Game #90. RTC Live is back in the Mecca for a Big East tilt between two old-timer programs.

St. John’s and Steve Lavin are off to a 2-0 Big East start after defeating West Virginia and Providence last week, both away from home. The Johnnies return home to Madison Square Garden this evening to face venerable Georgetown in a classic Big East matchup. The Hoyas have won four of five after slipping up at Temple in early December, including a dismantling of a young Memphis team eleven days ago. Georgetown has won six games away from the Verizon Center while dropping only two, Temple and Notre Dame. Unlike most Georgetown teams of the past, John Thompson III runs his offense around an experienced and talented three guard attack led by preseason Big East Player of the Year Austin Freeman. The senior’s numbers up essentially across the board while teaming with Jason Clark and Chris Wright, the key players on a team that shoots 40% from deep. St. John’s has been shooting the lights out of late, 54-96 FG (56%) over their past two games, not even including the 80% shooting performance in the second half against Northwestern before that. Coach Lavin has created some buzz in New York City by signing a top ten recruiting class for next year and he’ll look to build on that by putting a winning product on the floor this winter. Getting a win tonight could increase the level of excitement to a new level. Join RTC Live tonight for a great Big Monday matchup from the Big Apple.

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Game #91. RTC finds its way back to one of the cathedrals of the sport as one of the Ivy’s best ballers comes to town.  

Kentucky is coming off of a big New Year’s Eve win over Louisville and has one final matter to attend to before they begin conference play, and that’s to host Zack Rosen and Pennsylvania on Monday night. Rosen led the Ivy League in scoring last season, is at the top so far this season, is on course to lead the Quakers in assists for the second straight year, and may take home the conference’s Player of the Year award at season’s end. He’s almost certain to get a steady diet of DeAndre Liggins, a 6’6 and 210-pound marble block of a swingman who has begun to relish his role as the Wildcats’ designated defensive stopper. 7:00 pm ET is the scheduled start from Rupp Arena for this one, and we’ll open things up here about 15 minutes before the tip. Hope to see you there as we turn the calendar to a new year, and begin the second act of the 2010-11 season.

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Game #89.  RTC Live returns to Chapel Hill for a tuneup game prior to the ACC kicking into high gear.

North Carolina and Saint Francis are opening the new year today in Chapel Hill.  While Tar Heel fans probably weren’t thrilled with a 4-3 start, the Tar Heels have bounced back to win five of their last six (only losing by a hair to Texas).  Saint Francis has had no such turnaround: the Red Flash are currently on an eight game skid, most recently being pummeled by Cincinnati (although they did give Drexel a game).  Continuing the differences between the two squads, it’s also fair to say that the two programs have had opposite historical arcs.  Saint Francis has one NCAA Tournament appearance (1991), while North Carolina has two national championships in the last ten years.  Things have been especially rough for the Red Flash the past couple of seasons, as they’ve finished 6-23 both years under head coach Don Friday.  The Red Flash are led by a strong sophomore class which accounts for four of five starters.  Umar Shannon is their most important player and leading scorer, averaging just over 13 points a game.  The Tar Heels should dominate this game in the post, with three players taller than the tallest Saint Francis starter.  Even if the Tar Heel backcourt of Larry Drew II and Dexter Strickland continue to struggle, Harrison Barnes, John Henson and Tyler Zeller should be able to score at will against the overmatched Red Flash.  This will be a crucial time for Roy Williams to work out kinks in his offense before starting conference play later this week.  This is the first meeting of the two teams.

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Game #88. RTC Live returns to Philadelphia for another compelling Big East matchup on the Main Line.

Both Rutgers and Villanova open their Big East season Sunday at noon when the Wildcats host the Scarlet Knights at the Pavilion, Villanova’s on campus arena. Rutgers’ new coach, Mike Rice, gained a measure of fame last March when his Robert Morris University team took Villanova to overtime in the first their first round NCAA game. Rutgers brings a 9-3 out of conference record, identical to their mark last season, into the opener. Their last game was a 78-55 loss to North Carolina in Madison Square Garden. They will be led by seniors Jonathan Mitchell, Mike Coburn and sophomore Dane Miller. Villanova, 11-1 and ranked #8 by the AP, ran their winning streak to six games with their 78-74 victory over #25 Temple at the Pavilion on Thursday night. Seniors Corey Stokes, Corey Fisher, Antonio Pena and sophomores Maalik Wayns and Mouphtaou Yarou have each posted the team-high points in at least one game this season, but the Nova Nation knows the team’s fortunes hang on the speed of their back court duo, Fisher and Wayns, and Stokes’ ability to hit the three consistently. That combination led the Wildcats over Temple and failed them in their lone season loss to Tennessee. Join RTC Live at the Pavilion on the Main Line as Villanova hosts Rutgers.

