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>Michigan at Illinois

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>Michigan at Illinois (Illinois 9.5 favorite)

This game is huge for these two bubble teams, as they both come in needing to win to help improve their stock for the NCAA Tournament.  Michigan comes in on a hot streak, having won five of their last six games, while the Illini have lost six of their last nine, including Sunday’s game against Purdue, a game they led at halftime by 15.

Unlike other teams fighting for a tournament bid, three of the Wolverines top four players are either freshmen or sophomores.  Guard Darius Morris leads the team in both points and assists with 15.4 and seven.  Tim Hardaway Jr., sun of legend Tim Hardaway, is having quite the debut season, putting up 13 ppg and pulling down four boards. Zack Novak is scoring 9.3 points and a game and leads the team with six boards a game, while Jordan Morgan is getting nine and four.

Illinois needs to straighten up the ship now, because their time is running out.  The main key is getting Demetri McCamey interested in playing basketball again.  He seems to disappear in games and that’s not what a team is looking for from its senior.  Some good things for the Illini is that Brandon Paul, Jereme Richmond, Meyers Leonard and D.J. Richardson are now playing better and the future does look bright.  After scoring in double digits only five times in the teams’ first 17 games, Paul has now exploded by scoring in double digits in five of the last eight games, including three 20+ point outings.  Prediction: Michigan pulls out a 78-75 road win

>St. John’s vs. Marquette

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>St. John’s has put together one heck of a tournament resume in their first year under Steve Lavin.  They’re one of the few teams that have defeated four top-15 teams, three of which came in blowouts.

The Red Storm is led by three seniors who average double figures in scoring.  Dwight Hardy leads the team in scoring at 16.6 ppg and also hauls down three boards a game and dishes out two dimes.  Justin Brownlee is scoring at a 12.6 point per game clip and is tied for second with five boards per game.  D.J. Kennedy is the last senior in double digits throwing in 10 ppg and leads the team in rebounding with over five and a half per contest.

Marquette is ending an extremely tough stretch of its schedule, facing eight ranked teams in their last 10 contests.  They’ve won four of those, but are led by four upperclassmen so it should help them in the future.  Darius Johnson-Odom leads the team with over 16 points per game and is also pulling down three rebounds.  Jimmy Butler is pouring in 15 points a game and second in rebounds with 6.3, while Jae Crowder is putting up 13 ppg and leads the team in rebounding with 6.6 a game.  Dwight Buycks is averaging 10 ppg and leads the team in assists, dishing out four dimes a game.  Prediction: Red Storm wins straight up 75-70

>Michigan State vs, Ohio State

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>Raise your hand if at the beginning of the season you thought Michigan State would have a 6-6 conference record and only a 14-10 record overall.  Ok, you’re a liar so put your hand down, but that has been the craziness of this years’ college basketball season.  Michigan State has been struggling like nobody’s business the last seven games, losing five of them and eeking out a one-point overtime win at Indiana.  The Spartans were expected to challenge the Buckeyes for the conference crown, if not win it themselves. 

Michigan State is led by three players who are averaging double digits this year.  Kalin Lucas leads the team with 16 ppg and is averaging 3.5 assists per game.  Durrell Summers is putting up 13 ppg and over four rebounds per game.  Draymond Green is averaging 13 points per game and leads the team in rebounding, with just over eight per contest.

Ohio State is coming off of its first loss of the season, a road loss at Wisconsin.  The dreams of recreating what the 1976 Indiana Hoosiers did — the most recent Division I-A team to go through a season unbeaten — were vaporized by the Badgers’ scalding shooting in the second half.

The Buckeyes are led by stud freshman Jared Sullinger, who has probably exceeded everyone’s expectations, maybe even his own.  He leads the squad with 18 ppg and over 10 boards per game.  But he is not the only OSU player putting up big numbers.  Three others (David Lighty, William Buford and Jon Diebler) also average double figures, but none like Sullinger.  Buford puts up nearly 14 ppg, Lighty with 12 and Diebler, 11.  Prediction: Buckeyes win big 80-65

>Michigan State vs. Penn State

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>Raise your hand if at the beginning of the season you thought Penn State and Michigan State would have identical 5-6 conference records and MSU with only one more win overall.  Ok, you’re a liar so put your hand down, but that has been the craziness of this year’s college basketball season.  Michigan State has been struggling like nobody’s business the last six games, losing five of them and eeking out a one-point overtime win at Indiana.

