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Pregame Shootaround 3.5.13: Bubble battles, and IU’s Senior Night

Indiana v Ohio State

COLUMBUS, OH - FEBRUARY 10: Lenzelle Smith, Jr. #32 of the Ohio State Buckeyes drives between the defense of Cody Zeller #40 of the Indiana Hoosiers and Christian Watford #2 of the Indiana Hoosiers in the second half to score on February 10, 2013 at Value City Arena in Columbus, Ohio. Indiana defeated Ohio State 81-68. (Photo by Jamie Sabau/Getty Images)

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Game of the Night: No. 14 Ohio State at No. 2 Indiana (9:00 p.m. ET, ESPN)

I’m still of the mindset that Indiana is the best team in the country, regardless of where they are ranked in relationship to Gonzaga. Why? Well, because they currently hold a two-game lead in the toughest league in the country with two games to play. Winning the Big Ten is quite impressive. Doing so while leading the four teams tied for second-place by two games is a very difficult thing to do.

Tonight, the Hoosiers host Ohio State, who is one of those four teams currently sitting in second place in the Big Ten. The Buckeyes made a statement last Sunday when they knocked off Michigan State at home despite getting a 4-16 shooting performance out of Deshaun Thomas. To be Indiana, however, OSU is going to need Thomas to play much better while having guys like Craft and Lenzelle Smith step up the way they have in recent games.

Winning in Bloomington is a tough thing to do on any given night. Tonight is senior night for the class that put Indiana basketball back on the map. There is going to be a lot of emotion in that building. I have a feeling the Buckeyes are going to be running into a buzzsaw.

Mid-Major Matchup of the Night: Boise State at UNLV (10:00 p.m. ET)

This isn’t technically a mid-major matchup, but work with me here. Boise State, for now, seems to have strengthened their at-large profile enough that they should feel pretty good about getting a bid. One surefire way to lock that bid up, however, is winning in the Thomas & Mack Center, where UNLV is a completely different team. One thing to watch for: Anthony Bennett’s injury status. He’s played just 21 minutes the last two games and shot 0-5 from the floor while dealing with a shoulder problem.

Who’s Getting Upset?: No. 25 Memphis at UTEP (9:00 p.m. ET, CBS Sports Network)

Ranked teams on the road. It’s always a problem. Ask Memphis what happened when they went to Xavier last Tuesday. That said, UTEP, while talented, isn’t quite as good as Xavier. And their head coach apparently is already talking publicly about the interviews he’s accepting for other jobs.

Five Things

1) The Big South tournament kicked off this afternoon. Here’s our preview of it. The Horizon holds their three first round games tonight as well. Here’s our preview for that tournament.

2) Two games in the MAC to make not of. Ohio will be visiting Buffalo, who handed Akron their first loss of league play on Saturday. And the Zips will be hosting Miami OH. An Akron loss and an Ohio win will mean that there is a tie atop the MAC standings.

3) Alabama visits Ole Miss in what could be a play-out game for the two SEC teams, which is, frankly, amazing. Ole Miss has lost to South Carolina and Mississippi State in the last two weeks, while the Crimson Tide have losses to Tulane, Mercer, Dayton, Auburn and LSU. (9:00 p.m. ET, ESPNU)

4) Mike Anderson will be making his first visit to Missouri since leaving the Tiger program to take over at Arkansas. The Razorbacks might have a shot at an NCAA tournament bid if they can win on the road, although that’s easier said than done for them. (7:00 p.m. ET, ESPN)

5) Iowa’s chances for an at-large bid are gone, but beating Illinois and heading into the Big Ten tournament with some positive momentum would be a good thing.

Top 25


  • Virginia Tech at No. 3 Duke (7:00 p.m. ET, ESPNU)
  • TCU at No. 9 Kansas State (8:00 p.m. ET, ESPN3)
  • No. 14 Ohio State at No. 2 Indiana (9:00 p.m. ET, ESPN)
  • No. 15 Marquette at Rutgers (7:00 p.m. ET, ESPN3)
  • St. John’s at No. 24 Pitt (7:00 p.m. ET, ESPN2)
  • No. 25 Memphis at UTEP (9:00 p.m. ET, CBS Sports Network)

You can find Rob on twitter @RobDauster.