Games to Watch - Week of Jan 19th

Another exciting weekend of college basketball saw two of the three remaining undefeateds fall, leaving only 1 team in the nation still yet to lose a game... Wake Forest. Somewhat of a surprise. We all knew they'd be good, but not this early. This team is supremely talented and athletic though. Here's what's on tap for the upcoming week:

Mon, Jan 19th

Syracuse @ Pitt - The Orange followed up a lackluster performance at G-Town with an impressive victory at home over ND. They will have to win some big road games if they want to win the Big East and this is one of them. This game could determine who wins the conference, especially since this is the only time they play each other.

Cincinnnati @ Providence - The Friars missed out on a big opportunity for a win at home against Marquette. Now they get a much easier opponent but one that won't impress anyone. Better take care of business at home.

Texas A&M @ Kansas - Good bubble game, although I don't think Kansas is neccessarily on the bubble right now. But the Aggies certainly are

Tues, Jan. 20th

Ohio St. @ Illinois - One of those games where, if you're the Illini, you MUST defend your home turf. Illinois is a good team and not in any danger of missing the tourney at the moment, but they can't afford to lose games like this at home.

Virginia @ Maryland - Must win for the Terps? After losing to Florida State in OT, I'd say yes.

Michigan @ Penn St. - The Nittany Lions get another shot at knocking off a good opponent at home. This is a game the Wolverines definitely can't afford to lose, as keeping pace with the middle of the Big Ten pack is a must.

Wed, Jan 21st

Villanova @ UConn - You want respect from me, Villanova? Here's your opportunity. Guys like Scotty Reynolds need to prove they can play well in big games and win. This is as good an opportunity as they come.

Florida St. @ Miami (Fl) - The Seminoles have gotten off to a good start in ACC play. Not saying they're going to win this game or anything, because the U seems to be back on track, but you never know...

Mississippi St. @ LSU - A lot was expected out of LSU this year... weak conference, weak division, many people expected a tournament berth at least. However, at this point the Tigers still have work to do, and they've got company at the top of the SEC West in the form of a well-coached, overachieving Bulldogs squad. This would be an important win for LSU.

Clemson @ UNC - Clemson stuck with Wake Forest on Saturday and put together a good late charge but it wasn't enough. Now they face an even more difficult task: go into Chapel Hill and take down the Tar Heels. Not a fun stretch of games for the Tigers.

Missouri @ Oklahoma St. - If Missouri wants to solidify their tournament status, they'll have to win games like this... on the road against good teams that they should beat.

Nebraska @ Oklahoma - The Cornhuskers' big chance to pick up a marquee win that could make a HUGE difference in March.

Arizona St. @ Arizona - These teams don't like each other, and with the emergence of Arizona State as a legit basketball program, it should be a very competitive game. Probably more important for the Wildcats, who really need to start racking up some wins in Pac-10 play.

UNLV@ BYU - Big time Mountain West game. Stay up late for this one.

Thurs, Jan. 22nd

West Virginia @ Georgetown - West Virginia escaped what would've been a very costly loss by finishing off South Florida at home on Saturday. Thursday they get a big game vs. the Hoyas, who have fallen back a bit after their hot start to the season and could always use a good Big East win at home to keep pace with the conference leaders.

Purdue @ Minnesota - So far this year the Boilers have looked awful on the road. If they want to keep pace with Michigan St. in the Big Ten, they need to start winning road games. Minnesota, meanwhile, needs a big win at home to erase the memory of losing to Northwestern on Sunday.

USC @ Washington - Pac-10 Thursday features a game between two Pac-10 bubble teams. Both have picked up some good wins in conference. The Huskies especially need to get this one, being at home and in the worse position bubble-wise of the two schools.

Fri, Jan 23rd

Brown @ Yale - Yay for Ivy League.

Sat, Jan 24th

Maryland @ Duke - Do the Terps have another big upset in them? If not, it's back to the NIT.

Memphis @ Tennessee - Remember how big this game was last year? It's still big... not #1 vs. #2 big, but still important for both teams. Tennessee needs a good win to recover from this rough patch they've hit as of late... and Memphis could always use a good non-conference win, considering they don't really have one yet.

Wisconsin @ Illinois - Another big, important Big Ten game

Baylor @ OU - Why this game is on ESPNU, I do not know. It could be one of the better games of the day. Then again, with nobody to match up with Blake Griffin, it could also easily be a blowout. The OU backcourt, which has passed pretty much every test they've had this year, gets possibly their biggest test of the year trying to shut down this Baylor backcourt.

UCLA @ Washington - Remember way back in November when Washington lost to Portland? You won't if they get this win.

UConn @ ND - This game's at ND, where they actually play like a legit top 15 team, so this should be a good game. Good matchup of Harangody vs. Thabeet as well

Xavier @ LSU - A random, but hopefully completely enjoyable non-conference game.

Texas A&M @ Texas - This completes a very difficult stretch of Big 12 games for the Aggies. If they can take at least this one or @ Kansas, they will be set up very nicely for the next few weeks, which contains @ Oklahoma and three very winnable games at home. At or above .500, with a few good Big 12 wins, should be enough for the Aggies to get in.

Sun, Jan 25th

Louisville @ Syracuse - Talk about a big week for the Orange. They get two of three biggest contenders for the Big East title (the other being UConn) in one week. Jim Boeheim would probably be happy with a split, and this is the easier of the two. Yea, I said it. A game vs. a team who just beat the top-ranked team in the nation and is on fire at the moment is the easier of the two games. Such is life in the Big East.

Michigan St. @ Ohio St. - Difficult road game for the Spartans. They'll do well to stay undefeated in the Big Ten after this one.

Pitt @ WVU - The Mountaineers gave UConn a good game in their house a few weeks ago, and I'd expect the same from them on Sunday against the Panthers.

Navy @ Army - How can you not highlight the greatest rivalry of them all?

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oh wait, this is basketball? Never mind then.