xubrew

SPOTLIGHTED GAMES (all on saturday)

-SAINT MARY'S AT HAWAII. (***at large bid spotlight game***) very intriguing and potentially very important game here. too bad it's not on television. hawaii is 4-0 and has a pretty impressive win against southern illinois. saint mary's is 6-3, but two of those wins came against div2 teams. however, two of those losses came against memphis and mississippi state when they didn't have three of their best players. both of these teams have a chance to get an at large bid. however, in order to do that, they'll need to win a game like this and that is something they don't get many chances to do. the committee will give saint mary's a slight break due to the injuries they suffered, but even with that they cannot afford a fourth loss at this point in the year. it won't be easy to win at hawaii.

-WISCONSIN AT MARQUETTE (***pod system spotlight game***) bitter in state rivalry here. expect a madhouse at marquette for this one. after missing the ncaa tournament last year, marquette is back on pace with a 7-0 record. wisconsin has an excellent team as well, but this is probably the best team they've played all year. great game. great rivalry game. both teams are on pace to make the pod system and this will likely turn out to be a quality win for either team when it comes to make the selections.

-WICHITA STATE AT PROVIDENCE (***at large bid spotlight game***). wichita state is 4-0 with four blowout wins against teams that aren't so good. still, they have a good team this year and this is a big test for them. providence is 4-3. the reason this is spotlighted is because both teams are certainly good enough to get in position for an at large, but based on what we've seen both will struggle to do it. there is quite a bit at stake for both teams in this game. wichita state plays a very weak ooc schedule, and the margin for error is very small. this is probably their biggest ooc matchup. providence will have some tests in conference play, but they really need to pick up a win like this.




OTHER HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 10TH:

-IOWA STATE AT IOWA. very bitter in state rivalry with high stakes. iowa state just beat virginia in one of the more exciting games of the year, while iowa is coming off a very close win against northern iowa. after years of frustration, both these teams are off to a great start. winning this game would be huge for both teams. in addition to being a big rivalry, the game means a lot on paper.

-UAB AT OKLAHOMA STATE. both teams are unbeaten. uab lost a lot from last season, but they have looked fantastic in every game they've played this year. this game, however, is a pretty big challenge. oklahoma state is a top five team who will contend for the pod system and possibly a #1 seed. they are highly ranked and coming off an impressive win against syracuse. both these teams play a similar style of basketball and it could potentially be a very exciting game.





SATURDAY, DECEMBER 11TH:

-TEMPLE AT ALABAMA. in the mids of a killer schedule, temple has posted a fairly decent 3-3 record. as always, the defense is a priority for the owls. alabama is probably the best team they've played. the tide have faced some quality competition up in alaska and have answered the call. they also played one of the more exciting games of the season last saturday in a triple o.t. win against charlotte. alabama has great guards. it will be interesting to see how they do against the temple defense.

-UTAH AT ARIZONA. utah could really use a big win. they are 5-2, but have no impressive wins and their last game against a div1 team they were blown out by in state rivals utah state. they've struggled on the road all year, and it won't get any easier at arizona. arizona is playing for the pod system and needs as many wins as possible to get there. they appear to have improved since last season. these are two teams that could have problems meeting their preseason expectations.

-BOSTON UNIVERSITY AT BOSTON COLLEGE. boston u has won five games in a row since losing their opener, and the last three have come on the road. boston college is still unbeaten on the season. they struggled in their last game against a pretty good holy cross team (who is the same team that beat bu), but won a big one against a pretty good ucla team last week. this is a pretty big game for both teams.

-GEORGIA STATE AT CHARLOTTE. charlotte has a 4-2 record and is playing very well. they have no quality wins yet, but they can't afford any bad losses. georgia state is not having a good year this year and charlotte needs to take care of business at home.

-DETROIT AT CINCINNATI. cincinnati is unbeaten and playing VERY well this season. with the exception of a double o.t. win against a very good northern iowa game, they've been dominant in every game. this should be no different. they are playing a poor detroit team that is not at full strength. cincinnati should have a fairly impressive ncaa tournament resume come march.

-CHARLESTON SOUTHERN AT CLEMSON. charleston southern is playing in just their third game against a div1 team this season. clemson is 4-1 and playing as well now as they have in the past several seasons. when you play in the acc, you need to get it done out of conference. they should roll in this one at home and improve to 5-1.

-KENT STATE AT CLEVELAND STATE. kent state has won 5 in a row. in their last game they beat creighton rather handily. they also have a win over florida state. they are playing very good basketball and in looking at their schedule, there aren't too many teams they can't beat. they have a big one coming up against boston college in a little over a week, but for now they have to take care of business on the road at cleveland state.

-WESTERN KENTUCKY AT EVANSVILLE. western kentucky is unbeaten and playing VERY well this season. evansville only has one loss, but they haven't won as impressively and against the kinds of teams wku has won against. still, this is a great opportunity for both teams and for what it's worth, it will temporarly move the winner pretty far up the rpi. for a team like western ky that plays in the sun belt, they cannot afford to drop many games if they want an at large. however, they do have a shot at it. they have a matchup against virginia in january, and could go into that game with an 11-0 record because there is not a single team they play between now and then that is as good as they are.

