Men’s Basketball Games of the Week 12/5 – 12/8
Boy, were we spoiled by that North Carolina-Kentucky game or what on Saturday? If that’s a preview of what’s to come in the NCAA tournament, it should be another great season of March Madness. It’s only December, unfortunately, and in the time after some great matchups comes a few days where the matchups aren’t as thrilling. There are no strong top-25 matchups over the early-week period, so let us spotlight some of the stronger area rivalries among the games to watch.
CHARLESTON SOUTHERN AT FLORIDA STATE (7 p.m. Monday at Donald L. Tucker Center in Tallahassee, Florida)
On paper this appears to be a mismatch and it could very well be one. Take a closer look at the records, however. Charleston Southern (5-2), a member of the Big South Conference, has the 22nd-best Division I offense in the country at 81.6 points per game. With Saah Nimley leading the way at 14 points and 3.3 assists per game, the Buccaneers have been quite competitive and actually have a five-game winning streak after losses to Kansas State and Wichita State to open the year. Florida State is 5-3 overall but has a three-game losing streak that consists of defeats against Harvard, Connecticut and Michigan State. Games against UNC-Greensboro and Loyola Marymount are up next, so the Seminoles want to build some momentum. Michael Snaer (13.3) is the team’s only double-digit scorer.
MILWAUKEE AT DePAUL (9 p.m. Monday at Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois)
Despite having a rebound total of 38.6 per game that only ranks 72nd in the nation – the highest of Milwaukee’s four offensive totals by far – the Panthers carry a 7-1 mark and 2-0 record in Horizon League play into the game in the Chicago suburbs. Since losing to Michigan State in November, Milwaukee has wins against Arkansas-Little Rock, Loyola (Ill.) and Illinois-Chicago. DePaul (4-2), which counts losses against Minnesota and Ole Miss as its defeats, is entering a stretch of games featuring area talent (the game against Milwaukee), followed by contests against Loyola (Ill.), Chicago State and Northern Illinois. Milwaukee’s leader, James Haarsma, averages 11.5 points and 9.0 rebounds per game.
No. 11 MISSOURI VS. VILLANOVA (7 p.m. Tuesday at Madison Square Garden in New York)
All this week, the life of former North Carolina State coach Jim Valvano has been celebrated with his famous motto “don’t give up, don’t ever give up”. The Jimmy V Classic has two games scheduled for Tuesday, including this contest between Big 12 and Big East rivals. Missouri enters the game with a 7-0 record, a sixth-best 86.3 points per game, and a fifth-best shooting percentage of 52.5 percent. It has some impressive victories under its belt over Notre Dame and California, even if the last two wins were against weaker schools like Binghamton and Northwestern State. Villanova (5-2) has lost two of its last three contests but is back on track following a 73-65 win over Penn. Mouphtaou Yarou’s 20 points and 11 rebounds were key in Villanova’s win.
GEORGE MASON AT VIRGINIA (7 p.m. Tuesday at John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville, Virginia)
The battle of the Commonwealth is one way to describe this contest, which might be a more entertaining game than you’d think. Conventional wisdom says a Colonial Athletic Association team can’t topple an ACC squad, but this is a George Mason team that went to the Final Four back in 2006. Yes, it is five years later, but the motto here is anything is possible. George Mason (6-2) has a four-game winning streak that includes victories over Brown, Albany, Bucknell and Towson, fueled by Ryan Pearson’s 19.8 points and 8.4 rebounds per game. Virginia (7-1) has won five in a row, including strong victories against Green Bay and Michigan, behind Mike Scott’s 15.9 points and 10 rebounds a game. Someone’s winning streak comes to an end Tuesday, but both schools will be good this year.
WASHINGTON VS. No. 10 MARQUETTE (9 p.m. Tuesday at Madison Square Garden in New York)
The second of the Jimmy V Classic contests pits a Pac-12 squad against another Big East opponent. Washington comes into this game with a 4-2 record despite an aggressive rebounding attack that ranks fourth in the nation in Division I (42.7 per game). Aziz N’diaye (8.7) and Terrence Ross (6.7) lead the way, and Ross also adds 16.2 points per game. The Huskies’ losses came against St. Louis and Nevada, and the latter was in overtime. Thanks to a 61-54 win over Big Ten opponent Wisconsin, which was not a slouch team by any means, a lot of eyes have awakened to the Golden Eagles’ potential. Marquette is in or near the top 10 in assists, shooting percentage and points per game and has one of the nation’s best offensive attacks. Darius Johnson-Odom leads Marquette with 19.4 points per game.
