***** – 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
Ole Miss @ #3 Kentucky – 7 pm on ESPN (***)
Have John Wall and Coach Calipari gotten over their performance at South Carolina? It would have appeared so after they defeated a strong Vanderbilt team by 13, but recent comments by Wall quickly put away any ease that was in Lexington. After initially criticizing the way Calipari handles him, Wall has clarified that their relationship is fine, but more importantly, Wall is not playing his best basketball. Going back to the end of the Arkansas game, he has made only 10 of his last 30 shots, and was held to only two assists in Columbia. With 27 and 21-point performances in his last two games, could DeMarcus Cousins be the best player on the team and best freshman in the country? Calipari would like help from both players against Ole Miss, a team that is tied for first place in the SEC West at 4-2. This game would have appeared much more dangerous for UK before Ole Miss blew a three-game winning streak with a home loss against a struggling Arkansas team. The game is in Lexington, where the Wildcats are 14-0, but the Rebels have shown the ability to play tough on the road this year. They were beating Tennessee by 12 in the latter part of the second half before losing in OT, and only lost to West Virginia by 10. Kentucky’s offense may rank higher in points per game, efficiency, and rebounds, but Ole Miss has the potential to stay with the Cats throughout. They don’t have any lottery picks, but they score over 80 points per contest and have five guys who score in double digits. Kentucky should win this game, but don’t expect the Rebels to get blown out.
Miami (FL) @ Wake Forest – 7 pm on ESPN2 (***)
Miami might be a bad team who just happened to have a good game, and Wake Forest may be a good team who just happened to have a horrible game, but judging by the last performance of both squads, it is tough to tell where these teams are heading. The RPI would like to confirm that WFU is a vastly superior team, as the Demon Deacons come in at #23 while the Hurricanes rank #86, but both teams have five losses on the year, and Miami has two more wins. UM started the ACC season 1-5, so it should be interesting to see how they play against the only conference opponent they have beaten this year. In that game, James Dews connected on a shot with 30 seconds to go to give the Hurricanes a 67-66 victory in Coral Gables. Dews scored 21 points in Sunday’s win over Virginia Tech, and will have to give his team a similar performance to upset the Deacons for a second time this year. Wake Forest, on the other hand, is trying to get the taste out of their mouths from a 21-point loss to Georgia Tech. WFU is one of only two teams in the country to average over 40 rebounds per game, but have been inconsistent offensively in the past few weeks. Although Miami’s defense is ranked 83d in terms of efficiency, the Hurricanes allow less than 63 points per game, and if they hold Al-Farouq Aminu to nine points like they did last game, they will come out of Winston-Salem with a victory.
#5 Michigan State @ #16 Wisconsin – 9 pm on ESPN (****)
It'll be Another Bruiser in Madison Tonight
RTC Live will be live at the Kohl Center for what is surely to be the best game of the night. Michigan State is the more talented team, but considering that the game in Madison may be enough to consider the Spartans a Vegas underdog in this game. The Badgers are 12-0 at home this year (with wins over Duke, Ohio State, and Purdue) and are 165-16 in the Kohl Center’s brief history. The Spartans have not won at the Kohl Center since February 2001, and will be heavily challenged to continue their current 10-game winning streak. The Spartans cut it close in their last two road games, with one point victories at Minnesota and Michigan. However, those teams are a combined 8-10 in the Big Ten, while the Badgers are 6-3. Keaton Nankivil finally filled Jon Leuer’s big shoes when he lit up Purdue for 25 points on 7-8 shooting from the three-point line, and a similar performance would go a long way towards defeating Michigan State. Nankivil has improved his point total in each of the last six games, and although he will not likely go for 30 points against the Spartans, he seems to be emerging as the Badgers’ second option after Trevon Hughes. MSU’s Kalin Lucas has scored in double digits every single game this year, and appears to be out of Tom Izzo’s dog house. If he can pick apart Wisconsin’s solid defense, look for the Spartans to have a chance in this difficult road game.