Brian Otskey is the Big East correspondent for RTC and a regular contributor. You can find him @botskey on Twitter. See bottom of the post for the Official RTC Star System.

It’s a relatively light night of hoops but two interesting games in the South should have your attention this evening.

Texas A&M at #5 Baylor – 7:00 PM EST on ESPNU (***)

• The Baylor Bears keep winning as they head into a conference showdown with in-state rival Texas A&M tonight. This figures to be a good match-up for Baylor although it needs to ensure it controls the pace. Texas A&M gets 65.2% of its points from two-point range (third in the nation) but interior defense happens to be Baylor’s biggest strength. The Bears allow only 39.3% shooting from inside the arc with Perry Jones III and company patrolling the paint. Defensively, look for Scott Drew’s team to try to pick up the pace and pressure Texas A&M’s guards. The Bears force a turnover 24.6% of the time although both teams don’t handle the ball particularly well.
• Texas A&M is not comfortable playing at a faster pace but therein lies the dilemma. The Aggies don’t run efficient enough half court offense to succeed in a slower-paced game, especially against the strong Baylor defense. Billy Kennedy’s team should take a page out of Louisville’s playbook against Kentucky. A&M should pressure Baylor and try to get turnovers at certain times, but not throughout the entire game. Texas A&M may actually hurt itself while trying to force Baylor into turnovers, something that will speed up the game where the Bears’ superior athletes can take over. Texas A&M has to establish Ray Turner and David Loubeau inside while Khris Middleton uses his versatility to stretch Baylor’s defense, opening up seams. Getting Elston Turner going from long range would also be advantageous for A&M, a team that doesn’t rely much at all on the trifecta. Turner had 20 points on 3-5 shooting from deep in a loss against Florida last month.
• For Texas A&M to have a chance on the road, it must rebound, rebound, and rebound some more in addition to controlling pace. If the Aggies don’t score inside off second chance opportunities or in transition, Baylor will win this game easily. Keep an eye on Baylor’s perimeter shooting. Texas A&M ranks #6 in three-point defense and will look to shut down Brady Heslip and Pierre Jackson. Even if the Aggies are successful in that regard, they need to do a whole lot more to pull the upset.

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After a weekend of largely uneventful blowouts, lowlighted by the Ivy League getting the best of the ACC in an impromptu and unofficial interconference challenge that saw Harvard smash Boston College, Yale come within one point of defeating Wake Forest, and Miami losing to Princeton in triple overtime, the teams of the ACC face their final non-conference tune-ups before the beginning of league play. It has been an odd time for the conference and the balance of power is very much in the air. While North Carolina and Duke appear to still be the class of the conference and Boston College looks to be the joke of the conference, the other nine teams have yet to stake out clear identities or even a presumptive pecking order. With ACC play on the near horizon, teams are running out of opportunities to make statements in inter-conference play.

A Defensive Showdown

• Virginia at LSU at 7:00 PM on ESPN3.com

The Cavaliers are one team that has done a pretty good job in staking out an identity in the ACC. They are the clear third best team in the league, featuring a tenacious, unyielding defense and a probable All-ACC player in Mike Scott. Ironically, when Virginia takes its trip down to the bayou to take on the Tigers, they will be facing one of the most hard-to-pin-down teams in the nation. LSU’s early losses to Coastal Carolina, Northwestern, and the University of Southern Alabama were discouraging losses, but the fact remains that these Tigers have rebounded and haven’t lost a game since November. LSU has been getting it done on defense and despite the team’s youth and utter rawness on offense they have managed some impressive wins including a win over a very good Marquette team. Virginia is probably the better team and their tough defense figures to make life far too difficult for an LSU team that struggles to score against mediocre defenses. Still, Virginia is playing on the road, and Lousiana State certainly has enough talent to pull off an upset making this a game that should prove to be fairly intriguing.

