Games of Interest - February 22 through March 1, 2021

[njhoya78]

For the first time this season, there are no changes at all in the composition of the Associated Press Top 25; while there was much suffering amongst the bottom 20 in the rankings, no teams were dropped entirely from the polls. Gonzaga, Baylor, Michigan, Ohio State and Illinois all remained ranked at #1 through #5 respectively. The Bulldogs improved to 22-0 after victories over Saint Mary’s (87-65) and San Diego (106-69); the Bears remained 17-0 after game postponements against then-#13 ranked West Virginia and Oklahoma State due to having paused competition due to COVID-19; the Wolverines advanced to 16-1 after victories against Rutgers (71-64) and at #4 ranked Ohio State (92-87); the Buckeyes are now 18-5 after an 92-82 win at Pennsylvania State and the home court loss to #3 Michigan; the Illini improved to 16-5 after wins over Northwestern (73-66) and at Minnesota (94-63).

The Big East Conference still has just two ranked teams. Villanova moved up two slots to #8 with a 68-60 win against Connecticut, and Creighton advanced one slot to #13 without playing any games. Xavier is the only other Big East Conference team receiving any votes in this week’s poll.

Kansas was the biggest gainer amongst ranked teams, moving up six slots to #17 after the Jayhawks defeated Kansas State (59-41) and then-#15 ranked Texas Tech (67-61); Virginia dropped the furthest amongst ranked teams, falling eight slots to #15 after the Cavaliers lost road games at then-#16 ranked Florida State (81-60) and at unranked Duke (66-65).

The following conferences have programs that have currently been shut down, or paused temporarily, due to COVID-19:
America East Conference:  Maine (shut down for the season).
American Athletic Conference:  Southern Methodist, Temple.
Atlantic 10 Conference:  Fordham (temporary pause ended March 1).
Atlantic Sun Conference: Jacksonville (shut down for the season).
Big 12 Conference:  Texas A&M.
Big South Conference:  Charleston Southern (shut down for the season), North Carolina Asheville (temporary pause ended March 1).
Colonial Athletic Association:  Hofstra (temporary pause ended February 24), Northeastern, Towson.
Ivy League: Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Pennsylvania, Princeton, Yale (entire league is shut down for the season).
Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference: Iona, Monmouth.
Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference: Bethune-Cookman, Howard, Maryland Eastern Shore (all three programs are shut down for the season), Morgan State.
Mountain West Conference:  San José State.
West Coast Conference:  Portland (temporary pause ended February 27).
Western Athletic Conference:  Chicago State (shut down for the season).

Maryland Baltimore County has no games scheduled over the next eight days; the America East Conference begins its conference tournament next weekend, and the #1 seeded Retrievers have a double-bye into the semifinal round to be played March 6.

As previously noted, last minute modifications and cancellations may occur, and I will attempt to update this weekly missive whenever I learn of schedule changes; no warranties of accuracy, express or implied, are made.

All times listed are Eastern Standard Time.  NOTE:  UPDATED AS OF 8:24 AM ON MARCH 1, 2021

Monday, February 22

BIG EAST CONFERENCE
No games scheduled

OUT-OF-CONFERENCE
Syracuse 71 at Duke 85.
Coppin State at Howard CANCELED AFTER HOWARD CANCELED REMAINDER OF SEASON DUE TO COVID-19

ASSOCIATED PRESS TOP 25
Oregon 58 at #19 Southern California 72.
#18 Texas Tech 69 at Oklahoma State 74; overtime
Stanford at #19 Southern California POSTPONED TO ACCOMMODATE SCHEDULING OF OREGON/SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA GAME

Tuesday, February 23

BIG EAST CONFERENCE
St. John’s 58 at #8 Villanova 81.
Connecticut 70 at Georgetown 57.

OUT-OF-CONFERENCE
#10 West Virginia 74 at Texas Christian 66.

