Today's Specials: Can Miami knock off No. 1 Duke?
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| Does Duke have an answer for the inside-outside ability of Miami's Kenny Kadji? (US Presswire) |
Tuesday was outstanding, with 11 of 14 games decided by single digits, including multiple court-rushing upsets. Wednesday brings a big slate, complete with upset potential and ranked teams heading on the road. Oh, and another Mountain West game that will likely come down to the final minutes. Because all Mountain West games do.
Note: All times are Eastern, and the rankings are according to the AP Poll.
Best game: No. 1 Duke at No. 25 Miami (7 p.m., ESPN). With NC State dropping two of its last three since beating Duke, these might be the two best teams in the ACC. At least they're the only two teams with fewer than two league losses so far. Both teams are still without key frontcourt players, as Duke's Ryan Kelly and Miami's Reggie Johnson are both on the mend. Lots of things to look for in this one. Miami is great at taking care of the ball, limiting Duke's runouts. The Hurricanes also have to guard the perimeter effectively. And the battle down low could be interesting. Mason Plumlee might be able to dominate inside, but Duke also has no answer for Kenny Kadji.
Second-best game: Colorado State at No. 15 New Mexico (8 p.m., CBS Sports). Another day, another big-time Mountain West game. Right now, New Mexico might have the best resume in the league -- with Colorado State coming up behind them. New Mexico has won three in a row since an up-and-down stretch in December, including an overtime win at Boise State last week. Colorado State beat UNLV over the weekend and has won nine of 10 overall. The matchups inside will be key, as Alex Kirk needs to slow down Colton Iverson and Pierce Hornung on the boards.
Another one to watch: No. 9 Butler at La Salle (7 p.m.). Coming off the unbelievable last-second win against Gonzaga over the weekend, what does Butler have in store for us this week? Up first is a road trip to La Salle, where the Explorers face essentially a make-or-break week in their quest for an at-large bid and Atlantic 10 contention. With a trip to VCU coming up this weekend, a win at home against Butler would be huge. Tempo will be a factor, as will the perimeter battle between Kellen Dunham and Rose Jones vs. Ramon Galloway and Tyreek Duren.
Guaranteed win: Yet to develop a killer instinct, Indiana has had some hiccups over the past couple of weeks. The Hoosiers allowed Minnesota and Northwestern to make it close in the second, and they also lost at home to Wisconsin. Indiana should dominate Penn State, though (7 p.m., Big Ten Network). The first time these two teams met, Indiana cruised to a 23-point win. This one is in Bloomington. Look out.
Potential upset: There aren't too many upset possibilities outside of the big games, but we'll go down the schedule and look at San Diego State at Nevada (10 p.m., CBS Sports). The Aztecs have lost two in a row, including a 13-point defeat over the weekend at a depleted Wyoming. Meanwhile, Nevada has struggled at times this season -- but the Wolf Pack still have the talented backcourt duo of Deonte Burton and Malik Story. Can those two spring the surprise win?
Three things to keep an eye on:
- Three Atlantic 10 teams could really use a win to start righting the ship -- Saint Louis at Duquesne (7 p.m.), Dayton hosting Fordham (7 p.m.), Saint Joseph's hosting St. Bonaventure (7 p.m.).
- This game would have been a little better had C.J. McCollum not been hurt, but both Lehigh and Bucknell are still undefeated in the Patriot (6 p.m., CBS Sports).
- With Utah State suffering multiple key injuries, the WAC is opening up some. Can either Denver or New Mexico State take advantage (11 p.m., ESPNU)?
Other games to watch:
- William & Mary at Northeastern (7 p.m.)
- Ohio at Miami (Ohio) (7 p.m., ESPN3)
- Akron at Toledo (7 p.m., ESPN3)
- Charleston Southern at Presbyterian (7 p.m.)
- Marshall at Southern Miss (7 p.m.)
- Xavier at Charlotte (7:30 p.m.)
- No. 8 Florida at Georgia (8 p.m., ESPN3)
- Texas A&M at LSU (8 p.m., ESPN3)
- No. 17 Creighton at Drake (8:05 p.m.)
- No. 20 Wichita State at Missouri State (8:05 p.m., ESPN3)
- No. 12 Minnesota at Northwestern (9 p.m., Big Ten Network)
- Georgia Tech at North Carolina (9 p.m., ESPN)
- Iowa State at Texas Tech (9 p.m., ESPNU)
- Washington State at Oregon (9:30 p.m., Pac-12 Network)
- Washington at Oregon State (11:30 p.m., Pac-12 Network)
For more college basketball news, rumors and analysis, follow @EyeOnCBB on Twitter, subscribe to our RSS Feed and subscribe to our College Basketball Newsletter. You can follow Jeff Borzello on Twitter here: @jeffborzello