Michigan State is led by three players who are averaging double digits this year.  Kalin Lucas leads the team with 16 ppg and is averaging 3.5 assists per game.  Durrell Summers is putting up 13.4 ppg and over four rebounds per game.  Draymond Green is averaging 13 points per game and leads the team in rebounding, with just over eight per contest.

Penn State has been the definition of a cardiac-kid.  It seems like almost every game they play is within 3-7 points.  This game starts a stretch of games which could decide whether or not the Lions make the NCAA Tournament.  After MSU, Penn State still has to Wisconsin, Northwestern and Minnesota, while hosting Northwestern, Minnesota and Ohio State.  It seems as though the two teams in this preview might be ready for an exciting stretch run.

Penn State is led by Mr. Do-Everything Talor Battle, who seems to have been around for 10 years now.  Battle is averaging 20.5 points a game, seven more than the next teammate, five rebounds and three assists.  Jeff Brooks is pouring in 13.5 points a game and leads the team with seven boards a game.  David Jackson rounds out the three double digit scorers with 10.5 ppg and almost five rebounds per game.

>Illinois vs.Minnesota

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>This is a crucial game for Illinois.  Losing five of their last seven is putting them at great risk of not making the NCAA Tournament, a far cry from lofty expectations the team received early in the season.  It’s been a variety of things that has worked out for the Illini, including inconsistent play from its senior leaders, notably Demetri McCamey.  Yes, he leads the team in scoring with over 14 per game, but in three of those five losses, he has not managed to score more than 10 points, twice finishing with five or six points, respectively.  But the struggles don’t all fall on his shoulders.  D.J. Richardson, last year’s Big Ten Freshman of the Year has struggled as well and of the highly regarded recruiting class, Jereme Richmond is the only one getting a lot of playing time and that has started recently, after Bruce Weber inserted him into the lineup.

The Illini still have a chance to go to the NCAA Tournament, but they will have to start playing up to the expectations placed upon them at the beginning of the season.  Of their eight remaining games, four are at home and four on the road.  Unfortunately, the toughest games (MSU, Minnesota, OSU, Purdue) are the four road games.  They will need to lean on the experience of the seniors (McCamey, Mike Tisdale, Mike Davis).  Davis and Tisdale will be especially crucial, because many of the remaining teams on the schedule have good big men, including this Minnesota team.  Davis is second on the team with 12 ppg and is getting 6.7 boards per game.  Tisdale is averaging nearly 10 ppg and 6.8 rpg.

Minnesota has been on a tough stretch as well, losing their last three games, two of which were on the road.  Good news for the Gophers is that point guard Blake Hoffarber will play against Illinois.  He had been struggling with a sore knee.  He leads the team in three catehories, including points, assists and three-point field goal percentage.  The Gophers’ next top players are their two big men, Trevor Mbakwe and Ralph Sampson III.  Mbakwe is averaging a double-double at 13 ppg and 10 rpg, while Sampson pours in 11 and grabs five boards.

>Indiana vs. Purdue

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>The 14th-ranked Boilermakers look to remain undefeated at Mackey Arena and extend the Hoosiers’ road losing streak to 14 on Tuesday night.

Allowing 58.0 points per game while going 12-0 at Mackey Arena, Purdue has won three straight at home versus Indiana by an average of 15.4 points. The Hoosiers last won in West Lafayette, 70-59 on March 1, 2006.

The Boilermakers have been on a bit of a skid lately, dropping four of their last seven.  JaJuan Johnson continues to be a beast for them inside, averaging nearl 21 ppg and eight rebounds per game.  Johnson has scored 20 points or more in his last seven games.  He is supported by guard E’Twaun Moore, who is averaging 18 ppg.  No other Purdue player is averaging over six points per game. 

The Hoosiers, however, have not been playing like a team tied for last place.  Over the last four games, Indiana beat then-No. 20 Illinois and then-No. 18 Minnesota at home and fell in overtime at previously ranked Michigan State before failing to secure a 10-point lead in Saturday’s 64-63 home loss to Iowa.

The Hoosiers have stepped up on the defensive end during that four-game span, holding opponents to 63.5 points on 39.5 percent shooting.

Coach Tom Crean hopes his squad can remain stingy while trying to snap a 23-game road losing streak against Top 25 opponents since a 77-66 win over No. 13 Iowa on Jan. 13, 2002.
The Hoosiers are playing without their best player, Christian Watford, who is out after having wrist surgery.  Watford was leading the team ins coring and rebounding at the time of his injury.  Two players, Verdell Jones III and Jordan Hulls have stepped up.  Jones is averaging 12.4 points per game, while Hulls is  coming off of a game where he had a season-high 24 points.

