2-27-21 Saturday Viewing Guide: Bubble Edition

[Hey Adrien!]

I've been requested to now focus on bubble games, so here's the slate for tomorrow. With rain in the forecast tomorrow great day to check out some games.

Bubble Alert games:

Noon:
#3 Michigan @ Indiana - ???: Bubble alert: Go Wolverines!
Syracuse @ Georgia Tech - ACC Network: Both teams on bubble, but with Tech’s case stronger than Cuse, probably a Cuse win will better help UConn.

2:00
VCU @ Davidson - ESPNU: Bubble alert: Go Wildcats!

3:00:
Washington @ Arizona - CBS: Bubble-alert: Go Huskies!

3:30:
Ole Miss @ Vanderbilt - SEC Network: Bubble-alert: Go Vandy!

4:00:
#11 Florida State @ North Carolina: Bubble-alert: Go UNC (keep them off the bubble!)
Air Force @ Colorado State: Bubble-alert: Go Air Force (they need all the luck they can get)
Boise State @ #22 San Diego State - CBSSN: A Boise State win should place them firmly in the tournament and keep them away from the bubble.

5:00
#13 Creighton @ Xavier - FOX: Xavier is just inside the bubble here. A win for Xavier should cement their bid, but a loss could have them out.

6:00:
Louisville @ Duke - ESPN: Bubble watch: Go Louisville!
Minnesota @ Nebraska - Big Ten Network: Go Huskers!

7 PM
Oregon State @ Stanford - PAC12 Network: Go Beavers!

8 PM:
Drake @ Bradley - ESPN+: Bubble watch: Go Braves!
#19 USC @ Utah: Root for USC to pad resume and help our SOS.

10 PM:
Saint Mary’s @ BYU: Root for BYU to pad resume and don’t become a bubble team.
Oregon @ Cal - FS1: Same comment as BYU. Root for Oregon so they don’t end up on bubble.
UCLA @ Colorado: Root for UCLA to bad resume and not end up near bubble

OTHER GAMES OF NOTE

Noon:
#14 Texas @ #18 Texas Tech - CBS: Texas Tech has lost two straight while Texas has won 3 out of 4.
#25 Tennessee @ Auburn - ESPN: Vols need a win!
Georgetown @ DePaul - FS1: I want Georgetown to win this win. Keep padding their resume and make our SOS look better.
Liberty @ Bellarmine - ESPNU: Great mid-major game. Both tied at the top of the ASUN with a 10-2 conference record.

2:00
#5 Illinois @ #23 Wisconsin - ESPN: Ayo is not playing til B10 tourney. I'm curious how the spread looks in this one.
LSU @ Arkansas - ESPN2: LSU doesn’t play defense so this could be a fireworks game between two good offenses.

2:30:
Marquette @ UConn - FOX: Thank you Marquette for beating UNC!!!

3:00:
Oklahoma State @ #7 Oklahoma - ABC: Intrastate rivals. Oklahoma has been on fire thanks to the depth from transfer Umoja Gibson and Elijah Harkless.

4:00:
Belmont @ Morehead State - ESPN+: #1 vs #2 in the OVC: Wow, Belmont lost their first conference game yesterday to EKU.

8 PM:
#2 Baylor @ #17 Kansas - ESPN: Baylor was my January championship choice, but with their COVID pause, will they get in a rhythm to be at 100% in the tourney? A very telling game here.

 

[HuskyBoi]

My championship choice is Nova

 

[BGesus4]

I've been requested to now focus on bubble games, so here's the slate for tomorrow. With rain in the forecast tomorrow great day to check out some games.

Bubble Alert games:

Noon:
#3 Michigan @ Indiana - ???: Bubble alert: Go Wolverines!
Syracuse @ Georgia Tech - ACC Network: Both teams on bubble, but with Tech’s case stronger than Cuse, probably a Cuse win will better help UConn.

2:00
VCU @ Davidson - ESPNU: Bubble alert: Go Wildcats!

3:00:
Washington @ Arizona - CBS: Bubble-alert: Go Huskies!

3:30:
Ole Miss @ Vanderbilt - SEC Network: Bubble-alert: Go Vandy!

