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5 NCAA basketball teams on upset alert this week: Illinois, Ohio State in tricky spots

By Mike Phillips

COLLEGE PARK, MD - FEBRUARY 08: Duane Washington Jr. #4 of the Ohio State Buckeyes looks on during a college basketball game against the Maryland Terrapins at Xfinity Center on February 8, 2021 in College Park, Maryland. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
COLLEGE PARK, MD - FEBRUARY 08: Duane Washington Jr. #4 of the Ohio State Buckeyes looks on during a college basketball game against the Maryland Terrapins at Xfinity Center on February 8, 2021 in College Park, Maryland. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /
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A pair of Big Ten teams are on upset alert in NCAA basketball this week.

The NCAA Tournament is just over a month away and the regular season has just three weeks left before conference tournaments start, making every game between now and then critical to maintaining seeding. The selection committee revealed its Top 16 seeds on Saturday, offering some insight into how the cream of the crop stacks up at this point in the season.

Teams inside that group of 16 have to feel good about their chances of making the field but getting upset is a sure way to fall out of the top of the field. Let’s look at five teams that need to be careful in tricky matchups this week, beginning with a top-16 SEC program in Missouri.

Missouri is on upset alert at Georgia

The Tigers were one of the last teams in the NCAA’s seed reveal and responded by losing to Arkansas at home on Saturday. A loss to the Razorbacks isn’t terrible since Arkansas is a legitimate bubble team but Missouri has lost two straight games as a result.

That streak could hit three as the Tigers hit the road again on Tuesday to take on Georgia, which is 12-8 overall and just played a feisty game in a road loss to Tennessee last week. The Bulldogs can definitely trip up Missouri if the Tigers get off to a slow start here.

USC has a dangerous date with Arizona State

The Pac-12’s top dog right now is USC, which is off to a 17-3 start to the year and has one of the nation’s most intriguing draft prospects in big man Evan Mobley. The Trojans have won six straight and are now in the polls but could be in a tricky spot against a dangerous Arizona State team.

The year hasn’t been kind to the Sun Devils, who are just 7-9 after underachieving, but they still have plenty of firepower with Remy Martin and top freshman Josh Christopher. If Arizona State has an offensive explosion they have a chance to steal this game on the road.

Houston has a tough road game against Wichita State

The Cougars were the last team on the two-line in the selection committee’s seed reveal, which makes sense since their schedule has been a lot lighter than their competition for top seeds. It’s hard to blame Houston for the down season the AAC is having but the league still has a few teams that are capable of delivering a damaging loss to the Cougars’ resume.

One such opportunity comes on Thursday when Houston hits the road to take on the AAC’s second-best team, Wichita State. The Shockers only lost by seven in Houston earlier this season and are poised to try returning the favor this week.

Ohio State should be on upset alert at Penn State

One of the biggest dangers in college basketball is looking ahead when a big matchup is on the horizon. That could be the case for Ohio State this week, which has a huge game with Michigan set for Sunday that could determine which one of them is more likely to stay on the top line on Selection Sunday.

Before the big game in Columbus, the Buckeyes hit the road for a matchup against struggling Penn State, which saw its bubble hopes take a massive hit this week with losses to Michigan State and Nebraska. Picking up a win over Ohio State would instantly revitalize the Nittany Lions’ season and is a realistic possibility if the Buckeyes are mentally getting ready for Michigan before they finish off this contest.

Illinois should be on upset alert at Minnesota

Last year Rutgers was the Big Ten team that was dominant at home but couldn’t find a way to win a road game to save their lives. Minnesota has assumed that role this year, going 0-7 in true road games but posting a whopping 13-1 home record that includes wins over Iowa, Ohio State, Michigan and Purdue.

That is bad news for Illinois, which has to hit the road to take on a desperate Golden Gophers team on Saturday. The Fighting Illini will need to be on top of their game to become just the second visiting team to win at Williams Arena this season and avoid a damaging upset.

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