>Signing Day

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>For college football knuckleheads, Signing Day is like Christmas.  And that’s been seen by not only the  around the clock coverage on things like ESPN, but also sites like rivals and scout, which rank the players starting in their freshman years of high school.  Now I admit, I look at those sites constantly, so I’m not really one to talk but giving out these “stars” is ridiculous.

The stars and rankings given to these kids are what going to ruin the high school sports world, if it hasn’t already.  But what is truly sad about it all, is whether it is the kids, the “experts,”, coaches or PARENTS that are doing the “pimping out” of the student-athletes. 

To be on one of those sites, someone needs to send in a video of the athlete, so he can be “evaluated” and then given a ranking or star.  A five-star ranking means you are one of the top kids in the nation, a three-star means you are pretty much an average player, while anything lower usually means you are a fringe player.  If a parent or athlete sees they are “only” s three-star and want to get better scholarship offers, which might mean doing anything going from extra lessons from professionals to possibly doing steroids.  The extra push, however, can also burn out the kid. 

The one thing the coaches, parents or kids seem not to realize is that all these stars, rankings and such are all other people’s OPINIONS.  There are time where the different sites disagree with how good of a kid is.  I’ll give you the example of Missouri, since it’s my alma mater and a school that has been known for getting lesser rated kids and getting them to play better than those rankings.  Let’s look at the Tigers’ last three first round draft picks, Jeremy Maclin, Sean Weatherspoon and Ziggy Hood.  Sean Weatherspoon came to Mizzou as a two-star safety prospect and left as the third-highest tackler in school history with 413 tackles and a two-time All-American.  Maclin was the highest rated of the three, garnering four stars from rivals and three from scout, but was rated the 70th best wideout by scout.  All he did was leave as the school’s all-time leader in all-purpose yards, third in career receiving yards and fourth in career receptions.  All in two years.  Hood is now a starter on the Super Bowl-bound Pittsburgh Steelers.

Of the 62 athletes that were given five stars by scout, 11 made it to the NFL or lived up to expectations. That’s 17 percent.  Now that may seem a lot, but let’s not forget these were cream of the crop kids who people expect to come in and have a big effect on their teams.  Well that wasn’t the case for 52 of them.  In a smaller sample size of 26 five stars, the 2006 class also had 11 players that made an impact of play(ed) in the NFL.

Now don’t get me wrong, I truly appreciate and respect what all of the analysts who go out all across the country all year.  But my problem is that everyone takes too much stock into these stinking rankings.  Sure, most of the time it turns out to be right, as you see the Alabama’s USC’s, Florida’s, etc. always getting top classes and succeeding.  But what about the schools like TCU or Boise State and up to this year, Oregon?  The rankings are good and all, but they’re mainly there to make all the fans and those associated with the program go crazy.  As long as a school gets players they need, that fit their system and those who they feel are perfect for the, who says they won’t succeed?

>College Basketball Previews

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>While this weekend’s matchups may not be as sexy as last week’s there are some very intriguing games that might go a long way in determining how a team ends up in the conference.  There are four games featuring ranked teams and those will be previewed here.

Game of the Week: Missouri vs. Texas

   Missouri comes into the game on a two-game winning streak, having defeated both Kansas State and Iowa  State handily.  The Tigers come in at 17-3, but two of their losses have been on the road (at Colorado and at Texas A&M by two points in overtime).  Junior guard Marcus Denmon leads five Tigers in double figures with 17.3 points per game.  Missouri uses a 10-man rotation and eight of the ten play 17 minutes per game or more (the other two play 11-12 mpg).  The Tigers average 85 ppg, which is good for fifth nationally and dish out 18 ppg, which is good for sixth in the nation.  Three players could be key factors in the game, besides Denmon. Ricardo Ratliffe, who is second on the team with 12 ppg and seven rpg, will be looked upon to neutralize the Texas big men.  The other two keys are Kim English and Phil Pressey.  English was expected to have a breakout season, but has struggled early in the season and Pressey has come back from an early season wrist injury to be second on the team in assists with nearly four dimes per game.  Texas was featured in last week’s preview as well.  The team is led by the frontcourt duo of Justin Hamilton and Tristan Thompson.  Cory Joseph will be the key for Texas in this game.  How he reacts to the “Fastest Forty Minutes in Basketball” will be crucial.  The Tigers love to press and create turnovers after made baskets so how he will be able to handle the pressure will be the difference.  Joseph has only turned the ball over more than three times once and has had some of his cleanest games against UNC, UConn and USC.  Prediction:  Mizzou pulls the road upset: 78-76

