In Memoriam
North Carolina - Stick a fork in these guys after their latest loss to the Hokies. At pick #6, congrats Stimpy you just made the worst pick of all time.
Harvard - After getting thrashed in last week's not so game of the week vs Cornell, the Crimson were unable to recover, losing to Princeton on Friday. They will now have to beat Cornell and hope that Big Red slips twice more to have a shot at the NCAAs.
William and Mary - After getting throttled by Old Dominion on Wednesday, the Tribe are all but done in terms of receiving an at-large bid. They've now lost 4 of their last 5 games and early season wins over Wake Forest and Maryland just won't hold up anymore. They'll have to win the conference tournament to avoid the NIT now.
Harvard - After getting thrashed in last week's not so game of the week vs Cornell, the Crimson were unable to recover, losing to Princeton on Friday. They will now have to beat Cornell and hope that Big Red slips twice more to have a shot at the NCAAs.
William and Mary - After getting throttled by Old Dominion on Wednesday, the Tribe are all but done in terms of receiving an at-large bid. They've now lost 4 of their last 5 games and early season wins over Wake Forest and Maryland just won't hold up anymore. They'll have to win the conference tournament to avoid the NIT now.
Key Games
Xavier at Dayton - The Flyers are treading on some dangerous territory and could really use a win vs the Atlantic 10 leaders. At 4-3, Dayton is currently tied for 6th in the conference with also-ran St. Louis. Xavier has owned this series of late especially at home where the Flyers have not won in Cincinnati in 28 years. Dayton will enjoy some home cooking tomorrow in their most important game of the season.
Temple at Richmond - Richmond will have its work cut out and their lack of size will be of great concern on Saturday when the Owls come to visit. The Spiders will be counting heavily on a repeat performance by guard David Gonzalvez. Last year, he had 36 points against Temple which was a career high. Also, they hope leading scorer Kevin Anderson can break out of a slump in scoring of late. The Spiders have been nearly flawless winning 10 out of 11 at home.
Miss St at Florida - Miss St, once thought to be a lock to get in the tourney is now teetering on oblivion With three straight road losses, the Bulldogs need to right the ship quickly. Bulldogs point guard Dee Bost has struggled with poor shooting and decision making. His poor play has overshadowed the filthy performances by forward Jarvis Varnado. In the loss to Vanderbilt, Varnado certainly wasn't one to blame recording a near triple double with 14 points, 12 boards, and 9 blocks. On the other side, the Gators look to build on a near upset of Tennessee followed by a 1 point victory over Alabama. Florida has won 5 of their past 6 games.
Cal at UCLA - The Pac 10 is a veritable wasteland for at-large bids and UCLA has no shot at one. However, they are playing much better than in the beginning of the season and will go for a season sweep of Cal on Saturday. Freshman Tyler Honeycutt's has emerged as a multi talented forward who is starting to do it all for the young Bruins. He flirted with a triple double in their win over Stanford finishing with 12 points, 11 rebounds, and 8 assists. A win at Pauley Pavilion on Saturday will keep the Bruins atop the Pac 10. Cal will look to avenge the one point loss to the Bruins on a Michael Roll buzzer beater in Berkeley earlier this season.
Gonzaga at Memphis - Memphis picked up a huge win over Conference USA leader UAB on Wednesday. Eliot Williams poured had a great game with 25 points but the real key was the career night from Wesley Witherspoon. He led the Tigers with 29 points a career high for the 6'8 sophomore swingman. It was especially encouraging since Witherspoon was just 3 for 19 in his previous 2 games. A win over perennial midmajor power Gonzaga would put them in great position to reach the tourney. Gonzaga needs to bounce back after a stunning loss to San Francisco last Saturday. The Bulldogs did recover nicely with a 27 point drubbing of Portland on Thursday night. Matt Bouldin had 20 points in the contest that wasn't much of a contest.
Quick Hitters
SDSU at New Mexico - A huge opportunity for the Aztecs if they can do what BYU couldn't - win at the PIT
Seton Hall at Pittsburgh - The Hall are running out of chances and Pitt needs to get back on track after several uneven performances.
Michigan St at Illinois - The Illini could use this one badly. Probably won't happen against a Spartan team coming off their worst loss of the season to Wisconsin.
Tulsa at UTEP - Tulsa kept its slim hopes for an at-large bid alive with a win against Marshall earlier this week. Winning on the road at UTEP would further help their cause.
S Florida at N Dame - All of a sudden perennial doormats of the Big East S Florida is on the map after a stunning victory over Georgetown. N Dame can build on its win over Cincinnati Thursday.
Syracuse at Cincinnati - After a promising start, the Bearcats are simply running out of time and chances. Knocking off a #1 seed at home would be huge.
UNC at Maryland - Forget about impressing the committee by beating UNC these days. It would be a bad loss for the Terps to lose to Roy Williams' chumps at this point.
Indiana at N'Western - We saw how dangerous Tom Crean's Hoosiers can be this week when they nearly toppled Purdue. N'Western better watch its back.
Pepperdine at LMU - Cmon Lions end this streak!
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