The Rest of the Week in College Basketball

Once again, I have been very slow to get things out to the wonderful people who read this blog but I will probably give another article after this one too. I am hoping to get out an NBA mid-season review started in the next couple days as well. I will recap shortly about last night and my insights on the upcoming big games this week.

Monday:
1. Connecticut 68 7. Louisville 51- I was happy that this game was a snoozefest so I could watch 24 right on schedule but anyways I am starting to believe in the Huskies more than ever before. I always believed that Hasheem Thabeet is softer than a roll of Charmin paper towl but in the last couple games, he has come on strong. Last night also proved why Terrence Williams cannot do it all, if the Cards want to go deep in the tourney they will need guys like Earl Clark and Samardo Samuels to step up.

24. Kansas 75 Baylor 65- Dont look now but the defending National Champs are now 7-0 in Big 12 play riding a seven game winning streak. Sheron Collins is the fastest player not named Ty Lawson and is becoming impossible to stop off the dribble. Baylor on the other hand has looked like paper tigers in the last couple weeks and their hopes for a tourney bid could be dwindling.

Tuesday:
13. Purdue at Ohio State- A pretty solid Big Ten matchup tonight as the Boilermakers who are playing very strong right now take on an up-down Buckeye team on the road tonight. I can only hope Mark "the Shark" Titus gets interviewed tonight but as with a lot of my Ohio State predictions, it will come down who steps up tonight other than B.J. Mullins and Evan Turner. I think they lose tonight by a slight margin, just not having enough. PURDUE 68-62

Wednesday:
West Virgina at 20. Syracuse- The Orange have hit some tough times in the past couple weeks being without superb bench player Andy Rautins and a banged-up Arizine Onauku and with a big game with Villanova looming, they need this win so they could use a big day out of one/two of the Big Three. The Mountaineers pushed Louisville to the edge last week and have the talent to beat the Orange. But Jim Boeheim will have his boys ready and they pull away late. CUSE 74-70

6. Wake Forest at Miami- You can tell that Wake is a young team because they are not able to handle big wins. After beating North Carolina and Duke this year, they have laid eggs the next game against both the Techs (Virgina, Georgia) and the U has been the most disappointing team this year for me personally. While I think this will be a good game, I think the Demon Deacons will come fired up and win this one. WAKE 79-70

16. Villanova at Providence- Another great Big East matchup as the Friars try to prove they belong with the big boys in the conference. Keno Davis has done a great job so far but after seeing them get stomped by the Huskies I had some concern if they were legit. They will need a big effort out of their backcourt if they want to win this one and I see them coming up short against a red-hot Wildcat team. NOVA 82-72

19. Minnesota at 13. Michigan State- The premier Big Ten matchup this week and the Spartans are the most confusing team in college basketball. They have a five game winning streak on the road but have lost two in a row at home. Now if Raymar Morgan doesnt play, I dont like State's chances but if he does, I think they will win. I am guessing in a big game like this, Morgan will be a go for Wednesday. MSU 69-64

3. Duke at 10. Clemson- What a Wednesday night lineup this is, holy crap. Another great game that showcases a team in Duke who needs to find a third scorer while this is the type of game the Tigers have to win to prove that they are legit. I think what will happen is this game will be a battle throughout but in the end, Travis Booker is too much for the Blue Devils. CLEM 84-82

Thursday:
20. Illinois at Wisconsin- This is really the only game I care about on Thursday and I agree with Doz that if the Badgers can win, they may be able to turn around their season although this game will be a battle. In round 1, the Badgers couldnt penetrate to save their souls and Demetri McCarney couldnt miss so if Wisconsin can figure out both situations they can win and I will give them a little love, they break the streak. UW 54-51

-Charlie.