Games to Watch - Week of Jan. 12th

First things first... Wake Forest/UNC wasn't on TV at school, so I couldn't watch it. Honestly, I don't care if you're a Pacers fan or not, if you'd rather see a Golden State-Indiana NBA game than a game between 2 of the top 3 or 4 teams in the nation, well... you're crazy. But anyway, the fallout from that game is enormous. For the first time all year, I believe we have a legit reason to believe UNC is not the best team in the nation, and we have a legit reason to say Wake Forest IS the best team in the nation. Personally, I think this team's still too young to suggest they won't look awful in at least a few ACC games and lose, but who knows. Athletically they're capable of beating anyone in the nation, as shown on Sunday. Also, Pitt continues to roll, knocking off a decent St. John's team to stay undefeated. They'll be a difficult team to pick against come March because of their size and toughness at a variety of positions (and DeJuan Blair is an absolute beast). And my Boilers won a Big Ten game! All is right in the world. And on with the games...

Monday, Jan 12th

ND @ Louisville - And in this week's edition of top 25 Big East matchups, we have two of the most inconsistent teams in the conference. Louisville appears to be back on track after a couple of good conference wins, including a 1 point win over Villanova, but this is their first true conference test against an Irish team that can shoot you out of your own gym if you're not prepared. Luckily, ND has looked like a very average team on the road this year... I give the edge to the Cardinals.

Texas @ Oklahoma - Showdown of the two Big 12 and Final Four contenders. For Texas, Abrams has not been shooting well as of late, but Damion James and Gary Johnson have kept the Longhorns alive offensively in the meantime. Oklahoma's defense, especially on the perimeter, has been surprisingly good this year though, and Texas will likely need Abrams to get out of his scoring slump for the Longhorns to pull off a win on the road. Defensively, Texas will have to deal with Blake Griffin like everyone who plays the Sooners have to, but they also have to pay attention to freshman Willie Warren, who put up 35 in the Sooners' only loss of the season @ Arkansas and is a threat to score from a variety of spots on the floor. I have to stick with the home team here.

Tuesday, Jan 13th

Florida St. @ North Carolina St. - Important ACC game for both teams. Each started off with a loss in conference, and with teams like Maryland and BC already winning conference games and Miami seeming to get back on track, wins in the ACC are only going to become more difficult to come by.

Kansas St. @ Kansas - Neither of these teams are as good as last year's versions, but we all saw last year how much these teams hate each other. Should be a fun game to watch regardless of talent.

Kentucky @ Tennessee - The Wildcats NEED a good road win to stamp their resume with. This is the best opportunity they will get all year long, with the Vols recently coming off of a few losses. It's a very difficult task, but when you lose to VMI, you have to do something drastic to get yourself back into the discussion.

Wednesday, Jan 14th

Michigan St. @ Penn St. - Do not overlook the Nittany Lions. I repeat, do NOT overlook the Nittany Lions. I know from first hand experience. They've got 3 of the top 5 scorers in the Big Ten and are coming off of a big home win over Purdue. They are very capable of winning this game if the Spartans do not come prepared to play, and after watching the Spartans this year, there's no guarantees they will come to play.

Duke @ Georgia Tech - Same as above, but replace 3 with 1 (Gani Lawal). Actually, there really isn't a comparison. Duke better win big.

Syracuse @ Georgetown - Ho hum. Another top 10 matchup in the Big East. Seriously, these things happen like every 3 days. Syracuse is making a legit push to be a Final Four contender. This team's talented and balanced enough to do so. The biggest problem is a lack of size, but they rebound fine so it hasn't really hurt them. With Andy Rautins stepping up recently, this team's even more dangerous offensively. However, it's on the road, and this is probably the best halfcourt defense the Orange have seen all year long. I'm actually going to pick the road upset here. I really like this Orange team, and I think G-Town's depth is going to end up killing them in several Big East games this year.

Wake Forest @ Boston College - This is the ultimate trap game for the Demon Deacons. In fact, I bet so many people are calling this upset that I'm actually going to go against the grain and take Wake Forest.

Baylor @ Texas A&M - This is a time when the tournament outlook is supposed to get clearer. Not so in the Big 12. Both the Aggies and Missouri, who were supposed to be the at-large bids from the Big 12, lost their first Big 12 games, to Oklahoma St. and Nebraska, who were supposed to be on the outside looking in. That being said, this is a great chance for the Aggies to get back on track and get a very good conference win.

Maryland @ Miami (FL) - Important bubble game for both teams.

South Carolina @ LSU - This is one of those separation games in the SEC where we find out which teams are going to make legit tournament runs and which teams will settle for NIT bids. Both of these teams could use some good looking wins to bolster their resume with.

SIU @ Creighton - A little old-school Missouri Valley powerhouse matchup for ya.

Michigan @ Illinois - Seriously, the Big Ten's going to be a bloodbath this year. The conference champ could have 5 or 6 losses this year... it's that close. Any of the top 8 teams can beat any of the others... I fully believe that.

Thursday, Jan 15th

Purdue @ Northwestern - We better win. That's all I have to say about that.

