Saturday, December 19, 2009

Saturday's Pregame Beat

Can this day be any more perfect? There's a blizzard outside, a great slate of college hoops games on TV, and a six pack of Bells Two-Hearted Ale in my fridge. I may not get off the couch all day. Well, except to get another beer.

Anyway, let's take a look at today's games:

12:00 pm: Michigan @ Kansas: This might be the best test that Kansas has had all season, but that is reliant upon the Wolverines showing up. Michigan is just 5-4 on the season, and are shooting just 29.7% from three, which is a horrific number for a John Beilein team.

2:00 pm: UCLA @ Notre Dame; Stanford @ Northwestern: Right now, the Pac-10 looks destined to be a two, maybe three, bid league. A big reason for that is their lack of success during the non-conference schedule. Simply put, the Pac-10 is going to be like the SEC last season - their conference RPI is going to be too low to warrant more bids. Winning a couple road games against possible tournament teams like Notre Dame and Northwestern could help with that.

2:00 pm: UNC vs. Texas: This game is going to be played in Texas Stadium. Both the Heels and the Horns have very big, very deep front lines, and anyone that appreciates good basketball is going to appreciate watching guys like Dexter Pittman and Ed Davis do battle. But this game is going to be decided by the back courts. Both teams had big time question marks in their back court coming into the season, especially at the point. Will Avery Bradley be able to slow down Larry Drew? Who will win the blue collar battle between Marcus Ginyard and Justin Mason? I also think that UNC is going to have trouble with Damion James. James can guard UNC's big men inside, but will they be able to step out and defend him on the perimeter?

2:00 pm: Xavier @ Butler: Xavier and Butler are two of the best mid-major programs in the country, but both got of to slow starts this season. Xavier is coming off of a huge home against Cincinnati, a game in which Terrell Holloway and Jason Love took over, but Butler just had a nice win of their own, knocking off Ohio State at home. The biggest issue for Butler this season has been keeping Matt Howard on the floor, and Xavier's bigs of Kenny Frease and Jason Love have been good this season. That said, I'm not sure Xavier has anyone that can match-up with Gordon Hayward.

4:00 pm: Gonzaga vs. Duke: Gonzaga came into this season knowing they had an excellent back court, but their front court play has been the reason that the Zags are considered a top 15 team. The opposite is true for Duke. The Blue Devils have a big front line, but it has been the stellar play of Jon Scheyer, Nolan Smith, and Andre Dawkins that have shot the Dukies up the rankings. The question in this game is going to be Kyle Singler. Will he be able to check Matt Bouldin or Steven Gray?

4:30 pm: Tennessee @ USC: Tennessee loves to get out and run the floor. They are deep, and they run a very good press. USC doesn't have the guard play or the depth to hang wth the Vols.

6:30 pm: Richmond vs. Florida: The Spiders have an excellent back court with Kevin Anderson and David Gonzalez and have beaten Missouri and Mississippi State, but they have now lost two in a row. Florida is coming off of a loss to Syracuse, but they proved a lot in the loss. Florida can shoot and they can run the floor, but they are susceptible to bigger teams dominating them inside.

6:30 pm: San Diego State @ Arizona State: Interesting match-up here. Arizona State tends to play four guards and sit back in a zone, which may actually be the best defense against a San Diego State team with a number of good forwards and post players.

7:00 pm: Old Dominion @ Georgetown: I was supposed to be covering this game. Then DC turned into the Arctic. I'm not sure this game will even be played.

7:00 pm: Temple @ Seton Hall: Temple is a pretty good this season, coming off of a win over Villanova. Seton Hall has a number of excellent scorers, and is one of just 11 undefeated teams left. This will be a good gauge for how good Seton Hall really is. Will Temple be able to slow down the high-powered SHU offense?

10:00 pm: Portland @ Washington: The Pilots beat Washington last season, and may actually be better this year.

Other notable games:

  • 12:00 pm: IPFW @ Michigan State
  • 1:00 pm: Northern Colorado @ Oklahoma
  • 1:00 pm: Kansas State @ Alabama
  • 2:00 pm: Centenary @ Ole Miss
  • 2:00 pm: Northern Iowa @ North Dakota
  • 2:00 pm: Mississippi State @ Houston
  • 2:00 pm: Villanova @ Fordham
  • 2:00 pm: West Virginia @ Cleveland State
  • 2:00 pm: Lipscomb @ Cincinnati
  • 4:00 pm: Austin Peay @ Kentucky
  • 4:00 pm: Tennessee State @ Vanderbilt
  • 4:00 pm: Florida Atlantic vs. Miami FL
  • 4:00 pm: Ball State vs. Purdue
  • 4:00 pm: Delaware State @ Ohio State
  • 6:00 pm: Memphis @ UMass
  • 6:00 pm: Illinois State @ Utah
  • 7:00 pm: Illinois @ Georgia
  • 7:00 pm: St. Bonaventure @ Syracuse
  • 7:30 pm: Charleston @ Clemson
  • 7:30 pm: Portland State @ Washington State
  • 8:00 pm: Arkansas-Pine Bluff @ Missouri
  • 8:00 pm: Chicago State @ Tulsa
  • 8:00 pm: Presbyterian @ Dayton
  • 8:05 pm: Texas Tech @ Wichita State
  • 9:00 pm: Citadel @ Texas A&M
  • 9:00 pm: Eastern Washington @ BYU
  • 10:00 pm: USC Upstate @ UNLV

1 comment:

joe said...

whoa, are you saying vassar vs william and mary isn't a notable game?? gotta give the ol alma mater some love big guy. only down a cool 27 in the first half right now