"I Know the Game Like I'm Reffing It"















Thursday, January 29, 2015

Eye On The Tourney: Last Night's Recap - Tonight's Game To Watch

Last Night's Recap:

Big Wins:

Notre Dame vs. Duke, 77-73 - Notre Dame had been having a spectacular season even prior to last night's victory, but they surely helped their cause significantly. The Irish now look like a solid 2/3 seed.

Seton Hall at Marquette, 80-70 - You might be saying to yourself: how is beating a rebuilding Marquette program a big win? Well, previously ranked Seton Hall had lost three straight and were starting to trend downward, as far as their NCAA Tournament prospects were concerned. The Pirates were able to stem the tide a bit last night and are still in the current tourney field.

Oklahoma vs Texas Tech, 81-36 - Here's another result that has little to do with the opponent. The Sooners had lost four of their last six and many had started to question their ability to contend for the Big 12 title and a high NCAA Tournament seed. A 45-point win and handing Tubby Smith his worst loss ever may have put OU back on track.

Stanford at Washington, 84-74 - The Cardinal got a big road win versus another Pac 12 team with tournament aspirations. Johnny Dawkins's team took a step toward solidifying a spot in the dance.

Bad Losses:

Miami vs. Georgia Tech, 70-50 - Just when it looked like Miami was heading in the right direction after a rough stretch in December, the Hurricanes seemingly reverted back to their inconsistent selves. Losing by 20 at home to the previously winless in the ACC Yellow Jackets, pushes Miami into double-digit seed territory.

NC State vs. Clemson, 68-57 - If NC State wasn't on the bubble going into last night, they surely are now. A home loss to struggling Clemson could come back to haunt the Wolfpack in March.

Indiana at Purdue, 83-67 - While the Hoosier loss at Purdue was far from shocking, it is their second straight road semi blowout loss. Indiana is still solidly in the field, but they will need a few more big wins to feel completely safe.

St. John's at Creighton, 77-74 - The Johnnies' place in the tournament was tenuous at best entering last night and losing to the 10-12 Bluejays - though tough at home - was far from a good look. The Red Storm have now lost six of their last eight and need an exceptional finish to the season in order to avoid disaster for Steve Lavin & co. 

Washington - The Huskies were the last team in the field in my latest projections. If their 10-point home loss to Stanford is indicative of how they will look without the services of Center, Robert Upshaw, they can likely kiss the tournament goodbye.

Tonight's Game To Watch:

#17 Maryland (18-3, 6-2) at Ohio State (16-5, 5-3) 7PM, Columbus, OH, ESPN

Both of these squads look to be tourney bound, with the Terps currently looking like a 4 seed, while the Buckeyes are in the 8/9 seed range. However, OSU would love to move up and they look capable lately, after recording their best win of the season over Indiana on Sunday. Maryland has been the undisputed second best team in the Big Ten so far and a win at Ohio State would further solidify that. Prediction: Ohio State 72, Maryland 68.

Other games of note...

Connecticut (11-7, 4-2) at Cincinnati (14-5, 5-2) 8PM, Cincinnati, OH, ESPN2

Other Top 25 games:

Portland (10-9, 3-6) at #3 Gonzaga (19-1, 9-0) 9PM, Spokane, WA, ROOT
#1 Kentucky (19-0, 6-0) at Missouri (6-12, 1-5) 9PM, Columbia, MO, ESPN
#12 Utah (15-3, 6-1) at UCLA (11-9, 3-4) 10PM, Los Angeles, CA, ESPN2

Vegas Pick (6-5): 

Utah -6 at UCLA


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