UConn @ St. John's - Okay, the moment I started vouching for St. John's, they start to lose. I don't want this blog to become cursed. Come on, Red Storm. Get another good win for me.

Xavier @ Rhode Island - For the Rams, it's getting to the point where theyt absolutely NEED this win. Their best win so far is Penn St. at home... that's not going to cut it in the eyes of the committee. The brownie points gained from losing to Duke at Cameron by only 3 is only going to carry a team so far.

Minnesota @ Wisconsin - Another fun Big 10 matchup. A game where Wisconsin has to hold serve at home if they wish to make a serious Big Ten title run.

Santa Clara @ Gonzaga - The annual Gonzaga domination of the West Coast Conference begins.

Washington @ Oregon - It's thursday, which means Pac-10 night hoops. A good bubble matchup and a game both teams likely need to win to stay on the bubble. That means actually have a chance at making the tournament.

Arizona St. @ USC - Cal's made an early push, and you know UCLA will be there at the end. Both teams need to pick up a win to keep pace at the top of the Pac-10. In USC's case, they may be playing for their tournament lives soon if they can't get this one at home.

Arizona @ UCLA - Not saying Arizona's not in the tournament, but this, combined with the win over Gonzaga, would put to rest a lot of that talk. For a while anyway.

Friday, Jan 16th

A bunch of small conference games. Go party or something.

Saturday, Jan 17th

College b-ball day of reckoning. Check out this slate of games:

ND @ Syracuse - With all this talk about Blake Griffin and Stephen Curry for Player of the Year, Luke Harangody has quietly put up 24.5 points and 12.7 boards a game for the Irish. As for the team, this is the second of two critical road games in the Big East which could determine whether this team is going to compete for the Big East title this year or fall back into the middle of the pack.

Georgetown @ Duke - One of those games that won't have an impact on conference standing or tournament status (although it will affect seeding) but will still be a great game to watch. Duke has kind of become a top 2 team by default, but they haven't really beaten anyone since the pounding of Purdue at Mackey. I'm not sold on them being a Final Four contender this year, and if someone can expose their weakness in the post, it's Greg Monroe and the Hoyas. Speaking of Monroe, this guy's already a stud. I think he needs another year in college but if he comes back, he could be one of the frontrunners for player of the year next season.

Oklahoma @ Texas A&M - In case the Aggies don't get the first one vs. Baylor.

Wake Forest @ Clemson - Time to learn if the Tigers are for real. We know they're a good team. Can they reach that elite level? This is the perfect time to do so. Meanwhile, talk about a difficult week for the Demon Deacons to follow up their win over UNC... two very challenging road games against two teams they should beat but could easily lose to. On a side note, who would've honestly predicted this would be a matchup of top 10 teams way back in November when the season started?

Arizona St. @ UCLA - Unless Cal decides to spoil the party, this game and the one in mid-February could determine the Pac-10 champ.

Illinois @ Michigan St. - Gutcheck time for the Spartans. In a conference like the Big Ten, holding serve at home is a must, and this certainly isn't an easy game for the Spartans. Two games this week Michigan St. should and must win if they want to take the Big Ten title.

Texas @ Texas Tech - Good rivalry game and a game Pat Knight's squad needs to have if they want to make a tournament case.

Pitt @ Louisville - You could look at this in one of two ways if you're a Louisville fan. On the one hand, you're playing a couple of top ten teams in a week. On the other hand, you get to face two teams that are ahead of you in conference on your home floor. If you want to make an early, resounding push for the Big East title, this is the perfect opportunity to do so. Also, they have the athletes to compete with Pitt and win that game.

Cal @ Stanford - Battle of the Pac-10 overachievers. And it's a rivalry game. This should be good.

Ohio St. @ Michigan - Not quite the same on the basketball court, but at least both teams are good this year.

Marquette @ Providence - These are the kinds of games Marquette needs to win if they want to be taken seriously in the Big East.

Miami (FL) @ UNC - Doesn't really get much easier for the Tar Heels, does it?

And this isn't even factoring in important conference games between unranked teams that could all have bubble implications in March... Maryland-Florida St., Arkansas-Florida, Boston College-Virginia Tech, Temple-UMass, Kansas St.-Nebraska, South Carolina-Tennessee, Arizona-USC, UAB-Memphis, Wyoming-UNLV, etc... I love college basketball.

Sunday, January 18th

St. John's @ Villanova - Both teams REALLY need this game. I'm just going to leave it at that.

Iowa @ Purdue - We better win this game too.

Seton Hall @ UConn - Maybe after this game the Pirates will actually get a winnable conference game. And by winnable I'm talking about home vs. Providence which is still a toss-up. Sorry, Seton Hall. That's what you get when you play in the Big East.

Seattle @ PR Bayamon - The Seattle Redhawks are an independent D-I team. You know, most times Div. 1 independents take on schools from a particular conference in order to try and get invited into that conference. Check out who Seattle plays this week (I'm not making this up)

Tuesday: home vs. Linfield College
Saturday: @ Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras
Sunday: @ PR Bayamon

I don't know where those schools are, but you're flying from Seattle to Puerto Rico to play a game? Why? Just play the local YMCA if you want to do that. Guess that's why they're an independent.