[#4] WAKE FOREST DEMON DEACONS at TEXAS LONGHORNS |
Tuesday   7:00 PM CDT   ESPN2   Austin, TX |
One of only eight unbeaten teams remaining in the entire country travels on the road for a non-conference showdown. Wake Forest has proven they can win over big names on the road (North Carolina) and even in the state of Texas (SMU). The Deacons are led by five scorers averaging in double figures, a freshman, two sophomores, and two juniors. The Longhorns have found the home court much more friendly than the road this season. However, no team as dangerous as Wake Forest has visited Austin to date. In contrast to the Deacons, three of UT's top four scorers are seniors, and only two are in double-figures.
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SouthernCollegeSports.com Writers' Predictions |
Jarrod |
Jonathan |
Timothy |
Wake Forest |
Wake Forest |
Wake Forest |
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[#8] KENTUCKY WILDCATS at [#15] MISSISSIPPI STATE BULLDOGS |
Tuesday   8:00 PM CDT   ESPN   Starkville, MS |
Kentucky knocked off one unbeaten team in the SEC on Saturday and will go for another in Starkville on Tuesday. The Bulldogs of Mississippi State are another of the nation's only eight unbeatens, though the Dawgs haven't been without a few scares. Rick Stansbury's team is led by forward Lawrence Roberts, who is averaging a double-double on the season. UK will undoubtedly be the toughest test for MSU so far this season. The 'Cats, who have already beaten UCLA, Michigan State, Indiana, North Carolina, and Vanderbilt this season, have five scorers averaging at least 10 points per contest.
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SouthernCollegeSports.com Writers' Predictions |
Jarrod |
Jonathan |
Timothy |
Kentucky |
Mississippi State |
Mississippi State |
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[#14] CINCINNATI BEARCATS at MARQUETTE GOLDEN EAGLES |
Wednesday   6:00 PM CDT   ESPN   Milwaukee, WI |
Two of the top three teams in CUSA will do battle on national TV in Milwaukee Wednesday night. The Bearcats are yet another of the country's eight unbeaten teams, but Cincinnati hasn't played a close game all season long. Their smallest margin of victory was 19 points over Valporaiso. Marquette (and Cincy too) expects this contest to be much, much closer. The Eagles' only two losses have come to nationally ranked teams on the road in Arizona and at in-state rival Wisconsin. Unlike Cincinnati, Tom Crean's team has played seven games that were decided by 10 points or less, five of which they won.
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SouthernCollegeSports.com Writers' Predictions |
Jarrod |
Jonathan |
Timothy |
Cincinnati |
Marquette |
Cincinnati |
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NC STATE WOLFPACK at [#2] DUKE BLUE DEVILS |
Thursday   8:00 PM CDT   JP*   Durham, NC |
NC State and Duke are not only ACC and in-state rivals, but the two schools are only about 20 miles apart. Both teams have won their first two league contests, but the most impressive victory of the four was the Wolfpack's five-point win over Florida State. FSU had not previously lost at home this season. Since a late-November loss to Purdue in Alaska, Duke has won nine consecutive games, though only five of them were in Durham. NC State's main man is obviously Julius Hodge, possibly the ACC's best player. Duke appears to be the more balanced team, with six players scoring between 9 and 14 points per game.
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SouthernCollegeSports.com Writers' Predictions |
Jarrod |
Jonathan |
Timothy |
Duke |
Duke |
Duke |
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[#4] WAKE FOREST DEMON DEACONS at [#2] DUKE BLUE DEVILS |
Saturday   12:00 PM CDT   ABC*   Durham, NC |
Wake Forest and Duke both make multiple appearances in this week's top games feature, but how could anyone argue with the potential of these matchups? Both teams will obviously be coming off of hard-fought games earlier in the week, but the Deacons should definitely be the better rested team since they will have had four days off and Duke just one. However, working in the Devils' favor is that this will be a home game, just as was the NC State matchup. Wake Forest will be playing their second road game of the week, where they've been 3-0 so far this season. Look for a down-to-the-wire ACC battle.
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SouthernCollegeSports.com Writers' Predictions |
Jarrod |
Jonathan |
Timothy |
Duke |
Duke |
Duke |
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[#15] MISSISSIPPI STATE BULLDOGS at LSU TIGERS |
Saturday   2:00 PM CDT   JP*   Baton Rouge, LA |
Another team making their second appearance in this week's top games feature is Mississippi State. The Bulldogs, perhaps surprisingly, are undefeated coming into this week, but these two SEC contests in a five-day period will tell the entire country a lot about coach Rick Stansbury's team. If not for a slip-up on the road at Houston, John Brady's LSU Tigers would also be unbeaten. The Tigers got their SEC slate off to a good start with a road win at Arkansas followed by a home victory over Alabama. Mississippi State's Lawrence Roberts and LSU's Jamie Lloreda are the only two players in the SEC averaging a double-double.
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SouthernCollegeSports.com Writers' Predictions |
Jarrod |
Jonathan |
Timothy |
LSU |
Mississippi State |
LSU |
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[#1] CONNECTICUT HUSKIES at [#10] NORTH CAROLINA TAR HEELS |
Saturday   2:30 PM CDT   CBS*   Chapel Hill, NC |
It doesn't get much bigger than this in college basketball. Two tradition-rich programs, two fabulous coaches, and two very good teams in 2003 - 2004 meet up in Chapel Hill Saturday afternoon. Both UConn and UNC are ranked in the top ten by SCS.com, with the Huskies claiming the top spot. This is the Huskies' second matchup against the ACC this season; they lost a late-November game to Georgia Tech by 16 points. North Carolina has also had a couple of disappointments along the way this season, but the biggest would have to be their triple-overtime loss at home to Wake Forest.
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SouthernCollegeSports.com Writers' Predictions |
Jarrod |
Jonathan |
Timothy |
North Carolina |
Connecticut |
North Carolina |