PiRate Ratings College Basketball Spreads

Monday, March 1, 2021

Home	Visitor	Spread
St. Bonaventure	Dayton	7.7
Saint Louis	Massachusetts	8.0
Richmond	Saint Joseph’s	14.5
Virginia	Miami (Fla.)	14.4
Syracuse	North Carolina	-1.0
Oklahoma St.	Oklahoma	2.1
Radford	Hampton	8.8
Winthrop	High Point	14.1
Campbell	Gardner-Webb	-1.5
UNC Asheville	Longwood	3.6
Nebraska	Rutgers	-6.5
Western Kentucky	Florida Intl.	17.3
Marist	Quinnipiac	2.8
Colorado St.	Air Force	20.7
Arizona St.	Washington St.	2.7
Oregon	Arizona	1.9
Central Arkansas	Stephen F. Austin	-10.1
Lamar	Texas A&M-CC	5.1
Incarnate Word	New Orleans	-0.4
Arkansas-Pine Bluff	Jackson St.	-7.3
Mississippi Valley St.	Grambling	-18.8
Alabama A&M	Texas Southern	-6.4
Alabama St.	Prairie View A&M	-10.9

This Week’s PiRate Ratings

Rk.	Team	Ratings
1	Gonzaga	127.5
2	Michigan	122.9
3	Baylor	121.6
4	Iowa	120.7
5	Houston	119.6
6	Illinois	119.4
7	Alabama	118.2
8	Ohio St.	117.2
9	Florida St.	116.5
10	Arkansas	116.1
11	Creighton	115.7
12	West Virginia	115.4
13	Villanova	115.3
14	Purdue	115.2
15	Wisconsin	115.1
16	Kansas	115.1
17	Loyola Chicago	115.0
18	Colorado	114.9
19	USC	114.5
20	San Diego St.	114.5
21	BYU	114.4
22	Texas	114.1
23	Tennessee	114.0
24	Texas Tech	113.9
25	Florida	113.9
26	Virginia	113.8
27	Rutgers	113.7
28	LSU	113.5
29	Maryland	113.2
30	North Carolina	113.1
31	Connecticut	112.9
32	Oklahoma St.	112.7
33	Oklahoma	112.6
34	Georgia Tech	112.6
35	Duke	112.2
36	St. Bonaventure	112.1
37	Indiana	111.6
38	Penn St.	111.6
39	Memphis	111.6
40	Utah St.	111.3
41	Arizona	111.3
42	Clemson	111.3
43	Oregon	111.2
44	Seton Hall	111.1
45	VCU	111.0
46	Missouri	111.0
47	Louisville	110.9
48	SMU	110.9
49	UCLA	110.8
50	Toledo	110.7
51	Saint Louis	110.7
52	Boise St.	110.7
53	Xavier	110.7
54	Kentucky	110.7
55	Virginia Tech	110.7
56	Richmond	110.5
57	Minnesota	110.5
58	Wright St.	110.3
59	Drake	110.3
60	Syracuse	110.1
61	Mississippi	109.7
62	Auburn	109.6
63	Michigan St.	109.5
64	Colorado St.	109.3
65	St. John’s	109.1
66	Buffalo	109.0
67	Notre Dame	108.9
68	Stanford	108.8
69	Mississippi St.	108.7
70	North Texas	108.7
71	Northwestern	108.6
72	Providence	108.5
73	N.C. State	108.5
74	Marshall	108.4
75	Wichita St.	108.2
76	Davidson	108.2
77	Louisiana Tech	107.9
78	Marquette	107.8
79	UC Santa Barbara	107.7
80	Pittsburgh	107.3
81	Saint Mary’s	107.3
82	Utah	107.1
83	Western Kentucky	107.0
84	Belmont	106.9
85	Georgia	106.9
86	Kent St.	106.8
87	South Carolina	106.6
88	Colgate	106.6
89	Georgetown	106.6
90	Missouri St.	106.5
91	Liberty	106.5
92	Dayton	106.4
93	Rhode Island	106.3
94	Furman	106.2
95	Arizona St.	105.9
96	UCF	105.9
97	Nevada	105.7
98	Vanderbilt	105.7
99	Cincinnati	105.6
100	Abilene Christian	105.6
101	Ohio	105.4
102	San Francisco	105.3
103	Akron	105.3
104	Winthrop	105.3
105	Oregon St.	105.3
106	Washington St.	105.2
107	Loyola Marymount	105.2
108	Nebraska	105.2
109	UC Riverside	105.0
110	UNC Greensboro	104.9
111	Bowling Green	104.8
112	Butler	104.7
113	UC Irvine	104.7
114	Massachusetts	104.7
115	Eastern Washington	104.7
116	South Dakota St.	104.6
117	Tulsa	104.5
118	UAB	104.3
119	Pepperdine	104.2
120	Indiana St.	104.1
121	Duquesne	103.9
122	Vermont	103.9
123	Pacific	103.8
124	TCU	103.6
125	Boston College	103.6
126	George Mason	103.5
127	Wofford	103.3
128	Weber St.	103.2
129	DePaul	103.2
130	Texas A&M	103.0
131	Temple	103.0
132	East Tennessee St.	102.7
133	Grand Canyon	102.4
134	Bradley	102.3
135	Morehead St.	102.3
136	East Carolina	102.2
137	UTEP	101.8
138	Tulane	101.7
139	Detroit	101.6
140	Navy	101.6
141	Cal St. Bakersfield	101.6
142	Mercer	101.4
143	Georgia St.	101.4
144	Miami FL	101.4
145	North Dakota St.	101.3
146	Miami OH	101.2
147	Ball St.	101.2
148	VMI	101.2
149	South Florida	101.2
150	Santa Clara	101.1
151	Cleveland St.	101.1
152	Chattanooga	101.0
153	UMBC	100.7
154	Drexel	100.7
155	Wake Forest	100.7
156	Iowa St.	100.7
157	Murray St.	100.6
158	Northern Iowa	100.6
159	Jacksonville St.	100.6
160	Stephen F. Austin	100.5
161	Old Dominion	100.4
162	Oral Roberts	100.4
163	UTSA	100.3
164	Northeastern	100.3
165	Eastern Kentucky	100.3
166	California	100.3
167	Siena	100.3
168	UNLV	100.2
169	Southern Utah	100.1
170	James Madison	100.1
171	Gardner Webb	100.0
172	New Mexico St.	100.0
173	Hofstra	99.9
174	Texas St.	99.8
175	Coastal Carolina	99.8
176	Sam Houston St.	99.8
177	Bellarmine	99.7
178	Washington	99.7
179	South Dakota	99.6
180	Kansas St.	99.3
181	Bryant	99.0
182	Northern Kentucky	98.7
183	Valparaiso	98.7
184	La Salle	98.6
185	Wyoming	98.5
186	Montana	98.2
187	Rice	98.2
188	Evansville	98.1
189	Monmouth	98.1
190	Illinois St.	98.1
191	Saint Joseph’s	98.0
192	Southern Illinois	98.0
193	Iona	98.0
194	San Diego	98.0
195	Florida Atlantic	97.9
196	Fresno St.	97.9
197	Hawaii	97.9
198	Nicholls St.	97.8
199	Army	97.8
200	Saint Peter’s	97.7
201	Louisiana	97.6
202	Oakland	97.2
203	Wagner	97.2
204	Hartford	97.1
205	Austin Peay	97.1
206	George Washington	97.1
207	South Alabama	97.0
208	Delaware	96.9
209	UMKC	96.9
210	UNC Asheville	96.8
211	Charleston	96.7
212	UNC Wilmington	96.5
213	Milwaukee	96.5
214	Campbell	96.5
215	Loyola MD	96.5
216	Radford	96.5
217	Lipscomb	96.4
218	Utah Valley	96.3
219	UMass Lowell	96.2
220	Montana St.	96.2
221	Youngstown St.	96.2
222	Stony Brook	96.1
223	UC Davis	96.1
224	Little Rock	96.1
225	Mount St. Mary’s	96.0
226	Appalachian St.	96.0
227	Albany	96.0
228	Charlotte	95.9
229	Norfolk St.	95.9
230	UT Rio Grande Valley	95.8
231	Niagara	95.8
232	Portland St.	95.8
233	Elon	95.8
234	Western Carolina	95.7
235	Prairie View A&M	95.7
236	Canisius	95.6
237	Green Bay	95.5
238	UT Arlington	95.4
239	American	95.4
240	UC San Diego	95.4
241	Longwood	95.2
242	Lafayette	95.2
243	The Citadel	95.2
244	Cal Baptist	95.2
245	Stetson	95.1
246	Texas Southern	95.0
247	Seattle	94.9
248	Morgan St.	94.9
249	Arkansas St.	94.8
250	Southern Miss	94.7
251	Northern Colorado	94.7
252	Eastern Michigan	94.5
253	Marist	94.4
254	Boston University	94.4
255	Sacramento St.	94.2
256	Samford	94.2
257	Cal St. Fullerton	94.2
258	IUPUI	94.2
259	New Hampshire	94.0
260	Western Michigan	94.0
261	Towson	93.7
262	Bucknell	93.7
263	Southeast Missouri St.	93.6
264	Quinnipiac	93.6
265	Georgia Southern	93.4
266	High Point	93.2
267	Illinois Chicago	93.2
268	LIU	93.2
269	Merrimack	93.1
270	Florida A&M	93.1
271	Central Michigan	93.1
272	Purdue Fort Wayne	93.1
273	Idaho St.	93.0
274	Long Beach St.	92.9
275	Cal St. Northridge	92.9
276	Fordham	92.8
277	Middle Tennessee	92.8
278	Jackson St.	92.8
279	Robert Morris	92.8
280	North Carolina A&T	92.6
281	Florida Gulf Coast	92.5
282	New Mexico	92.5
283	NJIT	92.4
284	Louisiana Monroe	92.4
285	North Dakota	92.4
286	North Florida	92.3
287	Manhattan	92.3
288	Fairleigh Dickinson	92.0
289	Southern	91.9
290	Jacksonville	91.8
291	St. Francis NY	91.8
292	William & Mary	91.8
293	Holy Cross	91.8
294	Tarleton St.	91.7
295	FIU	91.7
296	St. Francis PA	91.6
297	New Orleans	91.6
298	North Carolina Central	91.5
299	Troy	91.5
300	Eastern Illinois	91.5
301	Howard	91.4
302	Western Illinois	91.4
303	Sacred Heart	91.4
304	North Alabama	91.3
305	Coppin St.	91.3
306	Tennessee Tech	91.1
307	Rider	91.0
308	Grambling St.	90.6
309	Air Force	90.6
310	Northwestern St.	90.6
311	SIU Edwardsville	90.5
312	Binghamton	90.5
313	Nebraska Omaha	90.4
314	Lamar	90.2
315	USC Upstate	90.2
316	Tennessee St.	90.2
317	Presbyterian	90.1
318	Fairfield	89.9
319	Hampton	89.7
320	San Jose St.	89.5
321	Northern Illinois	89.5
322	Incarnate Word	89.2
323	Lehigh	89.2
324	Southeastern Louisiana	88.9
325	McNeese St.	88.7
326	Northern Arizona	88.7
327	Portland	88.6
328	Central Arkansas	88.4
329	Dixie St.	88.0
330	Maine	88.0
331	Houston Baptist	87.6
332	Charleston Southern	87.6
333	Kennesaw St.	87.3
334	Cal Poly	87.2
335	Alcorn St.	87.1
336	Texas A&M Corpus Chris	87.1
337	Central Connecticut	86.9
338	Alabama A&M	86.6
339	Tennessee Martin	86.3
340	Denver	86.0
341	Arkansas Pine Bluff	83.5
342	Idaho	83.0
343	Alabama St.	82.8
344	South Carolina St.	82.6
345	Delaware St.	81.6
346	Chicago St.	80.7
347	Mississippi Valley St.	69.8

