There is a lot going on right now across the country. Take a breath. Give yourself a break from doom scrolling about the state of the country. You deserve a 10 minute respite to read about something much less serious, but also much more laid back. Here is to hoping better days are ahead.

The top of the AP Poll largely held shape this week. (1) Arizona remained perfect by navigating another steady week through Big 12 play, continuing to win without much game pressure from either Cincinnati nor West Virginia. (2) UConn survived yet another OT scare by holding off Villanova in extra time to remain unbeaten in Big East play, while (3) Michigan and (5) Duke both handled conference business, with Michigan pulling away from Oregon and Ohio State and Duke cruising past Wake Forest. The biggest ripple in the AP Top 5 came from (4) Purdue’s home loss to (11) Illinois, thanks to Illini freshman Keaton Wagner’s historic performance. Just behind them, (6) Houston saw their 11 game win streak come to an end at the hands of a vengeful (12) Texas Tech. (7) Nebrasketball remains unbeaten, though a matchup with Michigan looms. (8) Gonzaga’s offense has looked much less potent without All-Americans Braden Huff and Graham Ike, but did just enough to hold off a hot San Francisco squad in The Kennel, while (9) Iowa State had a much needed 2-0 week to avoid further slippage. 

Speaking of slippage, (14) Virginia got too comfortable with an early lead while hosting (22) North Carolina, eventually seeing their 16-point lead evaporate in a Tar Heels comeback win. (17) Alabama dropped a road game at Tennessee, (15) Vanderbilt lost at (20) Arkansas, (16) Florida failed to protect home court vs Auburn, and (18) Clemson fell to NC State in overtime. Meanwhile, (19) Kansas has quietly won 5 in a row, and poll newcomers (24) Saint Louis and (25) Miami (OH) responded with perfect weeks to put themselves in position to rise.

Our pleas to rank Utah State appears to have caused some issues in Logan. The Aggies have dropped two of their last three, but did get back on schedule with a win at Colorado State. San Diego State now leads the Mountain West but they play the aforementioned Rams before a showdown with Utah State on Saturday. The Billikens of Saint Louis are poised for a rise in the rankings after convincing wins over Duquesne and St. Bonaventure. They are this close to being undefeated. George Mason dropped a surprising one to Rhode Island for their first loss since December 6th. They fall to 6-1 in A10 play and are now a full game behind SLU. Dayton lost two games to La Salle and Saint Joseph’s this week. The Flyers and the VCU Rams are 5-2 in the A10 now. (8) Gonzaga, Saint Mary’s, and Santa Clara all held serve in the WCC. A big one looms this week as the Zags face the Gaels (more on that below). Florida Atlantic dropped their first American game to South Florida but are still on top of the conference. Tulsa, South Florida, Temple, and Charlotte are all in hot pursuit and are only a game behind the Owls. Murray State had a rough week after suffering their first two MVC losses of the year to Drake and Northern Iowa. They are tied with Belmont for pole position in this conference.

Vermont lost an America East game to the NJIT Highlanders but then came back to get wins over UMass Lowell and Bryant. UMBC shares the conference lead with the Catamounts after a 2-0 week of their own. West Georgia upset the front runners in the ASun, Queens, who dropped to 7-1 in conference play. They have company with Austin Peay and Lipscomb currently having the same conference record. Liberty, Maryland-Eastern Shore, North Dakota State, and Portland State still have not lost a conference game!

Other Storylines: 

Here is what we will be watching this coming week! Reply to this email and let us know what you will be tuning into!

This may be Arizona’s toughest game of the year so far. Tommy Lloyd knows what it takes to win at the Marriott Center, but how will his star freshmen fare when 18,000 caffeinated Mormons are yelling mild insults at them?? Koa Peat continues to amaze with his 14.7ppg/5.9rpg/2.7apg stat line. Fellow freshman Brayden Burries is chipping in 14.6ppg/4.4rpg/2.8apg as well. Arizona is still undefeated in case you forgot. BYU has three players averaging 18+ ppg including their freshman phenom AJ Dybantsa. He is second in the country in scoring at 23.6 ppg and just put up 43 points against rival Utah. If you want to see some future NBA stars battle, be sure to tune into this game.

Honorable Mentions:

Louisville @ Duke - Duke puts their undefeated ACC record on the line against a hungry Cardinals team

Jackson State @ Florida A&M - #3 vs #1 in the SWAC standings, JSU’s Daeshun Ruffin averages 19.4 ppg

This Big Ten showdown in Ann Arbor kicks off the week with major implications for both conference and national outlooks. Nebrasketball - one of the nation’s three remaining unbeaten teams - will be tested by the Wolverines’ strong defensive rotations. In turn, Michigan will be tested by the Cornhuskers proficient outside scoring and rebounding. Who blinks first??

