Rush The Court

SYT Star System

***** – quit your job and divorce your wife if that’s what it takes to watch this game live
**** – best watched live, but if you must, tivo and watch it tonight as soon as you get home
*** – set your tivo but make sure you watch it later
** – set your tivo but we’ll forgive you if it stays in the queue until 2012
* – don’t waste bandwidth (yours or the tivo’s) of any kind on this game

Georgetown @ Syracuse – 7 pm on ESPN (*****)

These two teams seem to be more impressive every day, and a win tonight will be huge if Syracuse wants to get a #1 seed in the NCAA tournament or if Georgetown wants a #2 or #3 seed come March.  Georgetown has beaten several good teams in Butler, UConn and Pitt, while Syracuse has also beaten Cal, West Virginia, and Notre Dame.  With that said, somebody is going to have to lose tonight.  It should be interesting to see how Georgetown’s defense does against the powerful and balanced Syracuse attack.  The Hoyas only allow 61.4 points per game, but Ken Pomeroy ranks their defense at #33, so the game largely hinges on GU’s ability to stop Wesley Johnson and Andy Rautins.  If the Orange can put up 80 points on Georgetown, that doesn’t necessarily spell doom, as the Hoyas are coming off an 88-point performance in an easy win against Rutgers.  In Georgetown’s last loss, a 82-77 defeat to Villanova, Chris Wright scored just six points, his second lowest point total of the season.  Expect Wright to get more points tonight against Syracuse, but the Hoyas will likely struggle to get a win in the Carrier Dome.

Missouri @ Kansas – 9 pm on ESPN (****)

A quick look at an unranked Missouri team going against a #3 Kansas team in Lawrence would look like a blowout, but the Tigers may surprise a lot of people in this game.  The 15-4 Tigers are third in the Big 12 and have beaten Kansas State in addition to a 37-point shellacking of Oregon.  Ken Pomeroy has KU as the top team in the country, but the Tigers crack his overall top ten due to their #8 defense.  Mizzou held Kansas State to 68 points, which is still their season low.  Nevertheless, the Jayhawks are always strong and are coming off four straight Big 12 wins.  They have the rare ability to fly down the court with Sherron Collins and Xavier Henry and dominate in the paint with Cole Aldrich.  At 81.6 points per game, the Tigers can put some points on the board as well.  To be honest, Kansas has not faced many tough teams this season, and Missouri appears to be the best team they have yet played.  What makes this game even more intriguing is that with a win tonight, Missouri would actually grab first place in the Big 12.  Look for Missouri to give Kansas a run for their money, and could end up coming away with a shocker tonight.