ASSOCIATED PRESS TOP 25
Georgia Institute of Technology 69 at #16 Virginia Polytechnic Institute 63.
#5 Illinois 72 at Michigan State 81.
Iowa State 72 at #2 Baylor 77.
#17 Kansas 72 at #14 Texas 75; overtime.
Mississippi 60 at #24 Missouri 53.
#7 Oklahoma 57 at Kansas State 62.

Wednesday, February 24

BIG EAST CONFERENCE
Marquette 83 at North Carolina 70.
Seton Hall 52 at Butler 61.
DePaul 53 at #13 Creighton 77.
Xavier 68 at Providence 83.

OUT-OF-CONFERENCE
No games scheduled

ASSOCIATED PRESS TOP 25
North Carolina State 68 at #15 Virginia 61.
#11 Florida State 88 at Miami (Florida) 71.
#6 Alabama 66 at #20 Arkansas 81.
#25 Tennessee 70 at Vanderbilt 58.

Thursday, February 25

BIG EAST CONFERENCE
No games scheduled

OUT-OF-CONFERENCE
#10 West Virginia at #2 Baylor CANCELED TO AVOID CONFERENCE SCHEDULE REQUIRING WEST VIRGINIA TO PLAY THREE GAMES IN SUCCESSIVE WEEKS

ASSOCIATED PRESS TOP 25
#9 Iowa 57 at #3 Michigan 79.
Nebraska 70 at #5 Illinois 86.
Santa Clara 75 at #1 Gonzaga 89.
Western Kentucky 57 at #12 Houston 81.
Boise State 66 at #25 San Diego State 78; overtime.
#4 Ohio State 67 at Michigan State 71.
#19 Southern California 62 at Colorado 80.

Friday, February 26

BIG EAST CONFERENCE
No games scheduled

OUT-OF-CONFERENCE
No games scheduled

ASSOCIATED PRESS TOP 25
Southern Illinois 52 at #21 Loyola (Illinois) 60.

Saturday, February 27

BIG EAST CONFERENCE
Georgetown 68 at DePaul 60.
Marquette 62 at Connecticut 80.
#13 Creighton 69 at Xavier 77.

OUT-OF-CONFERENCE
Syracuse 77 at Georgia Institute of Technology 84.
United States Naval Academy 73 at Loyola (Maryland) 67.
Kansas State 43 at #10 West Virginia 65.
Coppin State 81 at Delaware State 68.
Coppin State at Maryland Eastern Shore CANCELED AFTER MARYLAND EASTERN SHORE CANCELED SEASON DUE TO COVID-19

ASSOCIATED PRESS TOP 25
#3 Michigan 73 at Indiana 57.
#14 Texas 59 at #18 Texas Tech 68.
#19 Tennessee 72 at Auburn 77.
#5 Illinois 74 at #23 Wisconsin 69.
Louisiana State 75 at #24 Arkansas 83.
Oklahoma State 94 at #7 Oklahoma 90; overtime.
Boise State 58 at #22 San Diego State 62.
#11 Florida State 70 at North Carolina 78.
Wake Forest 46 at #18 Virginia Polytechnic Institute 84.
#6 Alabama 64 at Mississippi State 59.
Southern Illinois 58 at #21 Loyola (Illinois) 65; overtime.
#2 Baylor 58 at #17 Kansas 71.
#19 Southern California 61 at Utah 71.
Loyola Marymount 69 at #1 Gonzaga 86.
Texas A&M at #24 Missouri POSTPONED AFTER TEXAS A&M PAUSED COMPETITION DUE TO COVID-19

Sunday, February 28

BIG EAST CONFERENCE
#8 Villanova 61 at Butler 73.

OUT-OF-CONFERENCE
Loyola (Maryland) 58 at United States Naval Academy 66.
Coppin State 94 at Delaware State 74.
Coppin State at Maryland Eastern Shore CANCELED AFTER MARYLAND EASTERN SHORE CANCELED SEASON DUE TO COVID-19

ASSOCIATED PRESS TOP 25
#9 Iowa 73 at #4 Ohio State 57.
South Florida 52 at #12 Houston 98.

