I can’t help myself. We’ve talked ad nauseam about these mid major conferences, and we’ve produced some capital to get us ready for the big dance, but this weekend’s slate is electric. My piss is hot to talk about some of these games, so let’s get into it.
Saturday Morning
2 Alabama@24 Texas A&M, Iowa State@7 Baylor, Ohio State@Michigan State
For us mountain time folk, this is a great slate to wake up to. Maybe you’re nursing your hangover with a little bacon, eggs and coffee or laying in the darkest room possible with just your tv, either way, this will surely help you feel like a human again. Make sure to tune into the Bama game early to see if Brandon Miller does his stupid pat down routine with the 13th reserve player on the bench.
I don’t want to give away too much about the B1G before my breakdown on the conference, but this is a can’t lose game for Sparty. The Buckeyes have won two straight quad 1 games against Illinois and Maryland prior to this matchup after dropping 9 games in a row. The conference is an absolute mess, so they might fuck around and win the damn thing in the tournament which would add chaos to an already screwed up bubble watch. It makes me sick to my stomach just thinking about it.
Speaking of bodily functions, during halftime of these games make sure to read the Big Sky tournament’s breakdown from the flush while taking your halftime dump.
Saturday Afternoon
St John’s@6 Marquette, 11 Kansas State@West Virginia, 12Tennessee@Auburn, Troy@James Madison, 3 Kansas@ 9 Texas
After a win at home vs 20 Providence, St. John’s hasn’t done much to add to their resume, but a road win at Marquette would give them some momentum heading into the Big East tourney where they will need to make a deep run to punch their ticket to the big dance.
West Virginia was a buzzer beater away from punching their ticket against Kansas, but could put a big ass pterodactyl sized feather in their cap if they could knock off Kansas State with the bubble watch in disarray.
Similarly, Auburn could end their roller coaster of a season with a tournament bid if they can get past Tennessee on senior night. These two played a disgrace of a basketball game where they went a nauseating 5-48 from the 3 point line collectively last month in a 43-46 rock fight.
The top heavy Fun Belt is in the quarterfinals, and I think the winner of this game has a good chance of beating Southern Mississippi and going to the Finals. I still think Marshall wins the conference.
The entire Big 12 is must watch TV even if there aren’t many implications on the line. Even with a loss, I don’t see Kansas coming off the 1 line. Texas might slip to a 3 seed, but they’ll still have the Big 12 tourney to get themselves back in the 2 seed conversation.
Saturday evening
25 Pitt@16 Miami, Duke@UNC, UConn@Villanova, Boise State@Utah State, UofA@UCLA, ASU@USC
The Pitt/Miami game might be the least exciting of this group. Regardless of who wins the ACC, I’m fading every team in the conference when the tournament starts. I’m just putting Duke/UNC on a tv to count how many times they show Coach K and Roy Williams in attendance.
This is a must win for Villanova. What was a Fortune 500 company (don’t sue me Jon Rothstein) has turned into a middling Big East team overnight. Maybe Jay Wright saw the writing on the wall and got out when he could, but the Wildcats were terrible early on in the season. They’ve heated up in the last month, winning 6 of their last 7. A win against UConn would keep their bubble hopes alive while also cementing them as a 6 seed in the Big East where they will play Creighton or Providence in the quarterfinals.
This is a must win game for Utah State, who is inexplicably on the outside looking in. What fucking mouthbreathers would keep this team out of the tournament? Are they really punishing them that much for a loss ON THE ROAD to an 18-12 San Jose State? If they’re not in the tournament, it’s time to burn the system to the ground and get some fresh blood in the committee.
UCLA has the Pac-12 regular season wrapped up, so this game means much more to UofA, who dropped a game at home to their rival ASU last weekend on a half court buzzer beater. Either UCLA could cement themselves as a 1 seed or UofA could entrench themselves in the 2 seed conversation with a win.
ASU followed up their buzzer beater with getting their ass whooped by UCLA. I know we still have the Pac-12 tournament, but the winner might get the last at-large bid to the tournament.
Sunday
1 Houston@Memphis, Liberty vs Kennesaw State, Michigan@15 Indiana, Northwestern@Rutgers
We probably could’ve put all the American Conference’s games on this list, but Houston is about to show the Memphis Maniac why they’re a 1 seed and that they have a legitimate shot at winning the whole thing. With a win and a deep American run, Memphis might be able to climb to a 7 seed in an easier side of the bracket.
The winner looks destined for a 15 seed, but if there’s some chaos in the other Mid-major tournaments, Liberty or Kennesaw state could be a legit upset pick as a 14 seed.
It’s the time of year to start blindly betting on Michigan, and they desperately need a Q1 win to get themselves into a play-in game. The B1G tournament is going to go a long way into deciding the bubble, but this would be a huge resume booster for the Wolverines.
After another devastating loss, Rutgers has played themselves out of the bubble watch and will probably need to win the B1G tournament to get to the NCAA tournament. They’ve lost 5 of their last 7 including at home against Nebraska and last night’s buzzer beater at Minnesota. They’ll have a great opportunity at home against a reeling Northwestern team who has dropped 3 in a row.
Enjoy this weekend’s games. The tournament will be here before you know it. Love you, bye.
The Morning Flush 