"I Know the Game Like I'm Reffing It"















Saturday, December 27, 2014

Today's Games To Watch

Highlights of this past week include George Washington beating Wichita State to take the Diamond Head Classic in Hawaii, Hawaii taking Wichita State to overtime and beating Colorado, Stanford upsetting Texas, UNLV shocking Arizona, Temple crushing Kansas, and Providence handling Miami in Brooklyn.

This last Saturday in 2014 brings us a couple of good games and a monster.

Indiana (10-2) vs. Georgetown (7-3) 12PM, New York, NY, ESPN2

I'll be at this one to watch two teams on the outside looking in at the Top 25 and take-them-seriously status. So, both teams will want this game and we will likely start looking at the winner differently. The Hoosiers are coming off a nice win over Butler seven days ago, while the Hoyas looked a tad shaky in escaping with a 3-point victory at home versus Charlotte. Georgetown will look to slow down Indiana's explosive perimeter offense and make Josh Smith a major force on their end. But this game will likely be determined by guards, Yogi Ferrell, James Blackmon Jr and Robert Johnson for the Hoosiers, and D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera and LJ Peak for the Hoyas. Prediction: Georgetown 75, Indiana 73.

#1 Kentucky (12-0) at #3 Louisville (11-0) 2PM, Louisville, KY, ESPN2

Yeah, it doesn't get any better than this one. This rivalry game is a must watch every year. This year, if you're watching anything else, please turn in your college hoops pass. It has been opined that if Kentucky can win this game, they are destined to run the table. The problem with that theory is that there is no doubt UK will be as focused today as they will be for any game this season. Pitino and Louisville will likely see the Wildcats' best effort. That's pretty scary. But, Louisville isn't bad either and they have a great coach, also. These are arguably the two best defensive teams in the nation. However, Kentucky is the far better offensive team at this point. Oh, and don't forget those 8 McDonald's All-Americans Coach Cal will throw at Pitino. Louisville will have to get extraordinary offensive contributions from their guards, as well as from All-American Montrezl Harrell, who must also avoid foul trouble going up against Kentucky's four-deep frontline. Prediction: Kentucky 74, Louisville 66. 

#8 Gonzaga (10-1) at BYU (8-3) 6PM, Provo, UT, ESPN2

Another one of the best teams in the nation, the Zags will try to get a nice road win at dangerous BYU. The Cougars are coming off wins over Stanford and UMass and are one of the more potent and efficient offensive teams in the country. Gonzaga's lone loss this season was at Arizona and they are one of the few teams in the country even better offensively than BYU. But, the Bulldogs better be on their game in Provo, where the Cougars' only blemish was Utah. Prediction: Gonzaga 83, BYU 77. 

Other games of note: 

Georgia State (6-3) at Green Bay (7-3) 1PM, Green Bay, WI, ESPN3
#25 Colorado State (11-0) at New Mexico State (4-8) 9PM, Las Cruces, NM, ROOT

Other Top 25 games:

UAB (4-8) at #13 North Carolina (8-3) 4PM, Chapel Hill, NC, ESPN2
Oakland (3-8) at #18 Maryland (11-1) 5PM, College Park, MD, BTN
Wright State (6-5) at #19 Ohio State (10-2) 7PM, Columbus, OH, BTN


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