4:00:
#11 Florida State @ North Carolina: Bubble-alert: Go UNC (keep them off the bubble!)
Air Force @ Colorado State: Bubble-alert: Go Air Force (they need all the luck they can get)
Boise State @ #22 San Diego State - CBSSN: A Boise State win should place them firmly in the tournament and keep them away from the bubble.

5:00
#13 Creighton @ Xavier - FOX: Xavier is just inside the bubble here. A win for Xavier should cement their bid, but a loss could have them out.

6:00:
Louisville @ Duke - ESPN: Bubble watch: Go Louisville!
Minnesota @ Nebraska - Big Ten Network: Go Huskers!

7 PM
Oregon State @ Stanford - PAC12 Network: Go Beavers!

8 PM:
Drake @ Bradley - ESPN+: Bubble watch: Go Braves!
#19 USC @ Utah: Root for USC to pad resume and help our SOS.

10 PM:
Saint Mary’s @ BYU: Root for BYU to pad resume and don’t become a bubble team.
Oregon @ Cal - FS1: Same comment as BYU. Root for Oregon so they don’t end up on bubble.
UCLA @ Colorado: Root for UCLA to bad resume and not end up near bubble

OTHER GAMES OF NOTE

Noon:
#14 Texas @ #18 Texas Tech - CBS: Texas Tech has lost two straight while Texas has won 3 out of 4.
#25 Tennessee @ Auburn - ESPN: Vols need a win!
Georgetown @ DePaul - FS1: I want Georgetown to win this win. Keep padding their resume and make our SOS look better.
Liberty @ Bellarmine - ESPNU: Great mid-major game. Both tied at the top of the ASUN with a 10-2 conference record.

2:00
#5 Illinois @ #23 Wisconsin - ESPN: Ayo is not playing til B10 tourney. I'm curious how the spread looks in this one.
LSU @ Arkansas - ESPN2: LSU doesn’t play defense so this could be a fireworks game between two good offenses.

2:30:
Marquette @ UConn - FOX: Thank you Marquette for beating UNC!!!

3:00:
Oklahoma State @ #7 Oklahoma - ABC: Intrastate rivals. Oklahoma has been on fire thanks to the depth from transfer Umoja Gibson and Elijah Harkless.

4:00:
Belmont @ Morehead State - ESPN+: #1 vs #2 in the OVC: Wow, Belmont lost their first conference game yesterday to EKU.

8 PM:
#2 Baylor @ #17 Kansas - ESPN: Baylor was my January championship choice, but with their COVID pause, will they get in a rhythm to be at 100% in the tourney? A very telling game here.

Isn’t AZ under self-imposed tourney ban? I mean in any given year there’s got to be a decent chance

 

[Get a Job]

I've been requested to now focus on bubble games, so here's the slate for tomorrow. With rain in the forecast tomorrow great day to check out some games.

Bubble Alert games:

Noon:
#3 Michigan @ Indiana - ???: Bubble alert: Go Wolverines!
Syracuse @ Georgia Tech - ACC Network: Both teams on bubble, but with Tech’s case stronger than Cuse, probably a Cuse win will better help UConn.

2:00
VCU @ Davidson - ESPNU: Bubble alert: Go Wildcats!

3:00:
Washington @ Arizona - CBS: Bubble-alert: Go Huskies!

3:30:
Ole Miss @ Vanderbilt - SEC Network: Bubble-alert: Go Vandy!

4:00:
#11 Florida State @ North Carolina: Bubble-alert: Go UNC (keep them off the bubble!)
Air Force @ Colorado State: Bubble-alert: Go Air Force (they need all the luck they can get)
Boise State @ #22 San Diego State - CBSSN: A Boise State win should place them firmly in the tournament and keep them away from the bubble.

5:00
#13 Creighton @ Xavier - FOX: Xavier is just inside the bubble here. A win for Xavier should cement their bid, but a loss could have them out.

6:00:
Louisville @ Duke - ESPN: Bubble watch: Go Louisville!
Minnesota @ Nebraska - Big Ten Network: Go Huskers!

