December Viewing Guide

There are so many great games going on in December, it kinda makes chosing the best 15 games difficult. It's even tougher to try and rank them. But that's why they pay us the big bucks here at B.I.A.H (actually, we don't get paid that much, if at all). But seriously, there are literally oodles and oodles of good games this month. Hopefully I have mentioned them all.

Top-15 (And-1) Games of December:

#16 - Friday 12/31 - 12:00PM - #10 Kentucky at Louisville
The last day of 2010 features one of the best rivalries in college basketball. Louisville may be better than we thought, and Kentucky's freshman have their ups and their downs. This will be an entertaining match-up, as it is every year.

#15 - Wednesday 12/1 - 10:30PM - St. Mary's at #17 San Diego State
How good have both of these teams been thus far? San Diego State may be better than advertised, and this will be their first true home game of the season. The Aztecs are currently sixth in the country in field-goal percentage, making nearly 54% of their shots. What if I told you that even without Omar Samhan, the Gaels would be the best team in the WCC? Would you believe me?

#14 - Saturday 12/4 - 5:15PM - #20 Illinois at Gonzaga
Despite the loss to Texas, Illinois has looked impressive early on. The play of guard Brandon Paul has been both unexpected and impressive. Four of the Illini starters are averaging double digits. Gonzaga is certainly not the Gonzaga team of a year ago. Stephen Gray and Elias Harris are the stars, but they lack a supporting cast depth that has been a trademark of past Bulldog squads.

#13 - Thursday 12/9 - 9:00PM - #16 Georgetown at Temple
Do you remember what happened when these two teams faced off last season? Georgetown won 47-46 in a game that was brutal to watch. Both teams play lock-down defense and like to slow things down on offense. After watching Georgetown tough-out a great road victory against Missouri, and after watching Temple struggle to play up to the expectations, I think Georgetown takes this big. But I have no problem being wrong.

#12 - Saturday 12/18 - 4:30PM - Gonzaga at #11 Baylor
This will be Baylor's first real test of the season, and by this time, Gonzaga will have played three ranked teams and two top-50 teams. Baylor has all the makings of a Big-12 championship team, but the jury is still out until they soundly beat a game opponent.

#11 - Thursday 12/23 - 8:00PM - #16 Georgetown at #14 Memphis
Memphis has scored 90 or more points in three of their five games so far, but the opponents were Centenary, Northwestern State and Tennessee-Martin. In the Tigers other two games, they have failed to score 75 points. Those two games came against LSU and Miami. Georgetown plays much tighter defense than those two teams. Memphis can make this game easier for themselves if they can force Georgetown to take bad shots. Forcing the Hoyas to make turnovers and commit silly fouls wouldn't be a bad idea either. Memphis has the talent to beat Georgetown, but talent is observatory.

#10 - Thursday 12/30 - 7:00PM - Temple at #12 Villanova
Temple and 'Nova square-off in the de facto Big-5 championship game. Both teams have already suffered defeat. Villanova's loss came on an off-night from Corey Fisher. Temple will have their best shot if they can force Fisher to have another off-night.

#9 - Saturday 12/4 - 12:30PM - #10 Kentucky at North Carolina
Terrence Jones against Harrison Barnes. Calipari versus Good Ole Roy. Arguably the two biggest fan-bases in all of college basketball. Need I say more? If I need, forget the fact that Kentucky is young, and UNC is still looking for a reliable point guard and isn't big up front. Because this game will be a dandy.

#8 - Wednesday 12/22 - 9:00PM - #20 Illinois at #9 Missouri
This maybe the best non-con rivalry in the entire country, and now that Illinois is back to being good this year, we should have ourselves a dandy. There are two great match-ups to watch for in this game: Kim English vs. Demetri McCamey and Ricardo Ratliffe vs. Mike and Mike (Tisdale and Davis).

#7 - Saturday 12/18 - 5:30PM - #5 Kansas State at #18 Florida
This will be K-State's fourth game against a ranked opponent, and while they are 2-1 in those games, they looked far from good against Duke. Jacob Pullen has been struggling of late and doesn't have the back-court help he had last season. The game will be won and lost up-front. Florida's big-men got flattened by Ohio State's Jared Sullinger and Dallas Lauderdale. If Curtis Kelly can have a big game, KSU may pick up their third win against a ranked team.

