Wed, Nov. 25th in College Basketball

Varez Ward went down in warmups, but the only real impact it had was it allowed the Horns to show off their backcourt depth. Three guards scored in double figures and Damion James had 20 as Texas knocked out Pitt 78-62. The Panthers starting backcourt shot 10 for 39 and, while Pitt actually had the lead at the end of the 1st half, were just overmatched down the stretch. In Maui, Cincinnati beat Maryland in a game that really wasn't as close as the score showed, and Gonzaga got good production from guards Matt Bouldin and Stephen Gray as the Zags went up big early on Wisconsin and held on in the 2nd half. The games in Maui, plus the continuation of the Preseason NIT, set up the big games for tonight.

Game of the Night:

Maui Invitational final:

Gonzaga v. Cincinnati: These seem like two pretty evenly matched teams to me. I think Cincy has an advantage on the perimeter. Bouldin, Gray, and Demetri Goodson will have their hands full trying to stop Vaughn, Stephenson, and the other guards Cincy will throw out there. Then again, Yancy Gates hasn't faced a front line that's this good either. Gonzaga seems to do their best when they sit in their 2-3 zone and let the bigs control the paint. The Bearcats have struggled from the outside all year, and that will be their downfall tonight.

Pick: Gonzaga 70, Cincinnati 66

Others:

Preseason NIT:

Arizona St. v. Duke: The Blue Devils have looked outstanding this year, albeit against vastly inferior opponents. The Sun Devils are undefeated, which is good enough to make them one of the best teams in the Pac-10 so far (isn't that kinda sad?).

LSU v. UConn: The Huskies revamped frontcourt will be tested tonight, as LSU is getting 33 points and 20 rebounds a game from Storm Warren and Tasmin Mitchell.

Maui Invitational:

Maryland v. Wisconsin: Pretty solid 3rd place game if you ask me. Vasquez has gotta start putting the ball in the bucket if Maryland wants to do anything this year.

Vanderbilt v. Arizona: Nic Wise woke up last night in the Wildcats OT win over Colorado. Vandy's a significantly bigger (and better) team, though, than the Buffs.

Cancun Challenge:

Stanford v. Kentucky: Is it sad when Stanford's win over Virginia the other day is arguably the biggest win the Pac-10 has had this year?