xubrew

Like many people, I've been soaking up the holidays. Between all the bowl games, seeing old college friends, and New Years Eve, the past few days have been a big blur.

We did have some pretty significant college basketball games. Illinois handed Cincinnati their first loss on New Years Eve. Similar to what they did to Gonzaga and Wake Forest, Illinois pretty much blew out the Bearcats. It is a big win because Illinois has dominated everyone else in their geographic region so far, which means they are a clear shot at getting into Indianapolis for the first/second round and Chicago for the Sweet Sixteen/Elite Eight. With the final four being in Saint Louis, Illinois could win the national championship without having to travel more than 200 miles from home. Several High School teams do more traveling than that to win the state championship.

Georgia Tech led at Kansas for the entire game, looked very impressive, and came very close to winning a huge road game, but Kansas found a way to win in overtime. It was one of the more exciting games of the season. I just hope some people got to see it seeing as how it was on New Years Day.

There was a big buzz about Hawaii when they got off to an 8-0 start. However, seven of those wins came at home and the other was just a one point win over a rather weak Saint Louis team. Their last two games have been on the road. It is worth noting that the games were close, but this Hawaii team is starting to look like most past Hawaii teams. They are outstanding at home and pitiful on the road. Every team has an advantage when they play at home, but with Hawaii, they seem to take that advantage (and disadvantage) to a whole new level every year. With road games being a point of emphasis this year, that's not a good sign for them.


GAMES TO WATCH TODAY:

-ARIZONA STATE AT ARIZONA. Big in state rivalry between two teams who appear to be NCAA caliber. Even though they are 11-1 and have been playing excellent basketball, not a lot of attention has been paid to Arizona State. That will change if they win today. Keep in mind that first/second round games are being played in Tuscon. Arizona is the host team so they cannot be placed there. However, Arizona State can and a win today would do wonders in getting them that pod.

OLD DOMINION AT DEPAUL. These are two pretty good teams with pretty good records. Depaul needs to win this one to keep themselves in the bracketology picture for now.

CLEMSON AT DUKE. Clemson is 9-3 and has had a pretty good year. They have some big wins over Ohio State and South Carolina. Duke is still unbeaten and playing very well. This will be a tougher test than the majority of their schedule so far though.

BOSTON COLLEGE AT MASSACHUSETTS. Boston College is still unbeaten. Umass hasn't posted the type of record that BC has, but they are still tough to beat at home, especially in a rivalry game such as this one.

WEST VIRGINIA AT NORTH CAROLINA STATE. West Virginia scored a big win over George Washington earlier this week. They are unbeaten and are frontrunners for the Worcester pod. NC State has a good team, but they have struggled the past couple of weeks. They've won, but it has not been convincingly against some very weak teams. They need to get it together today or West Virginia will beat them at their house.

WAKE FOREST AT VIRGINIA. Two great ACC teams going at it. Virginia has played well out of conference, but that hasn't been the problem for them in years past. It's finishing the season that has effected them. All conference games are hugely important for the Cavaliers. Wake Forest is has very good guards and will play a transition game. With first/second round games being played in Charlotte, it is the ACC conference standings that will most likely determine which two teams get those spots, so they have a lot to play for in this one as well.

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IT'S MILLER TIME!!!