The Lunatic is happy that he gets to watch his Boilers play tonight as they open their Big Ten tournament against USC. Can’t decide if it is a blessing or curse that we got the 9 pm game – won’t conflict with work but it also makes for a long night – welcome to March for the Lunatic. We should also congratulate Montana for beating Northern Colorado to claim the Big Sky title late last night.
Honestly, if you can’t find a game to watch today, you are simply not trying (or don’t have access to the SEC Network). With all 5 power conferences playing their 2nd rounds or quarterfinals, there are plenty of great games to choose from. Since I only have a few minutes to blog, I will try to pick out the best.
In the Noon games, the best game is #12 Iowa State vs #17 BYU. But as the bubble is concerned, there are two good ones between Indiana and Oregon, or Arkansas and Ole Miss. The Hoosiers and Razorbacks really could use another win to feel comfortable about their chances.
In the middle afternoon games, we go to the Big East where #25 Marquette plays Xavier. For those looking for bubble teams, an interesting one in the ACC between North Carolina and Wake Forest sticks out as the Tar Heels need a victory but Wake Forest is better than what their NET ranking says. There is also Texas and Texas A&M – rivalry game in one the Longhorns have to win could be super exciting (and emotional).
In the early evening / late afternoon games, I would check out the Mountain West where Boise State plays San Diego State (6 pm). It is unclear how many Mt West schools will make it – but thus will show you the talent that exists out west. The other games that stuck out to me is Baylor vs #9 Texas Tech as the Bears try to cement their bid, and #13 Louisville vs Stanford – mainly since you don’t normally see a power conference team with 20 wins and not be in the Top 80 of the NET. It honestly makes me wonder if the NET score is a little broken (actually we probably can make that argument simply by noticing that Big East champion St John’s is 16th in the NET.
For the late games, while I might be watching my Boilers, you really can’t go wrong with any of them. I would have to say Oklahoma vs Kentucky is the most important one, but #10 Clemson vs SMU looking to claim a Quad 1 victory is also critical. And Villanova vs UConn and a rematch from last Saturday’s Kansas vs Arizona game should also be great.
And if you are going to stay up past midnight, the My West has you covered with Utah State taking on UNLV in Las Vegas. Here is hoping that I am happily dreaming of Purdue players winning by that point….
Enjoy the games.