College Basketball Weekend Preview
Thursday Stock Watch
Stock Up
Wisconsin- The Badgers won its fifth straight Big 10 game over the slumping Hoosiers 57-50 while only committing four turnovers in the game. Wisconsin is now 6-3 in the conference, just a half game behind conference co-leaders Michigan, Ohio State and Michigan State.
Saint Mary’s- The Gaels won at Loyola Marymount for its 11th straight win and SMC now has 20 victories on the season. They are 9-0 in West Coast Conference play, but they’ve put themselves in good position for an at-large bid no matter what.
Wagner/Robert Morris/St. Francis (NY)- It was a very, very good night for the upstarts chasing LIU Brooklyn in the Northeast Conference. Wagner, which fell to LIU last week, took care of business to go to 7-2 in conference play, is now tied with St. Francis (after they beat St. Francis of PA) and Robert Morris, which beat LIU. In simple terms, LIU is now at 8-1 being chased by three teams tied for second. It’s going to be a great race.
Nevada- The Wolfpack separated itself from the rest of the WAC by winning 68-60 at New Mexico State to go to 6-0, two games ahead of everyone else in the conference.
Stock Down
Indiana- What had been a 15-1 start has disintegrated with four losses in five games, including Thursday night’s setback in Madison against Wisconsin. The Hoosiers now sit in seventh place in the Big 10. Their resume will get them into the tournament, but they’re making things difficult.
Ole Miss- After beating Mississippi State a week ago, there was hope for some success for the Rebs. They led Florida by 10 at halftime, but squandered that lead and a great opportunity to beat a very good Gators team. At .500 in the SEC and no signature win, they’ve become an afterthought.
Iowa- The Hawkeyes had a gimme game at home against Nebraska to get back to .500 in the Big 10 and really blew it. At 11-10, tournament dreams may have officially gone by the wayside.
Butler- A loss at UW Milwaukee on Thursday brought the two-time finalists to 6-4 in the Horizon League and 12-10 overall, currently good for fifth in the conference. They’ll need a lot to make the NCAA’s this year.
LIU Brooklyn- That loss to Robert Morris brought the Blackbirds down to a one game lead on three other teams aggressively chasing the NEC lead.
Stock Also Down- Valparaiso, New Mexico State, Washington State.
Weekend Preview
Friday- The Ivy League lead is on the line tonight in New Haven when Harvard visits Yale in this rivalry matchup. Elsewhere, MAAC action heats up with a trio of important games and Boston University plays at Stony Brook (9 p.m. ESPNU) for the America East conference lead.
Saturday’s Top 10 Games
1) Mississippi State @ Florida, 1:30 p.m. ESPN3- The lone ranked battle of the weekend features two of the top four from the SEC and a great individual matchup between Arnett Moultrie and Patric Young.
2) West Virginia @ Syracuse, 1 p.m. ESPNU- With Fab Melo of the Orange out for a while with academic issues, Kevin Jones will be the key to a Mountaineer upset inside in this top four Big East battle.
3) Kansas @ Iowa State, 2 p.m. ESPN- The Cyclones play really well at home with Royce Young leading the charge, they played Missouri tough earlier this season, and the Jayhawks will have a decently tough task to win at Ames.
4) Saint Mary’s @ BYU, 9 p.m. ESPNU- After winning at Virginia Tech this week, the Cougars get a big opportunity for a signature win at home and the chance to significantly boost their at large hopes.
5) Virginia @ NC State, 8 p.m. ESPN2- We can assume that Duke, North Carolina and Florida State are locks to make the Big Dance, but how many more bids do they get? A win in Winston-Salem could really give the Cavaliers a nice win for the selection committee to look at.
6) Texas @ Baylor, 1 p.m. CBS- They played Kansas tough and got a must-win game over Iowa State, but how will the Longhorns play Baylor with the Bears coming off two huge losses last week?
7) Kentucky @ LSU, 4 p.m. ESPN3- It’s the first road game for the top ranked team against an inconsistent Tigers club.
8) Louisville @ Seton Hall, 8 p.m. ESPN3- Both teams are .500 in the Big East but we know they’re better than that. Which team will emerge with the momentum going into the second half of conference play?
9) Washington @ Arizona, 7 p.m. ESPN- While a win for Washington would be enormous as they try to chase down the Pac 12 lead, this could almost be a must-win for the Wildcats as they try to play to its potential and reach the Big Dance.
10) Middle Tennessee State @ Vanderbilt, 2 p.m.- This is a huge opportunity for MTSU, who already has 20 wins, to get a signature win against a vulnerable Commodores team. Will Vandy slip and fall?
Five More- St. Joe’s @ Temple, Valparaiso @ UW Milwaukee, Southern Miss @ UCF, Arkansas @ Alabama, Marshall @ Memphis.
Bonus Four More- Saint Louis @ UMass, VCU @ Georgia State, St. Francis (NY) @ Robert Morris, Denver @ UALR.
Sunday- Michigan @ Ohio State on CBS (1 p.m.) for the Big 10 lead? Yes, please! Indiana must beat Iowa (6 p.m. Big Ten), Notre Dame visits UConn (Noon, ESPN3) and Stanford has a gigantic game at Pac 12 leader Cal.
