College Basketball Weekend

No football this week so all of my attention turns to college basketball....

2. Duke-vs Maryland- Always a big rivalry; a game that the Terrapins get up more for than the Blue Devils. I mean there was the "F-U JJ" chants at College Park and the 10 points in one minute comeback as well. I have said this alot in the last couple of weeks, Duke is the best defense team in the nation and except for Gervais Vasquez, Maryland has no offense. DUKE 80-65

3. Connecticut-at 19. Notre Dame- My dad watched the UCONN game and said he wasnt impressed with the Husky plus he believed Nova should have beaten them. In my mind, no reason should Nova come close with the size the Huskies have. Hasheem Thabeet, the biggest waste of space called Luke Harangoody "not tough". Rut roh, big mistake when the Irish desperately need this win. I think they will be a dominating performance by Notre Dame. ND 78-68

4. Pittsburgh-at West Virgina (Sunday) Another huge Big East game that isnt being broadcast nationally and this one is another I will watch on ESPN360 if I get the time. The Mountaineers made a big time statement winning at Georgetown and they could pick up another top 15 victory on Sunday. They match up well with Pitt on the perimeter but nothing inside to stop DeJuan Blair so that could create some big time problems. PITT 76-73

5. Oklahoma-vs. 23. Baylor- This is a big time showdown in the Big 12 and it will prove if the Bears are for real. I personally think Oklahoma has one of the best inside-outside game and will prove to be very tough in the Big 12. I like Baylor but still they dont have it to beat a top 10 team. OKLA 69-62

7. Michigan State-at Ohio State (Sunday) I couldnt believe the Spartans, one of the hottest team in the NCAA loses at home doesnt make too much sense to me and others. I think Michigan State will have to forget quick because the Buckeyes will be hungry for this one. The big question will be can B.J. Mullens keep up with Goran Suton? If that happens, I think the Buckeyes will keep it close but I dont see anyone stopping Raymar Morgan. MSU 68-63

8. Syracuse-vs. 12. Louisville (Sunday) How is this game not on TV?! This is an awesome game to watch because it will be up and down throughout the whole game and if I get back to Eau Claire in time, I will definitely tune into ESPN360 for this one. The Orange didnt look good against Syracuse and the Cardinals have looked damn-near unbeatable so far. I will ride with Syracuse again because I think Louisville is unproven on the road so this is a true test. SYR 87-83

9. Clemson-vs. Georgia Tech- The Tigers are doing the same song and dance they have for the last couple years; start off strong and trail off in the ACC conference season. This is a must-win for the Tigers because the Yellow Jackets are the bottom of the barrel in the ACC so they should rebound nicely in this one. CLEM 83-75

10. Marquette-vs. DePaul- Very pleased with where my Marquette Golden Eagles are as they play in a big rivalry matchup. The Blue Demons havent really put a fight against a good team yet in the Big East but crazy things have happened in this game. If Marquette does their normal things they should win this one easily. MARQ 87-69

11. UCLA-at Washington- Tough game for a hot Bruin team as they play an equally hot team in Washington who finally have something to cheer for after their piss-poor football program. UCLA has done well on the road so far this year and the Huskies have beat Stanford, and USC who are both pretty good. Like I said about Baylor, they are good but not good enough to beat a top 15, trust me it will be close. UCLA 62-60

13. Xavier-at LSU- An interesting non-conference game with a decent LSU team who could use this win big time which would help their NCAA cause. Tasmin Mitchell is very good and the Tigers play very well at home. I think Xavier lives and dies by the three point shot if their shots arent falling, they will lose this game. I will take the Tigers barely. LSU 81-78

14. Georgetown-at Seton Hall (Sunday) The Hoyas looked awful on Thursday against the Mountaineers and Papa Thompson said "They need to be more thuggish." This song works here, but they really dont need much effort to beat the Pirates because they are one of the Big East's worst. GTOWN 73-68

15. Texas-vs. Texas A&M- We have talked all year about how hard Big East schedules are but the Aggies have been through the grinder with playing Oklahoma, at Kansas, and now Texas. Texas A&M will put up a fight because this is a rivalry game but it wont last for very long. TEXAS 75-59

17. Butler-vs. UW-Milwaukee- If you havent seen James Earyes from UWM, he is unreal. I hope he drops 40 on the Bulldogs. But in all seriousness, they need a couple big things to happen to beat Butler on Saturday. Now after they lose a disappointing game to Valpariso, they are definitely on the ropes and this will be the knockout punch. BUTL 68-57

20. Minnesota-at Indiana (Sunday) Ah thank you Gophers for letting me beat up on Tom Crean. I noticed Tommy boy was drinking regular Coke, are things really that bad there you have to switch sodas or did he look at the rankings lately? Great rebound game for the Gophers and no reason they shouldnt win by 20. MINN 75-51


21. Villanova-at South Florida- Whether a team heads down to Miami to play the Bulls its a deathtrap. Every game that is played in the Sun Dome seems to go down to the wire and fans really hate when this game comes up. The Wildcats put up a good effort against UCONN on Wednesday and I think they will come fired up to win this one. NOVA 78-71

24. Memphis-at Tennessee- A big time rivalry that has grown like Ron in the past three years; a lot of bad blood between these teams and the Volunteers came out victorious last year. Also Tennessee is picking up steam with a big win at Vandy earlier this year and I just am not that impressed with Memphis including Tyreke Evans. I like the Vols in Knoxville to get it done. TENN 75-67

25. Illinois-vs. Wisconsin- Let me tell you many Badger fans are starting to wonder if this could be one of the worst football/basketball seasons in a long time so far. I would like to think that Bo Ryan is going to have his team inspired to win and they will need a huge effort out of Trevon Hughes I believe if he pulls his head out of his ass, they can win this game if not it will be a long day in Champaign. Illinois is continuing to get better than they will pounce on a wounded Badger. ILLINI 62-57

-Charlie.