Must keep going on.\u00a0 So far behind.\u00a0 I don’t know which bubble teams have the most critical games.\u00a0 I don’t know if there will be any games.\u00a0 I just don’t know.\u00a0 \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n
The truth is Thursday is a great day of basketball.\u00a0 This is the 1st round \/ quarterfinals of most major conference’s tournaments.\u00a0 So, everyone on the bubble is playing with one more chance to prove they belong in the tournament.\u00a0 Or maybe even run the weekend and earn their conference’s championship.\u00a0 I could name 20-30 games, but I will try to be selective……\u00a0\u00a0You won’t go wrong with any of the games.<\/p>\n
The elephant in the room – watch the news.\u00a0 I have seen an article in USA Today about how the NCAA should cancel the tournament.\u00a0 And there is this twitter tweet from Rod Gilmore of ESPN – ‘No way the NCAA can go forward with March Madness.\u00a0 How can “amateurs” play when the NBA pros have shut down?\u00a0 Can you imagine if a college\u00a0 player gets sick?’\u00a0 The NCAA certainly doesn’t make its decisions based on one media member’s opinion.\u00a0 But the pressure is going to ramp up – we will see where it goes.<\/p>\n
Noon – Creighton vs. St. John’s.\u00a0 Obviously Creighton is safely in the tournament as one of the Big East co-champs.\u00a0 But their second leading scorer Marcus Zegarowski injured his knee.\u00a0 While Creighton is hoping he will be back in time for the tournament, this is a chance to see how Creighton plays without him.<\/p>\n
Noon – Michigan vs Rutgers.\u00a0 8\/9 game in the Big 10.\u00a0 Both teams on the bubble but both teams likely in.\u00a0 Should be a fun game.<\/p>\n
Noon – VCU vs UMass.\u00a0 \u00a0Local Richmond bias – have to support the local schools.<\/p>\n
12:30 pm – Texas Tech vs Texas.\u00a0 This Big 12 match is really a true bubble game.\u00a0 Texas probably needs the game a little more, but Texas Tech has been on a losing streak – not the best way to impress the committee.\u00a0 These teams will likely both be playing as their season is on the line – because it is…..<\/p>\n
2:30 pm – Duke vs NC State – chance to see one of the top 10 teams in the country (according to the polls).\u00a0 But more importantly, it is a chance to see if the ACC will find a 5th team to break out and make a charge for the tournament.\u00a0 NC State might have the best chance of the three 10-10 ACC teams on the bubble.\u00a0 And the last time they played Duke, they kept it interesting for the first half before Duke went on a run.\u00a0 Big game for the Wolfpack.<\/p>\n
2:30 pm – Butler vs Providence – I might just leave the TV on the Big East tournament.\u00a0 Such great matchups…..\u00a0 \u00a0Providence has roared its way onto the bubble.\u00a0 They might be safely in, but can they get one more top 25 win on their resume against Butler.<\/p>\n
5:30 pm – Arizona vs USC – This should be a really good game in the Pac 12.\u00a0 Arizona has an incredible NET ranking but has been stumbling down the stretch.\u00a0 USC is one of the many Pac 12 bubble teams, but has the talent to make a run in the Pac 12 championship.\u00a0 \u00a0Should be a really good game out west.<\/p>\n
6:30 pm – Ohio State vs. Purdue.\u00a0 Lunatic bias here.\u00a0 I will be watching my Boilers.\u00a0 But to be honest, this should be a great game.\u00a0 Purdue is a great defensive team – and has the knack to keep every game close.\u00a0 Ohio State is the 19th ranked team according to AP, and is an extremely talented team.\u00a0 Should be a great game.<\/p>\n
7 pm – Virginia vs Notre Dame.\u00a0 A lot of RVA folks will be rooting for the Cavaliers.\u00a0 Notre Dame looking to make a case for a bid.\u00a0 And Virginia’s strength is defense – which sometimes leads to close games……<\/p>\n
8:55 pm – Indiana vs Penn State.\u00a0 \u00a0The Hoosiers really need this game to boost their resume.\u00a0 Penn State should be safely in, but lost over the weekend to Northwestern (I think they had suspended one of their starters).\u00a0 Not sure what the situation for them is today if they are at full strength.\u00a0 Obviously also interesting since with the game being in Indianapolis, the Hoosiers would have had a little bit of a home court advantage – if there were any fans allowed in the stadium<\/p>\n
9 pm – Syracuse vs. Louisville.\u00a0 The last of the three ACC bubble teams vs a team many believe might still be able to make a Final Four type run.\u00a0 Should be a really good game with a lot on the line for Syracuse.<\/p>\n
9 pm – West Virginia vs Oklahoma.\u00a0 I suspect both of these teams are in.\u00a0 West Virginia is ranked – so they are playing for seed (and to win a league championship).\u00a0 Oklahoma is on the bubble.\u00a0 I suspect they have done enough, but it would be great to get another victory against WV to boost their case for a ticket to the dance.<\/p>\n
9 pm – Arkansas vs South Carolina.\u00a0 True bubble matchup in the SEC.\u00a0 Both teams might need a win to make their case into the tournament.\u00a0 Not sure if either team is safe, but because of Arkansas’ losing streak when their second leading scorer was out, the Razorbacks probably need this game a little more….<\/p>\n
9:30 pm – Marquette vs Seton Hall.\u00a0 Did I mention just leave the TV on the Big East tournament.\u00a0 I suspect both teams are in, but Marquette would love to have another top 25 victory.\u00a0 Seton Hall will be trying to defend their co-championship in the regular season.<\/p>\n
11:30 pm – Arizona State vs. Washington State.\u00a0 This one makes it on the list in case you are up this late…… Arizona State is probably in but would like to not leave any questions in the committee’s mind…..<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Enjoy the games!!!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Must keep going on.\u00a0 So far behind.\u00a0 I don’t know which bubble teams have the most critical games.\u00a0 I don’t know if there will be any games.\u00a0 I just don’t know.\u00a0 \ud83d\ude42 The truth is Thursday is a great day of basketball.\u00a0 This is the 1st round \/ quarterfinals of most major conference’s tournaments.\u00a0 So, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1753","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog2020"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.tehodgson.com\/stompthelunatic\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1753","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.tehodgson.com\/stompthelunatic\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.tehodgson.com\/stompthelunatic\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.tehodgson.com\/stompthelunatic\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.tehodgson.com\/stompthelunatic\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1753"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.tehodgson.com\/stompthelunatic\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1753\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1754,"href":"http:\/\/www.tehodgson.com\/stompthelunatic\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1753\/revisions\/1754"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.tehodgson.com\/stompthelunatic\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1753"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.tehodgson.com\/stompthelunatic\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1753"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.tehodgson.com\/stompthelunatic\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1753"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}