Precap 1/30-1/31: A big day in the B-12, as well as KSU-Kansas

Recap

It was a big day for the MEAC and SWAC, as some of the best teams in these conferences played each other to shake up the standings.

MEAC:

Every team in the MEAC played yesterday, and 2 of the games were between 2 top 5 teams. Tied first-place Maryland Eastern-Shore beat formerly third-placed Morgan State, as UMES’ Nathaniel Pollard and Kevon Voyles combined for 29 points. The two top preseason teams also played each other, as preseason #1 Norfolk State beat preseason #2 NC Central by 6. Howard and Delaware State also got their jobs done, beating the two worst teams in teh conference, SC State and Coppin State. Howard and UMES are still tied for first, and Norfolk State are looking like the next best team.

SWAC:

In the #2 vs. #3 game, Alcorn State narrowly beat Grambling. Though Grambling shot incredibly well, (51% from field and 53% from 3), Alcorn State still held on behind Dominic Brewton’s 16 points. With this win, Alcorn State is now in prime position to overtake Southern for first place in the conference. Speaking of Southern, the Jaguars faced a strong Jackson State team and won by 11. I still thnk Southern is the best team in the conference, as a double-digit win against the 5th-placed team is impressive. Other than that, FAMU picked up a big upset win against Alabama State and Bethune-Cookman moved into the middle of conference with a win against Alabama A&M.

Summit:

Two important Summit games took place yesterday, with South Dakota looking to upset #1 Oral Roberts and there was a #2 place game between UMKC and South Dakota State. Oral Roberts won by 50, led by 31 from Max Abmas. They were incredible on both ends, scoring 103 and holding the Coyotes to 53. South Dakota won by one point at UMKC to stay tied second in the conference. Outside of Oral Roberts, this conference has some nice parody and it will be interesting to see how it shakes out by the end of the season.

Power-6:

There were 3 power 6 games yesterday, all involving top-25 teams. Virginia got business done on a mediocre night at Syracuse to keep their 1-seed hopes alive. 

In yesterday’s precap, I wrote, “I wouldn’t be surprised if they picked up they picked up their first B-12 win of the season”, when talking about Texas Tech against Iowa State. And, Tech came back from a 23-point deficit in the second half to overtake #13 Iowa State without Pop Isaacs or Fardaws Aimaq. If Tech can continue this level of play, I could see them sneaking in the tournament as a Michigan-type team with 14 losses (they have 10 right now). I actually attended the Baylor-UT game, and it was incredible. Baylor kind of shot themselves in the foot all game, giving Texas lots of wide-open 3s, which they hit. Keyontae George also didn’t have his best game, and I feel like though Baylor is better than Texas, they need to get these things figured out.

Preview

Tuesdays are usually big, and this Tuesday is no exception. We have plenty of Top-25 matchups, a potential best matchup of the regular season, and plenty mid-major conference shake-up potential.

We’ll start in the SEC, as 4 games take place today. 2 of the bottom 4 teams play in South Carolina and Mississippi State, as Mississippi State could get eliminated from tournament conversation with a loss here. Arkansas also has a big game at home against Texas A&M, who has been incredible recently and is making a push back into the bubble after a horrendous non-conference resume. Vanderbilt also gets a chance to upset #4 Alabama. Lastly, Kentucky looks to avoid a Q-2 loss at Ole Miss.

There are some big implications in the ACC today with 3 games. Clemson visits Boston College to keep their first-place ACC standing, as there are two big opportunities for bubble teams. Virginia Tech started out ACC play 1-7, but has gone 2-0 recently. If they can win at Miami today, they sure do have a chance at making it back into the tournament. Wake Forest is sitting right outside the bubble, and could add a Q-1 win at Duke today. Duke could also make it back into Top-25 conversations with a win today before a rough 3-game stretch against UNC, Miami, and Virginia.

Every game in the Big 12 this season is huge, but one today is REALLY huge. The two arguably best teams in the conference play today, with #7 Kansas State visiting #8 Kansas. It’s a rivalry game at Allen Fieldhouse with huge implications and the best these two teams have been combined in a long while. Last time, Kansas State won by 1 point, and this game should be close as well. West Virginia also has an important bubble game today, as they’re right inside of the bubble and visit TCU today in a game that could give them a lot of wiggle room in the future. TCU’s Mike Miles will be out for a couple games, and last time he was out, TCU really struggled. They need to play better at this time of the year especially if they want to stay in Big-12 title contention, so we’ll see how good they will be without Miles today.

In the Big 10, there are two important games as well as Illinois looking to make it back into the Top-25 by avoiding a loss to Nebraska. Indiana, who had fallen off the map, has now won 5 straight behind the breakout of Jalen Hood-Schifino and sits at #21 in the Top-25. They look to keep that up against a Maryland team that could use a ranked win here to improve their March Madness resume. Second-place Northwestern looks to keep their standing in the conference with a win against an Iowa team that looked really good against Rutgers. Both of these teams are projected 9-seeds, and one of them will move up with a win today.

In the Mountain West, there is a huge standing and March bubble matchup with Nevada - San Diego State. Nevada is currently projected as the second team out, and a ranked win here would not only put them on the right side but also put them within one game of Mountain West first place. In the Mountain West, there are only 5 teams that can make the tournament: San Diego State (ranked), New Mexico (10-seed), Boise State (last four byes), Nevada (Last four out), and Utah State (Next four out). If a team other than these 5 wins the conference tournament, they’ll be a 12 seed. So, at this point, these teams are working for conference tournament seeding instead of March Madness seeding. There are 3 of those standing shake-up matchups, with UNLV-Colorado State, Boise State-Air Force, and Fresno State-Wyoming.

It’s a solid night in the A-10 as all top 4 teams play today, with a #1 vs. #4 matchup in SLU at Fordham. At this point, Saint Louis and VCU are the only teams that could get an at-large bid, so this is a huge game for SLU. VCU also has a big game at a dangerous Davidson team. Lastly, #3 Dayton faces last-place Loyola Chicago. All of these Top-4 games are very important, especially if they were to lose, because first place is completely up in the air right now.

There are also some games in the MAC, but none of them are too important as they’re mainly potential upsets or bottom-half vs. bottom-half games.

Overally, today should make for many upsets, and we’ll learn a lot. So, make sure to stay tuned for tomorrow’s precap as well.