[#8] PITTSBURGH PANTHERS at [#6] CONNECTICUT HUSKIES |
Monday   6:00 PM CDT   ESPN   Storrs, CT |
The biggest matchup in the Big East so far this season takes place on ESPN's 'Big Monday' TV special. Though the Huskies lost their previous game and Pitt won theirs, it is UConn that may be coming in with more confidence. The Huskies lost at North Carolina, then ranked #10 in the SCS.com Fab 15, by only three points. Five of coach Jim Calhoun's players scored in double-figures. Meanwhile, Pittsburgh sneaked out a close win over Rutgers in a game that was tied late in the second half. Not even ranked in the top ten last week, the Panthers still have plenty to prove to the nation even though they are unbeaten. The winner of this game takes a small step forward towards the 2003 - 2004 Big East title.
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SouthernCollegeSports.com Writers' Predictions |
Jarrod |
Jonathan |
Timothy |
Toby |
Connecticut |
Connecticut |
Connecticut |
Connecticut |
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[#12] GEORGIA TECH YELLOW JACKETS at [#9] WAKE FOREST DEMON DEACONS |
Tuesday   8:00 PM CDT   JP Regional   Winston-Salem, NC |
Going into last week, Wake Forest was unbeaten and had a top four ranking in the SCS.com Fab 15. But two tough losses on the road at Texas and Duke will force the Deacons to jump back on their feet very quickly. That's because Georgia Tech, fresh off of a ten-point victory over Maryland last Saturday, comes to town. The key to Wake Forest's turn-around may be the play of center Eric Williams. The sophomore had been dominating until last week, when scored a total of 10 points in both games combined. After starting out the season with threee straight road wins, the Jackets have lost their last two away from the McDonald's Center. One team will get a monstrous ACC win on Tuesday night in Winston-Salem.
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SouthernCollegeSports.com Writers' Predictions |
Jarrod |
Jonathan |
Timothy |
Toby |
Wake Forest |
Wake Forest |
Georgia Tech |
Wake Forest |
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[#5] CINCINNATI BEARCATS at [#3] LOUISVILLE CARDINALS |
Wednesday   6:00 PM CDT   ESPN   Louisville, KY |
This game is not only one of the nation's biggest this week, it may be the biggest Conference USA game all season. The first of two meetings between the Bearcats and Cardinals matches two teams with a grand total of one loss. Cincinnati showed that their unblemished record is legitimate with an easy, 12-point road win at Marquette last week. The only loss for Rick Pitino's team all season was a season-opening, one-point, overtime defeat at the hands of Iowa. Since then, one could say that these two teams have been on a combined 26-game win streak. No player on either team ranks in CUSA's top nine scorers, but numbers ten through fourteen in that category are all either a Cardinal or a Bearcat.
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SouthernCollegeSports.com Writers' Predictions |
Jarrod |
Jonathan |
Timothy |
Toby |
Cincinnati |
Louisville |
Louisville |
Louisville |
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MISSISSIPPI STATE BULLDOGS at FLORIDA GATORS |
Wednesday   7:00 PM CDT   JP Regional   Gainesville, FL |
Both the Bulldogs and Gators picked up a tough loss against an SEC East opponent last week. Mississippi State had Kentucky beaten, but the 'Cats put home a lay-up at the buzzer to pull out a victory in Starkville on Tuesday. On Saturday, Florida saw a halftime lead disappear quickly as the Gators dropped a 14-point decision to Vanderbilt. The Bulldogs had a chance to regroup on Saturday and did so with a win over LSU in Baton Rouge. The Gators will get that same chance on Wednesday night. MSU junior forward Lawrence Roberts is one of only three SEC players averaging a double-double and will attempt to do just that in Gainesville Wednesday night, where the Gators are 8-1 this season.
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SouthernCollegeSports.com Writers' Predictions |
Jarrod |
Jonathan |
Timothy |
Toby |
Florida |
Mississippi State |
Mississippi State |
Mississippi State |
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UCLA BRUINS at [#1] STANFORD CARDINAL |
Thursday   7:30 PM CDT   FoxSportsNet Regional   Palo Alto, CA |
The top two teams in the PAC 10 standings get together in Palo Alto for one of two meetings in 2004 between the in-state rivals. For this meeting, the Bruins, who have lost only one game in January, will head about 300 miles northwest to Palo Alto. The Cardinal are one of only four remaining unbeaten teams in the nation and the only one on the West Coast. The past week and a half has been huge for Stanford as they picked up road wins at Arizona State and Arizona before returning home on Saturday to take down California. Each team has only one scorer in the PAC 10's top twelve, though both have five players scoring nine or more points per game. The winner leads the PAC 10 heading into the weekend.
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SouthernCollegeSports.com Writers' Predictions |
Jarrod |
Jonathan |
Timothy |
Toby |
Stanford |
Stanford |
UCLA |
Stanford |
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OKLAHOMA STATE COWBOYS at [#13] TEXAS LONGHORNS |
Saturday   3:00 PM CDT   ESPN+   Austin, TX |
This past week was huge for the Texas Longhorns. Rick Barnes' team got it started with a win over previously-unbeaten Wake Forest and finished things off with a two-point victory over Big XII rival Nebraska. Oklahoma State was also productive last week. The Cowboys rebounded from a 21-point loss at Texas Tech two Saturday's ago to pick up wins over in-state rival Oklahoma at home and Kansas State in Manhattan. Before these teams get together in Austin Saturday afternoon, though, each has a tough test in the middle of the week. On Tuesday, Texas visits Missouri, who upset OU Saturday, while Oklahoma State will host Colorado on Wednesday evening. OSU is 2-2 in road games so far this season.
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SouthernCollegeSports.com Writers' Predictions |
Jarrod |
Jonathan |
Timothy |
Toby |
Texas |
Texas |
Texas |
Texas |
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[#8] PITTSBURGH PANTHERS at SYRACUSE ORANGEMEN |
Saturday   7:00 PM CDT   ESPN2   Syracuse, NY |
This game is already huge in the Big East; if the Panthers and Orangemen can claim road wins in their mid-week games, it will become possibly the nation's biggest game of the weekend. After a season-opening loss to Charlotte, Syracuse has rattled off 13 straight wins, including victories vs Michigan State, at Missouri, and at Notre Dame. Any lack of respect shown towards Pittsburgh would be completely blown away if the Panthers could win both games this week. Even with a 1-1 split, Pitt's ranking in the national polls should improve. Coach Jamie Dixon's team has already survived tests against Alabama, Florida State, Georgia, and Notre Dame, but each of those games was at home.
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SouthernCollegeSports.com Writers' Predictions |
Jarrod |
Jonathan |
Timothy |
Toby |
Pittsburgh |
Syracuse |
Syracuse |
Pittsburgh |