Big Week in Conference Play Featuring Some Rivalries

I'm previewing the men's college basketball games to watch this week. There are big conference showdowns and some big time rivalries on display.

Monday

Connecticut @ #25 Louisville - 7:00 PM EST, ESPN

UConn got a much needed win on Saturday when they pounded Seton Hall. Can the victory propel the Huskies to make a run, or was the win just a mirage? Louisville has quietly won four in a row in conference play.

Tuesday

#11 Florida @ #1 Kentucky - 7:00 PM EST, ESPN

Florida has won seven in a row, all of which were in SEC play. The Gators have looked like the second best team in the conference. Kentucky just keeps win basketball games. Freshman Anthony Davis is just a beast. People are saying is the most dominant player to play in the SEC since Shaquille O'Neal.

Wednesday

#14 Georgetown @ #2 Syracuse - 7:00 PM EST, ESPN

Georgetown has played solid in conference play so far and are coming off a win over Connecticut and a demolition of South Florida. Syracuse keeps churning out wins. The got Fab Melo back in Saturday's win as well. Will the Hoyas have enough to pull the upset, or will the Orange display their dominance of the Big East once again?

#8 Kansas @ #6 Baylor - 7:00 PM EST, ESPN2

The top of the Big 12 standings shows three teams tied for the lead with conference records of 8-2. Missouri, Kansas, and Baylor have all spent time in the Top 10 of the polls this season. On Wednesday in Waco, Kansas and Baylor faceoff. Kansas is coming off a tough loss at Missouri. Baylor is building steam once again having won four straight.

Saint Louis @ Saint Joseph's - 8:30 PM EST

The Atlantic Ten standings have been crazy this season so far. The top of the standings are so crowded right now. In fact, six teams are currently within a game of first place. St. Louis is one of those teams with a 6-3 conference record. The Billikens are coming off solid conference wins at home over St. Bonaventure and Dayton. St. Joseph's is 5-4 in conference play, so they have some work to do. The Hawks have taken some steps in the right direction with wins over Richmond and La Salle.

#5 Duke @ #6 North Carolina - 9:00 PM EST, ESPN

Duke and North Carolina. It is the rivalry of all rivalries in college basketball. Normally, it is also the game to decide who will be in first place in the ACC. That is not the case this year as both teams are looking up at Florida State. Duke is coming off a shocking overtime loss at home to Miami. North Carolina came from behind last Saturday to win at Maryland. The Tar Heels have won five in a row since losing to Florida State.

Notre Dame @ West Virginia - 9:00 PM EST, ESPNU

Notre Dame seems to be as hot as any team in the country right now. The Fighting Irish have beaten three Top 25 teams in their past four games. West Virginia held on Saturday to beat Providence in overtime. The win ended a three game losing skid.

Thursday

Valparaiso @ Cleveland State - 7:00 PM EST

First place in the Horizon League is on the line in this matchup. You might not think this a big deal, but Butler plays in this conference, and we know what they have done in recent years. Cleveland State did upset Vanderbilt earlier this year, so these are two teams to watch out for.

#16 Saint Mary's @ Gonzaga - 11:00 PM EST, ESPN2

St. Mary's has looked downright dominant as of late. The Gaels are winners of twelve straight and undefeated in conference play. They have already beaten rival Gonzaga once and would love to do it again to prove a point. Gonzaga rebounded from a loss at BYU with a win at Pepperdine on Saturday.

Friday

Iona @ Loyola (MD) - 7 PM EST, ESPNU

First place in the MAAC is up for grabs in this game. Both teams are 11-2 in conference play. Iona got revenge on Saturday winning at Manhattan to get a big win. The Gaels have won four in a row. Loyola has won six in a row since losing at Iona on January 15. The Greyhounds won each of those games by double digits.

#23 Harvard @ Pennsylvania - 7:00 PM EST

Despite being ranked, Harvard isn't a lock for an at-large bid for the NCAA tournament. It would be much easier if the Crimson would just win the Ivy League and get the automatic bid. They are undefeated in conference play so far, but they need to get by perennial conference contender Penn. The Quakers are 4-1 in conference play.