7 PM
Oregon State @ Stanford - PAC12 Network: Go Beavers!

8 PM:
Drake @ Bradley - ESPN+: Bubble watch: Go Braves!
#19 USC @ Utah: Root for USC to pad resume and help our SOS.

10 PM:
Saint Mary’s @ BYU: Root for BYU to pad resume and don’t become a bubble team.
Oregon @ Cal - FS1: Same comment as BYU. Root for Oregon so they don’t end up on bubble.
UCLA @ Colorado: Root for UCLA to bad resume and not end up near bubble

OTHER GAMES OF NOTE

Noon:
#14 Texas @ #18 Texas Tech - CBS: Texas Tech has lost two straight while Texas has won 3 out of 4.
#25 Tennessee @ Auburn - ESPN: Vols need a win!
Georgetown @ DePaul - FS1: I want Georgetown to win this win. Keep padding their resume and make our SOS look better.
Liberty @ Bellarmine - ESPNU: Great mid-major game. Both tied at the top of the ASUN with a 10-2 conference record.

2:00
#5 Illinois @ #23 Wisconsin - ESPN: Ayo is not playing til B10 tourney. I'm curious how the spread looks in this one.
LSU @ Arkansas - ESPN2: LSU doesn’t play defense so this could be a fireworks game between two good offenses.

2:30:
Marquette @ UConn - FOX: Thank you Marquette for beating UNC!!!

3:00:
Oklahoma State @ #7 Oklahoma - ABC: Intrastate rivals. Oklahoma has been on fire thanks to the depth from transfer Umoja Gibson and Elijah Harkless.

4:00:
Belmont @ Morehead State - ESPN+: #1 vs #2 in the OVC: Wow, Belmont lost their first conference game yesterday to EKU.

8 PM:
#2 Baylor @ #17 Kansas - ESPN: Baylor was my January championship choice, but with their COVID pause, will they get in a rhythm to be at 100% in the tourney? A very telling game here.

Thanks for another awesome post.

What do you mean when you say we should root for UNC to keep them off the bubble? You want them safely in? It seems to me that is not what we (as a potential bubble team) want. If they are "safely in", then we have no chance of getting in ahead of them (assuming we're on the bubble). If they are on the bubble with us, there's a chance. Seems to me we want FSU in that game.

 

[Hey Adrien!]

Thanks for another awesome post.

What do you mean when you say we should root for UNC to keep them off the bubble? You want them safely in? It seems to me that is not what we (as a potential bubble team) want. If they are "safely in", then we have no chance of getting in ahead of them (assuming we're on the bubble). If they are on the bubble with us, there's a chance. Seems to me we want FSU in that game.

Fair point.

 

[ClifSpliffy]

I've been requested to now focus on bubble games, so here's the slate for tomorrow. With rain in the forecast tomorrow great day to check out some games.

Bubble Alert games:

Noon:
#3 Michigan @ Indiana - ???: Bubble alert: Go Wolverines!
Syracuse @ Georgia Tech - ACC Network: Both teams on bubble, but with Tech’s case stronger than Cuse, probably a Cuse win will better help UConn.

2:00
VCU @ Davidson - ESPNU: Bubble alert: Go Wildcats!

3:00:
Washington @ Arizona - CBS: Bubble-alert: Go Huskies!

3:30:
Ole Miss @ Vanderbilt - SEC Network: Bubble-alert: Go Vandy!

4:00:
#11 Florida State @ North Carolina: Bubble-alert: Go UNC (keep them off the bubble!)
Air Force @ Colorado State: Bubble-alert: Go Air Force (they need all the luck they can get)
Boise State @ #22 San Diego State - CBSSN: A Boise State win should place them firmly in the tournament and keep them away from the bubble.

5:00
#13 Creighton @ Xavier - FOX: Xavier is just inside the bubble here. A win for Xavier should cement their bid, but a loss could have them out.

6:00:
Louisville @ Duke - ESPN: Bubble watch: Go Louisville!
Minnesota @ Nebraska - Big Ten Network: Go Huskers!

