Tuesday, January 05, 2010

B101's Weekday Tweets - Tuesday

Our quick thoughts on Tuesday's results:

It was not a good night to be a 9 seed in our bracket. Minnesota shot just over 30 percent from the field and got destroyed at Purdue, and Georgia Tech - after picking up a nice OOC win at Charlotte over the weekend - dropped a bad road game at rival Georgia. Both the Gophers and Yellow Jackets are still safe bid-wise as of tonight, but both are staring at an 0-2 week that could have them on the wrong side of the bubble next Monday. Georgia Tech hosts Duke on Saturday, and Minnesota hosts an Ohio State team Saturday that will have a healthy Evan Turner back in the lineup.

Give Arkansas credit for hanging with Texas for a half, but even John Pelphrey's lucky red jacket couldn't save his team from the potent Longhorns offense in the second half. Dexter Pittman (21 points, 10 rebounds), Damion James (20 points, 9 rebounds) and Gary Johnson (a season-high 16 points) were way too much to handle inside, as Texas pulled away late and won by 11.

Rhode Island celebrated its debut in the bracket with a very nice road win at Akron. The Rams, who came into the game with an RPI of 5, are now 6-1 in road/neutral games this season. That stat is music to the selection committee's ears.

It took all of one conference game to see an upset in the Mountain West. New Mexico, which has now lost two straight on the road, couldn't survive their MWC opener at San Diego State Tuesday night, losing 74-64. The Aztecs, who were led by Malcolm Thomas' 18 points, have now won 22 of their last 23 at home.

New Mexico will fall off the 4 line as a result of the loss, and they could see a significant drop if they can't beat UNLV at home on Saturday. SDSU, meanwhile, now moves onto the bubble list, but they are still a little ways away from being the fourth bid out of the MWC. Incredibly, the Aztecs' win over the Lobos is their first victory of the season over a team that is currently above .500 on the year. Three of SDSU's next four games are on the road, beginning with a roadie at Wyoming on Saturday.

Of note: Notre Dame won by 74-73 at South Florida, thanks to Luke Harangody's 36 points and his game-winning FT with 1.9 seconds left; Mississippi, Texas A&M, Oklahoma State, Dayton, and Illinois picked up easy home wins.

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