The Last Likely Win For Boston College

• Rhode Island at Boston College at 1:00 PM on ESPN3.com

Boston College is going to have a hard time winning games in the ACC. Looking at Boston College’s conference schedule, it is hard to pick out games where the Eagles could be called the favorites, or failing that, even a reasonable pick. Outside of a home game against Wake Forest, the spring of 2012 could be a very tough time for fans in Chestnut Hill. It’s a bleak prospect, so hopefully this game will offer some succor to the Eagles’ fans. Rhode Island is having an equally disastrous season as BC, and with the game being played at home, I don’t think it would be crazy to call the Eagles the favorites. That’s something worth savoring, since this might be the last time this season that I can say that.

For Fans Only

• UNC Greensboro at Miami at 9:00 PM on ESPN3.com
• Wofford at Wake Forest at 7:00 PM on ESPN3.com

Miami’s tough loss against Princeton on Friday seems like bad news for UNC Greensboro. The Hurricanes will be out to prove that the loss was a fluke and will be eager to crush their over-matched Southern Conference foe. If you change the home team to “Wake Forest”, the previous result to “a narrow win against Yale”, and the Southern Conference opponent to Wofford, you will likely have a creeping feeling of déjà vu.

1. Yesterday the Big Ten and Pac-12 announced a “collaboration” that would enable them to have frequent inter-conference match-ups. As Gene Wojciehowski notes this agreement “could have far-reaching ramifications for both leagues.” Essentially the deal would enable the conferences to get some of the benefits of having a mega-conference and more national exposure without all the legal battles and huge exit fees. While most of the talk was centered around football and the possibility of a bowl game run by the two conferences outside of the existing bowl system, the effects on the basketball schedule could be felt as early as next season with more inter-conference match-ups. We are not sure how this would effect some of the current inter-conference match-ups like the Big Ten-ACC Challenge, but we hope that the schools cut out some of the cupcakes and guarantee games rather than some of the mid-majors that are given a shot against the “big boys”.
2. Anthony Davis is featured in ESPN Magazine’s “Next” Issue along a handful of other athletes who are on the verge of becoming household names as well as Cam Newton, who is already there. The article does not really say much that our average reader doesn’t already know about Davis (growth spurt and really long, but not anywhere near his ceiling). Still it is a nice form of recognition that might get Davis noticed by basketball fans who might not otherwise pay attention to his game like those fans who only watch NBA basketball including some foreign fans. We have not seen anybody do an analysis on how often these “Next” athletes pan out, but we suspect when they pick athletes that are as far along as Davis much less Newton they have a pretty good track record.
3. Former St. John’s commitment Ricardo Gathers (class of 2012) has “narrowed” his list to Kentucky, Duke, St. John’s, Baylor, LSU, and Florida, but has not set a date to announce yet. Meanwhile two highly sought-after class of 2013 recruits appear to be narrowing their lists more as Aaron Gordon is being pursued hard by Kentucky, but according to Josh Gershon of Scout.com they still trail Washington and Arizona while Julius Randle has not officially narrowed his list, but appears to be more focused on Duke, Kentucky, and North Carolina in a recent interview. We do not expect Gordon or Randle to commit any time soon, but the clock is ticking on Gathers.
4. As we noted earlier this week Virginia has lost quite a few transfers recently. One of those was power forward James Johnson, who has started to look at schools to transfer to and appears to be starting with San Diego State, Washington State, and New Mexico. Any of these schools would certainly welcome an ACC level recruit particularly a 6’9″, 240-pound power forward even one who put up unremarkable numbers in his short stay there (left midway through his redshirt freshman year). We have not heard any information about where Johnson is leaning, but if being close to home is a factor then San Diego State would have be the heavy favorite as it is only about an hour away from where he grew up.
5. Richard Deitsch of SI.com handed out his media awards yesterday and some college basketball media members were prominently featured. As you would expect, Jay Bilas got the most nominations thanks to his all-out media blitz as a studio analyst, working courtside, and on Twitter. However, there were a handful of other prominent media members who made various lists (mostly good, but a few of them bad). While we could do without some of the stuff in there like all the non-college basketball talk, it is an interesting read especially for some of the media politics.