PiRate Ratings By Conference

Atlantic 10
Team	Rating
St. Bonaventure	112.1
VCU	111.0
Saint Louis	110.7
Richmond	110.5
Davidson	108.2
Dayton	106.4
Rhode Island	106.3
Massachusetts	104.7
Duquesne	103.9
George Mason	103.5
La Salle	98.6
Saint Joseph’s	98.0
George Washington	97.1
Fordham	92.8
American
Team	Rating
Houston	119.6
Memphis	111.6
SMU	110.9
Wichita St.	108.2
UCF	105.9
Cincinnati	105.6
Tulsa	104.5
Temple	103.0
East Carolina	102.2
Tulane	101.7
South Florida	101.2
Atlantic Coast
Team	Rating
Florida St.	116.5
Virginia	113.8
North Carolina	113.1
Georgia Tech	112.6
Duke	112.2
Clemson	111.3
Louisville	110.9
Virginia Tech	110.7
Syracuse	110.1
Notre Dame	108.9
N.C. State	108.5
Pittsburgh	107.3
Boston College	103.6
Miami FL	101.4
Wake Forest	100.7
America East
Team	Rating
Vermont	103.9
UMBC	100.7
Hartford	97.1
UMass Lowell	96.2
Stony Brook	96.1
Albany	96.0
New Hampshire	94.0
NJIT	92.4
Binghamton	90.5
Maine	88.0
Atlantic Sun
Team	Rating
Liberty	106.5
Bellarmine	99.7
Lipscomb	96.4
Stetson	95.1
Florida Gulf Coast	92.5
North Florida	92.3
Jacksonville	91.8
North Alabama	91.3
Kennesaw St.	87.3
Big 12
Team	Rating
Baylor	121.6
West Virginia	115.4
Kansas	115.1
Texas	114.1
Texas Tech	113.9
Oklahoma St.	112.7
Oklahoma	112.6
TCU	103.6
Iowa St.	100.7
Kansas St.	99.3
Big East
Team	Rating
Creighton	115.7
Villanova	115.3
Connecticut	112.9
Seton Hall	111.1
Xavier	110.7
St. John’s	109.1
Providence	108.5
Marquette	107.8
Georgetown	106.6
Butler	104.7
DePaul	103.2
Big Sky
Team	Rating
Eastern Washington	104.7
Weber St.	103.2
Southern Utah	100.1
Montana	98.2
Montana St.	96.2
Portland St.	95.8
Northern Colorado	94.7
Sacramento St.	94.2
Idaho St.	93.0
Northern Arizona	88.7
Idaho	83.0
Big South
Team	Rating
Winthrop	105.3
Gardner Webb	100.0
UNC Asheville	96.8
Campbell	96.5
Radford	96.5
Longwood	95.2
High Point	93.2
USC Upstate	90.2
Presbyterian	90.1
Hampton	89.7
Charleston Southern	87.6
Big Ten
Team	Rating
Michigan	122.9
Iowa	120.7
Illinois	119.4
Ohio St.	117.2
Purdue	115.2
Wisconsin	115.1
Rutgers	113.7
Maryland	113.2
Indiana	111.6
Penn St.	111.6
Minnesota	110.5
Michigan St.	109.5
Northwestern	108.6
Nebraska	105.2
Big West
Team	Rating
UC Santa Barbara	107.7
UC Riverside	105.0
UC Irvine	104.7
Cal St. Bakersfield	101.6
Hawaii	97.9
UC Davis	96.1
UC San Diego	95.4
Cal St. Fullerton	94.2
Long Beach St.	92.9
Cal St. Northridge	92.9
Cal Poly	87.2
Colonial
Team	Rating
Drexel	100.7
Northeastern	100.3
James Madison	100.1
Hofstra	99.9
Delaware	96.9
Charleston	96.7
UNC Wilmington	96.5
Elon	95.8
Towson	93.7
William & Mary	91.8
Conference USA
Team	Rating
North Texas	108.7
Marshall	108.4
Louisiana Tech	107.9
Western Kentucky	107.0
UAB	104.3
UTEP	101.8
Old Dominion	100.4
UTSA	100.3
Rice	98.2
Florida Atlantic	97.9
Charlotte	95.9
Southern Miss	94.7
Middle Tennessee	92.8
FIU	91.7
Horizon
Team	Rating
Wright St.	110.3
Detroit	101.6
Cleveland St.	101.1
Northern Kentucky	98.7
Oakland	97.2
Milwaukee	96.5
Youngstown St.	96.2
Green Bay	95.5
IUPUI	94.2
Illinois Chicago	93.2
Purdue Fort Wayne	93.1
Robert Morris	92.8
Metro Atlantic
Team	Rating
Siena	100.3
Monmouth	98.1
Iona	98.0
Saint Peter’s	97.7
Niagara	95.8
Canisius	95.6
Marist	94.4
Quinnipiac	93.6
Manhattan	92.3
Rider	91.0
Fairfield	89.9
Mid-American
Team	Rating
Toledo	110.7
Buffalo	109.0
Kent St.	106.8
Ohio	105.4
Akron	105.3
Bowling Green	104.8
Miami OH	101.2
Ball St.	101.2
Eastern Michigan	94.5
Western Michigan	94.0
Central Michigan	93.1
Northern Illinois	89.5
Mideastern Athletic
Team	Rating
Norfolk St.	95.9
Morgan St.	94.9
Florida A&M	93.1
North Carolina A&T	92.6
North Carolina Central	91.5
Howard	91.4
Coppin St.	91.3
South Carolina St.	82.6
Delaware St.	81.6
Missouri Valley
Team	Rating
Loyola Chicago	115.0
Drake	110.3
Missouri St.	106.5
Indiana St.	104.1
Bradley	102.3
Northern Iowa	100.6
Valparaiso	98.7
Evansville	98.1
Illinois St.	98.1
Southern Illinois	98.0
Mountain West
Team	Rating
San Diego St.	114.5
Utah St.	111.3
Boise St.	110.7
Colorado St.	109.3
Nevada	105.7
UNLV	100.2
Wyoming	98.5
Fresno St.	97.9
New Mexico	92.5
Air Force	90.6
San Jose St.	89.5
Northeast
Team	Rating
Bryant	99.0
Wagner	97.2
Mount St. Mary’s	96.0
LIU	93.2
Merrimack	93.1
Fairleigh Dickinson	92.0
St. Francis NY	91.8
St. Francis PA	91.6
Sacred Heart	91.4
Central Connecticut	86.9
Ohio Valley
Team	Rating
Belmont	106.9
Morehead St.	102.3
Murray St.	100.6
Jacksonville St.	100.6
Eastern Kentucky	100.3
Austin Peay	97.1
Southeast Missouri St.	93.6
Eastern Illinois	91.5
Tennessee Tech	91.1
SIU Edwardsville	90.5
Tennessee St.	90.2
Tennessee Martin	86.3
Pac-12
Team	Rating
Colorado	114.9
USC	114.5
Arizona	111.3
Oregon	111.2
UCLA	110.8
Stanford	108.8
Utah	107.1
Arizona St.	105.9
Oregon St.	105.3
Washington St.	105.2
California	100.3
Washington	99.7
Patriot
Team	Rating
Colgate	106.6
Navy	101.6
Army	97.8
Loyola MD	96.5
American	95.4
Lafayette	95.2
Boston University	94.4
Bucknell	93.7
Holy Cross	91.8
Lehigh	89.2
Southeastern
Team	Rating
Alabama	118.2
Arkansas	116.1
Tennessee	114.0
Florida	113.9
LSU	113.5
Missouri	111.0
Kentucky	110.7
Mississippi	109.7
Auburn	109.6
Mississippi St.	108.7
Georgia	106.9
South Carolina	106.6
Vanderbilt	105.7
Texas A&M	103.0
Southern
Team	Rating
Furman	106.2
UNC Greensboro	104.9
Wofford	103.3
East Tennessee St.	102.7
Mercer	101.4
VMI	101.2
Chattanooga	101.0
Western Carolina	95.7
The Citadel	95.2
Samford	94.2
Southland
Team	Rating
Abilene Christian	105.6
Stephen F. Austin	100.5
Sam Houston St.	99.8
Nicholls St.	97.8
New Orleans	91.6
Northwestern St.	90.6
Lamar	90.2
Incarnate Word	89.2
Southeastern Louisiana	88.9
McNeese St.	88.7
Central Arkansas	88.4
Houston Baptist	87.6
Texas A&M Corpus Chris	87.1
Summit
Team	Rating
South Dakota St.	104.6
North Dakota St.	101.3
Oral Roberts	100.4
South Dakota	99.6
UMKC	96.9
North Dakota	92.4
Western Illinois	91.4
Nebraska Omaha	90.4
Denver	86.0
Southwestern Athletic
Team	Rating
Prairie View A&M	95.7
Texas Southern	95.0
Jackson St.	92.8
Southern	91.9
Grambling St.	90.6
Alcorn St.	87.1
Alabama A&M	86.6
Arkansas Pine Bluff	83.5
Alabama St.	82.8
Mississippi Valley St.	69.8
Sun Belt
Team	Rating
Georgia St.	101.4
Texas St.	99.8
Coastal Carolina	99.8
Louisiana	97.6
South Alabama	97.0
Little Rock	96.1
Appalachian St.	96.0
UT Arlington	95.4
Arkansas St.	94.8
Georgia Southern	93.4
Louisiana Monroe	92.4
Troy	91.5
Western Athletic
Team	Rating
Grand Canyon	102.4
New Mexico St.	100.0
Utah Valley	96.3
UT Rio Grande Valley	95.8
Cal Baptist	95.2
Seattle	94.9
Tarleton St.	91.7
Dixie St.	88.0
Chicago St.	80.7
West Coast
Team	Rating
Gonzaga	127.5
BYU	114.4
Saint Mary’s	107.3
San Francisco	105.3
Loyola Marymount	105.2
Pepperdine	104.2
Pacific	103.8
Santa Clara	101.1
San Diego	98.0
Portland	88.6

