Weekend College Basketball Guide For The Sickos
Image: A Sea of Blue
By Sam Beard
A really fun weekend of college hoops on tap for us as we transition to straight basketball after the conclusion of the Super Bowl.
APPOINTMENT TV
St. John’s @ UConn- Gritty, old-school basketball from Rick Pitino this year. St. John’s is my favorite team to watch outside of Tennessee, and it’s refreshing to see a coach not box his team into the modern style of play. UConn has their backs against the wall, really needing a win for their tournament resume. Liam Mcneely returns, and Dan Hurley told his squad to watch Gladiator last night to prepare. Put on your hard hat- this is elite Big East basketball.
Florida @ Auburn- One of the best matchups on paper in the country: Johni Broome, Dylan Cardwell, and Chaney Johnson vs Alex Condon, Rueben Chinyelu, and Thomas Haugh. These frontcourt matchups are what decides the game for me, but I love the guard play in this as well. Will Auburn finally get clipped in SEC play? Looks like Walter Clayton is back. He needs to have a huge impact on this one if Florida can grab one of the toughest road wins in the country.
Texas A&M @ Missouri- I think we might be in line for a classic with this one. Wade Taylor and Zhuric Phelps have crazy shooting variance, with the potential for both to drop 25 or shoot A&M out of the game. Both teams love to get to the FT line, so expect this to go longer than expected. Mizzou is one of the best teams at limiting offensive rebounding, with that being Texas A&M’s speciality. Caleb Grill & Wade Taylor will have a green light as soon as they cross mid-court, should make for a good one.
Texas Tech @ Arizona- Grab another drink or maybe some coffee for this one. You’ve got to stay up and watch two of the hottest teams in the Big 12 on Saturday. Texas Tech won 7 straight, with wins over Arizona and Houston in that time. Arizona has been a buzzsaw in the Big12 so far, with their only loss coming to Texas Tech. Arizona, off back to back road wins, will get back home where they are 10-1 on the year. If you find yourself awake at 1:30am, you better be tuned in for this.
BETTER NOT MISS
Alabama @ Arkansas -Arkansas, as the first team out according to Joe Lunardi’s latest bracketology needs another signature win pretty bad. Calipari’s teams rarely miss the tournament, and they dug themselves quite the hole to start conference play. Alabama is playing as well as anyone in the country, their last loss coming on Jan.14th to Ole Miss. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Arkansas keep it close, but I also won’t be shocked to see Alabama win a blowout.
Marquette @ Creighton- Creighton has won 8 straight, and after dropping their Big East opener to Georgetown, their only other loss comes on the road to Marquette. I think we may be in line for a revenge game, and depending on the outcome of St John’s Uconn, they could have the lead in the conference again. Marquette needs a bounceback to avoid a 3 game skid, but they have a tough road assignment.
Texas @ Vanderbilt- Who is going to win the turnover battle in this one?? Vandy ranks 2nd in the SEC in turnover margin, while Texas ranked 6th is not too shabby either. Will we continue to get Memorial Magic in Nashville as they stand on the NCAA Tournament bubble?? I think there’s a real possibility that the outcome of this game could decide which team makes it to the big dance in March.
FOR THE SICKOS
Kansas @ Kansas State- Never count out The Sunflower Showdown. Back on January 18th, the Jayhawks got the best of K-State by 10. Now, with a matchup set in Manhattan, I hope to see some fireworks. K-state has won 4 straight, including a blowout win at Iowa State and a road win vs Arizona State after falling down 16 at one point. I’m not expecting a K-State win, but this rivalry always has some fun moments.
Duke @ Clemson- This is not the most interesting game in the world, but there aren’t too many chances for Duke to slip up on their schedule. Clemson is coming off a 3OT loss at home vs Georgia Tech, and they’re usually a fairly strong team at home. We’re also getting DIckie V back on the call for the first time in a few years, if that moves the needle for anyone.
Michigan @ Indiana- A good ol’ fashioned Mike Woodson hate-watch with a really fun Michigan team coming to town. Good enough for a sicko like myself. Get familiar with Danny Wolf if you aren’t already- a 7 footer with the footwork, ball handling, and athleticism of a guard. Pairing him with Vlad Golden has been really fun. As for IU, we got news that Woodson is out after the year. That’s about all I can say that’s good about Indiana this year. Maybe this is a tryout for Dusty May to jump ship within the conference?? Fun time to be on the message boards over there if you’re a Hoosier.