The LSU Tigers are on a six game winning streak that has Tigers’ fans wondering if this could be an NCAA Tournament team by season’s end. LSU beat Marquette last week for its first quality win of the season, but obviously it can’t rest on its laurels. The Tigers have to continue their winning ways. But what exactly will the Tigers have to do to get off the bubble and in the big dance?

Can Trent Johnson get LSU back to the NCAA Tournament?

To determine what LSU might be up against this year, I decided to look at two resumes (one from a team that made it to last year’s NCAA Tournament and one from a team that did not) from last year to see what the NCAA Tournament selection committee might be looking for:

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The SEC Full Court Press is a quick hitting review of my thoughts and observations from the last week, as well as a look ahead.

The Week That Was:

• LSU is quietly on a six-game winning streak after beating #10 ranked Marquette and North Texas this past week. Could the Tigers (9-3, RPI of 53) give the SEC an unexpected sixth team in the NCAA Tournament? A January 2 match-up with Virginia is shaping up to be a much bigger game than anticipated as this could be a huge resume building win for the Tigers.
• Speaking of LSU, center Justin Hamilton has stepped up his play as of late. Hamilton is averaging 13.8 points and eight rebounds per game over his last four contests.
• Freshman Johnny O’Bryant recorded his first double-double of his career in the Tigers’ win over North Texas on Thursday. O’Bryant scored 11 points and grabbed 10 rebounds.
• The 48.3% field goal percentage Florida shot in its win over Florida State was the highest shooting percentage the Seminoles have given up all year, showcasing why this Florida team is one of the best in the country. In this classic battle of offense versus defense, offense won.
• Kentucky‘s win over Loyola on Thursday has given the Wildcats the longest home win streak in the country at 42 games dating back to March of 2009. The Cats have not lost a game at Rupp Arena in the John Calipari era.
• It isn’t all about the freshmen in Lexington. With Terrence Jones out of the lineup with a dislocated finger, senior Darius Miller has risen to the occasion. This week, Miller averaged 15 points, 3.5 rebounds, and four assists per game.
• We noted Tennessee‘s putrid three-point defense in the latest edition of Freeze Frame. The Volunteers are allowing opponents to shoot 40.3% from beyond the arc, which is 327th in the nation. Tennessee did slightly better this week, holding both opponents under 40%.