PiRate Ratings Alphabetically

Rk	Team	Rating
100	Abilene Christian	105.6
309	Air Force	90.6
103	Akron	105.3
7	Alabama	118.2
338	Alabama A&M	86.6
343	Alabama St.	82.8
227	Albany	96.0
335	Alcorn St.	87.1
239	American	95.4
226	Appalachian St.	96.0
41	Arizona	111.3
95	Arizona St.	105.9
10	Arkansas	116.1
341	Arkansas Pine Bluff	83.5
249	Arkansas St.	94.8
199	Army	97.8
62	Auburn	109.6
205	Austin Peay	97.1
147	Ball St.	101.2
3	Baylor	121.6
177	Bellarmine	99.7
84	Belmont	106.9
312	Binghamton	90.5
52	Boise St.	110.7
125	Boston College	103.6
254	Boston University	94.4
111	Bowling Green	104.8
134	Bradley	102.3
181	Bryant	99.0
262	Bucknell	93.7
66	Buffalo	109.0
112	Butler	104.7
21	BYU	114.4
244	Cal Baptist	95.2
334	Cal Poly	87.2
141	Cal St. Bakersfield	101.6
257	Cal St. Fullerton	94.2
275	Cal St. Northridge	92.9
166	California	100.3
214	Campbell	96.5
236	Canisius	95.6
328	Central Arkansas	88.4
337	Central Connecticut	86.9
271	Central Michigan	93.1
211	Charleston	96.7
332	Charleston Southern	87.6
228	Charlotte	95.9
152	Chattanooga	101.0
346	Chicago St.	80.7
99	Cincinnati	105.6
42	Clemson	111.3
151	Cleveland St.	101.1
175	Coastal Carolina	99.8
88	Colgate	106.6
18	Colorado	114.9
64	Colorado St.	109.3
31	Connecticut	112.9
305	Coppin St.	91.3
11	Creighton	115.7
76	Davidson	108.2
92	Dayton	106.4
208	Delaware	96.9
345	Delaware St.	81.6
340	Denver	86.0
129	DePaul	103.2
139	Detroit	101.6
329	Dixie St.	88.0
59	Drake	110.3
154	Drexel	100.7
35	Duke	112.2
121	Duquesne	103.9
136	East Carolina	102.2
132	East Tennessee St.	102.7
300	Eastern Illinois	91.5
165	Eastern Kentucky	100.3
252	Eastern Michigan	94.5
115	Eastern Washington	104.7
233	Elon	95.8
188	Evansville	98.1
318	Fairfield	89.9
288	Fairleigh Dickinson	92.0
295	FIU	91.7
25	Florida	113.9
270	Florida A&M	93.1
195	Florida Atlantic	97.9
281	Florida Gulf Coast	92.5
9	Florida St.	116.5
276	Fordham	92.8
196	Fresno St.	97.9
94	Furman	106.2
171	Gardner Webb	100.0
126	George Mason	103.5
206	George Washington	97.1
89	Georgetown	106.6
85	Georgia	106.9
265	Georgia Southern	93.4
143	Georgia St.	101.4
34	Georgia Tech	112.6
1	Gonzaga	127.5
308	Grambling St.	90.6
133	Grand Canyon	102.4
237	Green Bay	95.5
319	Hampton	89.7
204	Hartford	97.1
197	Hawaii	97.9
266	High Point	93.2
173	Hofstra	99.9
293	Holy Cross	91.8
5	Houston	119.6
331	Houston Baptist	87.6
301	Howard	91.4
342	Idaho	83.0
273	Idaho St.	93.0
6	Illinois	119.4
267	Illinois Chicago	93.2
190	Illinois St.	98.1
322	Incarnate Word	89.2
37	Indiana	111.6
120	Indiana St.	104.1
193	Iona	98.0
4	Iowa	120.7
156	Iowa St.	100.7
258	IUPUI	94.2
278	Jackson St.	92.8
290	Jacksonville	91.8
159	Jacksonville St.	100.6
170	James Madison	100.1
16	Kansas	115.1
180	Kansas St.	99.3
333	Kennesaw St.	87.3
86	Kent St.	106.8
54	Kentucky	110.7
184	La Salle	98.6
242	Lafayette	95.2
314	Lamar	90.2
323	Lehigh	89.2
91	Liberty	106.5
217	Lipscomb	96.4
224	Little Rock	96.1
268	LIU	93.2
274	Long Beach St.	92.9
241	Longwood	95.2
201	Louisiana	97.6
284	Louisiana Monroe	92.4
77	Louisiana Tech	107.9
47	Louisville	110.9
17	Loyola Chicago	115.0
107	Loyola Marymount	105.2
215	Loyola MD	96.5
28	LSU	113.5
330	Maine	88.0
287	Manhattan	92.3
253	Marist	94.4
78	Marquette	107.8
74	Marshall	108.4
29	Maryland	113.2
114	Massachusetts	104.7
325	McNeese St.	88.7
39	Memphis	111.6
142	Mercer	101.4
269	Merrimack	93.1
144	Miami FL	101.4
146	Miami OH	101.2
2	Michigan	122.9
63	Michigan St.	109.5
277	Middle Tennessee	92.8
213	Milwaukee	96.5
57	Minnesota	110.5
61	Mississippi	109.7
69	Mississippi St.	108.7
347	Mississippi Valley St.	69.8
46	Missouri	111.0
90	Missouri St.	106.5
189	Monmouth	98.1
186	Montana	98.2
220	Montana St.	96.2
135	Morehead St.	102.3
248	Morgan St.	94.9
225	Mount St. Mary’s	96.0
157	Murray St.	100.6
73	N.C. State	108.5
140	Navy	101.6
108	Nebraska	105.2
313	Nebraska Omaha	90.4
97	Nevada	105.7
259	New Hampshire	94.0
282	New Mexico	92.5
172	New Mexico St.	100.0
297	New Orleans	91.6
231	Niagara	95.8
198	Nicholls St.	97.8
283	NJIT	92.4
229	Norfolk St.	95.9
304	North Alabama	91.3
30	North Carolina	113.1
280	North Carolina A&T	92.6
298	North Carolina Central	91.5
285	North Dakota	92.4
145	North Dakota St.	101.3
286	North Florida	92.3
70	North Texas	108.7
164	Northeastern	100.3
326	Northern Arizona	88.7
251	Northern Colorado	94.7
321	Northern Illinois	89.5
158	Northern Iowa	100.6
182	Northern Kentucky	98.7
71	Northwestern	108.6
310	Northwestern St.	90.6
67	Notre Dame	108.9
202	Oakland	97.2
101	Ohio	105.4
8	Ohio St.	117.2
33	Oklahoma	112.6
32	Oklahoma St.	112.7
161	Old Dominion	100.4
162	Oral Roberts	100.4
43	Oregon	111.2
105	Oregon St.	105.3
123	Pacific	103.8
38	Penn St.	111.6
119	Pepperdine	104.2
80	Pittsburgh	107.3
327	Portland	88.6
232	Portland St.	95.8
235	Prairie View A&M	95.7
317	Presbyterian	90.1
72	Providence	108.5
14	Purdue	115.2
272	Purdue Fort Wayne	93.1
264	Quinnipiac	93.6
216	Radford	96.5
93	Rhode Island	106.3
187	Rice	98.2
56	Richmond	110.5
307	Rider	91.0
279	Robert Morris	92.8
27	Rutgers	113.7
255	Sacramento St.	94.2
303	Sacred Heart	91.4
191	Saint Joseph’s	98.0
51	Saint Louis	110.7
81	Saint Mary’s	107.3
200	Saint Peter’s	97.7
176	Sam Houston St.	99.8
256	Samford	94.2
194	San Diego	98.0
20	San Diego St.	114.5
102	San Francisco	105.3
320	San Jose St.	89.5
150	Santa Clara	101.1
247	Seattle	94.9
44	Seton Hall	111.1
167	Siena	100.3
311	SIU Edwardsville	90.5
48	SMU	110.9
207	South Alabama	97.0
87	South Carolina	106.6
344	South Carolina St.	82.6
179	South Dakota	99.6
116	South Dakota St.	104.6
149	South Florida	101.2
263	Southeast Missouri St.	93.6
324	Southeastern Louisiana	88.9
289	Southern	91.9
192	Southern Illinois	98.0
250	Southern Miss	94.7
169	Southern Utah	100.1
36	St. Bonaventure	112.1
291	St. Francis NY	91.8
296	St. Francis PA	91.6
65	St. John’s	109.1
68	Stanford	108.8
160	Stephen F. Austin	100.5
245	Stetson	95.1
222	Stony Brook	96.1
60	Syracuse	110.1
294	Tarleton St.	91.7
124	TCU	103.6
131	Temple	103.0
23	Tennessee	114.0
339	Tennessee Martin	86.3
316	Tennessee St.	90.2
306	Tennessee Tech	91.1
22	Texas	114.1
130	Texas A&M	103.0
336	Texas A&M Corpus Chris	87.1
246	Texas Southern	95.0
174	Texas St.	99.8
24	Texas Tech	113.9
243	The Citadel	95.2
50	Toledo	110.7
261	Towson	93.7
299	Troy	91.5
138	Tulane	101.7
117	Tulsa	104.5
118	UAB	104.3
223	UC Davis	96.1
113	UC Irvine	104.7
109	UC Riverside	105.0
240	UC San Diego	95.4
79	UC Santa Barbara	107.7
96	UCF	105.9
49	UCLA	110.8
219	UMass Lowell	96.2
153	UMBC	100.7
209	UMKC	96.9
210	UNC Asheville	96.8
110	UNC Greensboro	104.9
212	UNC Wilmington	96.5
168	UNLV	100.2
19	USC	114.5
315	USC Upstate	90.2
238	UT Arlington	95.4
230	UT Rio Grande Valley	95.8
82	Utah	107.1
40	Utah St.	111.3
218	Utah Valley	96.3
137	UTEP	101.8
163	UTSA	100.3
183	Valparaiso	98.7
98	Vanderbilt	105.7
45	VCU	111.0
122	Vermont	103.9
13	Villanova	115.3
26	Virginia	113.8
55	Virginia Tech	110.7
148	VMI	101.2
203	Wagner	97.2
155	Wake Forest	100.7
178	Washington	99.7
106	Washington St.	105.2
128	Weber St.	103.2
12	West Virginia	115.4
234	Western Carolina	95.7
302	Western Illinois	91.4
83	Western Kentucky	107.0
260	Western Michigan	94.0
75	Wichita St.	108.2
292	William & Mary	91.8
104	Winthrop	105.3
15	Wisconsin	115.1
127	Wofford	103.3
58	Wright St.	110.3
185	Wyoming	98.5
53	Xavier	110.7
221	Youngstown St.	96.2