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Game #87.  It’s the end of an era in Eugene as Oregon closes down venerable old McArthur Court with visiting Arizona State.

Arizona State comes into Eugene trying to drown its sorrows by feasting upon the Ducks, and Oregon looks to close McArthur Court with a victory against the Sun Devils. Both teams started out their Pac-10 seasons with blowout losses and are looking to rebound from them Saturday; Oregon lost by 19 at home to Arizona, while Arizona State lost by 22 at moribund Oregon State, although the Sun Devils were missing leading scorer Trent Lockett, who will likely miss this contest as well. The Ducks’ lack of depth and inability to stop teams from shooting well was exposed by Arizona, which limited Oregon big man Joevan Catron to nine points in 11 minutes before he fouled out. The Ducks missed their last 16 three-point attempts after making their first of the game against the Wildcats, and shot 36 percent from the field. Arizona State has a perimeter-oriented offense, but it struggled to convert shots inside and out and could not contain Oregon State center Joe Burton, who had 17 points on 7 of 9 shooting. The lack of effective size and depth for both teams makes this an intriguing matchup, and the backdrop of the final game at The Pit will make for an interesting game.

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Game #86.  RTC Live heads to Assembly Hall in Bloomington as Indiana hosts the #2-ranked team in America.

Happy New Year, college hoops fans!  Welcome to Big Ten basketball and to Assembly Hall, home of the Indiana Hoosiers.  It has been a tale of two very different seasons for these clubs.  Coach Thad Matta’s Ohio State Buckeyes are undefeated, ranked #2 in the nation, and coming off a 100-40 laugher over Tennessee-Martin.  Leading the way for the frightening Buckeye starting five is All-American and Big Ten POY candidate Jared Sullinger, a 6-9 280-pound beast of a freshman.  Sullinger is a load inside and leads Ohio St. in scoring and rebounding (17.5 PPG, 10.2 RPG).  All signs point to Jared and his Buckeye mates having their way with the undersized Hoosier frontcourt, but Ws never come easy on the road in the Big Ten.  Coach Tom Crean’s young Indiana Hoosiers are a desperate team in search of a marquee win.  Entering this game with a record of 9-5 and losers of three straight to Northern Iowa, Colorado, and Penn State, the Hoosiers can turn their season and their tradition-packed program around if they can upset the talented Buckeyes.  During their recent skid, the Hoosiers have struggled to play at a high energy level for a full 40 minutes.  Indiana will be counting on their crimson clad home fans in this game to make Assembly Hall a hostile environment for the visitors from Columbus.  Which Big Ten squad will have a happy new year and which one will start drafting their resolutions for better conference play?

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Game #86. RTC heads back to UConn for the first time since Kemba Walker was a freshman, but this time we are headed to Hartford instead of Storrs.

Jim Calhoun will be looking for a strong response from his Huskies after they were exposed earlier this week at Pittsburgh. While Calhoun got his usual great offensive contribution from Kemba Walker the rest of the team was nowhere to be found. During and after the game Calhoun was particularly critical of his #2 offensive threat, Alex Oriakhi, who only had 8 points and 1 rebound after coming into the game averaging nearly a double-double. As for USF, it has been a rough season so far and they no longer have the threat of Dominique Jones going off to scare opposing coaches, but the Huskies should be careful in this one because the Bulls have given some very good teams all they could handle this season including a six-point loss at UCF and a two-point double overtime loss against BYU. So even though the Huskies will be heavily favored today, they should be careful to avoid a letdown here because things don’t get any easier for them as they have 8 more games against ranked opponents left on their schedule.

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Game #84.  RTC Live returns to the venerable Mac Court for one of Oregon’s final home games at the ancient arena.