1. Mississippi received a nice present under the tree as forward Murphy Holloway‘s MRI revealed that his injury against Middle Tennessee State University was only a bad high ankle sprain. Andy Kennedy said that Holloway can return to practice as soon as he regains “strength and mobility.” Kennedy and the Rebels will need Holloway back as soon as possible. Holloway is the team’s leading rebounder with 9.6 rebounds per game, and he adds in 9.9 points. The Rebs have lost their last two games in a row, and hit the road to face a tough Dayton team that already knocked off Alabama earlier in the year.
2. Mississippi State freshman Rodney Hood may not have come in with the hype that many SEC freshmen had, but his play is making quite the statement. Hood has come along quickly averaging 12.5 points and 5.2 rebounds per game. He has focused his practice on mid-range jumpers and it shows. Hood has connected on 62% of his two point field goals this year. “The first part of the season, I was just finding my way,” Hood said. “Now I’m coming into my own.” Rick Stansbury obviously likes what he sees as Hood leads the team in minutes at 33.2 minutes per game.
3. Georgia has struggled in the second half of games this year, blowing halftime leads against Colorado, Cincinnati, and Georgia Tech. Just when it looked like the Bulldogs may let another lead slip out of their grasp, the players dug a little deeper to put together a non-conference win against Furman. “Our team executed very well tonight,” coach Mark Fox said. Freshman Kentavious Caldwell-Pope stepped up big, showing a major display of leadership. “I realized that we were starting to slack on defense,” Caldwell-Pope said. “So I just tried to help my team by creating steals, help on the drive, and rebound and I did that.” Georgia will need more than just Caldwell-Pope to step up though. The Bulldogs have struggled on offense (131st in adjusted offensive efficiency) with only one other player averaging double figures in scoring (senior Gerald Robinson at 13.6 PPG).
4. Patric Young is a freak of nature. We all know that, right? But did you see his block on Thursday night? It is clear that Young is beginning to turn some heads with his tremendous play as of late. It is clear that he is a much better player this year than the developing freshman that averaged 3.4 points and 3.8 rebounds per game last year. Sometimes, a SportsCenter type highlight is all we need to remind us of that. “Whenever you block somebody’s shot and pull it down with one hand, that’s making ‘SportsCenter,'” Young said. Yes, it will. The highlight reels are nice, but I think Billy Donovan will be more impressed with Young connecting on 63.3% effective field goal percentage, and snagging a solid 11.6 offensive rebounding percentage. Those numbers should lead to Young getting more than the 18.9% of shots (sixth on the team) that he takes in the Florida offense.
5. LSU‘s play of late is putting the team in good company. The last time a Tigers’ team won three road wins in non-conference play was 1985-86. You may remember that LSU team was the lowest seeded team at the time (#11 — now tied with VCU and George Mason) to go to a Final Four. The Tigers have won on the road against Houston, Rutgers, and North Texas. Defense has been the key to the Tigers’ successful run. LSU has held six straight opponents under 60 points, in what is believed to be the first time since the 1952-53 Tigers held six straight teams under 60. This team also has a couple of bad losses to go with those wins — a loss at Coastal Carolina and at home against South Alabama. Which version of Trent Johnson‘s squad will show up when the Tigers get the opportunity for quality RPI games against Virginia, Ole Miss, and Alabama in the next two and a half weeks will be a big determinant in how successful the Tigers are this season.

1. It’s time again for the SEC Men’s Basketball Weekly Awards. The SEC Player of the Week award went to Florida’s Kenny Boynton who played well in his only game last week with 22 points and two assists as his Gators beat Texas A&M. Boynton hit six of 12 three-point shots, tying his season high for threes in a game this season. Georgia’s Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was named SEC Freshman of the Week as he poured in 21 points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals in the Bulldogs’ win over Southern California. Caldwell-Pope is settling in as a consistent scorer as he leads Georgia with 14.2 points per game so far this season.
2. The elder statesman of SEC basketball will be sticking around for a few more years. Florida coach Billy Donovan signed a three-year contract extension with the Gators, keeping him at the helm in Gainesville until the end of the 2015-16 season. Donovan is 46 years old, and has coached Florida to 16 successful seasons including two national titles, three Final Fours and 11 NCAA Tournament appearances. “Billy Donovan has built one of the elite programs in the country at the University of Florida,” Florida Athletic Director Jeremy Foley said. This year, Donovan has led the Gators to a 9-2 record and a #11 ranking in the current AP poll (#9 ranking in the current RTC poll). Many of you may remember Donovan’s flirtation with the Orlando Magic several years ago, and it is great to keep one of college basketball’s best where they belong.
3. Louisville freshman Chane Behanan says that his Louisville Cardinals will go undefeated this year. Behanan boldly and confidently stated, “we’re the number one team in the country in my eyes, and like I said, we’re going undefeated. Point blank, period.” While the Cards are one of only six unbeaten teams left in college basketball this year, there are a lot of games left to play. Wait, why are we talking about the Cardinals on the SEC microsite? Well, that would be because Louisville plays its bitter and hated rival, the Kentucky Wildcats on December 31 in Rupp Arena. This statement by one of Louisville’s freshmen is sure to provide some bulletin board material for a UK squad that will already be fired up. We’re sure you didn’t need any more reasons to watch this clash on New Year’s Eve, but it is shaping up to be a good one and we’re still 11 days away.
4. Speaking of Kentucky, the Wildcats play Samford tonight and it appears that they will be without  forward Terrence Jones. Jones dislocated his finger on Saturday against UT-Chattanooga and was unable to practice on Monday. “I don’t know yet. We’ll see,” coach John Calipari said when asked whether his star forward would play. “I don’t expect him to start if he doesn’t practice today, but I don’t know.” The preseason All American struggled against Indiana, and has to be eager to get back on the court to put this situation behind him. Are some of you wondering how a 6’9″ power forward can be held out of multiple games because of a pinky finger? Check out this picture of Jones’ finger and we think you will know why. You might want to finish your breakfast before clicking on that link.
5. LSU will take the good with the bad as the Tigers defeated #10 Marquette 67-59 on Monday night without leading scorer Andre Stringer. Marquette jumped out to a 13-0 lead, but the Tigers fought back only to almost give the game away in the second half when their shooters struggled to convert from the free throw line. The Tigers finished a dismal 14-27 from the charity stripe. However, LSU was hot from several feet behind the foul stripe as Trent Johnson’s club made 7 of 11 three point shots. Ralston Turner led the charge with 22 points, including four three-pointers, but it was the Tigers’ defense that has them rolling with five wins in a row and a 7-3 record. LSU ranks #42 in adjusted defensive efficiency (kenpom.com)with a 91.9 rating, holding opponents to a 45.1% effective field goal percentage.  LSU’s defense held Marquette to 36.2% shooting from the field. It will be interesting to see if good or bad will prevail for Johnson’s team as they look to build upon this quality win with two tough home games coming up against Virginia and Ole Miss in the next several weeks.