Coming Later Today: Our conference tournament coverage begins with a look at dates, sites, numbers of teams, and more.

Also Later Today: Our Updated Bracketology–There was a lot of movement over the weekend.

PiRate Ratings College Basketball Spreads

Wednesday, February 24, 2021

Home	Visitor	Spread
Davidson	St. Bonaventure	-1.0
George Mason	George Washington	6.5
Saint Joseph’s	Dayton	-8.8
La Salle	Duquesne	-4.3
South Florida	Temple	3.8
Memphis	Tulane	11.7
Tulsa	Cincinnati	1.2
Wake Forest	Clemson	-6.0
Virginia	NC St.	8.7
Miami (Fla.)	Florida St.	-12.5
North Carolina	Marquette	8.9
Butler	Seton Hall	-6.7
Creighton	DePaul	13.6
Providence	Xavier	-0.8
Southern Utah	Northern Arizona	11.8
Longwood	Hampton	8.8
Rutgers	Indiana	3.1
Ball St.	Kent St.	-4.6
UNC Central	North Carolina A&T	2.8
Norfolk St	Delaware St.	14.2
Air Force	New Mexico	0.1
UNLV	Fresno St.	5.8
Boston University	Holy Cross	5.4
Loyola (MD)	American	3.6
Mississippi St.	South Carolina	3.5
Arkansas	Alabama	-2.0
Vanderbilt	Tennessee	-6.8
Furman	The Citadel	12.8
Mercer	Chattanooga	2.5
UNCG	Western Carolina	11.9
Northwestern St.	Stephen F. Austin	-7.4
SE Louisiana	McNeese	4.2
Texas A&M-CC	New Orleans	-0.4
Nicholls	Houston Baptist	10.5
Incarnate Word	Lamar	4.5
Abilene Christian	Sam Houston St.	8.1
Southern	Alabama A&M	6.4
Alcorn St.	Alabama St.	5.7

PiRate Ratings College Basketball Spreads

Sunday, February 21, 2021

Home	Visitor	Spread
George Washington	Rhode Island	-8.7
St. Bonaventure	Davidson	4.1
Houston	Cincinnati	13.0
Temple	South Florida	1.1
Xavier	Butler	9.1
Ohio St.	Michigan	0.7
Rutgers	Maryland	0.1
Iowa	Penn St.	11.0
Northwestern	Wisconsin	-3.8
Drake	Evansville	15.7
Southern Illinois	Valparaiso	0.3
San Jose St.	UNLV	-9.2
Wagner	St. Francis (Pa)	6.6
Colgate	Boston U	14.1
American	Navy	-3.0

Note: Big Announcement Coming Later Today!

PiRate Ratings College Basketball For March 12, 2020

Thursday’s Games

 

Home	Visitor	Spread
Massachusetts	VCU	-8.1
St. Bonaventure	George Mason	2.6
Davidson	La Salle	8.4
Duquesne	Fordham	10.5
Central Florida	South Florida	0.1
Connecticut	Tulane	9.7
SMU	Temple	1.5
Memphis	East Carolina	12.4
Florida St.	Clemson	7.1
Duke	North Carolina St.	9.5
Virginia	Notre Dame	1.2
Louisville	Syracuse	6.7
Texas	Texas Tech	-5.5
Kansas	Oklahoma St.	12.0
Baylor	Kansas St.	11.1
Oklahoma	West Virginia	-3.6
Creighton	St. John’s	5.3
Providence	Butler	-1.8
Villanova	DePaul	8.9
Seton Hall	Marquette	1.4
Eastern Washington	Sacramento St.	4.3
Portland St.	Montana St.	2.9
Northern Colorado	Southern Utah	5.3
Montana	Idaho St.	8.9
Rutgers	Michigan	-2.1
Iowa	Minnesota	1.1
Ohio St.	Purdue	2.8
Penn St.	Indiana	1.1
Cal St. Northridge	Cal St. Fullerton	1.2
UC Santa Barbara	UC Riverside	3.0
UC Irvine	Long Beach St.	12.1
Hawaii	UC Davis	1.2
North Texas	Florida Atlantic	7.9
Charlotte	Florida Intl.	-0.6
Western Kentucky	UAB	5.2
Louisiana Tech	Marshall	5.6
Rider	Niagara	7.4
Monmouth	Quinnipiac	3.3
Akron	Ohio	6.6
Northern Illinois	Miami (O)	3.1
Bowling Green	Toledo	-1.4
Ball St.	Kent St.	0.8
Bethune-Cookman	Morgan St.	2.4
Norfolk St.	Coppin St.	6.3
Oregon	Oregon St.	7.3
USC	Arizona	-5.8
UCLA	California	6.8
Arizona St.	Washington St.	6.4
Tennessee	Alabama	-1.1
Florida	Georgia	6.8
Texas A&M	Missouri	-2.7
South Carolina	Arkansas	-2.4
Sam Houston St.	Northwestern St.	5.4
Nicholls St.	Lamar	3.9
New Mexico St.	Chicago St.	29.3
Grand Canyon	UMKC	-1.9
UT Rio Grande Valley	Cal St. Bakersfield	0.3
Seattle	Utah Valley	3.1

 

Today’s TV Schedule

 