Louisville at Connecticut

   The Cardinals come in having won three of their last five, including two buzzer beaters over Marquette and West Virginia.  Louisville is led by Preston Knowles, who averages just over 15 points per game and is hitting 40 percent of his three point attempts.  Two others, Peyton Siva and Chris Smith, are also averagibg double figures.  Siva, who hit the game-winner against West Virginia, is going for nearly 11 points per game and a team-high five assists per game.  Smith averages 10 ppg and leads the team, hitting nearly half of his three pointers.  Three of Louisville’s bog men (Rakeem Buckles, Jared Swopshire and Gorgui Dieng) are out with injuries.  The key could be Kyle Kuric.  He is an on and off player, who when he is hot, is able to put up 20 ppg but has also had five games of zero points.  The Huskies rely on guard Kemba Walker and their inside presence, which is helping them average 41 rebounds per game.  Walker is being considered as one of the top two contenders for NCAA POY, averaging 24 ppg, five rpg and four apg.  Big man Alex Oriakhis is the only other Huskie averaging double figures at 11, but leads the team with nine boards per game.  The key could be freshman Shabazz Napier, who is averaging 8.4 ppg and over three assists per game.  Like Kuric, he is hot and cold, going for double digits in six games, including three this month.  Prediction: The Huskies’ depth and Louisville injuries help the Huskies pull out a 75-60 win.

 Georgetown at Villanova


   Georgetown has been on a bit of a slide lately, going 4-4 in their last eight and are coming into a hostile environment on Saturday.  The Hoyas are riding a three-game winning streak, however.  They are led by Mr. Do-It-All Austin Freeman, who is averaging over 18 points per game.  The senior guard has scored in double digits in all but two games and has scored 25 points or more in two of the last three.  Georgetown has two others, Jason Clark and Chris Wright, who are averaging double digits.  Clark is pouring in 13 points a game, while wright is averaging over 10 and leads the team with 5.6 assists per game.  Guard play will be the key in this game.  If one guard is having a rough night, there will have to be others to pick up the slack. And if the guards struggle, the frontcourt has to be able to bail them out too.  After knocking off Syracuse on the road, Villanova got blown out in their game against Providence.  Villanova has won two of the three, losing the last to Connecticut on a last-second shot by Kemba Walker.  The Wildcats have three players who average double figures, including two seniors: Corey Fisher and Corey Stokes, both of whom are scoring 15 points per game.  While Stokes leads the team in free throw (94) and three point (44) percentage, Fisher is second on the team in assists per game, with five.  The other player in double figures, Maalik Wayans (13.5 ppg), also leads the team with 5.3 dimes per game. Prediction: Villanova is just too good and wins 80-65

Minnesota at Purdue

   Minnesota, on a four-game winning streak, started that streak with a home win against Purdue.  A key piece from that win, Al Nolen, is out for the season with an injury however and that has caused Blake Hoffarber to take over PG duties.  Three of the Gophers’ four losses have been on the road.  Hoffarber is one of three Minnesota players in double digits, averaging 14 points per game.  He not only leads the team in assists with 4.4 per game, but also three-point percentage, knocking in 40 percent of his treys.  Trevor Mbakwe is second in points with 13.4 and leads the team with 10.5 rebounds per contest.  Ralph Sampson III is the other Gopher is double figures, throwing in 11 ppg.  The key will be the play of Mbakwe and Sampson, as they will have to go up against the beasts of Purdue.  The Boilermakers, on the other hand, have been on a bit of a skid lately, dropping three of their last five.  JaJuan Johnson continues to be a beast for them inside, averaging nearly 21 ppg and eight rebounds per game.  Johnson has scored 20 points or more in his last five games.  He is supported by guard E’Twaun Moore, who is averaging 18 ppg.  No other Purdue player is averaging over six points per game.  The key here is for Johnson to continue his hot streak.  Prediction: Purdue pulls out a squeaker, 67-64

>Fiesta Bowl

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>Oklahoma vs. Connecticut

  
   The Huskies could not have gotten a bigger challenge for their first appearance on college football’s biggest stage than facing the powerful Sooners on Saturday night at Glendale, Ariz.

