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| NO NFL MEANS MORE COLLEGE HOOPS THIS WEEK
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January 19, 2009
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Daniel, SCS.com Staff Writer
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Contact Daniel
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 I love NFL football just as much as the next guy, and yesterday’s conference championship games were quality entertainment. I’m still not sure if Willis McGahee is alive or not. It’s hard to tell after such a gruesome hit, something you will never see in a college hoops game. So even though it’s a little upsetting that we’ve still got two weeks until the Super Bowl—two weeks without any football at all—that just means that college basketball is all we have to talk about, unless you’re into the NHL, NBA or some other sport I’m not aware of. Personally, I love all the attention on college hoops, and I’ve been waiting for someone to start talking about it since November. You know I love to talk basketball, so without further ado, here’s your Weekly Preview for January 19th. And by the way, happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Inauguration Eve. The first one’s a holiday. The latter is something I made up.
GAMES OF THE WEEK
Syracuse at Pittsburgh
Monday 6:00 PM ESPN
Down goes Pitt. The number one team in the land blew a late lead and fell 69-63 to Louisville on Saturday. How does Syracuse sound as a rebound game? The Orange just blasted Notre Dame at the Carrier Dome, holding Luke Harangody to 9-28 shooting (he did score 25 points) and had six players score in double figures. Such is life in the Big East, I guess.
Pittsburgh struggled offensively against Louisville, shooting just 35 percent from the floor. DeJuan Blair inexplicably took just four shots and battled foul trouble, while Sam Young went cold from the outside. The Panthers built a comfortable ten point second half lead and blew it because they couldn’t hit a thing at the end of the game. Despite this horrid offensive performance and the late game meltdown (which can be partly attributed to Louisville’s defensive effort), Pittsburgh nearly won this game—and probably should have. That should tell you something about this team.
Syracuse’s win against Notre Dame should tell you something about Jim Boeheim’s team as well. Its bench isn’t a strength, but the starting five may be as good as any. With so many scorers on the court at any given time, it’s impossible to defend the Orange, and their low post game with Paul Harris and Arinze Onuaku compliments Jonny Flynn and Eric Devendorf on the outside. When Syracuse runs into Pittsburgh, though, shots won’t come as easily as they did against Notre Dame. The Panthers will be able to slow down the Orange, and they are not going to play nearly as bad as they did against Louisville.
Prediction: Pittsburgh 75, Syracuse 69
Clemson at North Carolina
Wednesday 8:00 PM ESPN
These two teams had some epic battles last season. Both regular season games went into overtime, and North Carolina edged Clemson by five in the ACC tournament. The first game at Littlejohn Coliseum was decided on a buzzer beater by Wayne Ellington. The second game in Chapel Hill went to double overtime. The ACC tournament game was a bit less exciting, but Clemson led at halftime and kept battling the second half. As we all know, the Tar Heels have basically the same team back, and the Tigers might even be better this season. Anything less than an overtime thriller will be a bust for me.
It should be noted that Clemson has never won at the Dean Dome. Ever. The Tigers came really, really close last year in that double overtime loss, but couldn’t break the streak. They’ll be ready to play on Wednesday, though North Carolina is starting to look better after that early season crisis. Roy Williams took his share of criticism, and then guided his team to a drilling of Virginia and a sound victory at home over Miami.
Wake Forest shredded Clemson’s press last Saturday, as the Demon Deacons came out of the weekend as the only undefeated team left in the nation. And since North Carolina has so much speed and such an effective transition game, you might think that the Tar Heels will have a field day against Clemson. That wasn’t the case at all last season, though. UNC turned the ball over 20 times in two of those games, and 19 times in the other contest. Turnovers were a huge issue the loss to Wake Forest—the Tar Heels committed 18 in that game. If they can’t hold on to the ball, they may let Clemson earn its first victory in Chapel Hill. I don’t have the courage to pick the Tigers in this one, though. I’m just hoping for a close game. In the end, North Carolina’s not going to overlook Clemson, and it will not drop another game at the Dean Dome.
Prediction: North Carolina 86, Clemson 84
MUST SEE MATCH-UPS
Ohio State at Illinois
Tuesday 6:00 PM ESPN
When David Lighty was first injured, Ohio State went into panic mode. First, it was the embarrassing blowout to West Virginia on its home floor. Then, the Buckeyes barely beat Iowa in Columbus and couldn’t win road contests at Minnesota or Michigan State. Something may have changed, however, now that Ohio State just won at Michigan on Saturday—still without Lighty. Perhaps the Buckeyes are heading the advice of their leader, Evan Turner, who said after the Minnesota loss that “We’ve got to grow up. Don’t even mention Lighty.”
Illinois hasn’t endured any slumps this season. Despite a tough loss at Michigan State this weekend, the Illini actually led for almost the entire game. This team is scary good, especially at home. B.J. Mullens is starting to improve and he’ll be a load for Illinois, and Ohio State’s road win at Michigan proves it can win in tough environments. I am still too impressed by the Fighting Illini, whose only home loss came by two points to Clemson.
Prediction: Illinois 72, Ohio State 66
Villanova at Connecticut
Wednesday 6:00 PM ESPN
Villanova’s 14-3 record is a bit misleading. The only win on its schedule of note came against Temple, and the Wildcats are off to 2-2 start in the Big East with losses to Marquette and Louisville. A notable win is going to have to come sometime, but I’m not sure it will happen on Wednesday. Connecticut is just too strong on the inside with Hasheem Thabeet and Jeff Adrien, and the Huskies are athletic enough to keep up with that fast Villanova attack. The Wildcats can win if they avoid Thabeet in the paint and hit shots from the perimeter, and they also need to continue getting to the free throw line like they have.
