Game #112.  Gonzaga heads to the Bay Area for a game against conference rival Santa Clara who has upset on its mind.

Gonzaga heads into a weekend matchup with two Bay Area rivals that wreaked havoc on its season last year, starting with Santa Clara tonight from the Leavey Center at 6 PM Pacific. Santa Clara (10-9, 1-2 WCC) took the Zags to the wire last year before succumbing 71-64, and San Francisco finished off the nightmare weekend with an 81-77 (OT) win two nights later. The Zags need to avoid a trap against the Broncos tonight to keep up with Saint Mary’s atop the WCC standings and restore their luster for a return to the Top 25. At 13-5 (3-0 WCC), the Zags can’t afford any unexpected losses, and the Broncos are hoping to give them just that.

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Game #110.  RTC Live visits Philadelphia tonight for a Big 5 matchup between two old rivals.

Still searching for its first win over a city rival in four years, Penn heads to North Philadelphia to take on Temple at the Liacouras Center tonight at 7:30 p.m. Incidentally, the Quakers’ last Big 5 victory came over Temple and former coach Fran Dunphy, but since then Dunphy has taken the Owls to the top of the Atlantic 10 while Penn has fallen on hard times. At 5-7, the Quakers are showing signs of improvement under head coach Jerome Allen, a Dunphy protege, and star point guard Zack Rosen (16.0 ppg), but have lost three straight. The host Owls (12-4), meanwhile are in the midst of another strong season but are coming off a loss to Duquesne that knocked them out of national rankings. They’re led by  guard Ramone Moore (15.4 PPG), forward Lavoy Allen (10.7 PPG) and guard Juan Fernandez (10.8 PPG), who missed two games with a bone bruise before returning vs. Duquesne.

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Game #111.  RTC Live is back at Notre Dame this evening to see what this Cincinnati team is all about this season.

Notre Dame comes reeling into Wednesday’s match-up with Mick Cronin’s Cincinnati Bearcats following last week’s losses at Marquette and at St. John’s. The good news for Mike Brey’s squad is that their home court has been very kind to them this season, as they are undefeated at the Purcell Pavilion. The play of Irish seniors Ben Hansbrough and Tim Abromaitis will be key in igniting Notre Dame’s turnaround. Cincinnati comes into Wednesday’s showdown following a loss at Syracuse on Saturday. Cincinnati began the season with a sizzling 15-0 start and are still seen as a force to be reckoned with within the Big East. Juniors Yancy Gates an Dion Dixon lead the charge for the Bearcats, who are still searching for their first conference road victory. The frontcourts of each team will dictate who will win this game and this might be a problem for the Irish, who are still without starting forward Carleton Scott, who suffered a hamstring injury earlier this month. However, if Abromaitis, senior Tyrone Nash, and sophomore Jack Cooley are able to contain Gates and senior Ibrahima Thomas then the Irish will be in good shape to continue their home court winning ways.

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Game #109.  RTC Live is back at Northwestern for another Big 10 matchup; both of these teams need a win tonight in the worst way.

A struggling, young, Michigan team comes to Welsh-Ryan Arena tonight looking to break a four-game losing streak. The Wolverines have been competitive against some of the best teams in the country, including Kansas and Ohio State, but lost to Indiana by 19 their last time out. Northwestern looks to get back on track after blowing its second chance to beat Michigan State last week in overtime in Lansing. Star John Shurna scored just six points in that game and he’ll certainly be looking to rebound. On the other side, Darius Morris is one of the best young players in the Big Ten. He’s an exciting playmaker that averages 7.3 assists per game and also leads the team in scoring at 15.7 points per game. You can catch the game on the Big Ten Network and/or follow along with all the action right here live from Evanston, Ill. with John Templon of Chicago College Basketball.

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Game #108.  RTC Live returns to north Jersey for another Big east tilt between two teams that absolutely cannot afford another loss this early.

A winter advisory was issued for New York and New Jersey yesterday. Seton Hall fans know that means it is time for a basketball game, and true to form, Georgetown, off to an unexpectedly poor 2-4 start to their Big East regular season, will come to the Rock Tuesday evening, in search of conference win number three. The Hoyas will be led by guards Chris Wright and Austin Freeman, one of the acclaimed back courts in the conference, along with wing Jason Clark and a front court that features Hollis Thompson and Julian Vaughn. Seton Hall, also off to a 2-4 start, will be led by a veteran nucleus that includes starting wing Jeremy Hazell, forwards Jeff Robinson and Herb Pope. Seton Hall will match Georgetown’s backcourt with the veteran duo of Keon Lawrence and Jordan Theodore. The teams have split their last six metropolitan New York City meetings at an even 3-3, and with the return of Jeremy Hazell, Tuesday night’s game promises to be another shootout. RTC Live will be at the Rock at 7:00 PM Tuesday to describe the action and discuss these two talented teams.

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Game #107.  RTC Live heads to UConn for a blockbuster game involving two of the nation’s and Big East’s best teams.

Happy Martin Luther King Day!  Kicking off a huge day of college hoops is a game between #7 Villanova and #9 Connecticut in Storrs.  Both teams got off to tremendous starts this season.  Connecticut sports an incredible resume with wins over Kentucky and Michigan State on a neutral floor and Texas on the road.  Villanova enters today’s game with only one loss (at home against Tennessee), albeit against a lighter schedule.  Player of the year candidate Kemba Walker runs the show for Jim Calhoun, but don’t sleep on Alex Oriakhi either.  Walker has been phenomenal–he’s averaging over 25 points a game–but Oriakhi is almost averaging a double-double.  Villanova sports a terrific backcourt trio (which is no surprise to anyone following Jay Wright’s teams) in Corey Stokes, Corey Fisher and Maalik Wayns.  But when Villanova is at their best, they get Antonio Pena and Mouphtaou Yarou involved.  Yarou got in some quick foul trouble against Maryland, and you could see the Wildcats struggle.  Look for both of these teams try to establish an advantage inside, and I predict the winner down low will also win the game.

