BUY BUY BUY
Wichita State Shockers - They might play in a weaker than usual Missouri Valley Conference, but they were trailing by 18 points at halftime on the road to Missouri State, and came back to beat them in overtime. That takes a great deal of mental fortitude. Wichita State is the real deal no matter what conference they are playing in this season. I am no Jerry Palm or Joe Lunardi, but I would think if Wichita State lost one or two games like St. Joesph did with that Jameer Nelson, Delonte West team did, I think this could be a two seed, borderline one seed. Cleanthony Early and Ron Baker is a great one-two punch for this team.
Iowa Hawkeyes - We criticize their coach last weekend, but Iowa got their first signature win in a long while by winning on the road against Ohio State. Hawkeyes show they are indeed legit, and deserve to be in the discussion when it comes to the top four in the Big Ten. Roy Deyvn Marble continued to get better and averaging over 16 points a game plus Aaron White is a beast inside. If they can beat Ohio State on the road, they can win anywhere in the Big Ten. Even when their coach Fran McCaffery got ejected last Sunday, this team still hung tough with Wisconsin on the road.
Pittsburgh Panthers - I could not be happier Syracuse and Pittsburgh are now in the ACC this season. Both are head and shoulders better this season. Lamar Patterson and Talib Zanna are two guys whom have been there forever yet they are finally coming together like coach Jamie Dixon had wanted when he recruited them. Patterson was an underachieving recruit until this season where he is averaging nearly 18 points a game. They have not had a true test yet this season, but it comes this Saturday heading to Syracuse, a place they know well then they welcome Duke to the Oakland Zoo in late January. Arizona Wildcats - This team just keeps winning basketball games. They notched a Los Angeles sweep over the weekend by beating UCLA and USC. Arizona now heads home for three straight games over basically two weeks. There is a good chance this team might be undefeated heading into February which I feel like no one saw coming. I thought this team looked good on paper, but the question was would they come together? The latter had been a problem for former Cats team. The development of Nick Johnson is the most impressive thing about this team. Johnson's scoring is up five points and one thing forgotten this year is his free-throw percentage is up 10 percent from last season which is a huge deal with the way Johnson plays basketball.
HOLD HOLD HOLD
Ohio State Buckeyes - I hyped up Ohio State last week only to have them lose to Michigan State and Iowa this week. For most of the game against the Spartans, they were getting their ass kicked yet they found a way to battle back to victory. You wonder if that had something to do with their poor play against Iowa. Further, I think the Iowa game is more of a reminder that no team is really safe playing at home in the Big Ten. That has not been in the case in years past. It does not get easier as they head to Minnesota this Thursday.
SELL SELL SELL
Illinois Fightin' Illini - Sometimes when teams get ranked, they do not take it well. Illinois is one of those teams. They were absolutely boat raced by Wisconsin and then only scored 43 points in a loss to Northwestern, arguably the worst B1G team. Not ready for primetime or just an average team? I would probably say the latter in this case. Being average in this B1G might be above average in other conferences, but they do not seem to be a team that can knock off the elite ones on the road.
Oregon Ducks - What the hell is going on in Eugene? The Ducks have lost three straight games including two at home in the last eight days. They are not losing to the powers of the Pac-12. Now it could mean this conference is a dogfight every game out, but at the same time, Oregon should beat California and Stanford at home. They are better than that. The worrisome thing is this squad giving up 100, 96 and 82 in their last three losses. That needs to be turned around for them to start winning games again.
Duke Blue Devils - Really the same question for Duke. This team started off in the top five, and now they have hit rock bottom by losing to Clemson on Saturday. Duke really cannot play defense this season, and people are starting to figure that out. How does Coach K change things? He might be stuck in a bad spot with a bad defensive team where they can only outscore teams to win games. They play the next three of four at Cameron Indoor which could be the perfect recipe for this team to get right again.
GAMES TO WATCH THIS WEEK
Monday: 15. Kansas at 8. Iowa State 8:00 pm ESPN
Tuesday: 3. Wisconsin at Indiana 6:00 pm ESPN, Butler at 20. Creighton 6:00 pm FOX Sports 1,
25. Oklahoma at Kansas State 6:00 pm ESPN2
Thursday: UConn at 17. Memphis 6:00 pm ESPN, 25. UCLA at 21. Colorado 7:00 pm Pac-12 Network,
Arizona State at 1. Arizona 8:00 pm FOX Sports 1
11. Ohio State at Minnesota 8:00 pm ESPN2
Duke Blue Devils - Really the same question for Duke. This team started off in the top five, and now they have hit rock bottom by losing to Clemson on Saturday. Duke really cannot play defense this season, and people are starting to figure that out. How does Coach K change things? He might be stuck in a bad spot with a bad defensive team where they can only outscore teams to win games. They play the next three of four at Cameron Indoor which could be the perfect recipe for this team to get right again.
GAMES TO WATCH THIS WEEK
Monday: 15. Kansas at 8. Iowa State 8:00 pm ESPN
Tuesday: 3. Wisconsin at Indiana 6:00 pm ESPN, Butler at 20. Creighton 6:00 pm FOX Sports 1,
25. Oklahoma at Kansas State 6:00 pm ESPN2
Thursday: UConn at 17. Memphis 6:00 pm ESPN, 25. UCLA at 21. Colorado 7:00 pm Pac-12 Network,
Arizona State at 1. Arizona 8:00 pm FOX Sports 1
11. Ohio State at Minnesota 8:00 pm ESPN2
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