Time (EST)	Network	Team	Team
12:00 PM	FS1	Creighton	St. John’s
12:00 PM	NBCSN	Massachusetts	VCU
12:00 PM	BTN	Rutgers	Michigan
12:00 PM	ESPN+	Akron	Ohio
12:30 PM	ESPN	Florida St.	Clemson
12:30 PM	ESPN2	Texas	Texas Tech
1:00 PM	ESPNU	Central Florida	South Florida
1:00 PM	SECN	Tennessee	Alabama
2:00 PM	watchbigsky.com	Eastern Washington	Sacramento State
2:25 PM	BTN	Iowa	Minnesota
2:30 PM	ESPN2	Kansas	Oklahoma State
2:30 PM	ESPN	Duke	NC State
2:30 PM	FS1	Providence	Butler
2:30 PM	NBCSN	St. Bonaventure	George Mason
2:30 PM	ESPN+	Northern Illinois	Miami (O)
3:00 PM	PAC12	Oregon	Oregon St.
3:00 PM	ESPNU	Connecticut	Tulane
3:00 PM	ESPN+	New Mexico St.	Chicago St.
3:00 PM	ESPN3	Cal St. Northridge	Cal St. Fullerton
3:00 PM	SECN	Florida	Georgia
4:30 PM	watchbigsky.com	Portland St.	Montana St.
5:30 PM	ESPN3	UC Santa Barbara	UC Riverside
5:30 PM	ESPN+	Grand Canyon	UMKC
5:30 PM	PAC12	USC	Arizona
6:00 PM	ESPN+	Sam Houston St.	Northwestern St.
6:00 PM	Flohoops pay	Bethune-Cookman	Morgan St.
6:00 PM	NBCSN	Davidson	La Salle
6:30 PM	BTN	Ohio St.	Purdue
6:30 PM	ESPN+	Bowling Green	Toledo
7:00 PM	ESPN2	Baylor	Kansas St.
7:00 PM	FS1	Villanova	DePaul
7:00 PM	ESPN	Virginia	Notre Dame
7:00 PM	SECN	Texas A&M	Missouri
7:00 PM	ESPN3	Rider	Niagara
7:00 PM	Stadium	North Texas	Florida Atlantic
7:30 PM	Facebook	Charlotte	Florida Intl.
7:30 PM	watchbigsky.com	Northern Colorado	Southern Utah
8:00 PM	ESPNU	SMU	Temple
8:30 PM	ESPN+	Nicholls	Lamar
8:30 PM	NBCSN	Duquesne	Fordham
8:30 PM	Flohoops pay	Norfolk St.	Coppin St.
8:55 PM	BTN	Penn St.	Indiana
9:00 PM	ESPN	Louisville	Syracuse
9:00 PM	ESPN2	Oklahoma	West Virginia
9:00 PM	ESPN+	UT Rio Grande Valley	Cal St. Bakersfield
9:00 PM	ESPN3	UC Irvine	Long Beach St.
9:00 PM	SECN	South Carolina	Arkansas
9:00 PM	ESPN+	Ball St.	Kent St.
9:00 PM	PAC12	UCLA	California
9:30 PM	FS1	Seton Hall	Marquette
9:30 PM	ESPN3	Monmouth	Quinnipiac
9:30 PM	Stadium	Western Kentucky	UAB
10:00 PM	watchbigsky.com	Montana	Idaho St.
10:00 PM	Facebook	Louisiana Tech	Marshall
10:00 PM	ESPNU	Memphis	East Carolina
11:30 PM	FS1	Arizona St.	Washington St.
11:30 PM	ESPN3	Hawaii	UC Davis
11:30 PM	ESPN+	Seattle	Utah Valley

 

CONFERENCE TOURNAMENTS UPDATE

 

Yesterday’s Championship Game

 

Patriot League Tournament
Championship
Winner	Score	Loser	Score
Boston U	64	Colgate	61

 

Yesterday’s Other Results

 

Atlantic 10 Tournament
1st Round
Winner	Score	Loser	Score
George Mason	77	Saint Joseph’s	70
Fordham	72	George Washington	52

 

 

Atlantic Coast Tournament
2nd Round
Winner	Score	Loser	Score
Clemson	69	Miami (Fla.)	64
North Carolina St.	73	Pittsburgh	58
Notre Dame	80	Boston College	58
Syracuse	81	North Carolina	53

 

 

Big 12 Tournament
1st Round
Winner	Score	Loser	Score
Oklahoma St.	72	Iowa St.	71
Kansas St.	53	TCU	49

 

 

Big East Tournament
1st Round
Winner	Score	Loser	Score
St. John’s	75	Georgetown	62
DePaul	71	Xavier	67

 

 

Big Sky Tournament
1st Round
Winner	Score	Loser	Score
Sacramento St.	62	Weber St.	54
Southern Utah	75	Idaho	69
Idaho St.	64	Northern Arizona	62

 

 

Big Ten Tournament
1st Round
Winner	Score	Loser	Score
Minnesota	74	Northwestern	57
Indiana	89	Nebraska	64

 

 

Conference USA Tournament
1st Round
Winner	Score	Loser	Score
Florida Atlantic	66	Old Dominion	56
Florida Intl.	85	Rice	76
UAB	74	UTSA	69
Marshall	86	UTEP	78

 

 

Metro Atlantic Athletic Tournament
Quarterfinals
Winner	Score	Loser	Score
Siena	63	Manhattan	49
St. Peter’s	56	Iona	54

 

 

Mid-Eastern Athletic Tournament
Quarterfinals
Winner	Score	Loser	Score
North Carolina Central	92	Delaware St.	75
North Carolina A&T	86	Howard	77

 

 

Pac-12 Tournament
1st Round
Winner	Score	Loser	Score
Oregon St.	71	Utah	69
Arizona	77	Washington	70
California	63	Stanford	51
Washington St.	82	Colorado	68

 

 

Southeastern Tournament
1st Round
Winner	Score	Loser	Score
Georgia	81	Ole Miss	63
Arkansas	86	Vanderbilt	73

 

 

Southland Tournament
1st Round
Winner	Score	Loser	Score
Northwestern St.	79	Texas A&M-CC	62
Lamar	80	McNeese St.	59

 

 

Sun Belt Tournament
Quarterfinals
Winner	Score	Loser	Score
Georgia Southern	81	Georgia St.	62
Texas St.	85	Appalachian St.	68

 

 

Today’s Schedule

 

American Athletic Tournament
1st Round	March 12	Forth Worth, TX (Dickies Arena)
Team	Team	Time (ET)	TV
8 Central Florida (16-14)	9 South Florida (14-17)	1:00 PM	ESPNU
5 Connecticut (19-12)	12 Tulane (12-18)	3:00 PM	ESPNU
7 SMU (19-11)	10 Temple (14-17)	8:00 PM	ESPNU
6 Memphis (21-10)	11 East Carolina (11-20)	10:00 PM	ESPNU

 

 

Atlantic 10 Tournament
2nd Round	March 12	Brooklyn (Barclays Center)
Team	Team	Time (ET)	TV
8 Massachusetts (14-17)	9 VCU (18-13)	12:00 PM	NBCSN
5 St. Bonaventure (19-12)	12 George Mason (17-15)	2:30 PM	NBCSN
7 Davidson (16-14)	10 La Salle (15-15)	6:00 PM	NBCSN
6 Duquesne (21-9)	14 Fordham (9-22)	8:30 PM	NBCSN

 

 

Atlantic Coast Tournament
Quarterfinals	March 12	Greensboro, NC (Greensboro Coliseum)
Team	Team	Time (ET)	TV
1 Florida St. (26-5)	8 Clemson (16-15)	12:30 PM	ESPN
4 Duke (25-6)	5 North Carolina St. (20-12)	2:30 PM	ESPN
2 Virginia (23-7)	7 Notre Dame (20-12)	7:00 PM	ESPN
3 Louisville (24-7)	6 Syracuse (18-14)	9:00 PM	ESPN

 

 

Big 12 Tournament
Quarterfinals	March 12	Kansas City (Sprint Center)
Team	Team	Time (ET)	TV
4 Texas (19-12)	5 Texas Tech (18-13)	12:30 PM	ESPN2
1 Kansas (28-3)	8 Oklahoma St. (18-14)	2:30 PM	ESPN2
2 Baylor (26-4)	10 Kansas St. (11-21)	7:00 PM	ESPN2
3 Oklahoma (19-12)	6 West Virginia (21-10)	9:00 PM	ESPN2

 

 

Big East Tournament
Quarterfinals	March 12	New York (Madison Square Garden)
Team	Team	Time (ET)	TV
1 Creighton (24-7)	9 St. John’s (17-15)	12:00 PM	FS1
4 Providence (19-12)	5 Butler (22-9)	2:30 PM	FS1
2 Villanova (24-7)	10 DePaul (16-16)	7:00 PM	FS1
3 Seton Hall (21-9)	6 Marquette (18-12)	9:00 PM	FS1

 

Big Sky Tournament
Quarterfinals	March 12	Boise, ID (Century Link Arena)
Team	Team	Time (ET)	TV
1 Eastern Washington (23-8)	9 Sacramento St. (16-14)	2:00 PM	watchbigsky.com
4 Portland St. (18-14)	5 Montana St. (16-15)	4:30 PM	watchbigsky.com
2 Northern Colorado (22-9)	7 Southern Utah (17-15)	7:30 PM	watchbigsky.com
3 Montana (18-13)	11 Idaho St. (8-22)	10:00 PM	watchbigsky.com

 

 

Big Ten Tournament
2nd Round	March 12	Indianapolis (Bankers Life Fieldhouse)
Team	Team	Time (ET)	TV
8 Rutgers (20-11)	9 Michigan (19-12)	12:00 PM	Big Ten Network
5 Iowa (20-11)	12 Minnesota (15-16)	2:30 PM	Big Ten Network
7 Ohio St. (21-10)	10 Purdue (16-15)	6:30 PM	Big Ten Network
6 Penn St. (21-10)	11 Indiana (20-12)	9:00 PM	Big Ten Network

 

 

Big West Tournament
Quarterfinals	March 12	Anaheim, CA (Honda Center)
Team	Team	Time (ET)	TV
2 Cal St. Northridge (15-17)	7 Cal St. Fullerton (11-20)	3:00 PM	ESPN3
3 UC Santa Barbara (21-10)	6 UC Riverside (17-15)	5:30 PM	ESPN3
1 UC Irvine (21-11)	8 Long Beach St. (11-21)	9:00 PM	ESPN3
4 Hawaii (17-13)	5 UC Davis (14-18)	11:30 PM	ESPN3

 

Conference USA Tournament
Quarterfinals	March 12	Frisco, TX (Ford Center)
Team	Team	Time (ET)	TV
1 North Texas (20-11)	9 Florida Atlantic (17-15)	7:00 PM Court A	Stadium
4 Charlotte (16-13)	5 Florida Intl. (19-13)	7:30 PM Court B	Facebook
2 Western Kentucky (20-10)	7 UAB (19-13)	9:30 PM Court A	Stadium
3 Louisiana Tech (22-8)	6 Marshall (17-15)	10:00 PM Court B	Facebook

 

 

