Rush The Court

SEC Set Your TiVo will take a look ahead at each week’s key games. See bottom of the post for the Official RTC Star System.

After the first real weekend of college basketball action, the SEC dives headfirst into the non-conference schedule. The conference will have six teams participating in national tournaments through Thursday. Vanderbilt (TicketCity Legends Classic) and Georgia (Progressive CBE Classic) stay on their home courts for preliminary round games; LSU (DIRECTV Charleston Classic), Kentucky (State Farm Champions Classic), Alabama (Puerto Rico Tip-Off) and Mississippi State (2KSports Classic) travel to neutra court sites. Florida faces its first Top 10 test in non-tournament action.

This will be the national introduction for nearly all of these SEC teams. Which games should you watch live (besides those of your favorite team)?

#2 Kentucky vs. #13 Kansas (at Madison Square Garden) – Tuesday, Nov. 15, 9 PM EST on ESPN (*****)

Kentucky gets its first real challenge at the State Farm Champions Classic in New York City. This Kansas team looks different than the team who ran into the VCU buzzsaw last March in the NCAA Elite Eight. The only returning Jayhawk starter is senior point guard Tyshawn Taylor; the experienced bench from last season — junior forwards Travis Releford and Thomas Robinson, junior senior Jeff Withey and junior Elijah Johnson — now becomes the experienced starters. Although they started this season with questions about their bench depth, the Jayhawks played nine players for 14 minutes or more in their 100-54 victory over Towson on Saturday. In just 14 minutes, junior transfer forward Kevin Young tallied 13 points and seven rebounds.

The Jayhawks will challenge a Wildcats defense that has relied mainly on athletic efforts. Featuring the incredible wingspan and speed of freshman forward Michael Kidd-Gilchrist at the front, Kentucky’s full-court press has been impressive. John Calipari’s team has yet to face a guard of Taylor’s caliber, who might negate the affects of the press. Likewise, Kentucky’s much-ballyhooed frontcourt (sophomore Terrence Jones, freshmen Anthony Davis and Kyle Wiltjer) will be truly tested against the size of Withey and Robinson. Calipari’s strategy of massing one-and-done players always prompts a “youth versus experience” debate among college basketball fans. With Kansas’ collection of older players, the debate begins anew at Madison Square Garden.

#10 Florida @ #3 Ohio State – Tuesday, Nov. 15th, 8PM on ESPN2 (****)

This game may come down to which group can outperform the other: Florida’s backcourt or Ohio State’s frontcourt. The Buckeyes’ preseason All-America forward Jared Sullinger is a known post quantity that Florida will be challenged to contain. Returning senior forward William Buford provides another matchup problem with the Gators’ limited forward corps. Thad Matta’s frontcourt also features a player with a knack for offensive rebounds in sophomore Deshaun Thomas. Billy Donovan will need sophomore Patric Young to stay out of foul trouble and challenge Sullinger on both ends of the floor.

Ohio State likewise must shut down one of the most talented and deep backcourts in the country in Florida. Freshman Bradley Beal has already been impressive in early action, scoring 14 points on 5-10 FG and 3-4 FT against Jackson State on Friday. Beal’s ability to drive and finish will test Ohio State’s interior defense. As senior Erving Walker settles into more of a distributor role, senior Kenny Boynton and junior Mike Rosario are allowed to shoot from deep at will. With lockdown defender David Lighty no longer on the team, the Buckeyes will need find the right combination of defensive structure and personnel to contend with Florida’s long-range attack.

LSU vs. Northwestern (at Charleston, S.C.) – Thursday, Nov. 17th, 3PM EST on ESPNU (***)

Northwestern returns four starters from a team that nearly earned the school’s first NCAA Tournament bid last season. Senior guard John Shurna has recovered from his ankle injury and will be the Wildcats’ primary scoring option. Sophomore guard JerShon Cobb will be called upon to be the point guard and could be susceptible to pressure from LSU’s Chris Bass and Ralston Turner. The Tiger’s McDonald’s All-American Johnny O’Bryant, III, faces his first test against Northwestern’s Luka Mirkovic. A win against this Big Ten team will give Trent Johnson’s team a great boost in their non-conference RPI.

Maryland @ Alabama – Thursday, Nov. 17th, 5PM EST on ESPN2 (**)

Maryland’s freshman center Alex Len was suspended for ten games due to amateurism issues. Already missing projected starting point guard Pe’Shon Howard, first-year head coach Mark Turgeon’s team is vunerable to a strong Alabama team. Forwards JaMychal Green and Tony Mitchell should lead the Crimson Tide to an easy victory. For SEC fans, the details will be more interesting: How much time will freshman Trevor Lacey see? Will the Crimson Tide hold the Terrapins to under 35% FG? If Green or Mitchell get in foul trouble, will freshman forward Nick Jacobs seamlessly plug in?

#19 Texas A&M vs. Mississippi State (at Madison Square Garden) – Thursday, Nov. 17th, 7PM on ESPN2 (***)

Not quite officially a conference member yet, Texas A&M faces Mississippi State missing a key player: junior forward (and primary scoring option) Khris Middleton is recovering from surgery for a partially torn meniscus. The Aggies will need to rely on their defense and rebounding to contain the Bulldogs. Coach Rick Stansbury’s club is looking to redeem themselves after a shocking loss last week to Akron. Junior forward Arnett Moultrie will need to continue carrying the frontcourt load for Mississippi State, especially if Renardo Sidney is still recovering from a groin injury. The Bulldogs may continue using a more uptempo style that enabled senior guard Dee Bost (16 points) and freshman guard Rodney Hood (15 points) in their 80-65 victory over South Alabama.

The Official RTC 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 2014
* – don’t waste bandwidth (yours or the tivo’s) of any kind on this game