Monday, March 1

BIG EAST CONFERENCE
No games scheduled

OUT-OF-CONFERENCE
North Carolina at Syracuse, 7:00 pm (ESPN)

ASSOCIATED PRESS TOP 25
Miami (Florida) at #15 Virginia, 6:00 pm (ACC Network)
#7 Oklahoma at Oklahoma State, 9:00 pm (ESPN)

CONFERENCE TOURNAMENTS

AMERICA EAST CONFERENCE
First round and quarterfinal round games played at University of New Hampshire’s Lundholm Gym, Durham NH and University of Hartford's Chase Arena at Reich Family Pavilion, Hartford CT; semifinal round and championship games played at higher seeded teams; teams will be reseeded after quarterfinal round games
Maine, having canceled its season, is not participating in this year’s tournament

Saturday, February 27 first round games
Game A— New York Stony Brook (#7 seed; 7-9 conference record; 9-13 overall) 62 vs. Massachusetts Lowell (#6 seed; 7-8 conference record; 8-11 overall) 64.
Game B— New York Binghamton (#9 seed; 4-10 conference record; 4-13 overall) 60 at Hartford (#4 seed; 8-6 conference record; 11-8 overall) 77.
Game C— New Jersey Institute of Technology (#8 seed; 6-10 conference record; 7-11 overall) 66 vs. New York Albany (#5 seed; 6-6 conference record; 6-8 overall) 76.

Sunday, February 28 quarterfinal round games
Game D— Massachusetts Lowell (#6 seed; 9-11 overall; 64-62 winner against New York Stony Brook) 72 at New Hampshire (#3 seed; 9-6 conference record; 10-8 overall) 64.
Game E—  New York Albany (#5 seed; 7-8 overall; 76-66 winner against New Jersey Institute of Technology) 77 at Hartford (#4 seed; 12-8 overall; 77-60 winner against New York Binghamton) 83.

Saturday, March 6 semifinal round games
Game F— Massachusetts Lowell (#6 seed; 10-11 overall; 64-62 winner against New York Stony Brook; 72-64 winner against New Hampshire) at Maryland Baltimore County (#1 seed; 10-4 conference record; 14-5 overall), 2:00 pm (ESPN+/ESPN 3)
Game G— Hartford (#4 seed; 13-8 overall; 77-60 winner against New York Binghamton; 83-77 winner against New York Albany) at Vermont (#2 seed; 10-4 conference record; 10-4 overall), 4:00 pm (ESPN+/ESPN 3)

Saturday, March 13 championship game
Game H— Game F winner vs. Game G winner at higher seeded team, 11:00 am (ESPN 2)

BIG SOUTH CONFERENCE
All games played at higher seeded teams; teams will be reseeded after quarterfinal round games
Charleston Southern concluded their season on February 23 due to COVID-19 contract tracing and will not participate in this season's tournament

Saturday, February 27 first round games
Game A— Presbyterian (#10 seed; 5-12 conference record; 7-14 overall) 65 at Hampton (#7 seed; 9-9 conference record; 10-13 overall) 67.
Game B— South Carolina Upstate (#9 seed; 5-11 conference record; 5-17 overall) 60 at High Point (#8 seed; 6-11 conference record; 8-14 overall) 65.