-LOUISVILLE AT FLORIDA. louisville has played two div2 teams and has just a 2-1 record against div1. they will definitely contend for the pod system, but they are getting off to a slow start. the gators are 5-1, but aside from providence, they have no impressive wins either. this would be either teams biggest win of the season so far. louisville's offense is starting to tick though. it is right about now when they begin to go on an amazing tear and shoot up the rankings. the gators will be at home, but they better be ready to play.

-SACRAMENTO STATE AT FRESNO STATE. this game is worth noting because fresno state is unbeaten. however, no one they have beaten is any good. the team they're playing on saturday isn't any good either. as long as they're winning, they're worth taking note of though.

-AIR FORCE AT GEORGIA TECH. air force is playing well despite going through a coaching change. they're 5-2, but both losses were close losses to decent teams. whereas the falcons are playing well, the jackets are playing great. georgia tech is 5-0 and has really only been challenged once. air force is arguably the best team they've played, but as well as they've played in the past they will likely won't have much trouble if they are able to push the tempo.

-SAINT LOUIS AT G0NZAGA. the zags are 6-1 and are looking to move on to 7-1 against a saint louis team that has dissapointed this season. this is year two of a three year plan for the bilikans, but they have still not achieved much. this would be a big win for them on saturday just from a confidence standpoint, but that isn't likely to happen. gonzaga is young and struggled to beat washington state earlier this week, but when they're hot, they're hot.

-OREGON AT ILLINOIS. two more unbeatens face off against each other. oregon has looked pretty impressive this season. illinois has looked VERY impressive this season. in fact i can't point to a single weakness in illinois's game. oregon is desperatey wanting to get back to the dance and they are on the right track. a loss won't prevent them from doing that at all, but a win would make it look VERY likely. it would assure them a high rpi (for now) and probably get them into the rankings. for illinois, they are looking for the location trifecta in this year's tournament. by that i mean their first/second round games in indianapolis, the sweet sixteen/elite eight in chicago, and the final four in saint louis. they could win the national championship and travel less than several high school teams do to win their state championship. oregon is a good team. illinois is a great team and they should ROLL at home.

-LOUISIANA LAFAYETTE AT KANSAS. this is another "buy" game for kansas, which means they throw money at a team that gets little exposure to play them at home, and then do not return the favor. rarely do teams lose their "buy" games. kansas won't lose this.

-INDIANA AT KENTUCKY (in louisville). indiana's 2-3 record is deceiving. (well, accept when it comes to their shooting). they have lost to north carolina, uconn and notre dame. they cannot shoot the ball worth a lick though. kentucky has a young team, but they are playing very well. they lost at north carolina, but after falling behind early they played the tarheels even the rest of the way. indiana is playing a killer schedule and they need to win some games against teams like kentucky, but for now that is much easier said than done.

-NORTHWESTERN STATE AT LSU. northwestern state is in the mids of a killer ooc schedule, but they could be a force in the southland once conference play starts. lsu is 3-1, doing decently, and looks to remain on pace to get an at large.

-WASHINGTON AT LOYOLA MARYMOUNT. both these teams have just one loss. washington has done it against much better competition than lmu. however, it will not be easy for the huskies to get this win on the road. expect a ruccus crowd and the longer lmu stays in it, the more confidence they are going to get. this is an upset alert. i do want to say that i love games like this. most teams will not schedule a road game like this and it will benefit washington in the long run. if they are able to win, great. if not...well... the more a team is out of it's comfort zone in november, decemter and january, the more they will be in their comfort zone in march.

-MISSISSIPPI AT MEMPHIS. memphis is struggling with injuries and needs this win big time. they should really have a sense of desperation going into this game. they are 5-3 with blowout losses to pitt, syracuse and maryland.

-STANFORD VS MICHIGAN STATE. stanford is just 2-3. obviously the coaching change has been a bigger adjustment than i thought it would be. michigan state is 4-2, but they are once again playing a killer out of conference schedule. this isn't a make or break game by any means, but both teams should be feeling a sense of urgency here. michigan state is a very tough and physical team. stanford is a fundamental sound team. it should be a fairly good matchup.

-CREIGHTON AT NEBRASKA. creighton is coming off a surprising loss to kent state. they are 7-1, but haven't beaten anyone of note. from a matchup standpoint, it is creighton's guards and transition game against nebraska's princeton style offense. whoever gets control of the tempo will have the definite advantage.

-PACIFIC AT NEVADA. pacific played at kansas last week and stayed with them the whole way. this is another tough road game for them, but a win would put them on pace to get an at large bid. nevada needs a win as well. they are coming off a surprising loss to a toledo team that has underachieved this year. for teams like this, a lot is at stake in matchups like this.

-LIBERTY AT NORTH CAROLINA STATE. nc state should have no trouble remaining unbeaten in this one. the wolfpack have not lost, and liberty has not won.