Students across SEC schools are finishing up their term papers and cramming for finals before the Christmas break. To help their students, most schools have scheduled a bunch of high-calorie cupcakes for this week’s game. Beware of the sugar crash! A team might sleep through their on-court exam and end up with an embarrassing grade.

Which games are worth the extra case of Red Bull, and which you should just sleep through?

Tennessee at Charleston — Wednesday, December 14 at 9 PM on ESPN2 and ESPN3 (***)

In the midst of a three-game losing streak — including an embarrassing 74-70 home loss to Austin Peay last Saturday — Tennessee has squandered a scrappy, feel-good start to the season. In order to build any momentum for being included on the NCAA Tournament bubble come March, Cuonzo Martin‘s team must stop the slide in the Carolina First Center. The College of Charleston has racked up an impressive 7-1 record this season with wins at Clemson and on a neutral court against UMass. They should win the Southern Conference and by extension make a potential win by Tennessee look especially good to the NCAA Selection Committee.

Tennessee Is the Only SEC Team Facing A Legitimate Threat This Week

Tennessee will need to find the defensive pressure of olden times to pull off the upset. For the season the Cougars are shooting 46.6% from the field and all five starters shoot better than 45%. Tennessee is 0-4 when allowing their opponents to shoot better than 43% from the field. Charleston is getting out-rebounded by their opponents by an average of three per game. If Tennessee can use their athleticism and length to contest shots and dominate the defensive glass, it will fuel their transition game and possibly help them avoid missing the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2006.

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To preview the match-ups in the Big East/SEC Challenge, the Big East & SEC Microsites are facing off in conversational analysis. Gerald Smith and Patrick Prendergast butt heads once last time over the final two games of the series: Arkansas @ UConn (2:15 PM EST on ESPN) and LSU @ Rutgers (7PM EST on ESPNU).

Arkansas @ Connecticut

Patrick Prendergast: We know Mike Anderson and his Arkansas Razorbacks want to play fast and outgun their opponents. They are averaging 83.7 points per game in their 5-1 start. Their lone defeat was an 87-78 setback to Houston and I just happened to catch a good portion of it on the tube. The game actually gave me the cold sweats because I thought I was watching the Keno Davis-coached Providence teams of the past few years. Arkansas could not find a shot it didn’t like, and it was a flossing of the cylinder for Houston to the tune of 52.5% shooting for the game.

