Brendon Mulvihill is the head curator for @SportsGawker and an RTC contributor. You can find him @TheMulv on Twitter. See bottom of the post for the Official RTC Star System.
It’s Jimmy V. Week and the college football regular season has come to end. That means college hoops takes center stage at universities across the country and we couldn’t be happier. Let’s get to the breakdowns.
#16 Georgetown vs. Texas – 7:00 PM EST, Tuesday on ESPN (***)
- The big question in the Georgetown-Texas game is where are the points going to come from on both sides. The Hoyas are coming off the ugliest game college basketball has seen in quite some time. While they beat Tennessee on Friday night by a score of 37-36, coach John Thompson III cannot be happy with how his team is performing on the offensive end. On the other side, the Longhorns are struggling to score as well. They are shooting an eFG% of 48.7% on the season against teams like UT-Arlington, Sam Houston State, and Chaminade (a game in which they lost). Expect this game to be a defensive slugfest. No one wants to see a disaster similar to Georgetown-Tennessee, but this game has that kind of feel. The Hoyas have the length advantage once again in this match-up and should be able to take advantage on the boards, and it’s unlikely that Georgetown forward Otto Porter will be held in check again. So keep a close eye on how he responds to his eight-point performance on 4-11 shooting against the Vols. While the Texas defense has been strong, their competition does not give us much to go on. The Longhorns will continue to struggle without point guard Myck Kabongo in the lineup regardless.
#21 North Carolina State vs. Connecticut – 9:00 PM EST, Tuesday on ESPN (***)
- Since UConn’s surprise win against Michigan State in the opener, the Huskies have come back to earth and played very mediocre basketball. A close win against Quinnipiac and a loss to New Mexico showed that Kevin Ollie’s team still has a lot of work to do. NC State is on the verge of a very disappointing non-conference season already with losses to Oklahoma State and Michigan, and a too-close-for-comfort game against UNC-Asheville. The good news for the Wolfpack is that their offense performed much better against Michigan, shooting almost 60% eFG in the loss. Look to see if they can put together a complete game for the first time this season against a quality opponent. The guard match-ups between UConn’s Shabazz Napier and Ryan Boatright and NC State’s Rodney Purvis and Lorenzo Brown should be fun to watch. However, the difference in this one should be the Wolfpack’s frontcourt of C.J. Leslie and T.J. Warren. NC State just has more scoring options across the lineup than the Huskies.
#6 Florida at #25 Florida State – 7:00 PM EST, Wednesday on ESPN2 (****)
- The college basketball world is wondering if Florida State can find its defense again. The 1.2 points per possession that the Seminoles gave up to Minnesota is red alert territory. They now must face a Florida team that is equal to the Golden Gophers in offensive rebounding but with better shooters. The Gators have four players who have attempted more than 20 three-point shots on the season. Look to see if FSU can use its size on the perimeter to bother the Florida threat from deep. Florida won in a blowout last year in Gainesville, and if the Seminoles don’t check Florida’s shooting and get on the glass harder, they run the risk of getting run out of the gym again.
Ohio at Memphis – 7:00 PM EST, Wednesday on CBS Sports (***)
- Josh Pastner’s Memphis team is on the wrong side of underachieving once again this year. They lost their only two match-ups against quality opponents this year in the Bahamas and still need to show they can match their perceived talent level with actual wins. While the Ohio Bobcats are not necessarily a power team, they bring one of the best guards in the country into this game in the way of D.J. Cooper. The Bobcats’ backcourt isn’t just powered by Cooper, however. Nick Kellogg and Walter Offutt need to be accounted for at all times. While the match-up between Tiger guard Joe Jackson and Cooper will be interesting to watch, keep a close eye on how the Tigers defend Kellogg and Offutt as well. The entire Ohio backcourt is a threat from downtown and Memphis is currently ranked 317th in the nation in three-point defense. For Memphis to win, they need to defend the three, get to the line, and avoid turning the ball over. The Bobcat offense thrives on turnovers. If they can get Memphis to cough the ball up, it could be curtains for the Tigers at home.
Temple at Villanova – 9:00 PM EST, Wednesday on ESPN2 (***)
- It’s always fun to watch these Philadelphia schools battle. Temple won last year’s contest by creating turnovers. This year, Villanova is turning the ball over at a rate of 22.5%. It’s tough to create an efficient offense when you are giving it away on more than 20% of your possessions. This is particularly so when the Wildcats don’t have a real scoring threat established so far this season. Look for Temple to create turnovers and shoot two-pointers most of the night. In order for Villanova to get this win, they need to get to the foul line and limit their turnovers. Young Villanova guard Ryan Arcidiacono needs better shot selection so he can continue to get to the line more. A ridiculous 47 of his 67 shots on the season have been from behind the three-point line. Since he is only hitting 27.7% of those attempts, he would be better served taking the ball to the basket to try to draw fouls.
Colorado State at #19 Colorado – 10:30 PM EST, Wednesday on Pac-12 Network (***)
- Colorado coach Tad Boyle is 1-1 against in-state rival Colorado State. The Buffaloes won in overtime at home in 2010 and lost last season by one on the road. Boyle’s club is coming off a surprise loss to Wyoming after beating Dayton, Baylor, and Murray State earlier in the season. Colorado needs to get back to crashing the defensive boards in this contest. They face a Colorado State team that has been solid on the offensive glass all season. Keep an eye on CU when they are on defense. If Andre Roberson is cleaning up the glass, as usual, the Buffaloes will be in good shape. Too many putbacks for CSU could spell trouble, though. Also, keep an eye on free throws for Colorado. They need to get to the line to win this game, especially if their shots are not falling on offense like last year in this game.
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 dvr but make sure you watch it later
** – set your dvr but we’ll forgive you if it stays in the queue until 2015
* – don’t waste bandwidth (yours or the dvr’s) of any kind on this game