-DEPAUL AT NOTRE DAME. fairly big rivalry (and future conference rivalry) here. there is also a lot at stake here early. notre dame's only loss was a 1pt game at michigan, but with regional games being played in indianapolis, they need some wins like this to get them to the pod system. depaul is 4-2 and is a tournament caliber team as well, but they have been inconsistent.

-NORTHERN COLORADO AT OKLAHOMA. the next game northern colorado wins against a div1 team will be their first win...EVER. oklahoma should role in this one.

-PITTSBURGH AT PENN STATE. pitt has played a less than stellar ooc schedule so far. however, they've won all their games and that's all you can ask them to do. things will tighten up in conference play. they need to watch out for an upset on the road in this rivalry game, but i don't expect them to have too many problems.

-GEORGE WASHINGTON AT SAINT FRANCIS, PA. gw is coming off of two huge wins over michigan state and maryland. they are rolling with five straight wins, and it looks as though there are many more to come. saint francis has had a good season thus far, but they are likely no match for gw in this one.

-BINGHAMTON AT SYRACUSE. syracuse is coming off their exciting loss to oklahoma state. they should have no trouble rebounding here. they get a nice long streak of home games against weak teams until january to rebound from it and get over it. they don't want to drop any of those seeing as how they are contenders for the worcester pod.

-PEPPERDINE AT UCLA. pepperdine is 6-1 with notable wins over wisconsin and unlv. if they can win this one on the road, they'll have the beginnings of a very impressive ncaa tournament resume. ucla is 4-1, but unlike pepperdine they have no good wins. this is a big game for both teams. they are both close geographically and there is a lot to play for on and off paper.

-NORTHERN IOWA AT UMKC. despite the three point loss to iowa, northern iowa is still in good shape as far as an at large goes. umkc has not won a game yet and i'll be shocked if they win this one.

-WISCONSIN MILWAUKEE AT VALPARAISO. uwm is 6-0 with a fairly impressive win over bitter conference rivals illinois chicago earlier this year. this is the third of six road games for uwm. valpo is in the middle of a brutal ooc schedule. they have not won a single game. don't be surprised if they turn it around and contend for the mcc title, but they probably won't win this one.

-COPPIN STATE AT WEST VIRGINIA. we haven't heard a whole lot about west virginia this year despite them being undefeated. they haven't really beaten anyone good, but they've still looked good. expect them to remain unbeaten.






SUNDAY, DECEMBER 12TH:

-UNLV AT AUBURN. auburn is 6-2. they do have a pretty bad loss to wofford, but they really hung in there against virginia and have looked pretty good in the rest of their wins. expectations were high for unlv this year and so far they have not delivered. they are 2-3 with no good wins and will likely drop to 2-4. the big turnaround under kruger may be delayed a season if they can't turn it around.

-TOLEDO AT DUKE. coach k goes for win 700 and duke tries to remain unbeaten. toledo is another team who had high expectations and has not delivered. this is a chance for them to really turn things around, but it isn't likely they'll beat coach k at duke when he's going for #700.

-UNC ASHEVILLE AT MARYLAND. huge mismatch here. maryland should have no problems rebounding from their loss to george washington.

-MASSACHUSETTS AT MIAMI, FL. somehow, umass is 3-2 with a huge win over uconn. miami is 4-2, with a big win of their own against florida. the winner of this game will be in the bracketology picture for the time being. whoda thunk it??

-HOWARD AT IOWA STATE. at the time i'm writing this i don't know the outcome of the iowa state vs iowa game. however, isu should have no problems in this one.

-ARKANSAS PINE BLUFF AT NEW MEXICO. new mexico is 8-1 and with a huge mismatch in this game, they will likely be 9-1. they could be an unexpected force in the mwc conference this year. you can't get off to a much better start than that. their only blemish was a 4 pt loss to a very good oregon team in a pretty impressive showing.

-LOYOLA, IL AT NORTH CAROLINA. another pretty big mismatch (which is commonplace among acc teams). unc should role and it won't do a damn thing for their resume.



a big welcome to all our new readers. feel free to register and drop us a line. we'll be having coverage analysis like this all season long.

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tr_west

Iowa state vs. Iowa should be a very good game, and with marquette at home you never know, marquette might get a win. The best game of the weekend though should be Florida vs. Louisville. I think Florida will slip away in the last 3 minutes or so in that game, two very talented teams.

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Romo: to Romo or Romoed- I was carrying the glass of wine when all of a sudden I pulled a huge Romo and the glass shattered and the wine went everywhere.

Synonyms = Buckner, Pasarcik

Willo

I would add the IUPUI / Ball State game, just because these are two teams that expect to do well in two conferences that have come out hot early. This game could, inadvertently, turn into an RPI boost for the conference that wins, as both conferences could be looking for a second bid due to the ability at the top of the conference (obviously the MAC more than the MCC, but still)

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Willo
"OHHHHHHHHHH"

xubrew

the midcon is struggling. oral roberts is 5-0, but they are the only team with a winning record against div1 teams. centenary, umkc, chicago state, valpo and oakland are all winless against div1 on the season.

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