Metro Atlantic Athletic Tournament
Quarterfinals	March 12	Atlantic City, NJ (Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall)
Team	Team	Time (ET)	TV
3 Rider (18-12)	6 Niagara (12-20)	7:00 PM	ESPN3
4 Monmouth (18-13)	5 Quinnipiac (15-15)	9:30 PM	ESPN3

 

 

Mid-American Tournament (MACtion)
Quarterfinals	March 12	Cleveland (Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse)
Team	Team	Time (ET)	TV
1 Akron (24-7)	8 Ohio U (17-15)	12:00 PM	ESPN+
4 Northern Illinois (18-13)	12 Miami (O) (13-19)	2:30 PM	ESPN+
2 Bowling Green (21-10)	7 Toledo (17-15)	6:30 PM	ESPN+
3 Ball St. (18-13)	6 Kent St. (20-12)	9:00 PM	ESPN+

 

 

Mid-Eastern Athletic Tournament
Quarterfinals	March 12	Norfolk, VA (Scope Arena)
Team	Team	Time (ET)	TV
4 Bethune-Cookman (16-14)	5 Morgan St. (15-16)	6:00 PM	Flohoops (pay)
3 Norfolk St. (16-15)	6 Coppin St. (11-20)	8:00 PM	Flohoops (pay)

 

 

Pac-12 Tournament
Quarterfinals	March 12	Las Vegas (T-Mobile Arena)
Team	Team	Time (ET)	TV
1 Oregon (24-7)	8 Oregon St. (18-13)	3:00 PM	Pac-12 Network
4 USC (22-9)	5 Arizona (21-11)	5:30 PM	Pac-12 Network
2 UCLA (19-12)	10 California (14-18)	9:00 PM	Pac-12 Network
3 Arizona St. (20-11)	11 Washington St. (16-16)	11:30 PM	FS1

 

 

Southeastern Tournament
2nd Round	March 12	Nashville (Bridgestone Arena)
Team	Team	Time (ET)	TV
8 Tennessee (17-14)	9 Alabama (16-15)	1:00 PM	SEC Network
5 Florida (19-12)	13 Georgia (16-16)	3:30 PM	SEC Network
7 Texas A&M (16-14)	10 Missouri (15-16)	7:00 PM	SEC Network
6 South Carolina (18-13)	11 Arkansas (20-12)	9:30 PM	SEC Network

 

 

Southland Tournament
2nd Round	March 12	Katy, TX (Leonard E. Merrell Center)
Team	Team	Time (ET)	TV
4 Sam Houston St. (18-13)	5 Northwestern St. (15-15)	6:00 PM	ESPN+
3 Nicholls St. (21-10)	6 Lamar (17-15)	8:30 PM	ESPN+

 

 

Western Athletic Tournament
Quarterfinals	March 12	Las Vegas (Orleans Arena)
Team	Team	Time (ET)	TV
1 New Mexico St. (25-6)	8 Chicago St. (4-25)	3:00 PM	ESPN+
4 Grand Canyon (12-17)	5 Seattle (14-15)	5:30 PM	ESPN+
2 UT Rio Grande Valley (14-16)	7 Utah Valley (11-19)	9:00 PM	ESPN+
3 Kansas City (16-14)	6 Cal St. Bakersfield (12-18)	11:30 PM	ESPN+

 

 

 

PiRate Ratings College Basketball For March 3, 2020

Tuesday’s Games

 

Home	Visitor	Spread
Abilene Christian	Stephen F. Austin	-1.9
Akron	Ohio	10.0
Alabama	Vanderbilt	14.4
Ball St.	Central Michigan	8.0
Boston College	Syracuse	-4.5
Bucknell	Holy Cross	13.0
Buffalo	Miami (O)	8.3
Charleston Southern	Presbyterian	4.9
DePaul	Marquette	-3.7
Georgia Southern	Arkansas St.	8.4
Georgia St.	Little Rock	4.3
Hartford	Maine	7.6
Illinois Chicago	IUPUI	10.5
Iowa	Purdue	4.7
Iowa St.	West Virginia	-3.8
Kent St.	Bowling Green	4.8
Kentucky	Tennessee	8.8
Lehigh	Loyola (MD)	1.3
Liberty	NJIT	17.5
Lipscomb	Florida Gulf Coast	6.5
Louisiana	Coastal Carolina	-0.6
New Hampshire	UMass Lowell	4.8
North Carolina	Wake Forest	5.5
North Florida	Jacksonville	9.0
Northern Illinois	Toledo	0.8
Oakland	Cleveland St.	7.4
Oklahoma	Texas	6.1
Penn St.	Michigan St.	-0.4
Richmond	Davidson	4.4
Rutgers	Maryland	0.3
South Alabama	Texas St.	-1.5
South Carolina	Mississippi St.	2.0
South Carolina Upstate	High Point	5.2
South Florida	Cincinnati	-3.3
Stetson	North Alabama	1.7
Troy	UT Arlington	-6.8
UL Monroe	Appalachian St.	-2.1
UMBC	Stony Brook	-3.4
UNC Asheville	Campbell	0.6
VCU	Duquesne	6.8
Vermont	Albany	16.8
Western Michigan	Eastern Michigan	-0.8
Youngstown St.	Milwaukee	5.1

 

Key TV Games On Tuesday

 

Time (EST)	Network	Home	Visitor
6:30 PM	SECN	South Carolina	Mississippi St.
7:00 PM	BTN	Rutgers	Maryland
7:00 PM	ESPN	Penn St.	Michigan St.
9:00 PM	ESPN	Kentucky	Tennessee
9:00 PM	BTN	Iowa	Purdue
9:00 PM	ESPN2	Oklahoma	Texas

 

Conference Tournament Schedule For Tuesday

 

Atlantic Sun Tournament
Quarterfinals	March 3	at Higher Seed’s Home Court
Home	Visitor	Time (ET)	TV
1 Liberty (27-4)	8 NJIT (9-20)	7:00 PM	ESPN+
4 Stetson (15-16)	5 North Alabama (13-16)	7:00 PM	ESPN+
3 Lipscomb (14-15)	6 Florida Gulf Coast (10-21)	7:00 PM	ESPN+
2 North Florida (20-11)	7 Jacksonville (14-17)	7:00 PM	ESPN+

 

 

 

Big South Tournament
1st Round	March 3	at Higher Seed’s Home Court
Home	Visitor	Time (ET)	TV
7 USC Upstate (12-19)	10 High Point (9-22)	7:00 PM	ESPN3
6 UNC-Asheville (14-15)	11 Campbell (15-15)	7:00 PM	ESPN3
8 Charleston Sou. (13-17)	9 Presbyterian (10-21)	7:00 PM	ESPN3

 

 

Horizon League Tournament
1st Round	March 3	at Higher Seed’s Home Court
Home	Visitor	Time (ET)	TV
4 Illinois Chicago (14-17)	9 IUPUI (7-24)	8:00 PM	ESPN+
5 Youngstown (17-14)	8 Milwaukee (12-18)	7:00 PM	ESPN+
6 Oakland (13-18)	7 Cleveland St. (11-20)	7:00 PM	ESPN+

 

 

Patriot League Tournament
1st Round	March 3	at Higher Seed’s Home Court
Home	Visitor	Time (ET)	TV
7 Bucknell (12-19)	10 Holy Cross (3-28)	7:00 PM	Pat League Network
8 Lehigh (10-20)	9 Loyola (MD) (15-16)	7:00 PM	Pat League Network

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PiRate Ratings College Basketball For February 26, 2020

Wednesday’s Games

 

Home	Visitor	Spread
Abilene Christian	Sam Houston St.	3.8
Air Force	New Mexico	-1.4
American	Lafayette	2.6
Arkansas	Tennessee	5.5
Army	Holy Cross	11.7
Boston College	Notre Dame	-5.1
Bucknell	Colgate	-4.8
California Baptist	Utah Valley	7.7
Citadel	Mercer	-6.0
Connecticut	Central Florida	8.3
Florida	LSU	3.4
Fordham	Rhode Island	-12.8
George Washington	Richmond	-8.7
Houston Baptist	Nicholls	-8.9
Illinois St.	Bradley	-3.8
Lamar	Incarnate Word	12.9
Lehigh	Boston U	-6.0
Long Beach St.	Cal St. Northridge	0.7
Louisiana	Arkansas St.	2.0
Maine	New Hampshire	-2.8
Manhattan	Marist	6.3
Marquette	Georgetown	7.2
Massachusetts	VCU	-6.8
McNeese	Southeast Louisiana	10.0
Minnesota	Maryland	-0.2
Navy	Loyola (MD)	3.4
New Orleans	Texas A&M-CC	2.0
Northern Iowa	Evansville	18.4
Omaha	North Dakota	4.6
Penn St.	Rutgers	6.3
Pittsburgh	Syracuse	0.4
Purdue Fort Wayne	Denver	6.2
Quinnipiac	Siena	-2.8
Saint Louis	Saint Joseph’s	14.3
South Carolina	Georgia	5.8
South Florida	East Carolina	8.6
Southern Illinois	Indiana St.	0.4
St. Bonaventure	Duquesne	1.4
Stanford	Utah	9.6
Stephen F. Austin	Northwestern St.	15.6
Stony Brook	Hartford	9.7
UMass Lowell	Albany	1.9
UMBC	Binghamton	10.0
UNC Greensboro	Furman	4.0
UNLV	Boise St.	0.5
Vanderbilt	Missouri	-1.5
Villanova	St. John’s	10.4
Virginia Tech	Virginia	-0.3
VMI	Chattanooga	-2.9
Western Carolina	Samford	11.4
Wofford	East Tennessee St.	-4.0

 

Key TV Games on Wednesday Night

 

Time (EST)	Network	Home	Visitor
7:00 PM	BTN	Penn St.	Rutgers
7:00 PM	ESPN+	UNC Greensboro	Furman
8:30 PM	FS1	Marquette	Georgetown
8:30 PM	SECN	Arkansas	Tennessee
9:00 PM	BTN	Minnesota	Maryland
9:00 PM	ESPN2	Florida	LSU
10:00 PM	Pac12	Stanford	Utah

