressure on them today as their home game with the Vols in a few weeks in the must-win contest. If they pull a road win, well then, their stock may raise all the way into the Matrix during the next round of updates. But, they’re only getting votes from 4 mocks as of today. A win here could change a lot of minds, but even a close loss may keep the January momentum rolling.
San Diego State at New Mexico, 6:00. Lines, NM -7, O/U 138
We talked earlier today about the MWC conference having three bids seemingly locked down. The Aztecs are the fourth team in line, lurking well outside the field with just one mock vote. A road win against a team currently seeded fifth in the Matrix would begin to make the case that this league should get a fourth bid. The rest of the bubble does not want to see that become a February development.
Miami at Florida State, 8:00. Lines, FSU -8, O/U 132
The Canes need to find a way to get to level par in ACC play. If they do that, they’ll probably get a bid. But at three games below .500 they need to make up ground by pulling out roads win against the likes of their rival FSU. The Noles, meanwhile, lost Toney Douglas from last year’s team. At times, he amounted to something in the ballpark of 100 percent of their scoring. Yet, the Noles are sitting ok right now, as an 8-seed an unanimous Matrix selection. They’re just .500 in league play, however, so I dont suggest losing home games like this one.
Arizona at Washington State, 8:30. Lines, WSU -2.5, O/U 148
Six days ago, the Wildcats got a huge win over Cal, putting them in first place and back in contention for a bid. If they lose tonight in Pullman, they will have dropped two games in the state of Washington since that win. Talk about diminishing momentum. They’ve moved to fifth from last out of the field with a dozen votes. I dont think they’ll be able to keep even half of those if the Cougars get them tonight. Wassau appears to be going nowhere but the NIT. But, who knows what a February run up the Pac 10 charts may do. Somebody other than Cal has to make the tournament, right?
Michigan State at Illinois, 9:00. Lines, MSU -2, O/U 138
Drama in the Big 10 race got a hat tip from the Wisco Badgers when they hung Michigan State with their first league loss of the season. Next up for Sparty: A road game against Illinois tonight. If the Illini can repeat the feat on their home floor, then suddenly that pack of chasers three games behind MSU will only be one game behind them. With a big home showdown looking with Purdue on Tuesday night. In a week’s time, this race can go from done deal-looking to wide open. For the Illini, a win would be jumpstart their drive for March Madness. They are seventh from last out of the field with just 10 mock votes. But, they’re 15-8, 7-3 in Big 10 play. A win here will almost give them too good a record for folks to legitimately keep them out of their mock update. The Illini hit every Big 10 contender down the stretch. If they alternate wins and losses the rest of the way, I would be stunned if they werent included in the final field. To make that both easier and liklier, they best get off on a winning foot with the national television spotlight. No pressure, though, right? I wonder how much will Mike Tisdale will pushed around the court tonight. That might be the hidden, or apparently not so hidden, key in this one.
Tulsa at UTEP, 10:00. Lines, UTEP -6, O/U 133.5
UTEP has won six games in a row, including road victories at UAB and at Memphis. Tulsa has won 9 of its last 10 games. That gives us two hot teams, pursuing conference championships all the while trying to polish at their resume in hopes that Conference USA will send multiple teams to the dance. For once, these teams arent chasing Memphis. Actually, they aint chasing anyone right now. These two are tied atop the league standings with 7-1 records, a game ahead of UAB. As of now, UAB is the only league team in the Bracket Matrix. The Blazers are seeded on the 8-line and in 54 of 56 brackets. A UTEP win would be huge. They’d be alone in first place with have wins over all three of the teams directly behind them in the standings. They sit fourth from out in the field with 14 votes. A win also give Tulsa sole possession of first. They’re eight from last out of the field with 10 mock votes. Here’s an interesting number: 24 of the 56 mocks put two CUSA teams in the field. You have to think the winner of this game tonight may be able to gobble up enough support to slip in during the next round of updates.
Arizona State at Washington, 10:30. Lines, UW -4.5, O/U 141.5
A 6-4 team vs 5-5 team and yet a share of first place may be on line in this late night tip off. ASU looked like a solid tournament team in the middle of January, but a two game slide pushed them back. They’ve won two straight since, but only appear in three mock brackets. They could score some points with a road win over the suddenly charging UW Huskies. They too have won two league games in a row and scored 91 and 82 points in the process. They are tough to stop on their home floor. Despite spending much of January sub .500 in a league people are mocking whenever they get the chance, the Huskies enter today in as many mock brackets as the first place Sun Devils. They could make a run for a bid and finishing off a home sweep of the Arizona schools this weekend would be a nice start.
Picks? Picks!
I going to ride with some SEC Dogs. Who is with me!
South Carolina +10.5 over Tennessee, 1 Unit……I think this one stays close. South Carolina has done real well as an underdog against the SEC East the last two seasons. I think that it keeps up in a game closer than the experts think.
Georgia +5 over Vanderbilt, 1 Unit……Not a bubble game listed above as the Bulldogs dont even have a winning record. But efficienct wise, they’re the most improved team in the nation. And, I think they’ll catch the SEC off guard throughout the rest of the season. They will be a team that keeps a lot of games close, pulls an upset or two and masters the art of losing, but covering. I’ll take the home dog in this one to catch a subpar defensive team napping.
UW Green Bay -2 over UW Milwaukee, 1 Unit…..Dipping into the Horizon ranks to take on our their upper division teams laying a short number at home against one of the league’s .500 caliber teams. Phoenix nudge out a 6 point win tonight.
Illinois +2 over Michigan State, 1 Unit……This is a tough task to pull this out without Kailon Lucas. Even if he plays, I dont think he’ll be as effective as MSU will need to sneak out another road loss in the Big 10. The Illini will throw everything at this game. Look for them to spring the mild upset and make the Big 10 race tighter.
Tulsa +6 over UTEP, 1 Unit….I just have a gut feeling with the late night ESPN spotlight, this game will go down to the wire. I’m just hoping I wont be in chase mode by the time this game tips off. Holy crap has there been a lot of action today. I actually like a few more night games. They may make the final cut, so look to the twitter page for any late additions to the card.
