Weekend of Dec. 5th - Preview

It's the weekend! Lots to talk about. First, the first victory for the Big Ten in the challenge required a 23 point 2nd half comeback by Illinois and a top 10 upset by Wisconsin. Both Big 10 schools were impressive in their own ways. I noticed Illinois early in the year and realized they could be special this year. Anytime you rely on a couple of freshman (Brandon Paul and D. J. Richardson) to play a big role in the offense, there will be hiccups. But Illinois now has that speed, quickness, and offensive ability on the perimeter they really needed last year. Now the question is, can Paul and Richardson match the defensive intensity Trent Meacham and Chester Frazier brought every night to the court? If they can, this is one of the best teams in the Big 10.

Wisconsin, meanwhile, led basically wire-to-wire against Duke. The Badgers have always been tough at home, so it doesn't completely surprise me that they won. The dominating fashion in which they won, however, was impressive. Now, while I don't believe Trevon Hughes and Wisconsin will shoot as well from the perimeter consistently as they did on Wednesday, I do think this is an efficient, well-coached basketball team that forces teams to play their style of basketball. At the very least, that will make them competitive every night, but when they hit shots, it gives them knockout power.

Other big games on Wednesday include Ohio St's dominance of Florida St, Gonzaga's comeback win over Washington St on the back of 28 points from Matt Bouldin, UNLV's overtime win against Arizona, and big wins for Miami, Northern Iowa, and Boston College. On Thursday, USC made things interesting early vs. Texas but the Longhorns put them away in the 2nd half. Washington realized the best way to avoid being upset on the road is not to give up 50 points in the 1st half and 99 points overall. And Baylor survived a close game vs. Arizona St. and picked up a good non conf win.

This weekend marks the end of college football dominance of Saturdays and the entrance of college basketball in the spotlight. Celebrate by watching a big-time matchup in Lexington before the conf champ games in football begin.

Game of the Night:

UNC @ Kentucky: Finally, a big time college basketball game to challenge football on the weekends! These teams are actually very similar. Lots of athleticism and size, somewhat erratic and turnover-prone offenses, youth and inexperience on the perimeter. UNC's perimeter play won them the Michigan St. game, and they will likely need similar play from Larry Drew and Dexter Strickland to beat Kentucky this afternoon. Defensively, I expect UNC to pack it in and force UK to hit threes and beat them on the outside, like Stanford and Miami (OH) did. I think Kentucky has the advantage on the perimeter with John Wall, but I have a feeling the Wildcats are walking on thin ice right now and are due for an early season loss. Meanwhile, UNC has already played several Top 10 teams and will be prepared for the speed that Kentucky brings to the table.

Pick: UNC 78, Kentucky 74

Others:

St. John's @ Duke: Every year we wonder if the Red Storm can take down the Dukies... can they finally come through this year?

Wake Forest @ Gonzaga: If Wake thought Mackey was tough, they'll have fun out in Spokane tonight.

Iowa State @ Cal: The Pac-10 BADLY needs a decent win, and at this point, the Cyclones probably qualify as one.

USC @ Georgia Tech: The Trojans put up a good fight vs. Texas, and should have an easier time vs. a less talented team.

NC State @ Marquette: The honeymoon for the Wolfpack ended against Northwestern. Good luck dealing with one of the real surprises of the year.

DePaul @ Vanderbilt: I'm gonna guess the Blue Demons are going to win a Big East game this year.

Washington St. @ Kansas St.: I'm really, really big on both of these teams. The Cougars are probably one of the best teams in the Pac-10, and the Wildcats are going to surprise people in the Big 12.

St. Mary's @ Utah St.: Mid-major game of the night.

Sunday, Dec. 6th

Game of the Night:

Villanova @ Maryland: Beats out Kansas/UCLA because of how bad the Bruins are. At first glance, it appears the Terps have struggles early on. But then again, it seems Cincinnati and Maryland are better than predicted, and they survived at home vs. Indiana to go to 5-2 on the season. Vazquez is still shooting poorly but at least he got to the line consistently on Tuesday. Also, guys like Sean Mosely and Landon Milbourne have picked up the offensive slack. They'll have their hands full, though, with an extremely talented Villanova backcourt. Defensively, I think Maryland will be okay, but I don't know how they're going to score consistently against a Nova team that has been extremely stout and defense.

Pick: Villanova 76, Maryland 65

Others:

Kansas @ UCLA: For this game to not be Game of the Night, pretty much everything that could have gone wrong for the Bruins had to. That has been the case so far.

South Carolina @ Clemson: The rivalry takes basketball form and should be an interesting game to boot.

Miami @ BC: What?? A conference game? But it's early December... ok...

Arizona @ Oklahoma: Both teams desperately need a decent win at this point.