Men’s Basketball Games of the Weekend 12/9 – 12/11
Friday is merely an appetizer, while Saturday is the main course. A few games of importance dot the college landscape on Friday, but Ohio State and Kansas will provide a huge game for a national television audience on Saturday. Don't count out Indiana's chances against Kentucky, the top team in the nation. Otherwise, it promises to be a rivalry weekend as schools in Richmond and Cincinnati face off. Sunday finishes up with what doesn't look like an intriguing game on the surface but could be when all is said and done.
IOWA AT IOWA STATE (8 p.m. Friday at James H. Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa)
The battle for supremacy in the state of Iowa pits a Big Ten team just above .500 against a Big 12 team that has won two-thirds of its games. It doesn’t matter at this stage; throw out the records whenever these teams meet. Iowa (5-4) has lost two of its last three games, including an unsurprising 80-60 loss against Northern Iowa, a Missouri Valley Conference opponent. It should be added Northern Iowa has done quite well against major-conference teams, so this loss doesn’t come as much of a shock. Bryce Cartwright was also nursing a sore hamstring during this game, so Devyn Marble and his 14 points helped pick up the slack. Iowa State (6-3) has also dropped two of its last three games, including losses to Northern Iowa and Michigan. Royce White’s 14.8 points and 9.9 rebounds per game pace the Cyclones, who will be off for nine days following this game.
RICHMOND AT VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH (8 p.m. Friday at Stuart Siegel Center in Richmond, Virginia)
Where Iowa-Iowa State is an in-state battle, here is a battle for supremacy within the Richmond city limits. The Spiders (6-2), who play in the Atlantic 10, are near the bottom of Division I in rebounds per game (32.1), have a three-game winning streak that includes victories over Rutgers and Wake Forest. In the 70-62 win over the Demon Deacons, Cedrick Lindsay had 15 points and seven assists. Richmond managed 48.9 percent shooting (22-for-45) in the Wake Forest game. Virginia Commonwealth (5-3), of the Colonial Athletic Association, has a 39.1 field goal percentage, enough to place it near the bottom among all teams in Division I. Still, VCU has a two-game winning streak that includes victories against South Florida and George Washington.
WYOMING AT COLORADO (9 p.m. Friday at Coors Events Center in Boulder, Colorado)
One of the kings in the Mountain West Conference travels over the border for the short trip from Laramie to Boulder. Wyoming (8-1) isn’t quite as impressive with rebounds or assists but it does have a 47.3 shooting percentage, enough to place it in the top 50 among all Division I programs. The Cowboys have a six-game winning streak for the first time since the 2002-03 season, with recent wins over Louisiana Tech, Utah Valley and Bradley. Look out for Luke Martinez if he gets hot, as evidenced by his six 3-pointers and 20 points in a 66-49 win over Bradley. Colorado (5-3) lost the battle for in-state supremacy when it fell 65-64 to Colorado State, but the Buffaloes recovered for a 71-64 win over Fresno State thanks to a double-double of 21 points and 10 rebounds by Andre Roberson. Colorado is off for nine days following this game.
CINCINNATI AT No. 9 XAVIER (12:30 p.m. Saturday at Cintas Center in Cincinnati, Ohio)
Richmond isn’t the only city hosting a rivalry game this weekend. Cincinnati’s two major universities are also getting together for a big contest, and the game comes at a time when both teams are having a solid early season. Cincinnati (5-2) has beaten Miami of Ohio and Georgia in its last two games, albeit by an average of just 56.5 points per contest. Even worse news for the Bearcats is those 57 points scored in the 57-51 win over Georgia came largely from two people. Sean Kilpatrick had 22 points and Dion Dixon chipped in 19 points. Xavier (7-0) has a 20th best 41.1-rebound per game average, which has helped the Musketeers to recent wins against Georgia, Vanderbilt, Purdue and Butler. Tu Holloway had just one basket in the Butler game but connected on 14 of 16 free throws to finish with 16 points.
BUTLER AT BALL STATE (2 p.m. Saturday at John E. Worthen Arena in Muncie, Indiana)
It looks like Butler is finally suffering the aftereffects after two solid seasons and appearances in the NCAA championship game, but this rivalry game could re-ignite Butler’s offensive spirits. The Bulldogs (4-5) dropped below .500 and have a two-game losing streak following a 77-71 overtime loss to Valparaiso and a 73-61 defeat against Xavier. Roosevelt Jones provided a rare spark in the contest with 10 points and 11 rebounds. While Butler is struggling both in the Horizon League and overall, Ball State (5-2) shows signs of being a strong opponent in the Mid-American Conference. After starting its season 0-2, Ball State has a five-win streak that includes victories against Tennessee-Martin and SIU-Edwardsville. It hasn’t scored below 64 points during the five-win streak, and if Jarrod Jones can replicate his 22 points and 13 rebounds (against SIUE) at any point this season, Ball State could have a field day against opponents.