#6 - Saturday 12/11 - 3:15PM - #13 Tennessee at #3 Pittsburgh
The champions of the NYC preseason tournaments (N.I.T. Season Tip-Off/Coaches Vs. Cancer Classic) face-off in a really intriguing early-season match-up. Bruce Pearl's team is playing inspiring basketball thus far, and Pittsburgh continues to be the team we all thought they would be. On a day chalk-full of good hoops action, this will be the premiere showdown.

#5 - Tuesday 12/7 - 7:00PM - #14 Memphis at #4 Kansas
This is a rematch of the 2008 National Championship, except not a single member of Memphis' squad remains, and only a handful Jayhawks are still on the roster. It should be interesting to see how Memphis can handle the frontcourt of the Jayhawks.

#4 - Wednesday 12/22 - 7:00PM - #19 Texas at #6 Michigan State
Tristin Thompson has been one of my favorite players to watch so far. The Longhorn freshman is a stud, and even though Michigan State will have Derrick Nix back, I think Thompson will have a big game. But the back court of Michigan State may be too much for the on-again-off-again guards of Texas.

#3 - Monday 12/27 - 8:30PM - #7 UConn at #3 Pittsburgh
You want to know why the Big East is consistently the toughest conference in the country? Because in game 1 of 18 for both teams, they have to face off against a top-10 foe. Pittsburgh is a better team, but they don't have Kemba Walker, and he can change games. Seriously, Walker is playing better right now than Evan Turner did at this point last season, when he dropped two triple-doubles and was making his case for the PoY award, which he eventually won. This is a must-watch for any and all hoops fans.

#2 - Tuesday 12/7 - 9:00PM - #6 Michigan State at #8 Syracuse
Michigan State has played one-hell-of-a non-conference schedule. Ten days after facing Duke in the must-see game of the month, the Spartans head to Sibericuse to face off against one of the best teams in the Big East, if not the country. This is a really even match-up, and if I

#1 - Wednesday 12/1 - 9:30PM - #6 Michigan State at #1 Duke
Is there really any other choice? Is it possible that they look even better than what expected? Seriously, They look nearly-unstoppable right now. Izzo-coached teams are known to start out slow, only to gain momentum down the stretch. I think Duke just has too much size for MSU. Both teams have a bunch of weapons, but I'm just not ready to bet against Duke after what I've seen from them thus far. I have no problem being wrong.


Other Interesting Match-Ups:
- Wednesday 12/1 - 7:15PM - North Carolina State at Wisconsin
- Wednesday 12/1 - 7:30PM - #22 Purdue at Virginia Tech
- Thursday 12/2 - 7:00PM - Arizona State at #11 Baylor
- Thursday 12/2 - 9:00PM - UCLA at #4 Kansas
- Saturday 12/4 - 12:00PM - Utah State at 16 Georgetown
- Saturday 12/4 - 3:15PM - Butler at #1 Duke
- Sunday 12/5 - 1:00PM - Clemson at South Carolina
- Sunday 12/5 - 2:00PM - Richmond at Arizona State
- Sunday 12/5 - 8:00PM - Temple at Maryland
- Wednesday 12/8 - 9:00PM - Vanderbilt at #9 Missouri
- Wednesday 12/8 - 10:00PM - Colorado State at Colorado
- Wednesday 12/8 - 11:00PM - Gonzaga at Washington State
- Saturday 12/11 - 12:00PM - UNLV at Louisville
- Saturday 12/11 - 4:00PM - #5 Kansas State at Loyola (IL)
- Saturday 12/11 - 4:30PM - #23 Washington at Texas A&M
- Saturday 12/11 - 5:15PM - Indiana at #10 Kentucky
- Saturday 12/11 - 6:00PM - Arizona at #21 BYU
- Saturday 12/11 - 6:30PM - Colorado State at #4 Kansas
- Saturday 12/11 - 8:30PM - Gonzaga at #25 Notre Dame
- Sunday 12/12 - 12:00PM - Appalachian State at #16 Georgetown
- Saturday 12/18 - 4:00PM - #19 Texas at North Carolina
- Saturday 12/18 - TBA - Mississippi State at Virginia Tech
- Sunday 12/19 - 4:45PM - Arizona at North Carolina State
- Wednesday 12/22 - 3:00PM - Washington State at Mississippi State
- Tuesday 12/28 - 7:00PM - #15 Minnesota at Wisconsin
- Wednesday 12/29 - 11:00AM - Marquette at Vanderbilt
- Wednesday 12/29 - 11:00PM - Washington State at UCLA
- Wednesday 12/29 - 1:00AM - St. Mary's at Mississippi State
- Thursday 12/30 - 8:00PM - Old Dominion at #9 Missouri
- Friday 12/31 - 4:00PM - #23 Washington at UCLA