No. 17 ALABAMA AT DAYTON (7 p.m. Wednesday at University of Dayton Arena in Dayton, Ohio)
A non-league matchup against SEC and Atlantic-10 teams provides a stronger test for Alabama. The Crimson Tide (7-1) may not need to be fired up for this game, however. Alabama’s unbeaten record came to a halt last week when Georgetown scored a 57-55 upset and spoiled a great performance by Tony Mitchell, who had 20 points and nine rebounds in the loss. Dayton (5-3) has lost its last two games to Buffalo and Murray State, so the Flyers need to get back on the right track. Dayton has beaten stronger-conference programs in Wake Forest and Minnesota, but Alabama is ranked and may pose more problems. Kevin Dillard leads the team in scoring but has just 12.4 points per game.
GEORGIA TECH AT GEORGIA (7 p.m. Wednesday at Stegeman Coliseum in Athens, Georgia)
On paper it looks like a ho-hum matchup. A pair of 4-4 schools face off against each other. When the schools are from the same state, however, all bets are off. This is a rivalry game that should have the schools’ fans fired up despite lackluster starts. Georgia Tech has stumbled despite a 34th-best 39.9 rebounds per game, and it has a two-game losing streak thanks to losses against Northwestern and Tulane. A bright spot for the Yellowjackets has been the performance of Glen Rice Jr. The son of the former Michigan standout had 11 points and 11 rebounds in the loss to Tulane. Georgia has a three-game losing streak thanks to Xavier, Colorado and Cincinnati, and that spoiled what was a decent 4-1 start. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, the team’s scoring leader, was largely shut down in the second half of the 57-51 loss to Cincinnati.
OKLAHOMA STATE AT MISSOURI STATE (9 p.m. Wednesday at JQH Arena in Springfield, Missouri)
The Big 12 goes up against the Missouri Valley Conference in a game where the rivals are largely separated by one interstate highway and a turnpike. Stillwater and Springfield aren’t too far away, and neither are these teams in terms of record. The Cowboys (5-2) have beaten Tulsa and Langston in their last two games behind the all-around performance of Markel Brown, who has 12 points, 6.9 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game to his credit. Missouri State (4-2) has lost to Oral Roberts and New Mexico in the last week to spoil its 4-0 beginning, but the Bears hope to revive behind scorers like Jamar Gulley, who had 17 points and eight rebounds in the New Mexico loss.
ORAL ROBERTS AT OKLAHOMA (8 p.m. Thursday at Lloyd Noble Center in Norman, Oklahoma)
The schools aren’t in the same conference, but they share the same state and that’s what matters for a rivalry game. The Golden Eagles (6-2) have gotten off to a strong start this year, rattling off six straight wins following an 0-2 start and opening Summit League play with a 61-55 win over Southern Utah. This game will be much more difficult for Oral Roberts to win, but if Damen Bell-Holter can improve on his 11 points and 11 rebounds it will be entertaining. Oklahoma (5-1) recovered from a loss to St. Louis to thump Sacramento State 82-53 as Cameron Clark led the way with 18 points. Oklahoma’s 79 points per game rank 37th in the country.
WEST VIRGINIA AT KANSAS STATE (9 p.m. Thursday at Intrust Bank Arena in Manhattan, Kansas)
The Big East goes up against the Big 12 in this crossover matchup that also promises to be entertaining. West Virginia (4-2) has the nation’s 25th-best rebounding effort (40.7 per game) but saw its three-game winning streak broken at the hands of Mississippi State, 75-62. In that game lackluster 3-point shooting underwhelmed West Virginia, which got just 14 points and seven rebounds from Deniz Kilicli. Kansas State is 5-0, including wins over George Washington and Virginia Tech in the last week, and Jamar Samuels leads the way at 13 points and nine rebounds per game.