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Game #107.  It’s been a mere week since they last played, but we’re back in MSG for another edition of this one.

#11 Notre Dame and St. John’s square off for the second time in eight days as Coach Mike Brey brings his Fighting Irish to Madison Square Garden in New York City for a noon tipoff Sunday. Winning the first game 76-61 in South Bend, IN, last Saturday, Notre Dame looked to the scoring trio of Ben Hansbrough, Tim Abromaitis and Scott Martin to jump on the Johnnies early and never let Steve Lavin’s squad into the game.  Notre Dame is a notoriously poor road team, however, and so far this season they are playing down to their reputation, going 0-2 in conference road games (at Syracuse and at Marquette), and 0-3 when counting the semi-away game at Kentucky, the only other game played in a hostile environment this season.  A winning road record is, for Notre Dame, a prerequisite if the Irish are going to make a serious run at the conference elites this season. After an unexpectedly hot 3-0 start that included two road wins, St. John’s has hit an 0-2 (at Notre Dame, vs. Syracuse) stretch in their conference schedule. After an up-and-down run through their non-conference slate, many were lowering their expectations for the Red Storm season. Justin Brownlee and Dwight Hardy have blended with the Storm’s veteran nucleus of DJ Kennedy, Paris Horne and Justin Burrell to bounce back for the opening sequence in the conference. Can the Johnnies engineer another turnaround? Join RTC Live at Madison Square Garden Sunday January 16 at noon when St. John’s hosts Notre Dame in this crucial Big East game.

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Game #104.  RTC Live makes its first trip to Long Island for a key CAA game this afternoon.

Picked to finish 5^th in the CAA, Hofstra has taken the league by storm in the early going under the guidance of first year head coach Mo Cassara. The Pride are undefeated in 2011, and will look to keep that streak going against preseason favorite Old Dominion. After losing their season opener to Georgetown by just three points, ODU won nine of their next 10 games. Since then, however, they are 2-3 with a gut wrenching five point loss at Drexel. Standing at 3-2 in the league, ODU can ill afford to drop another game at this stage of conference play, especially to Hofstra as a loss would put them three games behind the Pride (6-0 vs. 3-3). As for the game itself, the Monarchs do not play the most aesthetically pleasing brand of basketball, but if you are a fan of in-your-face defense then ODU is for you. Surrendering less than 60 points a game, ODU will certainly look to contain Hofstra’s stud guard and potential NBA player Charles Jenkins who is a scoring machine and arguably the league’s best player. The senior from Queens averages 23.5 points a game which is tops in the CAA and fifth nationally. Limiting Jenkins’ production will be no easy task, but if there was a defense in the CAA that could do it, it may be ODU’s.

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Game #105.  RTC Live heads to DePaul as the struggling Blue Demons take on Kemba Walker and UConn.

The Kemba Walker show comes to Chicago to take on DePaul in an afternoon matinee contest on Saturday at 1 p.m. central. Connecticut (13-2) comes into the game at Allstate Arena with Walker averaging 25.3 points per game this season. He’s getting help from a number of places for the No. 9 Huskies as well. Sophomore Alex Oriakhi averages 10.9 points and 9.5 rebounds per game. The Blue Demons are led by two dynamic freshman in Cleveland Melvin, who originally committed to Jim Calhoun before landing in Lincoln Park, and Brandon Young. Those two are the future of a struggling DePaul team that is 6-10 overall and 0-4 in the Big East. Still, Oliver Purnell’s dynamic pressing system always gives the Blue Demons a chance as they’ve been close into the second half in each of their last three Big East games against Georgetown, West Virginia and Seton Hall. Come see if the Blue Demons can pull the monster upset at home.

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Game #101.  Undefeated Syracuse visits MSG tonight with the potential that they’ll actually be the road team as the Johnies continue their ascent up the Big East standings.

Fourth-ranked and undefeated Syracuse invades Madison Square Garden tonight for the second time this season as they face upstart St. John’s. Syracuse thumped Michigan State in this building last month in the Jimmy V. Classic in front of a partisan quasi-home crowd. The Orange (16-0, 3-0) are coming off a tougher than expected win at Seton Hall on Saturday, a game in which they shot just 47% from the free throw line and were out-rebounded by the smaller Pirates 43-30. St. John’s had their five game winning streak snapped by Notre Dame in convincing fashion on Saturday night as the Irish won by 15 in a game that wasn’t even that close. Despite the loss, the Red Storm sit at 10-4 overall and 3-1 in Big East play, right behind Syracuse, Pittsburgh, Villanova and Louisville at the top. The upset win over Georgetown last week has sparked even more interest in Steve Lavin’s program in a city desperate for a college hoops winner. One thing to watch tonight is the atmosphere in the Garden. Syracuse travels well and has lots of fans in New York City so expect a lot of the Orange faithful to make it into the building even though it’s a home game for St. John’s. With snow in the forecast for part of Wednesday however, it’s anyone’s guess how the crowd shakes out. Join us tonight for RTC Live to find out as we bring you what should be an exciting matchup from the hoops Mecca.

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