Saturday Roundup

In the only game of significance last night, Nathan Walkup hit a three-pointer with 20 seconds left to give Texas A&M their first lead of the game at 67-66. Chase Budinger missed a fade-away from the foul line at the buzzer. The Wildcats, who got 20 and 8 from Jordan Hill, shot 58% from the floor and outrebounded the Aggies 33-18, but only forced four A&M turnovers. BJ Holmes led the Aggies with 14 points, including 11 in the final ten minutes.

There are some good games on today. The best is probably when Wisconsin heads to Marquette. Both teams are 6-1 in the early going, but neither has looked overly impressive. The intriguing part about this match-up is that one teams strength is the other's weakness. Marquette lacks any interior presence, often playing with Lazar Hayward as their biggest guy on the floor, but they do have three of the best guards in the Big East in Dominic James, Jerel McNeal, and Wesley Matthews. Wisconsin, on the other hand, has (as usual) a bunch of solid big guys that they can rotate through, but they don't have many guys that can create their own shots. This game is probably going to be decided by who can control the tempo. Wisconsin wants to play a slower, half court game while Marquette wants to push the ball and get the game into the 80's or 90's to try and hide their disadvantage inside. I like Wisconsin on the road here.

The rest of the ranked teams in action today:

• 12:00 PM: NC State (4-0) @ Davidson (5-1): In the last two seasons, Davidson has played a very tough non-conference schedule, but they have yet to knock off one of the marquee teams they have played.
• 1:00 PM: American (4-3) @ Georgetown (4-1)
• 1:30 PM: Gonzaga (5-0) @ Indiana (4-3): When they scheduled this game, it looked like a better match-up.
• 2:00 PM: Indiana State (0-5) @ Louisville (2-1)
• 2:00 PM: Jackson State (1-7) @ Kansas (6-1)
• 3:30 PM: Duke (8-0) @ Michigan (5-2): A rematch of the NIT Finals about two weeks ago. Even though this game is being played in Ann Arbor, I like the Devils winning this one by a lot. Michigan hung around for a while, but the Devils were just too good. With the roster and the style that Michigan plays this year, they are going to have to rely on surprising teams, by hoping that their opponents are not prepared to face their back cuts and 1-3-1 zone. Duke is one of the most prepared and well-coached teams in college hoops, and they played Michigan two weeks ago. Not a good combination.
• 4:00 PM: Ohio State (4-0) @ Notre Dame (6-1): The Irish will once again be without Luke Harangody this afternoon as he battles pneumonia. I think this game will good for the Irish, especially with Harangody out. There are going to be games when Luke gets in foul trouble and will have to sit a lot of minutes, and getting some experience against real competition without the big fella will be good for this team in the long run. They are going to make the tourney, so in the end a non-conference game against a middle of the road Big Ten team is not going to mean all that much. I think OSU will be a tough out, but I don't see the Irish losing at home. Over-under on McAlarney three's: six.
• 5:30 PM: Miami FL (4-2) @ Kentucky (5-2): While the Hurricanes haven't quite lived up to their preseason expectation early on, the Wildcats have been playing much better basketball of late - meaning that they have learned you can't win basketball games when you turn the ball over 20 times and don't play any defense. Miami will have Jack McClinton in this game, but still no word on whether Kentucky's Ramon Harris, who got taken off the court on a stretcher and was hospitalized after a collision with teammate Michael Porter, will be available. This is a good barometer game for both teams. I think the Cats get it done at home.
• 7:00 PM: Vermont (4-3) @ Pitt (7-0)
• 7:30 PM: Bucknell (1-5) @ Wake Forest (7-0)
• 8:00 PM: Arkansas Pine-Bluff (0-6) @ Purdue (6-1)

The rest of the games to keep an eye on:

• 12:00 PM: Georgia (5-2) @ Illinois (6-1)
• 12:00 PM: UAB (5-2) @ Cincinnati (5-1): Should be a shoot out between Robert Vaden and Deonta Vaughn
• 1:00 PM: Cleveland State (5-3) @ West Virginia (5-1)
• 2:00 PM: Vanderbilt (5-2) @ Georgia Tech (4-1): Both of these teams really need a win to boost their tournament resumes.
• 2:00 PM: Oregon State (1-4) @ Iowa State (5-1)
• 2:00 PM: Cornell (4-4) @ Minnesota (7-0)
• 2:00 PM: Rhode Island (6-2) @ Providence (5-3)
• 3:30 PM: DePaul (4-1) @ Northwestern (5-1)
• 6:00 PM: Temple (3-3) @ Penn State (7-1)
• 7:00 PM: Dayton (7-0) @ Akron (5-2)
• 7:00 PM: Creighton (4-2) @ St. Joe's (3-3)
• 10:00 PM: San Diego (4-3) @ San Diego State (6-1)
• 10:35 PM: UNLV (6-2) @ Nevada (3-3)
• 11:30 PM: Baylor (6-1) @ Washington State (6-1): Another barometer game. Baylor is a good team, but Washington State is tough, especially at home. The Cougars are 6-1, but they haven't really beaten anyone yet.