Men’s Basketball Games of the Week 12/12 – 12/15
Whew! Have you come down yet from the thrill of a last-second buzzer beater that sent Indiana to a 73-72 win over top-ranked Kentucky? Did you like Kansas knocking off a Jared Sullinger-less Ohio State squad? Only time will tell if we see these games as rematches come NCAA tournament time. For now, it’s almost as if the basketball gods sensed we’d be a little exhausted. Only kidding here… actually, it’s the period around Christmas and New Year’s when a lot of teams do not have big games. It means many of the top 25 teams are either off early this week or play creampuff opponents. Here are five games that might be worth watching, including an in-state showdown between Wisconsin and Milwaukee and Cincinnati’s return to the court following the big Xavier brawl this weekend.
PORTLAND STATE AT OREGON (10 p.m. Monday at Matthew E. Knight Arena in Eugene, Oregon)
Portland State travels down Interstate 5 to face Oregon in a matchup of Big Sky and Pac-12 Conference foes. Portland State is off to a 5-3 start this season and just had its three-game winning streak broken by a 93-87 loss to Utah Valley. The Vikings also lost to Denver and Wyoming. Portland State does have 41.3 rebounds per game, good for 17th among Division I schools, but its schedule is like that of a mid-major team. Charles Odum leads the way at 18.3 points per game, although Chehales Tapscott’s 13.6 points and 9.6 rebounds is certainly a threat. Oregon (5-2) has lost to Vanderbilt and Brigham Young, and four of its five victories have been by 10 points or less. In a 74-70 win over Fresno State on Saturday, Devoe Joseph scored 18 points and dished off four assists. Conventional wisdom suggests Oregon wins handily, but if the Ducks struggle again all bets could be off.
No. 14 WISCONSIN AT MILWAUKEE (8 p.m. Tuesday at US Cellular Arena in Milwaukee, Wisconsin)
These two schools are separated by an hour’s distance and Interstate 94, and they represent different conferences with Wisconsin in the Big 10 and Milwaukee in the Horizon League. Both schools are 8-2 through their first 10 games. Wisconsin’s best attribute is its unselfishness (14.5 assists per game, 84th among Division I schools), and that has helped the school to wins over Green Bay and UNLV in the last two games. Its two losses were to North Carolina and Marquette, both ranked schools, and both were by single digits. Look out for Ben Brust off the bench, as he scored 25 points in a 62-51 win over the Runnin Rebels. Milwaukee isn’t even in the top 100 in any of the major categories. The Panthers’ losses have come against Michigan State and Northern Iowa. Kaylon Williams leads Milwaukee at 12.8 points per game and had 16 against Northern Iowa.
CINCINNATI AT WRIGHT STATE (7 p.m. Wednesday at Ervin J. Nutter Center in Dayton, Ohio)
When the Bearcats take the court in Dayton, four players will not be in uniform for this game. Yancy Gates, Octavius Ellis and Cheikh Mbodj are out for the next six games and Ge’Lawn Guyn will miss this game following their roles in an on-court brawl following the team’s loss to Xavier on Saturday. Gates is the team’s second-leading scorer at 13.5 points and he also has 9.5 rebounds a game to his credit, and that is out of the lineup until Jan. 4, when Gates, Ellis and Mbodj all are eligible to return. Cincinnati has also lost to Presbyterian and Marshall. Wright State is off to a 4-6 start and is pretty much near the bottom in every statistical category, but the losses to Charleston and Cleveland State were by a combined six points. The Raiders beat Miami of Ohio 51-49 in their last game, keyed by 13 points from Cole Darling.
TENNESSEE AT COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON (9 p.m. Wednesday at TD Bank Arena in Charleston, South Carolina)
Despite a 30th-best 79.3 points per game, Tennessee has struggled in the early going and this game may be the pick-me-up the Volunteers needed. Tennessee (3-5) is on a three-game losing streak that includes losses to Oakland, Pittsburgh and Austin Peay, and the Vols also lost back-to-back games to Duke and Memphis. No doubt the team’s early-season schedule has been quite tough. Tennessee needs to regroup in the next few games against easier foes; beginning Jan. 4, the team has a stretch of five ranked teams in six games (Memphis, Florida, Mississippi State, Kentucky and Connecticut). Trae Golden has 15.1 points and 5.9 assists per game to pace Tennessee. The College of Charleston (7-1), out of the Southern Conference, does have a 60th-best 76.0 scoring mark and has a four-game winning streak. Its only loss was to Central Florida; the last game was an 87-85 double-overtime thriller.
SOUTH FLORIDA AT AUBURN (9:30 p.m. Wednesday at Auburn Arena in Auburn, Alabama)
This matchup of Big East and SEC foes takes place as a late televised game Wednesday night, as the South Florida duo of Victor Rudd (11.7 points per game) and Augustus Gilchrist (11.5) travel into Alabama. The Bulls (6-4) just beat Florida A&M 83-59 to break a two-game losing streak that included defeats against Virginia Commonwealth and Kansas. South Florida will have its hands full in the Big East when conference play begins, so the Bulls could use a few wins against quality schools now. Auburn (4-1) has 15.8 assists per game and a 47.9 shooting percentage, both good enough to place in the top 40 among Division I schools. The Tigers are coming off an 11-day layoff following an 81-59 loss to Seton Hall, so rust could be a factor in this game. Frankie Sullivan has 12.8 points per game to lead Auburn.
