College Hoops Sneak Preview – Jan 20: Five Must-See Games To Finish the Week
Even if your sights are set on the NFL Conference Championship games, there is a ton of great college basketball that will be played between tonight and game-time in Pittsburgh and Chicago on Sunday.
Lots of match-ups between teams who both need a win to stay on track in their conference races.
Let's take a lightning-fast look at the biggest battles, five must-see games to finish off the week!
(25) Arizona at (20) Washington: Thursday, 10:30 EST
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The two best teams in the Pac-10 go head-to-head tonight in Seattle to see who will sit on top of the early conference race.
The schools have alternated wins and losses over the last six meetings with each winning at home.
Washington (13-4, 5-1) is favored to win. They have yet to lose at Hec Edmundson Pavilion so far this season in nine contests.
Arizona (15-3, 4-1) is hoping to pull off the upset and continue their resurgence into college basketball relevance.
While the Huskies have won the last three games between these two teams, the average margin of victory is 6.7 points, so expect another close one.
Not only are these two teams 1-2 in the Pac-10 standings, they are first and second in scoring (Washington leads), shooting percentage (Arizona leads) and three-point shooting (Washington leads).
Players to Watch:
Arizona - Derrick Williams: The Wildcats C/PF is having a phenomenal year. He is leading the country in points-per-shot and free throws attempted. He is currently second in the Pac-10 in scoring (19.7 ppg). If Williams goes off tonight, the Cats will pull off the upset.
Washington - Isaiah Thomas: The Huskies lead guard is third in the league in scoring, averaging 16.5 points per outing. Thomas has had to take on a larger role since Abdul Gaddy went down to a season-ending injury a few weeks ago. If Thomas takes control of the game, it will be a long night for Sean Miller's Wildcats.
Prediction: Arizona by three
(1) Ohio State at (22) Illinois: Saturday, 12:00 EST
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One team that has jumped into the top spot in the nation (Ohio State)
One team that needs to stop their recent bout with erratic play (Illinois)
The Fighting Illini will host the Buckeyes on Saturday in a monster game.
Illinois (14-5, 4-2 Big Ten) lost two straight Big Ten games in a row (Penn State and Wisconsin) before coming home to Champaign to beat Michigan State 71-62 on Tuesday night.
Ohio State (19-0, 6-0 Big Ten), now No. 1 in the nation, won back-to-back nail-biters against Michigan and Penn State before blowing out Iowa 70-48 on Wednesday night.
Neither team has trouble putting the ball in the hole. Ohio State is leading the conference in scoring (79.3 ppg) with Illinois close behind them in third (75.2 ppg).
Illinois is the best three-point shooting team in the Big-10 (42.7 percent) and holds a slight advantage over the Buckeyes in FT shooting (71 to 69 percent).
Ohio State will take it either inside or outside; they are tops in the league in shooting (50 percent) from the floor.
Players to Watch
Ohio State - Jared Sullinger: The nation's top freshman will face a strong test against Illinois' long frontcourt line-up. The Buckeyes don't need Sullinger to have a huge game, but his role in the outcome of this game is unmistakable.
Illinois - Demetri McCamey: One of the most complete players in the league, McCamey averages 16 ppg and leads the conference in assists (7.2 apg). He triggers the Illinois attack, and if he gets rolling in front of the home crowd, look out!
In last years game between these two teams (when they played in Champaign), no Illinois player cracked double figures in points, and Ohio State won handily, 72-53
Prediction: Ohio State by eight
(7) Villanova at (3) Syracuse, Saturday, 12:00 EST
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This is a bounce-back game for two of the best teams in the country, who both lost heart-wrenchers on the road on MLK day.
And what a game it will be....Syracuse officials said Wednesday that more than 33,000 tickets had been sold for the game.
Last February's game between these same two teams drew 34,616, an NCAA record for the largest on-campus crowd to see a college basketball game.
Villanova (16-2, 4-1 Big East) was the latest victim to Kemba Walker's late game heroics. The nation's No. 2 leading scorer hit a runner in the lane to take down the Wildcats.
Syracuse (18-1, 5-1 Big East) overcame one of the worst starts in recent memory (down 19-0 to open the game), only to end up losing to Pitt in the closing minutes.
You couldn't have two teams that statistically were much more closely matched than these two.
They are shooting the exact same percentage from three-point range (35.2 percent).
Villanova comes in scoring 76.6 ppg; Syracuse is right behind them at 75 ppg.
Players to Watch
Villanova - Corey Fisher: The Wildcats senior guard is a key to their success. Against UConn on Monday, Fisher put up a season-high 28 points. While he doesn't have to exceed that point total, 'Nova needs him to step up again.
Syracuse - Rick Jackson: Without knowing whether the Orange will have Kris Joseph back from injury, Jackson, the Big East leading rebounder, needs to be ready to pick up the slack. Jackson is a double-double machine (12 on the season.)
Prediction: Syracuse by four
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(11) Texas at (2) Kansas: Saturday, 4:00 EST
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One of the best match-ups this early season will be played at Allen Fieldhouse on Saturday between the top two teams in the Big 12, Texas and Kansas.
Both teams absolutely took apart their conference opponents earlier this week.
The Longhorns (15-3, 3-0 Big 12) are coming off a ridiculous rout of rival Texas A&M on Wednesday, 81-60.
Kansas (18-0, 3-0 Big 12) blasted Baylor on the road in Waco, 85-65.
Texas is the league's best rebounding team, averaging 41.8 rpg.
Kansas is the nation's best shooting team, hitting on 52.4 percent of their shots from the field.
The Longhorns will be coming in looking for revenge over last year's game. The two teams only played once (in Austin), and the Jayhawks beat them by 12.
Players to Watch
Texas - Jordan Hamilton: The Longhorns 6'7" G/F is off to a fantastic start, averaging 19.7 ppg and grabbing 7.1 rpg. While Texas has lots of weapons, they seem to play their best when Hamilton is on top of his game.
Kansas - Marcus Morris: Kansas, like Texas, has no shortage of offensive firepower, but Morris is the man they look to the most. The 6'9" forward is playing at a very high level, leading the team in scoring (17.2 ppg) and while shooting a scorching 61.2 percent from the field.
Prediction: Kansas by two
(18) Michigan State at (13) Purdue: Saturday, 9:00 EST
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Two of the top teams in the Big Ten, Michigan State and Purdue, will go at it at Mackey Arena on Saturday.
Michigan State (12-6, 4-2 Big Ten) won two straight OT games over Wisconsin and Northwestern, but then lost on the road on Tuesday against Illinois.
Purdue (16-3, 5-1 Big Ten) lost two in a row to Minnesota and West Virginia before beating Penn State at home on Thursday by one.
These two teams are very closely matched: in scoring (Purdue - 74.4 ppg; MSU 72.4 ppg), in rebounding (MSU - 39.1 rpg; Purdue - 36.8 rpg), and in shooting (Purdue - 45 percent; MSU 44 percent).
Both teams shoot 37 percent from beyond the arc.
Players to Watch
MSU - Durrell Summers: The Spartans' 6'5" shooting guard needs to get back on track. In MSU's last three games, Summers is shooting a combined seven-for-23 from the field and three-for-13 from three-point range.
Purdue - Jajuan Johnson: The Boilermakers' 6'10" F/C is having a huge year, leading Purdue in both scoring (20.5 ppg) and rebounding (8.1 rpg). The latest three-game wobble in Purdue's season is not on Johnson. In those games, he is averaging 27 points and seven rebounds.
Prediction: Purdue by one
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