The ACC/Big Ten Challenge is, without question, the best conference competition. The Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series is stretched over such a period of time that it becomes a hassle to follow, and the Pac-10 is so bad this year that it isn’t competitive. The SEC/Big East Invitational is even worse. Only four teams from each league compete, and in general there are only two really good games despite the depth of quality teams in both leagues.

That said, this year the two good games are very good games. We will worry about tomorrow’s Syracuse-Florida game tomorrow, because tonight we will be bringing you RTC Live form the Garden once again as UConn and Kentucky do battle. There is intrigue throughout this game. What is UConn going to do about John Wall? Can Kemba Walker and Jerome Dyson slow him down? Will Kentucky take advantage of their size on the inside like Duke did? Is UConn going to rebound the ball? Who is going to defend Patrick Patterson? How many highlight reel dunks are we going to see tonight?

Hell, I’m even curious to see who gets more fans at the Garden. We all know how well Big Blue Nation travels.

But the focus is going to be on the two coaches. Jim Calhoun and John Calipari genuinely hated each other when Cal was back at UMass. Calhoun was just starting to assert the Huskies as a national power, when the brash, young Calipari came to Amherst. While the tensions have surely fizzled in the 13 years since Kentucky’s Cal was at UMass, you can bet that neither of these two gentlemen forgive and forget easily.

Oh, what a night it should be at the Garden. Is it 9:30 yet?

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Welcome back to RTC Live, as we are here in MSG for the Jimmy V Classic. In the first game on the night, we get the Georgetown Hoyas squaring off with the Butler Bulldogs. Butler comes into this game having lost two of three out in Anaheim at the 76 Classic, but bounced back with wins over Valpo and Ball State. Georgetown is undefeated, but they have not been tested yet. That will change tonight, however. In the nightcap, Pitt takes on Indiana. Pitt is not your typical Panther team this season, as they are currently playing without their top six from last year’s team. But if you believe Jeff Goodman’s twitter feed (and you should), Jermaine Dixon will be in the lineup tonight. Indiana is struggling this season, once again, as they are still trying to recover from the dismantling of their roster. That said, there is some talent on this team that will be fun to watch – Maurice Creek and Christian Watford both have a shot of being an NBA player one day.

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We are back tonight courtside for what might be one of the best early season games of the year with #3 Villanova travelling down to Washington, DC to take on Maryland. Coming into the season, a lot of people expected this to be a huge game, but some of the hype died down after the Terrapins lost back-to-back games in Maui against Cincinnati and Wisconsin. At the time we were down on the Terrapins, but we are willing to forgive them a little for what might have been a little jet-lag (yes, we know the other teams had to travel far except for Chaminade). And it turns out that the Bearcats and the Badgers might have been a little better than advertised coming into the season (ask Coach K about the Badgers). Tonight Gary Williams and his Terrapins have a shot at regaining some respect from the rest of the college basketball universe against Jay Wright‘s Wildcats. A win over the top-ranked team in the Big East would be a big boost for the Terrapins’ chances on Selection Sunday (less than 100 days away now).

While most of the nation’s attention will be focused on the two standout senior guards Greivis Vasquez and Scottie Reynolds, the key to this game might be on the inside. Antonio Pena has filled in the void left by Dante Cunningham, but the Wildcats are very thin on the inside particularly with Mouphtaou Yarou likely out for the season with hepatitis B. That leaves Jay Wright relying on Pena and local Maryland product Maurice Sutton on the inside against a group of Maryland interior players that lacks a big name but is fairly deep with Landon Milbourne, Jordan Williams, and Cliff Tucker in frontcourt. If either Pena or Sutton gets in foul trouble, the Wildcats could be in trouble. One other interesting storyline to watch is Villanova’s 6th man Taylor King, the former Duke McDonald’s All-American who transferred after his freshman year. As you may be aware, the Maryland student body doesn’t exactly like the Blue Devils. Even though he’s no longer at Duke, King would no doubt love to stick it to the Terrapins and their fans who will certainly be ready with plenty of taunts for the former Blue Devil. Be sure to join us for another edition of RTC Live at 7:30 PM.

