9:30 pm: Kentucky vs. UConn at Madison Square Garden: The ACC/Big Ten Challenge is, without question, the best conference competition. The Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series is stretched over such a period of time that it becomes a hassle to follow, and the Pac-10 is so bad this year that it isn’t competitive. The SEC/Big East Invitational is even worse. Only four teams from each league compete, and in general there are only two really good games despite the depth of quality teams in both leagues.
That said, this year the two good games are very good games. We will worry about tomorrow’s Syracuse-Florida game tomorrow, because tonight I will be bringing you RTC Live from the Garden once again as UConn and Kentucky do battle. There is intrigue throughout this game. What is UConn going to do about John Wall? Can Kemba Walker and Jerome Dyson slow him down? Will Kentucky take advantage of their size on the inside like Duke did? Is UConn going to rebound the ball? Who is going to defend Patrick Patterson? How many highlight reel dunks are we going to see tonight? How will Kentucky react to Stanley Robinson saying "He's so cocky. He's just too cocky for his own good. I'm just ready to play him. He's a freshman, so I'm ready to play him" about DeMarcus Cousins?
Hell, I’m even curious to see who gets more fans at the Garden. We all know how well Big Blue Nation travels.
But the focus is going to be on the two coaches. Jim Calhoun and John Calipari genuinely hated each other when Cal was back at UMass. Calhoun was just starting to assert the Huskies as a national power, when the brash, young Calipari came to Amherst. While the tensions have surely fizzled in the 13 years since Kentucky’s Cal was at UMass, you can bet that neither of these two gentlemen forgive and forget easily.
Oh, what a night it should be at the Garden. Is it 9:30 yet?
There are other games on tonight too:
7:00 pm: Duquesne @ West Virginia: Duquesne looks to be a sleeper in the A-10, and they are still missing Melquan Bolding. But West Virginia is one of the best teams in the country, and they will be the most physical team that the Dukes have faced. Duquesne struggled against a bad Pitt team at home, they could be in trouble against WVU on the road.
7:00 pm: Georgia vs. St. John's @ MSG: St. John's is much better than in the last few years, with DJ Kennedy and Sean Evans. The problem right now is that the Johnnies are beat up - both Justin Burrell and Anthony Mason are out tonight.
9:00 pm: Villanova @ St. Joe's: St. Joe's is going to struggle to bring the ball up against Villanova's back court pressure as the Hawks are way down this season. Big 5 games are usually a battle, but this may be one-sided.
9:00 pm: Michigan @ Utah: Utah is down a bit this season, and they have proven it with a 4-4 record early in the season. But the Utes did beat Illinois this season, and Michigan has not been playing or shooting well.
Other notable games tonight:
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Wednesday's Pregame Beat |
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment