12/29 recap

One last modest flurry of non-con activity.

Nevada 86, @Utah 71 - every road win is a quality win for Nevada right now.  Their ceiling as a seed will likely depend on how good the other top teams are.  Wichita St 2014 feels like a good doppleganger for them right now.  WSU eventually got to the 1 line as other 1 seed contenders were merely okay instead of great.  That's how I feel about Nevada.  If Duke and Kansas and Gonzaga all dominate their conferences, Nevada may never get ranked above them on the S-Curve.

Big East:
Xavier 74, @DePaul 65 - and thus begins the conference season in the major conferences (B1G interlude notwithstanding)
@Seton Hall 76, St John's 74 - SJU reeks of 21-9 (9-9), right?

@North Carolina 82, Davidson 60
@Western Kentucky 83, Wisconsin 76 - Wisky won't get killed too bad for this.  With NET, I think they'll get credit for a road game.  It'll all depend on how good WKU is in CUSA though
Kentucky 71, @Louisville 58 - road wins are never trivial
@Mississippi St 103, BYU 81 - BYU will get credit for a tough non-con, but they've taken too many body blows for the conference this year
@Houston 80, NJIT 59 - how is NJIT 11-3??!
@Florida 77, Butler 43
@Purdue 73, Belmont 62 - a big game and moment for Belmont's at-large hopes.  Not many chances for them to impress, so this is costly
Utah Valley 64, @Fresno St 60 - not the greatest look for the MWC

fun with mid-majors:
@Toledo 77, Penn 45 - and Penn was supposed to be good.  Big boon for the MAC.  If you're wondering, Toledo's resume is kind of butt for a 12-1 team, ignore them unless they pick off Buffalo
@UCSB 73, San Francisco 71 - SFU is a chic pick right now; a road game at the Big West favorites would've been a big ask, but their at-large resume really could've used a win like that
@East Tennessee St 79, Furman 56 - and the fun begins in the SoCon.  One of the toughest games for Furman on the conference slate; but it does remove a fair amount of cushion they had as far as an at-large bid goes

what:
Gardner-Webb 73, @Wake Forest 69

Florida Atlantic 73, @Illinois 71 (OT)

Texas Southern 88, @Texas A&M 73

Pac-12 Fail Tracker:
Princeton 67, @Arizona St 66 - what in the fresh hell is this?!?!
Santa Clara 79, @Washington St 71 - and SCU isn't even one of the good WCC teams
Liberty 73, @UCLA 58
Seattle 82, @Cal 73 - WAC isn't having a bad non-con

Mountain West Fail Tracker:
Oregon 62, @Boise St 50
Brown 82, @San Diego St 61