Update: For those of you who are interested, our correspondent is already there so he will be covering the undercard of the BB&T Classic (George Washington versus Navy).

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Well that sorta figures.  After we spent all that time figuring up the percentage chance that the Pac-10 would get swept by the Big 12 in the Hardwood Series this year (0.8%), Oregon State goes and beats Colorado by five last night.  No matter.  The two games where it was a mild stretch that the Pac-10 would lose were tonight’s game, Iowa State @ California, and Texas A&M @ Washington on December 22.  RTC Live will be the Cal game tonight, as the struggling Bears continue to try to find themselves after taking three losses to Syracuse, Ohio State and New Mexico.  The nation’s #1 three-point shooting team in 2009 has been quite a bit cooler from behind the arc this year (38.1%), and they’re still missing forward Theo Robertson, who provides much-needed offense from the wing for the undersized Bears (as of posting, it was unclear if he would play tonight).  Iowa State comes into this game 6-2, but two straight losses to Northwestern and Northern Iowa remove the sheen from that record, as the Cyclones’ best win is against St. Louis.  Still, when you have a duo of powerful players like Craig Brackins (17/8) and Marquis Gilstrap (13/8), you have to believe that whoever can set the character of this game (bruising Big 12 basketball or free-flowing Pac-10 basketball) will have the best chance to win this one.  We’ll be there to talk about it tonight – join us at 11pm ET.

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RTC live is back at Utah State tonight as the St. Mary’s Gaels visit the (un)friendly confines of The Spectrum in Logan, Utah. Last year this matchup was one of the premier games for ESPN Bracketbusters weekend. In relief of an injured Patty Mills, guard Mickey McConnell scored 22 points to lead St. Mary’s to a 75-64 victory. If the Gaels want to be the team to end Utah State’s 37-game home winning streak they will need that kind of production out of McConnell again, and a big effort form senior Omar Samhan, who is averaging 19.5 ppg and 11.5 rebounds so far this season. The Aggies counter with their best players also being at the point guard position (Jared Quayle) and center (Tai Wesley). Quayle is a do-everything guard and is leading the Aggies in points per game (13.5), assists per game (4.3), rebounds per game (9.7) and to top that off is shooting an incredible 53.8% from behind the arc. Wesley is no slouch averaging 13 points and 6 rebounds per contest. The key to the game will be its tempo, as St. Mary’s likes to get out and run (averaging 87 ppg) and Utah State likes to slow it down and work in the half court offense. It should make for a terrific matchup – we hope to see you there tonight at 9 pm ET.

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Tonight we pack up the Rush The Court tractor-trailers and head to Cincinnati, specifically the Cintas Center on the campus of Xavier University.  The Musketeers host Geno Ford and his Kent State Golden Flashes, currently at 5-2 and playing their third of four straight road games.  KSU’s two losses came from the likes of Wisconsin-Green Bay and South Florida, so if they’re going to try and build a serious tournament resume’, this is the kind of win they simply have to have — a road victory against a proven program.  Xavier didn’t exactly come out of the Old Spice Classic smelling too sweetly, beating Creighton but picking up losses at the hands of Marquette and Baylor.  The 4-2 Musketeers will have to avoid looking past the Flashes to the rest of their rough non-conference schedule; two of their next three are at Kansas State and at Butler.  And sandwiched between those two?  Back to the Cintas for a tasty little civic dispute called the Crosstown Shootout against an impressive Cincinnati squad.  So Xavier needs to snag every ‘W’ that it can, meaning this one’s just as important to the Musketeers as it is to the Golden Flashes.  And we all know — your NCAA Tournament dossier is built in December as much as it is in February and March.  We’ll be courtside starting around 7:15 ET.  See you there!

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Welcome to another edition of RTC Live, coming to you from freezing cold Logan, Utah. Tonight we bring you a heated in-state rivalry. BYU makes the two hour drive north on I-15 to take on the Utah State Aggies. The Cougars come in with a spotless 5-0 record, and are putting the hurt on opponents with a 27-point average margin of victory. Meanwhile, Utah State bounced back after a couple of heartbreaking road loses to Utah and Northeastern by beating Idaho State and Southern Utah at home by a combined 77 points. Last year, this rivalry game came down to the final minute when BYU won by fivce at Energy Solutions Arena in Salt Lake City. Will Utah State’s vaunted home court advantage (36 straight home victories, 2nd longest streak in the nation) be enough to stop the Cougars? Join us tonight on RTC Live and find out.

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Tonight RTC Live is heading to the Sooner State for another great game from the nation’s abdomen.  The Oklahoma State Cowboys were the top vote-getter in the “others receiving votes” part of both the AP and Coaches Polls this week — in other words, they’re ranked #26.  The Pokes sit at 6-0 with two impressive wins over the weekend vs. Bradley and Utah in the Las Vegas Invitational, using the same pressing, trapping, turnover-inducing defense that we’ve become accustomed to with Travis Ford’s teams.  Tulsa, on the other hand, is coming off a somewhat surprising loss at Missouri State on Saturday, where the Bears torched the Golden Hurricane defense for 52% shooting and nine well-timed threes.  We’re pretty sure that Tulsa will be ready for this one, as it’s fairly rare when the Golden Hurricane gets a visit from one of the state’s two flagship universities.  In a strange reversal of roles for most mid-major vs. BCS games, it will be Tulsa who has the best point guard (Ben Uzoh) and center (Jerome Jordan) on the court; but OSU will counter with superb wings James Anderson and Obi Muonelo.  This should be a great one in Tulsa tonight, and we hope you’ll join us!

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Welcome back to our weekly RTC Live schedule update.  Just looking back last week, we covered fourteen more games in holiday tournaments from Anaheim to New York City, and our frequent flyer miles are starting to add up around here.  Now that we’re moving back into a more normal schedule of games, we’ll be lightening up our travel schedule a little bit, but don’t worry, we’ll still be making it to as many games of national interest as we can.  Here’s this week’s schedule, and as always, check back for updates because often we add games at the last minute.

Tuesday December 1

• Wake Forest @ #4 Purdue – this game, as part of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge will have more gold and black than you can handle.  We ultimately think Purdue as the home team will win the game, but watching Robbie Hummel match up against Al-Farouq Aminu should be fantastic.

Wednesday December 2

• Oklahoma State @ Tulsa – Oklahoma State makes a visit to in-state rival Tulsa for what will undoubtedly be a packed house to watch Jerome Jordan and Ben Uzoh match up against James Anderson and Obi Muonelo.  OSU is 6-0 and was very impressive over the weekend in Las Vegas Invitational.  A win here and they could be in the top 25 next week.
• BYU @ Utah State – people in Logan, Utah, are calling this the greatest week of basketball they’ve ever had on campus at USU, as BYU visits midweek followed by WCC power St. Mary’s over the weekend.  USU is 3-2 with two heartbreaking losses to Utah and Northeastern, but don’t mistake their pedestrian record for evidence that they’re not a good team.  The Aggies will give BYU in their first real test this season all they can handle.

Friday December 4

• Kent State @ Xavier – Xavier returns from a tough weekend at the Old Spice Classic (1-2) to take on a Kent State team that has aspirations of winning the MAC this season.   We know that the Musketeers have talent, but we’re interested to see if they can start getting consistency from their stars Jordan Crawford and Jason Love.

Saturday December 5

• St. Mary’s @ Utah State – St. Mary’s will take its 5-1 record to Utah State on Saturday, and you can read the above as to why we also think this will be a good game between two middies looking for respect.