Monday, March 1 quarterfinal round games
Game C— High Point (#8 seed; 9-14 overall; 65-60 winner against South Carolina Upstate) at Winthrop (#1 seed; 17-1 conference record; 20-1 overall), 6:00 pm (ESPN 3)
Game D— Hampton (#7 seed; 11-13 overall; 67-65 winner against Presbyterian) at Radford (#2 seed; 12-6 conference record; 14-11 overall), 6:00 pm (ESPN 3)
Game E— Longwood (#5 seed; 10-10 conference record; 11-15 overall) at North Carolina Asheville (#4 seed; 9-5 conference record; 10-9 overall), 7:00 pm (ESPN 3)
Game F— Gardner-Webb (#6 seed; 10-10 conference record; 11-14 overall) at Campbell (#3 seed; 11-6 conference record; 15-9 overall), 7:00 pm (ESPN 3)

Thursday, March 4 semifinal round games
Game G— Game C winner vs. Game E winner at higher seeded winner, 6:00 pm (ESPN+)
Game H— Game D winner vs. Game F winner at higher seeded winner, 7:00 pm (ESPN+)

Sunday, March 7 championship game
Game I— Game H winner vs. Game I winner at higher seeded team, 12:00 noon (ESPN)

HORIZON LEAGUE
First round and quarterfinal round games played at higher seeded teams; semifinal round games and championship game played at Indiana Farmers Coliseum, Indianapolis IN

Thursday, February 25 first round games
Game A— Robert Morris (#12 seed; 3-12 conference record; 4-14 overall) 73 at Detroit Mercy (#5 seed; 10-6 conference record; 11-9 overall) 83.
Game B— Illinois Chicago (#11 seed; 6-10 conference record; 9-12 overall) 58 at Youngstown State (#6 seed; 9-11 conference record; 14-11 overall) 74.
Game C— Purdue Fort Wayne (#10 seed; 6-14 conference record; 7-14 overall) 89 at Wisconsin Green Bay (#7 seed; 8-12 conference record; 8-16 overall) 84; overtime.
Game D— Indiana Purdue Indianapolis (#9 seed; 7-9 conference record; 8-9 overall) 72 at Wisconsin Milwaukee (#8 seed; 7-10 conference record; 8-11 overall) 84.

Tuesday, March 2 quarterfinal round games
Game E— Purdue Fort Wayne (#10 seed; 8-14 overall; 89-84 overtime winner against Wisconsin Green Bay) at Cleveland State (#1 seed; 16-4 conference record; 16-7 overall), 7:00 pm (ESPN+)
Game F— Detroit Mercy (#5 seed, 12-9 overall; 83-73 winner against Robert Morris) at Northern Kentucky (#4 seed; 11-7 conference record; 13-10 overall), 7:00 pm (ESPN+)
Game G— Wisconsin Milwaukee (#8 seed; 9-11 overall; 84-72 winner against Indiana Purdue Indianapolis) at Wright State (#2 seed; 16-4 conference record; 18-5 overall), 7:00 pm (ESPN+)
Game H— Youngstown State (#6 seed; 15-11 overall; 74-58 winner against Illinois Chicago) at Oakland (#3 seed; 10-10 conference record; 10-17 overall), 7:30 pm (ESPN+)

Monday, March 8 semifinal round games
Game I— highest seeded winner vs. lowest seeded winner, 6:30 pm (ESPN-U)
Game J— next highest seeded winner vs. next lowest seeded winner, 9:30 pm (ESPN 2)

Tuesday, March 10 championship game
Game J— Game H winner vs. Game I winner, 7:00 pm (ESPN/ESPN 2)

[hoyaduck]

Update: Going down 15-0 to start a game is inadvisable...

[njhoya78]

Feb 23, 2021 12:34:54 GMT -5 hoyaduck said:

Update: Going down 15-0 to start a game is inadvisable...

Words by which to live....

[RockawayHoya]

Found it interesting a BE team finally answered UNC's call for a mid-week OOC game. Marquette's win in Chapel Hill definitely gave the conference a boost in computer numbers and with a number of BE teams on both sides of the bubble, the result can only help when Selection Sunday rolls around.

[michaelgrahmstylie]

Most valuable thread on the board! Thank you!

[njhoya78]

Bump.