No. 2 OHIO STATE AT No. 8 KANSAS (3:15 p.m. Saturday at Phog Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kansas)
The big college basketball game of the weekend takes place in the nation’s midsection, when the Buckeyes travel out to take on another strong Kansas roster. This nationally-televised contest puts Ohio State and its 8-0 record on the line. The Buckeyes are strong with assists (fifth in the nation, 19.3 per game) and have a solid shooting percentage (eighth, 50.9). Everyone likely saw Ohio State’s dismantling of Duke, 85-63, but not many remember the 64-35 win over Texas-Pan American that followed. Jared Sullinger’s 19.1 points and 10.3 rebounds per game have paced Ohio State’s unbeaten streak. Kansas (6-2) isn’t quite as strong-shooting or rebounding as Ohio State, but its losses (to Kentucky and Duke) are more impressive in the long run. Kansas has a three-game win streak, including a recent 88-80 win over Long Beach State where Thomas Robinson had 26 points and 11 rebounds.
VILLANOVA AT TEMPLE (5 p.m. Saturday at Liacouras Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
A battle of Philadelphia-area schools will be on the Saturday afternoon schedule when Villanova, from the Big East, travels to Atlantic-10 foe Temple for the latest chapter in the rivalry. After a 4-0 start, Villanova (5-3) has dropped three of its last four games to St. Louis, Santa Clara and Missouri, but the Wildcats managed to stand up to Penn in a 73-65 victory. In an 81-71 loss to Missouri, Maalik Wayns mustered just 14 points as Villanova shot 41.7 percent (25-for-60) from the field. The Owls (5-2) have lost by a combined 11 points to Purdue and Bowling Green but have beaten Central Michigan and Toledo in the last week. Bench player Aaron Brown led Temple with 19 points in a 77-58 win over Toledo, but the Owls are not the strongest rebounding team per game (34.4) so that could pose a huge problem for Temple.
No. 1 KENTUCKY AT INDIANA (5:15 p.m. Saturday at Assembly Hall in Bloomington, Indiana)
Another nationally-televised contest is an interstate rivalry with about a couple hours between the schools. Both the Wildcats and Hoosiers have 8-0 records, which might prompt some to wonder why Indiana is not ranked. More on that later. Kentucky has a fourth-best 43.5 rebounds per game and a 15th-best 82.4 scoring average, which has helped the Wildcats to strong wins over Kansas and North Carolina. If the Tar Heels hadn’t stopped playing in the final four seconds, Kentucky could have lost that game. After the Indiana contest Kentucky enters another soft period in its schedule prior to SEC play in January. Indiana does have 85 points a game (good for seventh) and a sixth-best 52.3 shooting percentage, but the Hoosier wins have come against the likes of Savannah State, Gardner-Webb and Butler. Its closest victory was 11 points against North Carolina State. Cody Zeller has 15.5 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. It is not impossible Indiana could pull off the upset, but Kentucky has had stronger tests on its schedule.
MIAMI AT WEST VIRGINIA (7 p.m. Saturday at WVU Coliseum in Morgantown, West Virginia)
This ACC/Big East crossover has two teams involved that have each won five games but struggled in others. Miami (5-3) dishes off just 11.6 assists per game and has a 39.4 shooting percentage, which might explain its stumbles following a 4-0 start. The Hurricanes’ losses have been against Ole Miss, Purdue and Memphis. In the 71-54 loss to Memphis Kenny Kadji scored 12 points and grabbed six rebounds. West Virginia (5-2) has lost to Kent State and Mississippi State, but Thursday the Mountaineers endured double overtime for an 85-80 victory over Kansas State to deal the team its first loss of the season. Kevin Jones, who had 30 points and 12 boards against Kansas State, is a legitimate shooting threat, but the team’s 40.7 rebounds per game aren’t bad either.
MICHIGAN STATE AT GONZAGA (9 p.m. Saturday at McCarthey Athletic Center in Spokane, Washington)
Usually these teams would both be in the top 25, but the Spartans’ early-season stumbles have cost Tom Izzo’s squad some valuable real estate among the top squads in the country. Still, this contest always manages to draw a lot of attention and this time is no exception. What may help Michigan State (7-2) draw some traction in this game is its 43.8 rebounds per game, good for second in the country. The Spartans do have a seven-game win streak going, including recent wins over Nebraska-Omaha and Central Connecticut State. Freshman Travis Trice’s 20 points paced MSU in its most recent win. Gonzaga (5-1) just lost its first game, an 82-75 setback to Illinois that some viewed as an upset. Elias Harris had 19 points and eight rebounds in the loss.
NORFOLK STATE AT VIRGINIA TECH (4 p.m. Sunday at Cassell Coliseum in Blacksburg, Virginia)
Following a busy Saturday of good games, the action calms down somewhat for Sunday and one game that is an in-state contest is worth watching. Norfolk State (6-3) plays in the Mideastern Athletic Conference, where it has already gotten off to a 2-0 start. The Spartans have lost once to Elizabeth City and twice to Marquette, but they have a two-game win streak that includes victories against Savannah State and South Carolina State. Pendarvis Williams paced Norfolk State with 20 points in the win over SCSU. Virginia Tech (6-3) has lost to Minnesota and Kansas State in its last three games but recovered for a win over Rhode Island. Erick Green had 24 points in the Rhode Island victory.
