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OHIO STATE PERFECTION ON THE LINE UP NORTH
February 7, 2011

SCS.comGAME OF THE WEEK

Ohio State at Wisconsin
Saturday 1 p.m.

Ohio State needs seven more victories to complete an undefeated regular season. The Buckeyes won in Champaign and avoided an upset at The Barn in Minnesota; they’ve won at Florida, annihilated Purdue at home and swept arch-rival Michigan.

But Ohio State faces its toughest task of the season Saturday afternoon when it heads to the Kohl Center. You don’t need me to tell you how often opponents win in Madison. Last season, an Evan Turner-led OSU team lost by 22 points at Wisconsin. Greg Oden’s crew lost there, too, and the program as a whole hasn’t earned a win at Wisky since Jan. 13, 1999.

BEST INDIVIDUAL MATCH-UP: David Lighty (Ohio State) vs. Jordan Taylor (Wisconsin): It’s sometimes hard to quantify defenders, but David Lighty’s certainly one of the nation’s best in that category. With the second-most steals in OSU history, Lighty can guard several positions on the floor, and he’ll draw a tough assignment with steady point guard Jordan Taylor. With the graduation of Trevon Hughes and Jason Bohannon, Taylor has taken advantage of the extra shots. He’s a threat from behind the arc and automatic from the free throw line—and like any Bo Ryan player, his production all comes within the offense. Lighty isn’t the only defender Taylor will see, however. Freshman Aaron Craft isn’t quite as established as his senior teammate, but he has a bright future on the defensive end. Through Monday, he’s even averaging more steals per game than Lighty despite logging nearly 13 less minutes per game.

BEST STORYLINE: Breaking the Streak: As I mentioned before, Wisconsin has not lost at home to Ohio State in more than a decade. Even the Final Four-bound Buckeyes of 2006-07 could not win at the Kohl Center. The Grateful Red will of course be geared up for this contest Saturday for one of the building’s biggest games in years. This isn’t the first time team with aspirations of finishing undefeated has traveled to Madison, though. Remember the 2005 Illinois team that shot lights out from three with that beautiful motion offense? Every college basketball pundit in America thought its undefeated streak would end at the Kohl Center, but Illinois escaped with a 10-point win that season.

HOW THE GAME WILL BE WON: Depth: Neither Wisconsin or Ohio State is especially deep, with each rotation containing only seven to eight players. And both teams rely heavily on stars: for the Buckeyes, it’s Jared Sullinger, and for Wisconsin, it’s Jon Leuer and Jordan Taylor. The winner of Saturday’s game will need contributions from another source. Last week, the Badgers’ Ryan Evans scored ten points and made several important plays in the final minutes of a win against Purdue. There’s one player in particular to keep an eye on for Wisconsin—and he’s not hard to miss with his wild, red hair. Mike Bruesewitz hasn’t scored in three games, but he makes the most of his minutes. He forces Bo Ryan to play him by making key deflections here or there to save possessions and bring needed energy to the floor. At the risk of sounding like a basketball snob, he’s a typical Wisconsin winning player.

BOTTOM LINE: Ohio State doesn’t simply rely on Sullinger. It has offensive options all over the floor, especially at the guard position. Make no mistake, this is the best team in America. The undefeated run will end, though, and it’ll end at the hands of Wisconsin, a balanced team that won’t lose in front of the Grateful Red.

Prediction: Wisconsin 65, Ohio State 62

MUST-SEE MATCHUPS

Pittsburgh at West Virginia
Monday 6 p.m.

Ashton Gibbs won’t play tonight due to an injury, so there’s one strike against Pittsburgh on the road in the Backyard Brawl. And Casey Mitchell has returned from a suspension for West Virginia. With Gibbs, Pittsburgh is America’s most efficient offensive team and has the best defensive backcourt around. Without him, I’m not sure they escape Morgantown with a victory.

Prediction: West Virginia 67, Pittsburgh 60

Missouri at Kansas
Monday 8 p.m.