Potential Upsets:
- Wednesday 12/1 - 7:00PM - Wright State at Cincinnati
- Friday 12/3 - 11:00PM - #5 Kansas State at Washington State
- Saturday 12/4 - 12:00PM - Utah State at #16 Georgetown
- Saturday 12/4 - 4:00PM - Rhode Island at Providence
- Saturday 12/4 - 8:00PM - Southern Miss at Ole Miss
- Wednesday 12/8 - 9:30PM - #25 Notre Dame at #10 Kentucky
- Saturday 12/11 - 2:30PM - Wisconsin at Marquette
- Saturday 12/11 - 8:00PM - Missouri State at Oklahoma State
- Monday 12/20 - 9:00PM - Northern Colorado at Colorado State
- Tuesday 12/21 - 9:00PM - #24 UNLV at #5 Kansas State
- Wednesday 12/22 - 7:00PM - Clemson at Charleston
- Wednesday 12/22 - 7:00PM - South Florida at Cleveland State
- Wednesday 12/22 - 7:00PM - Georgia Tech at Siena
- Sunday 12/26 - 12:00PM - Richmond at Seton Hall
- Wednesday 12/29 - 7:00PM - #16 Georgetown at #25 Notre Dame


Mid-Major Must-See Games:
- Wednesday 12/1 - 7:00PM - Richmond at Old Dominion
- Saturday 12/4 - 8:00PM - Murray State at Morehead State
- Saturday 12/4 - 10:15PM - Wichita State at #17 San Diego State
- Sunday 12/5 - 2:00PM - Kent State at UAB
- Friday 12/10 - 7:00PM - Fairfield at Siena
- Friday 12/10 - 8:05PM - Nichols State at Wichita State
- Saturday 12/11 - 7:00PM - Dayton at Old Dominion
- Saturday 12/11 - 7:00PM - Virginia Commonwealth at Richmond
- Saturday 12/11 - 8:05PM - Morehead State at Northern Iowa
- Tuesday 12/21 - 8:05PM - Wichita State at Tulsa
- Thursday 12/23 - 9:00PM - UTEP at #21 BYU
- Tuesday 12/28 - 7:00PM - Kent State at Morehead State
- Wednesday 12/29 - 5:00PM - Northeastern at Princeton
- Wednesday 12/29 - 7:00PM - Quinnipiac at Boston
- Wednesday 12/29 - 7:00PM - George Mason at Dayton
- Wednesday 12/29 - 8:05PM - Missouri State at Northern Iowa
- Friday 12/31 - 9:00PM - San Jose State at Utah State


Other Notable Mid-Major Match-Ups:
- Wednesday 12/1 - 8:05PM - #21 BYU at Creighton
- Thursday 12/2 - 7:00PM - Davidson at Charleston
- Saturday 12/4 - 1:00PM - Yale at Vermont
- Saturday 12/18 - 12:30PM - East Carolina at Coastal Carolina
- Saturday 12/18 - 8:00PM - Long Beach State at St. Mary's
- Saturday 12/18 - 8:30PM - Western Kentucky at Murray State
- Monday 12/20 - 7:30PM - Vermont at Fairfield
- Wednesday 12/22 - 10:00PM - Northeastern at St. Louis
- Wednesday 12/22 - 7:30PM - Wright State at Charlotte
- Wednesday 12/29 - 7:00PM - Wofford at Virginia Commonwealth

One For The Road:
- Thursday 12/2 - 7:00PM - UMKC (Kangaroos) at IPFW (Mastadons)