Wednesday Lay-up Lines: Oklahoma-Missouri Tonight

Just a quick lay-up lines tonight as I am going to be headed to the American-Lafayette first round Patriot League game tonight. Tonight is headlined by Oklahoma (26-3, 12-2) heading to Columbia to take on the Mizzou Tigers (24-5, 11-3). Oklahoma still has a shot at winning or sharing the Big XII title, but a loss tonight would end that. This is the first meeting between these teams. If Missouri wants to win, they are going to have to score. That sounds obvious, but the reason is that when they score, they can get into their press. Willie Warren and Austin Johnson have both been playing well this season, but I am not sure how well either of them can handle Missouri's press. By making the guards play faster than they want too, Mizzou will force turnovers and minimize the advantage Blake Griffin has on the offensive end.

The other big game tonight is Marquette (23-6, 12-4) heading to Pitt (26-3, 13-3) to take on the Panthers. Marquette is small and undermanned (especially with the injury to Dom James), and it is going to be very difficult for them to control DeJuan Blair and company. I think their best option is to go small, and maybe sit back in a zone, while exploiting the mismatch that Lazar Hayward will end up with. Villanova, another smaller Big East team, was able to beat Pitt that way (Villanova, while small by Big East standards, does have Dante Cunningham and a slew of 6'6", athletic wings). Playing in Pittsburgh, this is going to be a tough one for the Golden Eagles to pull out.

The rest of Wednesday's action:

• 6:30 PM: Northwestern (16-11, 7-9) @ Purdue (22-7, 11-5): Purdue is simply playing for seedings at this point (MSU clinched the Big Ten).
  
• 7:00 PM: Seton Hall (15-13, 6-11) @ Louisville (23-5, 14-2): Louisville can guarantee at least a share of the Big East crown by winning out.
• 7:00 PM: Boston College (20-9, 8-6) @ NC State (15-12, 5-9): A win here, guaranteeing a winning record in the ACC, would probably seal up a bid for the Eagles.
• 7:00 PM: UNC (25-3, 11-3) @ Virginia Tech (17-11, 7-7): The Hokie's tourney lives probably rest in the balance with this game.
  
• 7:00 PM: West Virginia (20-9, 9-7) @ DePaul (8-21, 0-16): You don't want to be the team that allows DePaul to get their first Big East win.
• 7:30 PM: Miami FL (17-10, 6-8) @ Georgia Tech (10-17, 1-13): With the way other bubble teams (ND, G'Town, Kansas State, Maryland) have been losing, the 'Canes might be able to sneak their way into the dance if they can win out and pick up a game or two in the ACC tourney.
• 8:00 PM: Georgia (11-18, 2-12) @ Kentucky (19-10, 8-6): The Wildcats need to win this game before what can be considered a play-in game on Saturday against Florida.
• 8:00 PM: Florida (21-8, 8-6) @ Mississippi State (17-12, 7-7): What did I just say about Kentucky?
• 8:00 PM: Vanderbilt (17-11, 6-8) @ LSU (25-4, 13-1): LSU is playing for seeding. Vandy is playing for pride.
• 8:00 PM: Memphis (26-3, 14-0) @ Houston (18-9, 9-5): The Tigers have a shot at earning a #1 seed if they can win out and some of the teams ahead of them lose.
• 8:00 PM: BYU (22-6, 10-4) @ Wyoming (18-10, 7-7): The Cougars are on the cusp of earning an at-large bid after beating Utah on Saturday.
• 8:30 PM: Wisconsin (18-10, 9-7) @ Minnesota (20-8, 8-8): The bubble implications of this game are enormous. Minnesota probably needs it worse than Wisconsin does at this point, but neither team can really afford to lose this one.
• 9:00 PM: Texas A&M (21-8, 7-7) @ Colorado (9-19, 1-13): Believe it or not, if Texas Tech can win out, they probably are going to get a bid.
• 9:30 PM: Kansas (24-5, 13-1) @ Texas Tech (12-17, 2-12): Win out, and the Baby Jayhawks win an outright Big XII title. Who saw that happening in the preseason?