 

 

 

 

 

 

PiRate Ratings College Basketball For February 23, 2020

Sunday’s Games

 

Home	Visitor	Spread
Boise St.	New Mexico	7.8
Boston University	American	6.9
Bryant	Sacred Heart	0.1
Cincinnati	Wichita St.	2.8
Colgate	Holy Cross	19.5
Connecticut	South Florida	8.0
Creighton	Butler	5.4
Detroit	Milwaukee	0.8
East Carolina	Temple	-4.5
Evansville	Indiana St.	-6.6
Fairfield	Siena	-3.3
Fairleigh Dickinson	Robert Morris	-1.3
Indiana	Penn St.	-0.4
Lafayette	Loyola (MD)	14.5
Lehigh	Bucknell	-1.1
Manhattan	Canisius	3.4
Marist	Niagara	1.8
Monmouth	Quinnipiac	6.4
Mount St. Mary’s	Merrimack	-0.5
Northern Iowa	Southern Illinois	11.6
Northwestern	Minnesota	-4.8
Notre Dame	Miami (Fla.)	6.9
Oakland	Green Bay	2.7
Ohio St.	Maryland	2.9
Saint Peter’s	Rider	1.7
Seton Hall	St. John’s	10.2
South Dakota St.	South Dakota	6.4
St. Francis (NY)	Wagner	6.7
St. Francis (PA)	Long Island	7.9
Utah	USC	-2.1
Washington St.	Stanford	-4.1
Wisconsin	Rutgers	3.7

 

Sunday’s Key TV Games

 

Time (EST)	Network	Home	Visitor
12:00 PM	FS1	Indiana	Penn St.
1:00 PM	ESPN	Cincinnati	Wichita St.
1:00 PM	BTN	Wisconsin	Rutgers
2:00 PM	ESPN3	Saint Peter’s	Rider
2:00 PM	ESPNU	Northern Iowa	Southern Illinois
3:00 PM	ESPN+	South Dakota St.	South Dakota
4:00 PM	CBS	Ohio St.	Maryland
4:00 PM	FS1	Creighton	Butler

 

 

 

 

PiRate Ratings College Basketball For February 12, 2020

Wednesday’s Games

 

Home	Visitor	Spread
Abilene Christian	Houston Baptist	16.6
American	Loyola (MD)	6.2
Army	Lafayette	-1.8
Auburn	Alabama	5.6
Binghamton	Stony Brook	-10.6
Bradley	Indiana St.	2.9
Butler	Xavier	6.3
Central Arkansas	New Orleans	4.7
Chattanooga	VMI	9.1
East Tennessee St.	Citadel	21.9
Evansville	Loyola (Chi)	-8.6
Georgia	South Carolina	2.6
Georgia Tech	Louisville	-5.6
Hartford	Albany	1.5
Hawaii	Long Beach St.	11.8
La Salle	Richmond	-4.7
Lehigh	Holy Cross	7.4
Miami (Fla.)	Boston College	5.4
Missouri St.	Drake	2.2
Navy	Bucknell	4.3
Niagara	Canisius	-0.8
Nicholls	Lamar	8.2
Northern Iowa	Illinois St.	16.1
Northwestern	Michigan	-6.3
Northwestern St.	Incarnate Word	9.5
Ohio St.	Rutgers	6.5
Oklahoma	Iowa St.	5.6
Oral Roberts	Omaha	7.4
Pittsburgh	Clemson	4.4
Samford	Furman	-12.4
San Jose St.	Fresno St.	-6.5
Seton Hall	Creighton	6.0
SMU	Connecticut	2.5
South Dakota	Western Illinois	14.2
South Florida	Houston	-6.6
Southeast Louisiana	Sam Houston St.	-9.8
St. John’s	Providence	1.8
Texas A&M	Florida	-5.6
Texas A&M-CC	Stephen F. Austin	-7.8
Tulane	Temple	-3.8
Tulsa	East Carolina	12.3
UAB	Middle Tennessee	8.2
UC Riverside	UC Irvine	-3.9
UMass Lowell	Maine	6.8
UNC Greensboro	Western Carolina	10.3
UNLV	Nevada	-1.3
Valparaiso	Southern Illinois	2.7
VCU	George Mason	14.4
Vermont	New Hampshire	15.7
Villanova	Marquette	2.8
West Virginia	Kansas	-0.9
Wofford	Mercer	8.3

 

Wednesday’s Top TV Games

Time (EST)	Network	Home	Visitor
6:30 PM	FS1	Seton Hall	Creighton
6:30 PM	CBSSN	Butler	Xavier
7:00 PM	ESPN+	West Virginia	Kansas
7:00 PM	BTN	Ohio St.	Rutgers
8:30 PM	FS1	Villanova	Marquette

 

The 25-Teams Could Win The NCAA Championship Myth

 

If you view a national basketball telecast this year, the so-called experts announcing the games repeatedly say that this season is different because there are no overly dominating teams in college basketball.  These scribes say that 25 different teams could be good enough to win the national championship.  Some even say that 40 different teams are talented enough to make the Final Four.

We at the PiRate Ratings tend to be contrarian in nature.  We just don’t buy these theories of parity.  Certainly, none of the teams in this year’s Top 10 appear to be as talented and dominant as any of the Top 10 teams of the past decade.  However, none of the teams outside of the Top 10 appear to be as talented as their counterparts of the past decade.

We do not see the parity that others see, and the analytics when compared on a one season basis, actually tell us that fewer than 10 teams this season have statistical resumes worthy of contending for a national championship.

If you have been reading our chicken scratch long enough, you obviously know that we value certain data when predicting the outcomes of college basketball games past the Ides of March.  We have looked at reams and reams of data dating back to the years where statistics were kept on these games and have identified consistencies in the champions that other teams could not match.

Namely, the ability to rebound the basketball on the offensive end and get extra shooting chances appears to be much more valuable in the Big Dance than it is in the regular season, because so many of the tournament teams are in the top group of defensive teams.  Additionally, being able to protect the ball and limit turnovers has become more and more important in the 21st Century, because the age of pressing full court for 40 minutes and then relying on fast breaks off these turnovers just doesn’t happen like it used to work when UCLA ran its incredible 2-2-1 press and Rick Pitino used his matchup press defense at Kentucky.  So many of the top teams have little to no problem defeating the press defense and exploiting it for points that this strategy has become a non-factor most of the time.

Teams with excellent offensive efficiency, very good defensive efficiency, an ability to hold onto the ball, and a highly-ranked offensive rebounding rate rise above the rest when there are just 68 teams remaining in contention for the title.  Additionally, teams that lack this ability to rebound on the offensive end or limit turnovers have been vulnerable to early round upsets, as was seen multiple times with teams like Georgetown and Vanderbilt in the past decade, two notorious teams that were excellent offensive efficiency teams, very good defensive efficiency teams, but lousy offensive rebounding teams with no turnover margin advantage.

When you combine the teams that possess excellent offensive efficiency, very good defensive efficiency, strong rebounding ability with decent turnover prevention, and then said team has played a schedule that ranks in the top 35% of college basketball (basically a Power Conference), these are the teams that have National Championship Resumes.

By now, we hope you are wondering how many teams currently fit this National Championship footprint?  How many have excellent offensive efficiency, very good defensive efficiency, highly-ranked offensive rebounding ability, and a good rate of taking care of the rock?

The answer is far from the 25 to 40 teams that the hardwood pundits claim.  As of Wednesday, February 12, there are only 3 teams that possess these national championship worthy resumes.

Those three teams are: Duke, Gonzaga, and San Diego State.  Gonzaga and San Diego State just barely qualify on the basis of schedule strength, and unfortunately for the Aztecs in the Mountain West Conference, their remaining schedule might lower their overall schedule strength to remove SDSU from this list.

Because the West Coast Conference is abnormally stronger this season, Gonzaga still has enough games against opponents that will maintain the Bulldogs’ schedule strength above the line needed to qualify.

So, the next time you hear that this could be the year that somebody like Penn State or Rutgers makes an unexpected run to the national title, or that this is the year the Pac-12 returns to prominence with Oregon or Arizona winning it all, refer them to this data that says this is not so.  For now, we would tend to believe that Duke and Gonzaga are runaway top contenders.  We aren’t saying that somebody else might get hot and move into the field of legitimate contenders, since there is a month to go until Selection Sunday, but when somebody says that 25 teams today are good enough to win the title, laugh at the statement and educate them in the analytics of long historical importance.

Let’s take a look at the supposed biggest dark horse national champion in the last 60 years.  The infamous 1966 Texas Western Miners (UTEP today) pulled off the monumental upset over the mighty Kentucky Wildcats.  Was Texas Western a use anomaly that year?  Did they come from out of nowhere to upset the trends and blow this theory apart?

Quite the opposite.  The issue that year wasn’t the mathematics; it was the publicity.  Texas Western was no dark horse.  Let’s take a look at the stats available to us.

First, let’s start with the obvious.  What was the Miners strength of schedule?  They were an independent in 1966, which in those days was the largest group of all.  There were close to 50 Division I Independents then, and they included some of the top teams in the nation like former National Champion Loyola of Chicago, future National Runner-up Dayton, Providence, Houston, and Syracuse.

Texas Western finished the regular season with a 23-1 record and were ranked #3 in the polls.  When has the #3-ranked team ever been considered a dark horse or surprise team?  Just because the Nabobs of the Eastern Elite Media didn’t dub the Miners with their accolades, it did not make the Miners a dark horse.

The Miners played one Top 10 team in the regular season.  They slaughtered Iowa by 18 points.  They beat a host of above average teams by well above average margins and blew out the rest of the teams on their schedule until the final game.   They lost by two at Seattle, when the Chieftains were still a strong program and just seven years removed from appearing in the National Championship Game.

