A big night of basketball. First, though, last night:
Not Much to See in Connecticut
It was a great win for UConn, it has Big East implications, it was extremely exciting. All this is true, but nationally speaking, UConn beating Villanova by two points doesn’t matter a whole lot, except for pulling Villanova more firmly off the 2-line, I guess. Could they get back? Sure. But overall, it won’t mean a lot if they do. They’re a solid team, but they’re not a national championship-level team. Very Pac-12 football kind of thing.
Wyoming, Colorado State, and the Mountain West’s Dream
Wyoming and Colorado State play tonight in Fort Collins (9:00 PM EST, CBSSN), the former trying to keep up with Boise State atop the ledger. It’s a fun game for the Mountain West because of what it isn’t, which is a bubble game. Sure, neither team is yet safe, but a loss is entirely fine for either tonight as far as making the NCAA Tournament goes. As a conference, boring is sometimes better in the realm of implications.
Pressure’s on for Iowa State
A team who can’t afford a loss is our Iowa State Cyclones, who host West Virginia in Ames. Two weeks ago last night, the Mountaineers thrashed ISU in Morgantown, and they didn’t even force that many turnovers. Iowa State will, of course, need to protect the ball tonight, and not let West Virginia protect the ball, but the biggest thing is going to be keeping the Mountaineers cold beyond the three-point line. Last time, West Virginia hit ten threes on twenty attempts. On the season, they’re shooting 32% from deep. A 50% night shouldn’t happen, and it mustn’t happen again tonight at home, with Iowa State needing to avoid all possible disasters from here out.
7:00 PM EST, ESPNU.
Kentucky, Duke, Houston, Auburn
Among our main characters, one Contender and three Possibilities are in action tonight, with Kentucky hosting LSU (9:00 PM EST, ESPN), Duke visiting Virginia (7:00 PM EST, ESPN), Houston going to Tulane (8:00 PM EST, ESPN+), and Auburn hosting Mississippi (8:30 PM EST, SEC Network). Duke/Virginia might be a good game. The others shouldn’t be.
On the Bubble
In bubble action, we’ve got a fascinating one between Rutgers and Michigan in Ann Arbor (7:00 PM EST, Big Ten Network), with Michigan shorthanded after Sunday’s scuffle with Wisconsin. TCU goes to Texas at the same time in a free-play situation for the Horned Frogs (7:00 PM EST, ESPN2), while Mississippi State and Virginia Tech try to win on the road and keep rather faint at-large bid hopes alive (Mississippi State’s at South Carolina at 6:30 PM EST on SEC Network, Virginia Tech’s at Georgia Tech at 9:00 PM EST on ACC Network).
Plenty going on. See you on the other side.