   Connecticut’s path to Arizona began in 1997, when the school voted to accept the invite from the Big East Conference and upgrade from a I-AA program.

   The 25th-ranked Huskies (8-4) then joined the Big East for the 2004 season — one year early — after the Atlantic Coast Conference poached Miami and Virginia Tech in 2003. They earned their first bowl appearance that year, and the Fiesta Bowl will be their fourth consecutive postseason game.

   Oklahoma (11-2) is making its 12th bowl appearance in as many seasons under coach Bob Stoops and 44th overall. Its 25 victories are tied for fifth all-time, and the eighth BCS bowl appearance trails only Ohio State’s nine.  Unfiortunately, they have lost five consecutive BCS games — two for the national championship — since winning the 2003 Rose Bowl. Two other defeats, the 2007 and 2008 Fiesta Bowls, came when the Sooners were heavy favorites before losing to Boise State and West Virginia, respectively.

   If the Huskies have any hope in winning, their fate will ride on the legs of two-time 1,000-yard rusher Jordan Todman. The tailback had 1,574 yards and 14 TDs to earn Big East offensive player of the year honors and is second in the nation at 143.1 yards per game.

    With the Sooners likely to stack the box in an attempt to slow Todman, there will be pressure on Zach Frazer to keep Oklahoma’s defense honest. The senior, though, topped 200 yards just once this season and completed only 52.7 percent of his 222 passes for 1,202 yards and five TDs.

   The Sooners are fourth among FBS teams in passing at 336.8 yards per game, 13th in total offense (478.1 ypg) and 17th in scoring (36.4 points per game).

   Landry Jones threw for 4,289 yards and 35 touchdowns, with receiver Ryan Broyles posting his second straight 1,000-yard season. He finished with career highs of 118 receptions and 1,452 yards to go with 13 touchdowns and is Oklahoma’s all-time leader in receptions, receiving yards and receiving TDs.

   Five players had at least 26 receptions for the Sooners, and running back DeMarco Murray is one of them. He had 1,121 rushing yards and 14 TDs to go with 69 receptions, 595 yards and five receiving scores.

 Prediction:  As much as I would love to see the Huskies pull the upset, I really don’t see them having the horses to do so.  Oklahoma 31-10

>Rose Bowl

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>TCU vs. Wisconsin

  
   TCU didn’t get to prove it deserved to play for the BCS title. A victory over Wisconsin in the Granddaddy of Them All could go a long way toward showing that it should have.

   The third-ranked Horned Frogs, owners of the nation’s top defense, face a No. 4 Badgers team that reached the 70-point mark three times this season in the 97th Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day.

   The Frogs, who went undefeated for the second straight regular season, will make their first appearance in perhaps the most prestigious and storied bowl in college football.  TCU gets to play in Pasadena over a Pac-10 team — the traditional selection to face the Big Ten representative — because the Rose Bowl was obligated this year to select a team from a non-automatic BCS qualifying conference if one was eligible and not playing in the title game.

   TCU is allowing averages of 11.4 points, 126.3 passing yards and 215.4 total yards — all tops in the FBS — and 89.2 rushing yards, third-fewest in the country. The Frogs’ speedy defense, though, should receive its biggest test of the season from the Badgers (11-1), who are tied for fourth in the nation with 43.3 points per game — same as TCU.

    Scott Tolzien has passed for 2,300 yards, 16 touchdowns and six interceptions while completing 74.3 percent of his throws — best in the country.
    
   For TCU to keep the Badgers from an eighth straight win — Wisconsin’s seven consecutive victories have come by 26.1 points — it will have to stop a trio of running backs that has piled up nearly 2,900 yards on the ground.  James White (1,029), John Clay (936) and Montee Ball (864) running behind six All-Big Ten offensive linemen proved far too much for opponents to handle.

   TCU QB Andy Dalton is a 41-game winner as a starter. The senior has thrown for 2,638 yards, 26 touchdowns and six interceptions while running for 407 yards and five TDs this season.
Ed Wesley paces the nation’s 12th-ranked rushing attack with 1,065 yards, while Matthew Tucker ran for 694.

   Josh Boyce leads the team in receiving yards with 602 on 33 catches and has six touchdowns, while Jeremy Kerley has 50 catches for 517 yards and 10 scores.  

Prediction: TCU shows it should have gotten a chance to play for the title by shutting down Wisconsin and winning 42-14.