To be honest, Wednesday isn’t the most exciting day for me. I might need to really make some ground on Bracketology. Or maybe I will try to set up my Handicapping blog. Maybe I might even try to sleep early. It might be the last chance for several days.

The reason it isn’t that exciting is because there are no finals. At this point, many of the conferences are starting tournaments that will end on Saturday or Sunday. I know that their fans care – but I can’t get that excited about watching a game like 9-12 Portland St play 5-15 Northern Arizona to kick off the Big Sky tournament. You might say – sure but the major tournaments are starting tomorrow. Great – I get to watch 12-13 TCU play 8-19 Kansas St to kick off the Big 12 tournament. There are a couple bubble teams playing tomorrow – even one ranked team. So, the day isn’t void of interesting games. But in most cases, we are more watching bubble teams to make sure they don’t lose to a team that could knock them off the bubble. The story simply isn’t as interesting to me.

The ACC at least is onto their second round – so they have a couple of interesting games – including what I believe is the game of the day.

6:30 pm EST brings us Louisville vs. Duke – we know that Duke is in desperation mode, but Louisville’s NET ranking does put them on the bubble. Louisville’s resume isn’t as strong as one might think. The only quad 1 victory that Louisville has is their victory at Duke (a team not likely in the field). They are 6-0 against Quad 2 – but of the teams that are legitimately possible tourney teams, they really only have home victories against Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech. That might be enough – sometimes it is important to simply win the games you are supposed to. But getting a 3rd win against Duke might be just as important to Louisville as the game is for Duke.

Other games that might have some bubble interest:

• Noon EST – ACC 2nd Round – Syracuse (15-8) vs. North Carolina St (13-9) – I find it fascinating how often Syracuse finds their way on the bubble. And watch out if they make the tournament. Syracuse is likely in better shape than NC State – but a run in the ACC Tournament could get them to the dance
• 2:30 EST – ACC 2nd Round – Clemson (16-6) vs Miami FL (9-16). Clemson is likely in the tournament with a 10-6 record in the ACC. So, a chance to watch a possibly tournament team.
• 6 EST – Big East 1st Round – Xavier (13-7) vs Butler (9-14). Xavier is a bubble team who could really use a good run in the Big East tournament. It starts with not getting upset early against Butler.
• 7 EST – Conf USA 2nd Round – Marshall (15-6) vs Rice (14-12). Marshall currently stands at 81st in the NET ranking. They are one of multiple teams that could win the Conf USA tournament – and while I suspect that only one Conf USA team makes it to the dance, that team could be dangerous…..It might be Marshall……
• 7:30 EST – Patriot Semifinal – Colgate (12-1) vs Bucknell (5-6). Because it is the #8 team in the country according to NET. I might need to see for myself what Colgate looks like.
• 9 EST – ACC 2nd Round – North Carolina (16-9) vs Notre Dame (11-14). UNC looks like they are in – and that by itself puts them on the Wednesday viewing list. Add into it Notre Dame, who survived today on a last second three-pointer, following their regular season upset of Florida State. The Irish aren’t getting in without winning the ACC Tournament – but they are not your normal 11-14 team.
• 9:30 EST – Big 12 1st Round – Oklahoma (14-9) vs Iowa State (2-21). OK – this should be a blowout. But Oklahoma is the only ranked team playing on Wednesday.

If you are a fan of the Big 10 or the Pac 12, they play a couple games as well. But truthfully, Wednesday is our final day of calm before the storm. Over half of the AP Top 25 start their Championship Week on Thursday – starting at 11:30 am with #10 West Virginia against #12 Oklahoma State. So, Championship Week will get interesting again quickly……