Sunday, December 9th Highlighted Games

NEWS AND NOTES

-The new bracket projections should be posted late tonight/early tomorrow morning, along with the usual analysis and recap from last week's action.


HIGHLIGHTED MATCH-UPS

-SAINT JOSEPH’S AT CREIGHTON. Creighton is coming off their first loss of the year, but it was on the road against Xavier, who is playing very well right now. Saint Joseph’s has three losses, one of which was at Holy Cross earlier this week. They appear to be much better than their record indicates because their other two losses were close games against Syracuse and Gonzaga. They really need a solid road win such as this to begin to make a case that they’re an NCAA team. It’s a big game for Creighton as well, who is trying to establish themselves.

-CALIFORNIA AT KANSAS STATE. Cal is unbeaten and is really beginning to make a name for themselves. Kansas State is clearly talented and has played some pretty good basketball, but still doesn’t have any real impressive wins on their resume. They’re coming off a loss to Notre Dame, which was a game many were probably expecting them to win. I believe Kansas State needs to prove to themselves as much as anyone that they can beat Top 25 caliber teams. They’re at home in this game, and that will give them a big advantage. They'll need it, though. Cal is red hot right now.

-BOSTON COLLEGE AT MARYLAND (ACC). This is an early season conference opener taking place before the regular conference schedule begins, and it’s a big one. As of now, I have both teams on the outside looking in on my projections, but both appear to be good enough to play their way into the mix, especially if they do well in conference play. I’m sure both of these teams would love to start off 1-0 in the ACC.

-RUTGERS AT NEBRASKA. Both of these teams have good records, but they’ve amassed their wins against poor schedules. It’s possible that neither school will be in the mix at the end, but it would create quite a bit of momentum for now.

-VILLANOVA AT TEMPLE. Temple was really sluggish out of the gate, but they are 4-1 in their last five games and could really turn some heads if they upset rival Villanova at home. Villanova had an incredible come from behind win in their last game against LSU and is probably still riding high from that. I do think they’ll win this one, but it is a rivalry game and Temple has been playing better.


BUY GAMES

-JACKSONVILLE AT GEORGETOWN. Georgetown is undefeated and I’ll be shocked if they don’t remain that way after this one.

-BROWN AT PROVIDENCE. This is an inner-city match-up, but it looks to be a huge mismatch. Providence should roll.

-PORTLAND AT WASHINGTON STATE. Washington State has been as impressive as anyone this season, and just won a big road game against Gonzaga. This game will probably end up being a blowout.