The issue with the established press is that all these TW wins came against teams west of the Mississippi River.  The media didn’t realize that the Miners had outrebounded their opponents by an average of 51.5 to 36.2 in their 24 regular season games.  They didn’t know that the Miners had one of the toughest defenses in the nation, limiting opponents to an estimated 79 points per 100 possessions (not exact because offensive rebounds and turnovers were not official stats then),  They didn’t see that the Miners were quite efficient for the day with an estimated 99 points per 100 possessions.  Remember that there was no three-point line then, and anything over 85 points per 100 possessions was above average.  That Texas Western team also took good care of the ball.  They had exceptional ball handlers in Bobby Joe Hill, Willie Worsley, and Orsten Artis.

Texas Western began tournament play with an easy 15-point victory over Oklahoma City, holding the Chiefs 25 points under their average of nearly 100 points per game.  The Miners dominated on the glass and proved to be much too quick for the Chiefs, fouling out four of OKC’s starters.

In the second round, TW had to go to overtime to beat the favored Cincinnati Bearcats.  Cincinnati actually controlled the boards, but the Miners won with steals and not turning the ball over.  It was the only game where the other team won the rebounding war, but the difference in turnovers was huge.

In the Midwest Regional Final, Texas Western faced a favored Kansas team that featured all-American center Walt Wesley and 1st team all-Big 8 guard Jo Jo White.  The press basically advanced the Jayhawks to the Final Four before this game began, but the Miners proved to be too quick for the slower KU team.  TW won the rebounding and turnover battle, and Kansas’s two stars were matched by the Miners’ balance.  On to the Final Four in College Park, Maryland, went the Miners, finally playing games in the East.

The Final Four was nothing like it is today.  The University of Maryland’s gymnasium was no 70,000-seat dome stadium. Cole Field House seated about 12,000.  However, the press made a big deal out of half of this field.  The Eastern Region Champion Duke Blue Devils, the number two team in the nation placed the Mideast Region Champion Kentucky Wildcats, the number one team in the nation.  The winner of this game would then win the National Championship Game the next night against the winner of the other semifinal game.  Texas Western and Utah were there too.

The semifinal games were both close.  Kentucky came from behind to nip Duke, while Texas Western stayed ahead of Utah most of the game but never ran away from the Utes, thanks to superstar forward Jerry Chambers keeping the Utes in the game.

The Championship Game was considered an afterthought.  The mighty Wildcats of Kentucky were basketball royalty with their Baron, Adolph Rupp.  Texas Western was this tiny school from El Paso with a coach that had learned the game from the great Hank Iba, but they were almost as much a patsy for Kentucky’s soon to be fifth national title as the Washington Generals were for the Harlem Globetrotters.

There were some astute professional gamblers that knew what was really about to happen.  Kentucky’s players were quite talented.  They could shoot the ball about as competently as any team in the history of the game, and with Louie Dampier and Pat Riley on the perimeter, they could quickly shoot a weaker opponent out of the gym.  Kentucky’s devastating 1-3-1 zone trap defense had forced numerous opponents out of their normal offense, where they either turned the ball over or took a hurried shot.  It had worked like a charm 27 times out of 28.  Ironically, just like Texas Western, Kentucky only lost their regular season finale at Tennessee, a team that would win the SEC the following year.

The “Sharp” gamblers knew something that most of the rest of the nation and just about all of the Eastern Establishment media did not know.  Texas Western was much quicker than Kentucky.  Their man to man defense was stronger than Kentucky’s 1-3-1 zone trap, and it did not surrender a handful of easy buckets like the gambling press.

In the opening minutes of the game, neither team could find the range, but Kentucky’s fast break led to a couple of baskets.  Additionally in the first part of the game Kentucky enjoyed a huge rebounding edge, as the Wildcats missed multiple offensive tips.  Texas Western scored on some lob passes over the zone for easy layups, and even though they were a tad sloppy with the ball, they limited turnovers, being called for a couple of travelling violations but not giving UK easy breakaway baskets off steals.

The key sequence of the game was when Kentucky’s Tommy Kron dribbled the ball up the floor guarded man to man and then from the blind-side, Bobby Joe Hill came in and stole the ball, driving for an easy layup.  The play tightened the screws on the favored Wildcats.  On the very next possession, star guard Louie Dampier brought the ball up the middle of the floor, and Hill pressured him to the left.  As Dampier attempted to cross over, Hill stole the ball again and drove for another easy basket.

Texas Western never relinquished the lead the rest of the night.  As the game continued, Kentucky only had one shooting opportunity per possession, while Texas Western had second and third chances.  Thunderous dunks by power player David Latin allowed the patient Miners to keep the lead.  Kentucky had chances to tie or take the lead, but every time, the Texas Western defense held and secured the rebound.

Can San Diego State be this year’s Texas Western?  Can Gonzaga finally get over the hump and win the National Championship?  Will Coach Mike Krzyzewski win another national championship?  If we had to predict the champion today, we believe these are the only three possible teams that could go from 68 to 1.  Duke has the perfect resume this year.  We’ll see if anybody else joins the group of championship-worthy teams in the final four weeks before Selection Sunday.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PiRate Ratings College Basketball For February 4, 2020

Tuesday’s Games

 

Home	Visitor	Spread
Rhode Island	Massachusetts	15.7
Boston College	Duke	-17.2
Georgia Tech	Virginia Tech	3.2
Texas Tech	Oklahoma	7.0
DePaul	Xavier	0.8
Maryland	Rutgers	7.4
Michigan	Ohio St.	1.1
Michigan St.	Penn St.	7.9
Fairfield	Monmouth	0.1
Kent St.	Ball St.	3.5
Eastern Michigan	Buffalo	-1.7
Miami (O)	Western Michigan	4.3
Toledo	Northern Illinois	6.0
Central Michigan	Bowling Green	1.5
Fresno St.	Colorado St.	-0.8
Wyoming	Boise St.	-10.7
Nevada	Air Force	10.4
Arkansas	Auburn	3.4
Alabama	Tennessee	6.1
Kentucky	Mississippi St.	4.7
Texas A&M	Missouri	-0.9

 

Tuesday’s Best TV Games

 

Time (EST)	Network	Home	Visitor
7:00 PM	FS1	Maryland	Rutgers
7:00 PM	SECN	Arkansas	Auburn
7:00 PM	ESPN2	Michigan	Ohio St.
7:00 PM	ESPNU	Alabama	Tennessee
8:00 PM	BTN	Michigan St.	Penn St.
9:00 PM	ESPN	Kentucky	Mississippi St.
9:00 PM	ESPN2	Texas Tech	Oklahoma

 

 

PiRate Ratings College Basketball For January 28, 2020

Tuesday’s Games

 

Home	Visitor	Spread
St. John’s	Villanova	-2.1
Tennessee	Texas A&M	12.4
Virginia	Florida St.	-1.5
Florida	Mississippi St.	5.1
Cincinnati	SMU	6.2
VCU	Richmond	4.1
George Mason	Rhode Island	-5.4
Akron	Buffalo	9.5
Toledo	Kent St.	2.9
Clemson	Syracuse	1.3
Nebraska	Michigan	-6.2
Miami (O)	Central Michigan	0.7
Bowling Green	Ball St.	-0.9
Rutgers	Purdue	3.0
Miami	Virginia Tech	-1.0
Northern Illinois	Ohio	5.0
Missouri	Georgia	3.9
Duke	Pittsburgh	18.3
Georgetown	Butler	-0.7
Ole Miss	Auburn	-5.0
Air Force	Fresno St.	1.8
Wyoming	Utah St.	-13.6

 

Tuesday’s Best Games On TV

 

Tonight’s small slate of games features a couple of key contests where teams are

jostling for NCAA Tournament berths.  The top game of the night is an inner-city

battle between Virginia Commonwealth and Richmond, two Atlantic 10 rivals

separated by just five miles and a half dozen monuments.

 

If St. John’s has any idea of getting back on the Bubble for a potential NCAA

Tournament at-large bid the Red Storm needs to upset Villanova tonight at Madison

Square Garden.  St. John’s has dropped six of their last eight games.

 

Could it be that last year’s National Champion misses out on an NCAA Tournament

bid?  Virginia is hanging on by a thread in the at-large wars, as the Cavaliers might

become the first champion in five years not to make the Big Dance the next season.

UVA is 5-4 in the ACC and 13-6 overall with a couple of good wins, but multiple bad

losses.  A win tonight over a tough Florida State team could put the Cavs back above

the midpoint of the Bubble, but the Seminoles are competing for a number one

seed, and a road win in the ACC could strengthen that chance.

 

The Big Ten is the strongest conference in the nation today, and when 12 teams in

one league are competing for probably 10 bids, every game is vital.  Purdue is in

10th place in the Big Ten at 4-5/11-9, but the Boilermakers are in contention for an

at-large bid.  Rutgers is in great shape, as the Scarlet Knights are enjoying their best

season since Phil Sellers, Eddie Jordan, and Hollis Copeland made RU basketball the

most exciting event in the Metro NY-NJ area.  This year’s RU team sits at 6-3 in the

Big Ten, good enough for a tie for third and just one game behind the co-leaders.

 

At 2-5/12-8, Georgetown has moved far down the Bubble and is currently an NIT

team from the Big East.  If the tournament started today, five Big East Teams would

have invitations.  Butler 4-3/16-4 would be one of those five.  The Hoyas need a big

win over the Bulldogs tonight.

 

Time (EST)	Network	Home	Visitor
6:30 PM	FS1	St. John’s	Villanova
7:00 PM	ESPN	Virginia	Florida St.
7:00 PM	CBSSN	Va. Commonwealth	Richmond
8:00 PM	BigTen	Rutgers	Purdue
9:00 PM	CBSSN	Georgetown	Butler