7 PM
Oregon State @ Stanford - PAC12 Network: Go Beavers!

8 PM:
Drake @ Bradley - ESPN+: Bubble watch: Go Braves!
#19 USC @ Utah: Root for USC to pad resume and help our SOS.

10 PM:
Saint Mary’s @ BYU: Root for BYU to pad resume and don’t become a bubble team.
Oregon @ Cal - FS1: Same comment as BYU. Root for Oregon so they don’t end up on bubble.
UCLA @ Colorado: Root for UCLA to bad resume and not end up near bubble

OTHER GAMES OF NOTE

Noon:
#14 Texas @ #18 Texas Tech - CBS: Texas Tech has lost two straight while Texas has won 3 out of 4.
#25 Tennessee @ Auburn - ESPN: Vols need a win!
Georgetown @ DePaul - FS1: I want Georgetown to win this win. Keep padding their resume and make our SOS look better.
Liberty @ Bellarmine - ESPNU: Great mid-major game. Both tied at the top of the ASUN with a 10-2 conference record.

2:00
#5 Illinois @ #23 Wisconsin - ESPN: Ayo is not playing til B10 tourney. I'm curious how the spread looks in this one.
LSU @ Arkansas - ESPN2: LSU doesn’t play defense so this could be a fireworks game between two good offenses.

2:30:
Marquette @ UConn - FOX: Thank you Marquette for beating UNC!!!

3:00:
Oklahoma State @ #7 Oklahoma - ABC: Intrastate rivals. Oklahoma has been on fire thanks to the depth from transfer Umoja Gibson and Elijah Harkless.

4:00:
Belmont @ Morehead State - ESPN+: #1 vs #2 in the OVC: Wow, Belmont lost their first conference game yesterday to EKU.

8 PM:
#2 Baylor @ #17 Kansas - ESPN: Baylor was my January championship choice, but with their COVID pause, will they get in a rhythm to be at 100% in the tourney? A very telling game here.

u are, by far, the most methodical, informative, and helpful cbb analyst in dis joint. gracias. as i understand it, ur a math teacher. noice. lucky kids, methinks.

 

[Hi-Low]

Fair point.

Another respectful point to make is that if a team is a near bubble team on the good side we want them to lose in most cases to fall back. If a team most people consider to be in but not locked in starts losing that's good because it opens a potential at-large bid. I bring this up because in your notes you are wary of teams falling back to the bubble.

If they are playing a current bubble team it becomes a little trickier who to root for but unless a team is projected better than let's say a 10 seed they are probably not a lock and a loss could push them back to the bubble. But this late in the game if a team like L'Ville is playing a team like Duke then I agree we want Duke to lose but it's close.

The teams like Oregon, L'Ville, UNC, Boise St, UCLA etc that are projected in but not locks it's good if they lose in most cases so more potential at-large spots come into play.

The bigger the Bubble is on the "good" side the better....we want teams projected ahead of us to come back to the bubble we just don't want teams projected out to join the bubble....like what Michigan St & Duke have done

 

[tzznandrew]

Thanks for another awesome post.

What do you mean when you say we should root for UNC to keep them off the bubble? You want them safely in? It seems to me that is not what we (as a potential bubble team) want. If they are "safely in", then we have no chance of getting in ahead of them (assuming we're on the bubble). If they are on the bubble with us, there's a chance. Seems to me we want FSU in that game.

We want UNC to lose lose lose.

 

[Big East Fa]

Here's all the Fox assignments for the weekend.

Friday, February 26
7:00 PM- FS1- Purdue at Penn St.
KEVIN BURKHARDT, STEVE LAVIN

9:00 PM- FS1- Nevada at Utah St.
DARON SUTTON, DOUG GOTTLIEB

Saturday, February 27
12:00 PM- FOX- Michigan at Indiana
GUS JOHNSON, BILL RAFTERY

2:30 PM- FOX- Marquette at UConn
TIM BRANDO, DONNY MARSHALL

5:00 PM- FOX- Creighton at Xavier
KEVIN KUGLER, NICK BAHE

12:00 PM- FS1- Georgetown at DePaul
ERIC COLLINS, DICKEY SIMPKINS

2:00 PM- FS1- (W) St. John's at Creighton
BRENDA VAN LENGEN, ROB SIMMS

8:00 PM- FS1- (W) Seton Hall at Villanova
JOHN FANTA, KIMBERLY ADAMS

Sunday, February 28
12:00 PM- FS1- (W) Georgetown at Xavier
MATT SCHUMACKER, MIKE SCHMALTZ

3:00 PM- FS1- (W) Iowa at Wisconsin
BOB BRAINERD, MICHELLE GRIFFIN-WENZEL

7:00 PM- FS1- Nevada at Utah St.
BOB AKAMIAN, DOUG GOTTLIEB

 

[Hey Adrien!]

