Last night's Pitt v. UConn game ushered in the onset of conference play with a bang. The game may have been slightly overlooked thanks to the odd Tuesday Night Football game, but college hoops fans had to be delighted with a great matchup to jumpstart phase two of the college sesason. Non-conference play is almost over, but tonight serves up a nice handful a final conference comparison games.
There are a few more nice major conference match-ups tonight (West Virginia v. St Johns, Georgetown v. Notre Dame), but the most interesting games are taking place far from the reach of nationally televised contests. Here's a quick breakdown of some games worth visiting www.channelsurfing.net for (great links to dozens of hard-to-find games)
7:00 PM -- Furman (8-2) @ UCF (11-0)
UCF has been one of the nation's most pleasnat surprises, riding their undefeated start to #19 in the AP polls. Tonight they get a tricky potential trap game as the Paladins (nominee for oddest nickname - ANYONE know what a "Paladin" is? Email it our way) head to UCF Arena in the first game of the UCF Holiday Classic. Furman's two losses, a 4-point loss to Kent State (who is playing good ball and could win the MAC) and a 24 point drubbing to Penn State.
The Nittany Lions still have Talor Battle (I believe he is in his eleventh year of eligibility...) and beat Indiana last night in Bloomington to kick off Big Ten play. The point being, the loss may not be that bad. Furman enters fresh off a double digit win over South Carolina. The Knights better be sharp tonight or they could be susceptible to an upset.
7:00 PM -- George Mason (9-2) @ Dayton (10-3)
I have both of these teams IN in my earliest prediction bracket for the Big Dance, but both have a lot of work to do to get there. Dayton had some struggles early dropping a tough game to East Tennessee St and enduring a humiliating 68-34 loss to state rival Cincinnati. Since then, the Flyers have regrouped, winning three in a row including last night's 69-65 win at Seton Hall. The Flyers are the most athletic team in the Atlantic 10 and have the talent to unseat Temple, Xavier and Richmond as the A-10's top team.
George Mason fields their best team since their legendary Final Four run in 2006. Their two losses both came outside the continental USA in November, NC State and a final-possession loss to SoCon favorite Wofford. Since then the Patriots wins have been solid, if not spectacular. Tonight marks their first true Top 75 team challenge since Cancun. This is their last chance to pick up a much-needed resume win before entering league play in the brutal Colonial. As of now, they'd be a bubble team at best.
This is the best game of the night, in my opinion. Too bad ESPN chose to give us Duke v. UNC Greensboro and Texas-Arlington v. Kansas instead...
7:00 PM -- Wofford (5-6) @ VCU (7-4)
Wofford is easily the best 5-6 team in the country. All kidding aside, the Terriers schedule has been among the most brutal in the country with losses to Minnesota, Clemson, Air Force, Georgetown, Xavier (3 OT) and South Carolina. More important to note, none of those teams travelled to Wofford's gym. They may have little shot at an at-large bid, but without a doubt their schedule prepared them well to run through the SoCon. A win tonight would give them wins over two of the CAA's top teams (G.Mason), and could be the difference between a #14/#15 seed and a more winnable 4/13 game.
VCU on the other hand faces a much more difficult conference slate and has slipped outside of strong at-large contender range. A loss tonight would be a brutal blow to any at-large hopes the Rams might be harboring. Their win over UCLA was decent, but there is little else to write home about. They have the most athletic team in the CAA and could be a dangerous #11/#12 seed come March if they can right the ship, starting with tonight.
9:05 PM -- Hawaii (9-3) @ Utah State (11-2)
WAC play gets off to a blazing start tonight as the two top teams face off in Orem. Hawaii played surprisingly well in the Honolulu Christmas tournament, knocking off Utah and Mississippi State to claim the consolation bracket. The losses to Florida State and BYU were disspointing in margin, but not "bad losses" per se. The loss to Cal Poly would be a crippler if they find themselves in the 22-23 win range and contending for an at-large birth.
Utah State finds themselves in an all-too-familiar position; great record with little in terms of quality wins. Their losses, by 6 to BYU and at Georgetown won't hurt their profile. Beating Hawaii not only gives them a Top 100 win, it also gets them the early leg up in the WAC standings.
9:35 PM -- Air Force (8-3) @ UTEP (10-3)
Air Force is a middle of the pack team in their league, but given the sterling performance of the MWC thus far this season, being a middle-of-the packer is actually a compliment. One could say nearly the identical thing about UTEP. It's unlikely either of these teams make the NCAA Tournament, but both are solid NIT contenders. Tonight's game gives a nice comparison opportunity for the Mountain West and Conference USA.
11:00 PM -- St.Mary's (10-2) vs. Mississippi State (8-5): Game played in Las Vegas.
St Mary's is two years removed from Patty Mills and one year past Omar Samhan. Despite losing two of the best players in school history, St. Mary's is right in the mix to return to the NCAA Tourney for the second straight year and appear to be poised to snap Gonzaga's decade long stanglehold on the WCC's regular season championship. St. Mary's defeated St John's early in the year, and their only two losses are to BYU and San Diego State, both Top 25 teams. They are in need of a Big 6 conference win to add to their otherwise bleak resume or could find themselves in the same situation as 2009; great record offset by a weak schedule resulting in a disappointing trip to the NIT.
God only knows what is going on at Mississippi State. Eligibility suspensions, fist fights on the bench and a fistful of questionable losses including Florida Atlantic and East Tennessee. At 8-5 the Bulldogs have likely played themselves into a deep hole to earn at at-large bid, though in a weak SEC-West they could pick up 10 or 11 wins. A win tonight, a decent conference run and all of a sudden you are looking at a 20 or 21 win team in a Power Six conference, generally a recipe for dancing...
Maniac's Picks:
Furman +13
Dayton -1.5
VCU -6.5
Hawaii +20.5
Air Force +14
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