With all of the upsets this weekend to top 25 teams, it seems like many of them were to teams still off the bubble (UNC losing to Maryland, Pitt losing to Cincinnati, Ole Miss losing to Auburn, UCLA losing to USC although USC is the closest of the upsetters of the weekend to getting in). Still, there was plenty of bubble action to get into.
Mississippi State brought themselves into contention while effectively killing off Alabama. Also in the SEC, Florida avoided a bad loss by beating Kentucky in Gainesville. Florida’s record continues to look impressive albeit hollow. Arkansas still has OK computer numbers but after losing to Georgia they have lost two SEC games to sub-par competition. They’re 2-2 in conference but have not played a decent team yet.
Arizona put a large damper on Cal’s at large hopes. If Cal hopes to get into the tournament they need to win their home games and steal a few on the road. Stanford beat up on Arizona State. Stanford is in great shape but Arizona State had already picked up a win on their road trip and has to feel OK about ending the Cal-Stanford swing at 1-1 (even if they completely blew it in the second half in Palo Alto).
Cleveland State stayed undefeated in the Horizon. If they get through the regular season with 0-1 losses it’ll be tough to keep them out. In beating Valparaiso they likely killed any hopes Valpo still had.
Creighton beat up on Indiana State setting up a big match-up Tuesday with first place Drake. Drake knocked off Illinois State and is sitting in fantastic shape. Illinois State’s loss at Drake is not a resume killer with the terrific conference start of both teams but it would be a nice feather in the cap for a bubble team.
Duquesne had a poor loss at Fordham. Road losses in the A-10 are acceptable but they shouldn’t be to Fordham. Duquesne will likely need to end up stealing a road game at one (or two) of the good A-10 teams now. UMass knocked off Charlotte at home, as expected. Umass sits in good shape. Charlotte needs to win some games like this to be in real contention.
Notre Dame lost an opportunity for a big road win by losing at Georgetown. It’s obviously not a killer loss but getting blown out was unfortunate. Louisville had a tough road loss at Seton Hall, just as the Cardinals looked like they were putting it togther. Syracuse lost a home game to Villanova. It was a key win for Villanova to avoid dropping below .500 in conference, but Syracuse now stands at 3-3 and hit a difficult stretch of Big East games. Connecticut picked up a huge win over Marquette to keep their hat in the ring. West Virginia did what they needed to do by picking up a road win at one of the not so good Big East teams in South Florida.
Houston beat UTEP and now needs to be kept an eye on. They still need a lot (maybe even an upset win over Memphis) but they’re in the ballpark.
Nevada may have killed any slim chance they had with a home loss to Boise State.
George Mason (at James Madison) and VCU (at Old Dominion) each won big road games to keep at large hopes alive.
Kansas State picked up a big win by destroying Texas A&M. The Aggies are getting close to the bubble themselves. The losses to Texas Tech and Kansas State are not so bad by themselves, but they came by a combined 36 points, and that’s unfortunate. Missouri, on the other hand, lost an opportunity for a huge win by dropping a close decision to Kansas. Baylor got a win at Nebraska, improving their road resume. Oklahoma knocked off Texas Tech to get a much needed conference win and avoid starting the season at 0-3. Texas Tech is likely still off the bubble and their win over TAMU lost some luster after the Aggie loss to KState.
In a huge bubble game NC State held off Miami at home in overtime. Miami was still ranked at the time but their resume still speaks like a bubble team. NC State was coming off terrible road performances at UNC and Clemson. NC State might still need to show the ability to win on the road and not lose by 80 billion points. It looked like Boston College could start to separate themselves from some of the bubble teams in the ACC until they lost handily to Virginia, who now stays alive in the race for a bid. Wake Forest used a big second half to enter the at large picture (although they’re still clearly on the outside) while striking a pretty big blow to fellow wrong side of the bubble team, Florida State.
In MAC action, Kent State lost at Ohio. Ohio now sits at 39 in the RPI and has to be watched. Kent State is still at a respectable 44 but, like Ohio, will need a gaudy MAC record. Akron killed Bowling Green to stay undefeated in conference and thus, stay alive. Obviously all MAC teams have little margin for error.
Purdue stayed alive with a win over Illinois. Ohio State lost an opportunity for perhaps a bid-clinching win at Tennessee. Minnesota continues to lose opportunities for quality wins, this time at home to Michigan State.
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