Great slate of games today, and while a lot of people are going to be paying attention the headline games, there are quite a few match-ups to keep an eye on.
3:30 pm: Louisville @ Kentucky: Do I even need to preview this game? Huge rivalry. Coaches that hate each other. Enough off-season scandal to fill an issue of US Weekly. But when it comes down to it, this is probably not going to be a great game. Kentucky is playing the best basketball they have played all season long. They will have arguably the three best players on the court. Louisville is likely going to be without (or be with a severely limited) Peyton Siva, who has missed three straight practices with what Jeff Goodman has dubbed the "John Wall Flu". All signs are pointing towards a Kentucky blowout.
Having said that, doesn't the saying go "throw the records out in a rivalry game"? If Louisville wants a shot to win this one of the road, they are going to need Edgar Sosa to have a big game, they are going to need to control the pace of the game - they don't have the athletes to run 94 feet with Kentucky for 40 minutes, and maybe most importantly, they will need a big game out of Terrence Jennings, who has yet to show up this season.
5:30 pm: Kansas @ Temple: Two months ago, who would've thought that Temple would be the Jayhawk's biggest test in this young season? Besides the fact that Temple was not supposed to be this good, Kansas has already beaten UCLA, Michigan, and Cal, who were all expected to be competing for tournament spots in March. I haven't seen much of Temple this season (I don't think a hideous win over Georgetown in the first week of the season should count), and I am curious to see how perform against a team with the size and the athletes of a Kansas. I'm also curious to see how the Jayhawks will use Cole Aldrich if they get involved in a half-court, grind-it-out dogfight.
6:30 pm: Michigan State @ Northwestern: The Spartans have dealt with some issues over the past week, including seeing Kalin Lucas sent home from practice and benched for a lack of leadership. This is the Spartans first real test since that incident. Northwestern is a team that has visions of the NCAA Tournament. They are 11-2 and have wins over Notre Dame, Iowa State, NC State, and Stanford. But they have lost their only two games against likely NCAA Tournament teams - Butler and Illinois. Beating Michigan State at home is the kind of thing an NCAA Tournament team does. If you haven't seen John Shurna play for NW, he's worth checking this game out.
Other games worth watching:
12:00 pm: UAB @ Arkansas: UAB had worked their way into the rankings after beating both Butler and Cincinnati. But after their loss at Virginia, some critics have questioned whether those wins were just a result of playing at home. But Virginia has a big time player (Sylvan Landesberg) and with Tony Bennett at the helm, they play a confounding style. Sound similar to Arkansas?
12:00 pm: Baylor @ South Carolina: Its now official that the Gamecocks will be without Mike Holmes and Dominique Archie all season long, but they still have Devan Downey. While Downey will be able to make up some of the scoring load, he won't be able to help inside, where Baylor is one of the biggest teams in the country. Ekpe Udoh may be playing himself onto the all-Big XII team.
12:00 pm: Notre Dame @ UConn: UConn needs a win against a good team. The Irish aren't exactly Cincinnati, Kentucky, or Duke, but they are going to be one of the teams on the bubble come March. Athleticism vs. jump-shooting. Who will win out?
1:00 pm: Gonzaga @ Illinois: Maybe the Zags aren't as good as we thought? Or maybe the blowout loss to Duke in the Garden was more a result of Matt Bouldin's lingering concussion? Is Illinois as good as we thought? Are they the team that lost to Utah, Bradley, Georgia and Missouri, or the one that beat Northwestern, Clemson, and Vanderbilt? This is going to be a fun one, as both teams match-up very well.
1:00 pm: Arizona @ UCLA: It wasn't long ago that this was a prime time match-up.
2:00 pm: Oklahoma State vs. Rhode Island: A win over Oklahoma State could help solidify Rhody's bubble status, but the Cowboys are in the same boat. Their best win this season: Utah?
3:30 pm: Villanova @ Marquette: Marquette just gave West Virginia quite a scare, but Purdue proved to us that West Virginia may not be as good as we all thought. the Golden Eagles matched up very well against the Mountaineers, utilizing their offensive mismatches to exploit driving lanes. Villanova is just like Marquette - a lot of good guards, not a lot of good bigs - but the Wildcats need to improve their perimeter defense is they want to be a Big East contender.
7:30 pm: Seton Hall vs. Virginia Tech: Jeremy Hazell and Malcolm Delaney are two of the best scorers in the country, but the question has been can they lead their team to wins? Seton Hall desperately needs this W.
10:30 pm: Arizona State @ USC: UCLA just knocked off ASU by playing a 2-3 zone on Thursday. USC may end up playing quite a bit of 2-3 themselves tonight. Both teams have a goal of making the tournament this season, but the Pac-10 may not get more than two or three teams. Right now, it looks like these are teams 3 and 4.
Other notable games:
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Saturday's Pregame Beat |
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