Michigan survives a scare in evanston

Northwestern (10-15, 2-12 Big Ten) hung tight with Michigan (23-1, 13-1 Big Ten) through 30 minutes, leading by 16 at one point, but ultimately falling short. The Wildcats played well enough to sneak into the NET Top 75, giving Michigan their tenth Quad 1 victory of the season. The Wolverines currently have a perfect 10-0 record in Quad 1 play, and with Arizona dropping their first game of the season to Kansas on Monday night, likely sit as the number one overall seed. Something to note, Elliot Cadeau sat for the last 14 minutes of last night’s game after an extremely cold start. L.J. Cason filled in for the PG perfectly, posting 18 points on 5-8 shooting in 25 minutes. On the opposing side, Nick Martinelli had one of his worst games of the year, going just 5-22 from the field while posting 18.

Iowa falls short in college park

The Hawkeyes (18-6, 8-5 Big Ten) dropped a tight one in College Park last night, falling short to the Maryland Terrapins (10-14, 3-10 Big Ten). The Big Ten has been a gauntlet all year, but Maryland has struggled consistently and this is a tough loss for an Iowa team that’s looking to lock in a tournament spot. Iowa is still positioned to make the tournament with relative ease, but this loss might have a significant impact on their seeding.

buckeyes inch closer to the bubble

Ohio State (16-8, 8-6 Big Ten) picked up a much needed win last night against USC (18-7, 7-7 Big Ten), moving themselves closer to a tournament spot. The Buckeyes were on the wrong side of the bubble before this game, and likely still are, but this was a massive win for the Buckeyes who had dropped three of their last five prior to this. On the other hand, this was also a huge game for USC. Winning in Columbus would’ve meant a third Q1 win for the Trojans, but instead they fall short to a fellow bubble team and potentially put themselves in a position to fall out of the tournament field.

Florida pounds the dawgs

The Gators (18-6, 9-2 SEC) dominated Georgia (17-7, 5-6 SEC) in Athens last night, ultimately winning by 20. Georgia is currently above the March cut-line, but has been incredibly streaky over the past month, picking up some great wins (vs. Arkansas, at Missouri) and some not-so-great losses (vs. Ole Miss, vs. Texas A&M by 15). A win last night might have secured the Bulldogs a tournament spot, but a blowout loss instead sends them sliding closer to the wrong side of the bubble.

Hokies take a huge leap

Virginia Tech (17-8, 6-6 ACC) took down Clemson (20-5, 10-2 ACC) on the road in what was perhaps their biggest win of the season. The Hokies added their third Quad 1 win to a résumé that grows stronger by the game. VA Tech now has two standout wins, one at home against in-state rival Virginia, and the other on the road against a Top 25 Clemson team. This win likely positions them above the cut line for the moment. They’ll still have at least three more chances to add another Q1 win, and one more might even position them above SMU in the fight for one of the final at-large spots in the ACC.

tournament chances quickly slipping away from cal

The Golden Bears (17-8, 5-7 ACC) lost on the road to Syracuse (14-11, 5-7 ACC) last night in double OT, failing to capitalize on their best chance to pick up a Quad 1 win before the end of the season. Cal might not have another shot at picking up a Q1 win until the ACC tournament, unless Wake Forest (12-12, 3-8 ACC) remains in the Top 75 in NET come March 7th (currently 65th). This loss might have a major impact on their tournament chances considering Miami and Virginia Tech have both picked up Top 25 road wins this week.

Bulls take the top spot in the aac

South Florida (17-8, 9-3 AAC) took down Wichita State (15-10, 7-5 AAC) on the road last night, positioning themselves as the sole first place team in the AAC with Tulsa’s loss at home to UAB. Though South Florida is firmly outside of the tournament field at the moment, they are still one of the few teams that controls their own destiny. If they can continue to win meaningful Quad 2 games (No more Q1 games on their schedule at the moment), they’ll keep increasing their odds of hearing their name called in March.

Pirates prevail over providence

Seton Hall (17-8, 7-7 Big East) is currently below the cut-line, but fortunately for the Pirates they survived a close game to Providence (11-14, 4-10 Big East) at home last night. Shaheen Holloway has a real chance to make his first tournament with the Pirates as long as they can continue this momentum into Indianapolis Sunday where they’ll take on the Butler Bulldogs in a big chance to pick up a Q1 win.

Buffs lose big on the road

Colorado (14-11, 4-8 Big 12) was demolished by Texas Tech (18-6, 8-3 Big 12) on the road last night, losing by 34 to a strong Red Raiders squad. This loss all but ended their chances of making the tournament, as they were already sitting on the tail end of the bubble. If Colorado had remained competitive on Wednesday, they might still have a shot at the tournament, but this blowout loss essentially erased any chance of that happening. The Buffaloes will still have at least 3 more chances to pick up Q1 wins, facing BYU and Houston on the road and Arizona at home, but right now things aren’t looking great in Boulder.

Tulsa drops a Q2 to fall to #2 in the aac

Tulsa (20-5, 8-4 AAC) lost a close Quad 2 game to UAB (16-9, 7-5 AAC) at home and killed any momentum towards gaining an at-large. The best chance now for the Golden Hurricane to make the Big Dance is through the AAC tournament where they’ll most likely have to get past a hot South Florida team. Though their odds are slim, it’s been a chaotic week in college hoops and teams with longer odds at this point in February have moved up the bubble and into the field of 68.

Tigers take down Texas a&m

Mizzou (17-7, 7-4 SEC) picks up a massive win on the road against Texas A&M (17-7, 7-4 SEC), taking down one of the most interesting offenses in the country that relies heavily on offense rebounds and three point shooting, commonly referred to as “Bucky Ball”, coached by Bucky McMillan. This is a great Quad 1 win and puts the tigers in a prime position to make the tournament. Mizzou was one of the last teams in the field, if not the last, prior to Wednesday night, but this win significantly improved their chances on Selection Sunday.

Lobos have a chance at the big dance

New Mexico (19-6, 10-4 MWC) added another Quad 1 win to their résumé on Wednesday, taking down Grand Canyon (15-9, 8-5 MWC) on the road. The Mountain West is a tricky conference to play in, because while there is quite a bit of talent, there tends to be far less opportunities to pick up Quad 1 wins than in Power 5 conferences. The Lobos will likely have two more chances at Quad 1 wins (on the road against Nevada and Utah State) before the season is over, and winning both would almost guarantee them a spot in the tournament. The Mountain West has sent at least four teams to the tournament in the past four seasons, and even if the conference falls short of this number in 2026, it’s almost guaranteed they’ll send three teams to the dance in March.

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Games to watch (2/12)

• Marist @ Merrimack (7pm)
• Hofstra @ Charleston (7pm)
• Utah Valley @ Utah Tech (9pm)

*All times are EST