Sean Miller’s Arizona Wildcats and Dana Altman’s Oregon Ducks will kick off their Pacific-10 Conference slates Thursday night at 10 p.m. EST in the penultimate game at 84-year-old McArthur Court in Eugene, Ore. The Wildcats (11-2) are led by star sophomore forward Derrick Williams, who is averaging 19.3 points per game this season, and scored 20 points in both of his team’s victories against the Ducks (7-5) last season. Williams is ranked as the 15th most efficient player by kenpom.com, primarily because of his effective field goal rating and free throw rate, which both rank in the top 15 nationally.  Oregon is led by redshirt senior Joevan Catron, the last vestige of the school’s 2006-07 Elite Eight run. Catron, who missed most of last season after a back injury, has shouldered the load for a team decimated by departures during the offseason, averaging 17.5 points per game and 6.6 rebounds per game.  Arizona’s two losses have come against Kansas in Las Vegas and against BYU in Salt Lake City. However, the team lacks a signature victory, with its best victory a road win over North Carolina State. Arizona is one of the most efficient teams in the country, with the 13th-ranked offense and 35th-ranked defense nationally. Its greatest weaknesses are turning the ball over offensively and generating turnovers on defense.  The Ducks have had flashes of brilliance, but have struggled throughout most of the season. The Ducks won at home against UC Santa Barbara and had a 20-point second half comeback come up just short against Missouri, but they also have taken questionable home losses from San Jose State and Idaho, and enter the game with a two-game losing streak. Collectively, Oregon does not turn the ball over often, ranking 34th nationally in turnover percentage, but it struggles to make shots and defend on the perimeter. The Wildcats have won their last four meetings against the Ducks and lead the all-time series 42-32.

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Game #83.  RTC Live heads to the City of Brotherly Love for one of the best rivalries in all of college basketball.

The battle for Philadelphia bragging rights is on the line when Temple invades the Pavilion to take on Villanova tonight at 7 p.m. The two squads, which have combined to win or share every Big 5 title since Jameer Nelson and St. Joe’s won it in 2003-04, are far and away the cream of the city crop once again. The eighth-ranked Wildcats, led by high-scoring guards Corey Stokes (15.7 ppg) and Corey Fisher (15.5 ppg), can wrap up the Big 5 title tonight as they’ve already beaten Penn, La Salle, and St. Joe’s. This will be Temple’s first Big 5 game of the season but the No. 25 Owls are riding a six-game winning streak and are coming off a Big 5 crown of their own. Last year, Fran Dunphy’s Owls stunned then-No. 3 Villanova, 75-65, on their way to a perfect 4-0 city record. The winner of this year’s game will almost certainly win the quirky Philadelphia round-robin tournament — and also charge into the new year as perhaps the best team in their respective conference.

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Game #81.  RTC Live returns to the Rock for a little post-holiday hoops.

Seton Hall, staggered by their stunning second half collapse and subsequent loss, 69-65, to Dayton on Wednesday has only four days to reflect and regroup. The Pirates host their second Atlantic-10 opponent during Christmas Week — the University of Richmond.  The Spiders make their first trip to the Rock on Sunday, December 26 and, ready or not, the Pirates will have to pull themselves together, put Ferrakohn Hall’s abrupt transfer and Herb Pope’s latest ding behind them as they prepare for the runner-up in the 2010 Atlantic-10 Tournament and #7 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Seton Hall, laden with senior leadership found itself without an answer Wednesday when the Dayton Flyers shut down junior point guard Jordan Theodore, and Coach Willard, concerned with the rebounding imbalance (Dayton was far ahead) hesitated too long before putting fifth year senior Eniel Polynice back on the court, turning the ball handling responsibilities over to senior Keon Lawrence and allowing Theodore to roam the perimeter and find the seams in the Flyer defense. Richmond features seniors 2010 A-10 Player of the Year senior Kevin Anderson and forward Justin Harper, a long range specialist who will try to find clean looks from the perimeter and center Dan Geriot will face off with Herb Pope. Richmond wants to burnish their Tournament resume, and a road win against a BCS conference opponent will go a long way to offset losses to Iona and Old Dominion. Seton Hall, post season chances dwindling with each game, wants to enter Big East Conference play with a record north of 0.500. Join Rush the Court Sunday at noon (eastern time), as we live blog Richmond at Seton Hall from the Rock in downtown Newark, NJ.

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