Weekend of Nov. 21st - Preview

Well, I guess the world knows who Wesley Johnson is. Boeheim placed Johnson at the 4 and he simply manhandled bigger, slower defenders en route to 25 points and 10 of 17 shooting. Meanwhile, UNC struggled from the field early in the 2nd half and Syracuse buried them in a hole that proved to big to break out of. UNC is big, talented, and deep, but don't have that one guy on the offensive end to take over the game. Johnson, on the other hand, can score early, often, and in a variety of ways. This team is also getting some good contributions from players like Rautins, Brandon Triche, and Scoop Jardine (we knew Onuaku was going to be good offensively anyway). Syracuse was obviously very underrated and will be a threat come Big East play.

That wasn't the only important game on Friday, though. Ohio State rebounded with a good win vs. Cal. The Bears could really, really use a healthy Theo Robertson. Dayton put up a good fight but Villanova pulled it out with the help of Corey Fisher and 18 points. Georgia Tech and Ole Miss picked up good wins in their preseason tournaments, and DePaul and St. Joseph's both won in minor upsets.

So it's time for the first weekend preview of the year! Conference tournaments really heat up during Feast Week, but this weekend's got some good matchups in store. Expect an update on Sunday when more games are known.

Saturday:

Game of the Night:

Ohio St. vs Michigan (football): With the college football season wrapping up, college basketball has chosen not to interfere and as a result, there really aren't any marquee matchups. And actually, Oregon v. Arizona is probably the bigger game this weekend. Screw it, let's stop talking college football.

Oklahoma @ VCU: Trap game for the Sooners. They look good so far with Warren running the show, but quality opponents have not come up yet.

Siena @ Temple: Always happy when the Saints get a decent matchup. Watch 'em while they're playing quality opponents.

Utah St. @ Northeastern: Fun mid-major matchup.

Southern Illinois @ UNLV, Houston @ Nevada, Oregon @ Portland: A bunch of mid-majors I want to keep on my radar, and Oregon. Because the Pac-10 needs some decent wins, and quick.

Sunday:

Game of the Night:

Puerto Rico Tip Off Final:

Villanova v. Ole Miss: A couple of decent matchups on TV tonight, but I'll go with the Wildcats/Rebels matchup. A team that everyone expected to be good (Nova) vs. a team that hasn't gotten much preseason attention but is talented and very capable of winning this game (Miss). While Nova has relied primarily on Corey Fisher to carry their offense these past two games, Ole Miss has four guys that can all carry the offense on any given night: Murphy Holloway, Chris Warren, Eniel Polynice, and Terrico White. This should be a great matchup of two talented backcourts. Although I've been hyping up the Rebels recently, I'll take the Wildcats, who are better defensively than anybody the Rebels have faced so far this year and should slow them down enough to take home the W.

Pick: Villanova 82, Ole Miss 75

Others:

Purdue v. St. Joseph's: The Hawks pulled off the upset over BC last night and are looking to make it two for two. Returning seniors Darrin Govens and Garrett Williamson have joined with freshman Carl Jones and forward Idrus Hilliard to form the bulk of the offense. St. Joe's hung with the versatile BC Eagles but should have a tougher time scoring against a defensively sound Boilermaker team.

Tennessee v. DePaul: The other half of the Paradise Jam semis. We'll see if Tennessee runs the Blue Demons off the court like they have with the rest of their competition this year.

Dayton v. Kansas St.: The consolation game in Puerto Rico may be as fun as the final, however less talented.

Miami v. South Carolina: Both teams could really use an early season quality non conf victory.