Saturday (There are a lot of games Saturday, so I am just going to list them.)

#25 Louisville @ West Virginia - 12:00 PM EST, ESPN

Connecticut @ #2 Syracuse - 1:00 PM EST, CBS

#18 Virginia @ #6 North Carolina - 1:00 PM EST, ESPN3

#6 Baylor @ #4 Missouri - 1:30 PM EST, ESPN3

VCU @ Old Dominion - 2:00 PM EST, Comcast Sports

Cincinnati @ #15 Marquette - 3:00 PM EST, ESPNU

#17 San Diego State @ #13 UNLV - 4:00 PM EST, NBC Sports

Witchita State @ #12 Creighton - 5:00 PM EST, ESPN2

#10 Michigan State @ #3 Ohio State - 6:00 PM EST, ESPN

#1 Kentucky @ Vanderbilt - 9:00 PM EST, ESPN

Xavier @ Temple - 9:00 PM EST, ESPN2

Busting Out the BracketBusters

142 teams. 71 games. 16 conferences. The matchups for the 10th Annual BracketBusters event were announced last night. For those of you who don't know what this is, I will explain. In college basketball, there are six power conferences (Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, ACC, SEC, and Pac-12). These are considered to be the best collegiate conferences in the country. What happens with the BracketBuster games is that the best teams from the non-power conferences play each other to help show which teams are better than others. The best of these games are aired live on national television. The games will be taking place on Friday, February 17 and Saturday, February 18.

Here are the Top 5 BracketBuster games (all on February 18) in my opinion:

#16 St. Mary's @ #9 Murray State - 6:00 PM EST, ESPN/ESPN2

St. Mary's is in control of the WCC. With an overall record of 21-2, the Gaels are 10-0 in conference play with two wins over BYU and one over Gonzaga. Murray State is the only undefeated team left in the country, but the Gaels will be their toughest opponent so far. This game should give us a better indication of whether or not the Racers can finish off the perfect season and/or make a tournament run.

Long Beach State @ #12 Creighton - 10:00 PM EST, ESPN2

Long Beach State is 9-0 in conference play. The 49ers used a tough non-conference schedule to prepare for big games such as this one. Creighton has had an impressive season so far. They have non-conference wins over San Diego State and three Big Ten teams. They also currently sit atop what is a very deep and talented Missouri Valley Conference. This is an intriguing matchup all-around.

Nevada @ Iona - 4:00 PM EST, ESPN/ESPN2

Nevada stumbled out of the gates by losing their first two games, but have won eighteen out of nineteen since. The Wolfpack are led by a solid guard combo of Deonte Burton and Malik Story. Iona is tied atop the MAAC standings with Manhattan and Loyola (MD). I'm not sure what gave the Gaels the edge to receive this matchup, but the bottomline is that they got it. Iona likes to run an up-tempo offense, so this should be a high-scoring affair.

Wichita State @ Davidson - 12:00 PM, ESPN/ESPN2

Wichita State currently sits in second place in the Missouri Valley Conference. Their only two conference losses were to first-place Creighton and in triple overtime at Drake. The Shockers most convincing win came in their beatdown of UNLV at home. The Davidson Wildcats are the favorite to win the Southern Conference. Their best win this season is clearly an upset of Kansas in Kansas City. This game will help determine whether that was a fluke and which of these teams is a contender.

Drexel @ Cleveland State - 11:00 AM, ESPNU

Drexel started off the season slow with a 2-4 record. Since then, the Dragons have won fifteen of sixteen and are tied for second in the Colonial Athletic Conference. While Drexel seems like a long shot for at an at-large bid for the tournament, a big road win here could give the momentum they need going into their conference tournament. Cleveland State opened up play with the first major upset of season, a win over a then #7 ranked Vanderbilt team. The Vikings currently lead the Horizon. Both these teams are defensively minded, so expect a low-scoring grinder in this one.