Like Ohio State’s woes in Madison, Missouri hasn’t won at Allen Fieldhouse since 1999 either. Considering the Tigers haven’t even won a conference road game yet, I wouldn’t bet the house that this will be the year MU breaks the streak. Josh Selby won’t play for Kansas, though, and there’s no pressure whatsoever on the Tigers. They’re expected to lose. By a lot. So I say it’ll be closer than expected.

Prediction: Kansas 76, Missouri 69

North Carolina at Duke
Wednesday 8 p.m.

Hey, did you hear Larry Drew transferred from North Carolina? I heard the news, no less than eight times a day for the past week. For a player who averaged 4.4 points per game, Larry Drew certainly became the most unlikely player in basketball history to become a household name. Even without him, UNC still doesn’t have a competent point guard, and it’s not a top-25 caliber team anyway. I’m not impressed by a five-game winning streak in the ACC’s worst season in history, no matter the margin of victory. This one’s getting ugly on Wednesday… real ugly.

Prediction: Duke 105, North Carolina 71

Georgetown at Syracuse
Wednesday 6 p.m.

You have to love old-fashioned, Big East brawls like Georgetown vs. Syracuse in venues like the Carrier Dome. Both teams took freefalls during the middle of the winter but appear to have recovered. I’m liking the Chris Wright/Scoop Jardine match-up in this game, and it may even determine the outcome of the game.

Prediction: Georgetown 62, Syracuse 60

UPSET WATCH

Baylor at Texas
Saturday 3 p.m.

These days, Texas is unbeatable. Perfect, even. The Longhorns play stunning defense. They’ve finally got great point guards. Jordan Hamilton is a Player of the Year candidate, and this team has more depth than anyone in the Big 12. Just a little advice, though: expect the unexpected. I fully trust Rick Barnes and feel he’s the most underrated coach in the country. I’m not saying his team is destined for another collapse. I’m just saying that Baylor may have righted the ship with an overtime win at Texas A&M, and as bad as the Bears have looked this season, they’ve got future NBA All-Stars all over the court. This is exactly the kind of game that could turn Baylor’s season around for good.

Prediction: Baylor 71, Texas 70

UNDER THE RADAR

American at Bucknell
Wednesday 8 p.m.

If I were a normal college basketball writer, I’d start this paragraph by introducing Vlad Moldovenau to you. I’d talk about how he’s such a dominant forward for American and how he’s led the Eagles to second place in the Patriot League. I’d subtly let you know how savvy I am for recognizing a player on American, and then I’d pick the Moldovenau-led Eagles to win. Everything I’ve said to this point is true, but I’m going to make a point by picking Bucknell at home. The Star Player Theorem will force most to go with American, the pre-season league favorite, but I’m better than that. I think.

Prediction: Bucknell 66, American 61

Florida Atlantic at Denver
Thursday 8 p.m.

Perhaps you’ve heard of Mike Jarvis. He’s coaching at Florida Atlantic now and has his program primed for an NCAA Tournament run. With a comfortable lead in the East Division, the Owls now head to Denver to face the West leaders, a team that won its first six conference games but have been inconsistent since. Denver runs a crisp Princeton offense predicated on layups and threes, and lately the threes haven’t been falling all that often. Against Arkansas State, DU scored just 17 points in the first half. It’ll need a better performance than that to knock off a young, talented FAU team.

Prediction: Florida Atlantic 76, Denver 66

Wichita State at Northern Iowa
Saturday 9 p.m.

Northern Iowa’s MVC season began on a rough note, but the Panthers came roaring back. Until last week. Ben Jacobson’s squad lost at Drake, dropping it two games out of first place. That’s the kind of frustration Jacobson has dealt with after losing three starters from a Sweet 16 team. Wichita State’s in first place right now but has a tough road ahead. First, it’ll head to Cedar Falls this weekend. Two weeks later, WSU travels to Springfield for a date with Missouri State. The Shockers have uncharacteristically lost two games at Koch Arena already, so they’ll need to make up for that with a few road wins.

Prediction: Northern Iowa 59, Wichita State 55

Last week’s prediction record: 5-4
Overall record: 61-35

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