Key Games of the Weekend 1/14 -1/15
Indiana at Ohio State
In a quick turnaround from their previous matchup, two Big Ten contenders face each other on Sunday. Ohio State lost a tough one against a good Illinois team on Tuesday. They will be battle tested heading into this one. Indiana’s only road block is an average Minnesota team. The Buckeyes will be looking for revenge in this one after their 74-70 loss in Bloomington on New Year’s Eve. The evolution of the Indiana program under Tom Crean has been incredible. The fact that this is only a one-loss team and ranked in the top 10 at this point is incredible. This is a program that had only won seven Big 10 games the previous two seasons. They already have three wins in the 2011-2012 season only a quarter of the way through the conference schedule. They are 8th in scoring nationally and 4th in field goal percentage at 50.5%. This team has a ton of offense.
Ohio State, the more veteran laden team, isn’t far behind the Hoosiers in field goal percentage. They rank 9th nationally. They boast one of the country’s most talented players in Jared Sullinger (17.1 points, 9.6 rebounds per game). As a highly ranked team when the season opened, the Buckeyes have been getting everybody’s best shot. No wins have come easy. Their losses are to good teams on the road. They are perfect at home. That may be the difference.
UNLV at San Diego State
In a battle of some schools of lesser consideration, UNLV travels to San Diego State in a huge game for the Mountain West standings. UNLV was the first to take down the highly-touted Tar Heels of North Carolina in their home city over Thanksgiving. This is an unselfish team that only has three freshmen on the roster. They are veterans that know how to play together. Chace Stanback is the star, shooting better than 50% from the field and averaging 14.8 points per game. Sophomore Mike Moser has been huge in his second year. He’s averaging a double-double (14.2 points, 11.1 rebounds).
San Diego State will be in the conference championship race with UNLV throughout the year. The Aztecs have taken down once-ranked Pac-12 opponents (Arizona, California) and have rolled through their last six games. This is a strong rebounding team that generally scores in the 70-point range. Chase Tapley, Jamaal Franklin, and Xavier Thames are the three-headed monster that leads the way for Coach Steve Fisher. This is the first of two meetings between these two. Believe that these head-to-head games will go a long way towards determining the MWC crown.
UCONN at Notre Dame
This is a game between two Big East teams that are sort of shadows of their former selves. Both are still trying to put together a mid-season run to position themselves for the postseason. Connecticut, who finally saw Jim Calhoun return to the sideline after a 3-game suspension, finally righted itself after losing two straight conference games. They are 3-2 in the conference and are not off to the fast Big East start that they would have liked. A win against Notre Dame would further their momentum. This is a team that has still already won 13 games and has a very strong talent lineup. Jeremy Lamb, Shabazz Napier, Alex Oriakhi, and stud freshman Andre Drummond are very strong players. Lamb and Napier are the leaders that could take this team deep in the tournament once again.
Notre Dame has had a rough season, but Mike Brey has gotten his guys to play some good basketball. As of now they are tied for third in the Big East with a 3-1 record, which is impressive considering their season started with losses to Georgia, Gonzaga, and Maryland. They beat Louisville on the road in a hard-fought double overtime game. A win against UCONN would have to Mike Brey as an early season coach of the year candidate. The Irish have a long way to go, and they don’t score many points. But this could be a statement game for them.
Michigan State at Northwestern
By all accounts, Michigan State should run away with this game. As we know Northwestern has never made the NCAA tournament in the history of the basketball program. If ever they needed to beat a contender, this is it. The Wildcats jumped out of the box in the 2011-2012 campaign with seven straight wins. Since then, they’ve lost four of eight. Statiscally, Northwestern displays nothing. They are one of the worst rebounding teams in the land. They do have superstar in John Shurna, who does everything for this team. Michigan State on the other hand, has several stars that the opponent must account for. Draymond Green is the leading scorer at 15.6 points per game. Keith Appling is the steady point guard that leads the team in assists. Since their losses in their first two games to ACC powers North Carolina and Duke, Michigan State has been rolling to the tune of 15 straight wins. It will be Northwestern’s moment. Will it be too much Sparty for the Wildcats to handle?