Here is a listing of all of the nationally televised games: http://espnbracketbusters.com/site/about/tv-schedule

Here is a listing of all of the rest of the games: http://espnbracketbusters.com/site/about/tv-schedule?id=12

Weekend Special: Who Should be on Upset Alert?

Saturday's Games to Watch

West Virginia @ #4 Syracuse - 1:00PM, ESPNU

The key matchup here will be how Syracuse handles West Virginia star Kevin Jones inside. The Orange are without Fab Melo once again, so they will need their other big men to step up defensively and on the glass. Jones as been an absolute force in Big East play this season. If the Mountaineers have a shot at the upset, they will need Jones to be that stellar again.

Texas @ #7 Baylor - 1:00PM, CBS

Texas is an improving young team that is fully capable of pulling an upset. However, they will play an angry Baylor team that is coming off its first two losses of the season. If they Bears exploit their advantage inside, they should get the win.

#16 Mississippi State @ #13 Florida - 1:30PM, ESPN3

Mississippi State has the size and strength inside to possibly give Florida some trouble. The Gators guards have been playing great and their team defense has stepped up in a big way as of late. This game should give us a better picture of both teams chances in March.

#5 Kansas @ Iowa State - 2:00PM, ESPN

This is a popular upset pick among the experts. Iowa State has an edge on the perimeter with their great guard play. They also have a big man in Royce White, who is capable of holding Kansas stud Thomas Robinson in check. The Hilton Coliseum should be on a full tilt, so Kansas is going to have to play very well in order to exit as the victors.

Middle Tennessee @ Vanderbilt - 2:00PM

This is a statement game for Middle Tennessee. They have a 20-2 record overall and are 9-0 in Sun Belt Conference play. However, this is there last chance to get a signature non-conference win. Vanderbilt has had their ups and downs all season. It will be interesting to see how they play against an amped up Blue Raiders team.

Cincinnati @ Rutgers - 6:00PM, ESPN3

Cincinnati was cruising having won 10 out of 11 games. But then they dropped their last two prior to this one. Rutgers has had their moments this season and have shown signs of hope for the future. The Scarlet Knights would love to get another quality win under their belts. It will be interesting to see how the Bearcats bounce back. If they are going to be a serious contender, this is a must win game.

#20 St. Mary's @ BYU - 9:00PM, ESPNU

St. Mary's convincingly won the first matchup of these two teams. The Gaels are currently looking like the favorites to win the West Coast Conference. BYU is currently sitting square on the bubble. They have a solid record, but a lack of quality wins. If they were able to pull the upset here, this would be a big step in the right direction.

Marshall @ Memphis - 9:00PM, CSS

Both of these teams are near the top of what is a crowded Conference USA standings. Marshall had some solid wins early in the season and even competed well at the Carrier Dome with Syracuse. As of late, the Thundering Herd have stumbled a bit, losing three in a row. On the other hand, Memphis is playing some of its best basketball right now. The Tigers are winners of eight of their last nine. This is an intriguing matchup with clear conference implications.

Sunday's Games to Watch

Notre Dame @ #19 Connecticut - 12:00PM, ESPN3

Connecticut won the previous matchup in South Bend in convincing fashion, but much has changed since then. Notre Dame upset Syracuse handing them their first and only loss of the season so far. The Fighting Irish are playing with a lot of confidence right now. Conversely, Connecticut has lost four out of their last six. The Huskies are looking to return to form. This is another statement game for both of these teams.

#22 Michigan @ #3 Ohio State - 1:00PM, CBS

Everyone normally talks about this rivalry in reference to a football game, but this is matchup of two Top 25 teams among the top of the Big Ten. Michigan has had their ups and downs, but are 3-2 against Top 25 teams, including a big win over in-state rival Michigan State. Ohio State has looked dominant at times, but there has also been a couple of pitfalls in their schedule so far this season. The Buckeyes will look to Jared Sullinger to lead the way once again. He is coming off a big game in a win over Penn State.