[professorhoya]

Feb 25, 2021 10:37:09 GMT -5 RockawayHoya said:

Found it interesting a BE team finally answered UNC's call for a mid-week OOC game. Marquette's win in Chapel Hill definitely gave the conference a boost in computer numbers and with a number of BE teams on both sides of the bubble, the result can only help when Selection Sunday rolls around.

You have to wonder if the ACC and Big10 are overrated.
The conferences can shield there rankings by not playing anyone outside games.

I think especially if you have a conference with 15-16 teams it's easy to inflate your ranking as a combination of an uneven schedule and getting 5-6 guaranteed wins against lower conference teams.

The Big East home and home is great but I think it hurts us in the sense that it's hard to sweep those games for most of the teams. And it was easier to get some guaranteed wins when the Big East had 16 teams (DePaul, St. Johns, USF, Rutgers)

[SSHoya]

Butler 34-24 over Nova at the half. Nova had one (1) field goal in the last ten (10) minutes of the half! FTs keeping Nova in the game 7/7 while Butler has not gone to the line.

[hoopsmccan]

Feb 28, 2021 12:47:12 GMT -5 SSHoya said:

Butler 34-24 over Nova at the half. Nova had one (1) field goal in the last ten (10) minutes of the half! FTs keeping Nova in the game 7/7 while Butler has not gone to the line.

The refs are determined to get Nova back into this game, but shooting like 10% from 3 is keeping Nova at bay for now.

hm

[SSHoya]

Feb 28, 2021 13:35:50 GMT -5 hoopsmccan said:

Feb 28, 2021 12:47:12 GMT -5 SSHoya said:

Butler 34-24 over Nova at the half. Nova had one (1) field goal in the last ten (10) minutes of the half! FTs keeping Nova in the game 7/7 while Butler has not gone to the line.

The refs are determined to get Nova back into this game, but shooting like 10% from 3 is keeping Nova at bay for now.

hm

Frustrating that Samuels lit us up. And that was no flop.

[hoopsmccan]

Feb 28, 2021 13:37:19 GMT -5 SSHoya said:

Feb 28, 2021 13:35:50 GMT -5 hoopsmccan said:

The refs are determined to get Nova back into this game, but shooting like 10% from 3 is keeping Nova at bay for now.

hm

Frustrating that Samuels lit us up. And that was no flop.

Some old school Hoyas team were rough at the foul line, but this is unbelievable.

hm

[RockawayHoya]

Feb 28, 2021 13:37:19 GMT -5 SSHoya said:

Feb 28, 2021 13:35:50 GMT -5 hoopsmccan said:

The refs are determined to get Nova back into this game, but shooting like 10% from 3 is keeping Nova at bay for now.

hm

Frustrating that Samuels lit us up. And that was no flop.

Between that "flop" being the second and causing a T and Gillespie ramming into Bolden on the press with no call, with Bolden then turning around and clapping right into the ref's face as if to say "you guys gotta wake up out here," I can't disagree.

Though, if Butler hit any FTs, this would have been over half an hour ago.

[SSHoya]

Now I want to see the Spartans spank the Terps.

[professorhoya]

Villanova 2-28 from 3. This is what the game has become. Hit your 3s you win. Cant hit 3s you lose.

[Bigs"R"Us]

Feb 28, 2021 14:08:29 GMT -5 professorhoya said:

Villanova 2-28 from 3. This is what the game has become. Hit your 3s you win. Cant hit 3s you lose.

Tricky, because you need to be consistent or “hot” to win the Big East or NCAA tournament. Hard to advance with a poor shooting game, unless everything else goes your way.

[SSHoya]

Feb 28, 2021 14:03:12 GMT -5 SSHoya said:

Now I want to see the Spartans spank the Terps.

Didn't get my wish.

[hoopsmccan]

Feb 28, 2021 16:05:28 GMT -5 SSHoya said:

Feb 28, 2021 14:03:12 GMT -5 SSHoya said:

Now I want to see the Spartans spank the Terps.

Didn't get my wish.

The Terps defense was smothering. A down MSU team had no answers.

hm