Prediction: Connecticut 71, Villanova 63
West Virginia at Georgetown
Thursday 6:00 PM
Coming off a loss at Duke, it’s right back into Big East play for Georgetown. The Hoyas don’t play a ranked team until Jan. 31, so that’s a nice break in the Big East schedule, but West Virginia is certainly no slouch. The Mountaineers have been blown out in their past two games against good competition, losing by double digits against Georgetown and Marquette. The main concern is West Virginia’s rebounding problems, which is unbelievable considering that’s Bob Huggins’ forte. Georgetown isn’t the best team on the boards either, but the Hoyas should win this game handily.
Prediction: Georgetown 66, West Virginia 59
Purdue at Minnesota
Thursday 6:00 PM ESPN
Good thing Minnesota isn’t playing in Evanston on Thursday. Yesterday’s game at Northwestern was a disaster for Tubby Smith, and things aren’t getting any easier with Purdue coming to town. This game begins a brutal stretch for the Boilermakers, who are already behind in the Big Ten at 3-2. The next give games for Purdue are at Minnesota, at Wisconsin, vs. Michigan, at Ohio State and at Illinois. And they say the Big East is difficult! The good news for the Boilermakers is they are finally getting healthy, with Chris Kramer and Robbie Hummel back.
Prediction: Purdue 67, Minnesota 62
OTHER NOTABLE GAMES
Texas A&M at Kansas
Monday 8:00 PM ESPN
A&M laid an egg on the road against Oklahoma State a few weeks ago, and Kansas has played outstanding at Allen Fieldhouse. The Jayhawks are young and still a work in progress, but the Aggies won’t hang around in Lawrence.
Prediction: Kansas 77, Texas A&M 69
Tennessee at Vanderbilt
Tuesday 8:00 PM ESPN
Tennessee might be in trouble as far as NCAA tournament seeding and national exposure goes, and now the SEC East is in question. Vanderbilt is never easy to beat at Memorial Gym, but the Commodores aren’t a strong team this year.
Prediction: Tennessee 83, Vanderbilt 71
Michigan at Penn State
Tuesday 8:00 PM Big Ten Network
Penn State has already beaten Purdue at home, so Michigan will have a fight on its hands. I still like this Wolverines team, and I’m not sure if the Nittany Lions are for real or not.
Prediction: Michigan 76, Penn State 66
George Mason at Northeastern
Wednesday 6:00 PM
Big-time game in the CAA here. 7-0 George Mason visits 6-1 Notheastern, who is tied with VCU for second place in the conference.
Prediction: Northeastern 70, George Mason 66
Florida State at Miami
Wednesday 6:30 PM
Florida State is quietly flying under the radar, but this is probably an NCAA tournament team right now. Miami couldn’t stick with North Carolina on Saturday and will also be in the Dance come March. In this important, middle-of-the-pack ACC game, I think Florida State’s power in the paint will be the difference.
Prediction: Florida State 70, Miami 68
Mississippi State at LSU
Wednesday 7:00 PM
This game is going to get lost in the shuffle, but don’t underestimate just how huge this contest is for both SEC West teams. The outcome of the Mississippi State/LSU series might just decide the division, as these are clearly the two frontrunners with Arkansas at 0-3 in the conference. LSU has been very inconsistent and I think the Bulldogs will ride their winning streak to a 4-0 SEC record.
Prediction: Mississippi State 74, LSU 69
Missouri at Oklahoma State
Wednesday 8:00 PM Big 12 Network
Stillwater is a daunting task for any team, and Missouri still needs to prove it can win on the road after falling to Nebraska in Lincoln earlier this month. This will be a high-flying, up-tempo game with a score probably in the 90s, and though Mizzou does have the advantage against an undersize Oklahoma State team, Gallagher-Iba will be too overwhelming.
Prediction: Oklahoma State 92, Missouri 85
Arizona State at Arizona
Wednesday 8:30 PM FSN
Arizona is coming off an absolute heartbreaker against USC, while Arizona State just knocked off UCLA at Pauley Pavilion. When these two rivals get together, it’s always fun, and I like Arizona State to edge the Wildcats, building off that road win in Los Angeles.
Prediction: Arizona State 79, Arizona 77
UNLV at BYU
Wednesday 9:00 PM
Two favorites to win the Mountain West will square off at one of the most intimidating home courts in the nation. UNLV has struggled lately after a nice start in non-conference play, and a win here would be monumental.
Prediction: BYU 68, UNLV 66
Wisconsin-Green Bay at Butler
Thursday 8:00 PM
Butler had a heck of a time with Illinois-Chicago this weekend, so we’ll see how the Bulldogs fare against an even better Horizon League team in Wisconsin-Green Bay. As far and away the best program in the conference, Butler will always have a target on its back, so it’s important for this team to bring its best game every night.
Prediction: Butler 66, Wisc-Green Bay 60
UCLA at Washington
Thursday 10:00 PM FSN
Washington is in the mix in the Pac-10 and won’t back down to UCLA, who just lost a home game to Arizona State. Jon Brockman will be a huge mismatch for the Bruins, who are a perimeter-oriented team. I think that Ben Howland’s team will have the toughness to avoid a second straight loss, however.
Prediction: UCLA 69, Washington 63
Last week’s prediction record: 9-5 (if you’re paying attention, I forgot to predict two of the games from last week. Though I’m fairly confident not a single person ever gets to the bottom of one of my columns, so this will probably never be read).
Overall prediction record: 100-56
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