Weekend Preview - Jan. 30th/31st

Good week in college basketball! Obviously, the big news was Kentucky's loss to South Carolina on Tuesday. This seems to affirm the notion that there really isn't a clear cut #1 in the nation right now, and everyone is susceptible at any given time. Here's my view on UK: when they want to be, they are the best team in the country. They have the best PG in the nation and consequently are the best fast-break team in the nation. They have a double-double monster in Cousins, a #3 scorer that could be a #1 scorer on most teams (Patterson), and a very capable supporting cast and bench. However, this team is very young, and that means they don't bring their "A" game every night. Slow them down, pack it in, and force them to be you with the outside shot. Kentucky's inconsistency will be their downfall. And now, for the weekend games.

Upset LOCK OF THE WEEK:

Kansas State over Kansas: There's not really a major upset out there that I feel too confident about, so I'm taking the easy road out here. The key will be Kansas State's forwards. The Wildcats are one of the best defensive teams in the country and they shut down a very good frontcourt against Texas, but Kansas' is a bit deeper, and Cole Aldrich will not get into foul trouble early. I'll guess Kansas State will get production from guys like Jamar Samuels and Curtis Kelly and will take down Kansas, leaving Syracuse as the #1 team on Monday.

Mid-Major Game of the week:

Harvard @ Cornell: I can't remember a bigger Ivy League game than this. Probably because Cornell has recieved actual bubble consideration... and it's really not that unwarranted considering the overall weak state of the bubble. They can avoid all bubble talk by taking care of Harvard, who actually had a higher RPI than Cornell for much of the season. This game has extra meaning for these schools since there's no postseason tournament in the Ivy League. Be interested.

Top 10 Games of the Week:

10. Maryland @ Clemson: The Terps are winning the ACC at 4-1, but their best win is Florida State at home. They get a shot at a resume defining win on Sunday.

9. Oklahoma St. @ Missouri: The middle of the Big 12 is getting a little murky, and the Tigers need to defend home court because of their struggles on the road. Important bubble game here.

8. Florida @ Tennessee: Two teams moving in different directions. Four straight wins for the Gators, and Tennessee coming off a couple of losses, including one @ Georgia.

7. Texas Tech @ Texas A&M: Pretty much the same story as #9.

6. Northwestern @ Michigan State: I almost picked this one for my upset LOCK OF THE WEEK, but I decided against it. Michigan State is due for a loss, but not here. Wait until February 9th.

5. Baylor @ Texas: The Longhorns got back on track Wednesday vs. Texas Tech, but they face a bigger and more dangerous team in Baylor. Dexter Pittman needs to find a way to stay on the court and neutralize the big front line of the Bears.

4. Louisville @ West Virginia: At the moment, WVU is completely shutting down Louisville. If this Mountaineers team can find consistent offensive production from someone other than Butler and Kevin Jones, they can make that jump to the next tier of teams.

3. Vanderbilt @ Kentucky: I made my statement about UK, so now it's time to talk about one of the hottest teams in the country. Vandy is legit. They're big, they have several guys who can score in the paint, and they get to the line often. However, they're not the quickest perimeter team, and they haven't proven to be a giant-killer yet. Yes, UK could come out flat, but something tells me that being at home after their 1st loss against a good team... Kentucky will be ready to play. And that will be the difference.

2. Duke @ Georgetown: The token good non-conference matchup of the week. The Hoyas have been better at not relying on Monroe to score for their offense recently, which is encouraging. The Duke frontline will likely slow down Monroe, but Monroe can hurt you in other ways besides scoring. If Freeman and Wright can hit outside jumpers, I believe G-Town will play their normal strong defense and will send Duke home with a loss.

1. Kansas @ Kansas State: I talked about this game a bit earlier. The scary part for teams that play Kansas is that Aldrich has been playing much, much better offensively over the past few games. When he is scoring, it becomes extremely difficult to adequately defend Kansas. When he's not, you can effectively focus your efforts on forcing Xavier Henry into making mistakes and force Sherron Collins to carry the team. Easier said than done? Yes it is. But if anyone's up to the task defensively, it's Kansas. Like I mentioned earlier, if the K-State forwards can help out Clemente and Pullen, they can win this game.