Honorable Mentions: 

Kentucky @ Vanderbilt - Vandy needs to get back on track, winning just 1 of their last 4 games

Purdue at Indiana - historic rivalry

San Francisco almost pulled off the shocking upset over (8) Gonzaga this past week, but their final shot didn’t fall. Things don’t get any easier for the Dons as they head to Santa Clara to do battle with a red-hot Broncos team. Santa Clara has rattled off four straight wins since their loss to the Zags including a big-time win at home against Saint Mary’s. A win for the Dons would set them up well for a strong second-half finish to the conference season. A win for Herb Sendek’s boys would keep them level with Saint Mary’s for second place in the WCC.

Honorable Mentions:

Charlotte @ Temple - Both teams are a half a game out of 1st in the American

Oakland @ Purdue Fort Wayne - Two of the top three teams in the Horizon look to keep pace with Wright State

The Flames are back on national television (CBSSN) for this Conference USA tilt. They feature five players averaging 10+ ppg while shooting 41% from beyond the arc as a team! Liberty is undefeated in CUSA play and winners of 11 consecutive games. Middle Tennessee is 4th in the league currently at 6-4, and will need to bring their A++ game to stay in this one.

Honorable Mentions:

Le Moyne @ LIU - Northeast Conference #2 visits #1!

This is arguably a bigger basketball rivalry than Michigan/Ohio State. Since dropping their first game of the year to Wisconsin, Michigan has won four in a row. They are all games they were expected to win, but that is what good teams do, right? Michigan State’s only B1G loss so far is a two point defeat to unbeaten Nebraska in Lincoln. Since that loss, they have won six in a row. Both teams are chasing the Cornhuskers for the top seed in the B1G Tournament. One of them will inch closer to that goal with a win here.

Honorable Mentions:

Kent State @ Akron - The best teams in the MAC outside of Miami (OH) face off in a big-time rivalry. These schools are only 11 miles apart!

Dayton @ (24) Saint Louis - SLU is a miracle away from being undefeated, this is their best test in a while

Year after year, National pundits predict a rebuild, a step backward, a return to earth. And year after year, they’re proven wrong as this team finds themselves competing for a WCC championship and preparing for a March Madness run. 10 years ago, this probably applies to Gonzaga (they’ve since elevated above “rebuild” worries). But here and now I’m talking about Saint Mary’s and Randy Bennett, who are somehow competing for a third consecutive WCC regular season title. They will face a hindered Bulldogs squad (no Huff) but potentially rejuvenated by the return of Graham Ike. Expect another rock fight, though we have a hunch the Zags may have uncovered some dangerous defensive lineups while missing their main bigs.

Honorable Mentions: 

East Tennessee State @ Wofford - winner claims 1st place in the SOCON

BYU @ Kansas - I, for one, am excited to see AJ Dybantsa continue evolving

Montana State @ Portland State - Big Sky battle for 1st place!

As discussed above, Illinois got a massive win after toppling Purdue on the road on Saturday. No one really seems to be giving them their flowers in the national landscape though. Their three losses are as follows: 4-pt loss to (11) Alabama, 13-pt loss to (5) UConn, and a 3-pt loss to (23) Nebraska. Here is their chance to avenge that last one and hand the Cornhuskers their first loss of the year. Nebraska took care of business with wins over Washington and Minnesota. They haven’t played a ranked team in over three weeks. Will they be ready against one of the best offensive teams in the country?

Honorable Mentions:

(17) Alabama @ (16) Florida - Top 20 matchup featuring legit Elite 8 caliber teams

Wright State @ Green Bay - 1st place Wright State travels to take on a Phoenix team who has won six of their last eight

In one of the most chaotic games of a chaotic week, Miami (OH) survived Buffalo 105-102 in overtime. This Mid-American Conference showdown included 27(!) lead changes and eight ties! Buffalo traded blows with the RedHawks through regulation and appeared to have secured a victory after Peter Suder missed a game-tying 3PT with just 5 seconds left. Brant Byers had different plans. He fought for the offensive rebound then found Eian Elmer on the wing with 1 second left… and Elmer calmly buried the 3PT at the buzzer to trigger 5 more minutes of free basketball (also known as “Hoops on the House”). The extra session gave Suder - who finished with a season-high 37 points - a chance to redeem himself with the ball and just over a second left. He didn’t miss twice. Suder’s game-winning three kept Miami’s undefeated streak alive and well in thrilling fashion!

It’s hard to have a more impactful performance than what Erik Pratt turned in for the Seawolves last week. At home against the College of Charleston, he put up a whopping 39 points on 13-24 shooting to go with 13 assists, 7 rebounds, and only 2 turnovers in a double OT win. His fingerprints were all over this W. He backed that up with a 31 pt/ 9 ast/6 reb outing and only turned it over twice again and led his squad to a road win at Northeastern. He currently sits in the top 35 in the country in scoring so this really is nothing new!

It may be cold for the majority of the country, but Collin’s model was not affected by the blizzard! This was the best week in a LONG time for the model and it predicted the right betting side of Spreads and Totals 54.2% of the time. Anything higher than 52.4% means you are beating the house! Time to keep the hot streak rolling!