My championship choice is Nova

Not with their inability to defend the perimeter. They have the 66th best overall defense (5th worst in Big East) and are in the 24th percentile in 3p defense (opponents average 35.5% from 3).

A good three-point shooting team like Baylor, Iowa, Virginia, Michigan, Florida State or Illinois (and many others) would post a major challenge for them.

 

[BoukofJames]

Creighton-Xavier is a huge tilt. Definitely tuning in for that contest

 

[pepband99]

12:00 PM- FS1- Georgetown at DePaul
ERIC COLLINS, DICKEY SIMPKINS

HOT LIKE FIRE (if memory serves)

 

[YearoftheHusky]

If a team is currently in, I want them to lose and fall back on to the bubble. That way we can replace them as being firmly in.

 

[gwhuskyfan]

I will mention Saint Louis/Richmond tonight. Both are kind of bubblish. Whoever loses tonight is probably out of the at large conversation

 

[millertime7774]

If a team is currently in, I want them to lose and fall back on to the bubble. That way we can replace them as being firmly in.

And, not that it matters tremendously this year, seeding also comes into play...

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

A few weeks ago, I appreciated @Hey Adrien! for doing this thread each week. Somebody questioned why I added that I found it a valuable service "even if I don't watch any of the games."

As it was, I didn't watch any games that day, and I didn't respond to where I was questioned, but I still felt that way. And still do.

I read this now-regular BY feature every time it's offered. It's good set up for the weekend. It helps me to plan for when I do watch. It alerts me regarding which scores to look out for. It gives me some heads up on players and teams, which I wouldn't do on my own, and I get info from a source I'm already looking at. It's become an enjoyable habit...whether I watch any games (other than UConn MBB & WBB) or not.

 

[Stinger92860]

I did not realize Duke was on a 4 game win streak and had beaten Virginia. Damn! I thought they wanted to cancel the season.

 

[storrsroars]

I did not realize Duke was on a 4 game win streak and had beaten Virginia. Damn! I thought they wanted to cancel the season.

Bigger envelopes.

 

[StllH8L8ner]

This is always great info and while I look to see what other games are going on in a given weekend, having young kids' activities constantly makes it tough to watch multiple games like the good old days, so I'm now pretty much the Husky version of Rudy's dad when the kids want to watch basketball:

 

[Jay-Bone]

I did not realize Duke was on a 4 game win streak and had beaten Virginia. Damn! I thought they wanted to cancel the season.

Addition by subtraction without Jalen Johnson? Kentucky playing better too without Clarke and that other guy. Not surprising that the young blue bloods are playing better, but surprising without their 5 stars.

 

[alphasigko]

My championship choice is Nova

MIchigan sure looked good on Thursday when they totally crushed Iowa.

 

[Hey Adrien!]

Addition by subtraction without Jalen Johnson? Kentucky playing better too without Clarke and that other guy. Not surprising that the young blue bloods are playing better, but surprising without their 5 stars.

Surprising, yes, but then again if you're the coach you tell the remaining guys "you are my guys, you're all I got, give it your all"...rallies the troops a bit.

Duke and Kentucky still have a ton of talent w/o Johnson/Clarke, so I can see that rally cry work in their favor.

 

[alphasigko]

Creighton-Xavier is a huge tilt. Definitely tuning in for that contest

Not sure that X has it in them from what I saw when they lost to Providence this week.

 

[Jay-Bone]

Not sure that X has it in them from what I saw when they lost to Providence this week.

They have not been the same post corona break. As we saw first hand.

 

[HooperScooper]

Addition by subtraction without Jalen Johnson? Kentucky playing better too without Clarke and that other guy. Not surprising that the young blue bloods are playing better, but surprising without their 5 stars.

Boeheim told everyone that. Maybe the old nose picker was right. Although Jay Bilas doesn't agree.