Sunday, January 20th Highlighted Match-ups

-BOWLING GREEN AT AKRON (Mid American). Akron picked up a nice win against Ohio earlier this week, and is showing that they’re a tough team to beat at home. A win in this one will get them to 14-3, but with an RPI in the 70s they’ll need to dominate the league if they want a shot at an at-large.

-MARQUETTE AT CONNECTICUT (Big East). Marquette was blown out in their last game, which was on the road against Louisville. Connecticut is also coming off a loss to Providence, and has actually lost three of their last four. The Huskies need to turn it around because they are beginning to slip.

-PENN STATE AT INDIANA (Big Ten). Indiana can improve to 16-1 on the season and remain unbeaten in the league with a win in this one. Penn State looks to be better than what they normally are, but they have lost their last two games, one of which was a blowout to Wisconsin.

-MICHIGAN STATE AT MINNESOTA (Big Ten). Minnesota nearly pulled off a huge upset in their last game against Indiana, which would have been a huge win to have on their resume, but they came up just short. They have another chance to knock off a heavyweight at home today. These are the types of wins that really stand out to the selection committee, and if the Gophers want to make a strong case that they belong, a win today would go a long way. Michigan State has struggled on the road in conference before, but appears to have righted their ship after a poor showing against Iowa last week.

-WEST VIRGINIA AT SOUTH FLORIDA (Big East). West Virginia hasn’t won a conference road game yet, but they still appear to be in pretty good shape. South Florida has lost four straight to fall to 10-8 on the year and didn’t look all that good in any of the losses. This is definitely a winnable road game for West Virginia.

-FLORIDA STATE AT WAKE FOREST (ACC). Florida State has lost three of their last five, including an emotional loss earlier this week to Duke. This has the feel of a pivotal game for them. In past year’s, they’ve come close to making the tournament, but just haven’t done quite enough to get in and one can usually point to a slump that they had during the year. A loss in this would be their fourth in six games and place them in the lower part of the current ACC standings. Wake has lost their last two, and doesn’t appear to be an NCAA Tourney team right now. It’s the kind of game that FSU needs to show the committee they can win even when they’re on the road.

-OREGON AT WASHINGTON STATE (Pac Ten). Wazzu lost to UCLA last week, but they’re still very much in the Pac Ten race. For starters, they have UCLA at home later this year. Oregon had been playing well, but they’re coming off a loss to Washington. Even though it was on the road, it’s still the kind of game Oregon can win. They appear to be undermatched in this one. A loss won’t hurt the Ducks, but a win would sure help.