Jeremy Lamb Is Living Up to the Hype

Connecticut can score the ball at a fair rate themselves (75.6 PPG), and honestly have to be salivating at the opportunity to fatten up on the Hogs. Further, UConn should be able to have its way around the basket due to an overwhelming size advantage up front with the likes of the 6’10” Andre Drummond, 6’8” DeAndre Daniels, and the 6’9” duo of Tyler Olander and Alex Oriakhi pounding away. The freshman phenom Drummond (8.1 PPG, 7.0 RPG, 2.9 BLK) is the reigning Big East Rookie of the Week and is beginning to get his collegiate sea legs under him. Oh yeah, and Connecticut’s most dynamic players have not been mentioned yet: Sophomore forward and All-America candidate Jeremy Lamb (21.1 PPG, 3.9 RPG) is living up to the hype and Lamb’s classmate, point guard Shabazz Napier (17.9 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 6.0 APG) already has a triple-double under his belt this year.

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1. In Arkansas’ win over Mississippi Valley State on Wednesday, guard Mardracus Wade had a career night. Wade hit six of seven shots in the first half on his way to 20 points for the game. “He’s playing with a lot of confidence,” head coach Mike Anderson said. “He puts the time in, so he’s having an opportunity. If you notice, the shots he’s getting he’s in rhythm. We’re making that extra pass and we’re getting him in positions where he can knock the shots down. Good players, they knock it down.” Anderson’s Razorbacks could use some offensive help as they currently rank 86th in offensive efficiency in spite of a fast-paced style of play. Leading scorer and rebounder Marshawn Powell went down with a season-ending injury earlier in the year, but Arkansas takes on Connecticut Saturday and will need to find consistent scoring before it expects to hang with a Top 10 team.
2. LSU has found some offensive firepower in an unlikely spot. 5’11” freshman guard Anthony Hickey leads Trent Johnson’s Tigers in assists (4.0 APG) and steals (2.6 SPG), and is second on the team in points (11.6 PPG). His teammates have noticed his outstanding play thus far this year. “He’s getting everybody fired up [on the court], but he backs up that intensity when he’s diving for loose balls and pushing the ball hard up the floor,” sophomore guard Andre Stringer said. “Everything runs through him on the floor. He is our point guard and our floor general. That’s something you have to earn with us, but Anthony’s effort is something we’ve all noticed.” With three early season losses to Coastal Carolina, Northwestern and South Alabama already on its record, LSU will take all the contributions it can get from its freshmen class.
3. Vanderbilt is concentrating on trying to avoid turnovers on Saturday against one of the best defenses in the country in Rick Pitino’s Louisville Cardinals. The Cardinals will likely employ a full court press to frustrate Vanderbilt’s guards. “They take your mistakes and turn them into points,” coach Kevin Stallings said. “They have a strength that’s a weakness to us.” The Commodores turned the ball over 18 times in their loss against Xavier, and Vandy is currently averaging 15 turnovers and twice this season has recorded over 20 miscues in a game.
4. College basketball is too unpredicable night-to-night to play the comparison game. If “Team A” beats “Team B” and “Team C” beats “Team A”, then “Team C” can easily beat “Team B”, right? Well, it’s this scenario that has Mississippi State head coach Rick Stansbury concerned about his upcoming match with West Virginia. “The first thing you need to know about them is the team that beat us (Akron), they had them down 23 at halftime and beat them by 21 for the game,” Stansbury said. “Akron was playing without its starting point guard but, still, again, you get that team down 23 points at halftime, you’re pretty good.” This game is sure to be another tough early test for the Bulldogs who sit at #21 in the AP Top 25 and #24 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll.
5. Kentucky overpowered St. John’s on Thursday night to the tune of 81-59 at Rupp Arena. Freshman Anthony Davis scored 15 points, grabbed 15 rebounds and tied a school record with eight blocks. “Without him, we probably lose the game,” head coach John Calipari said. “He changed everything about the game.” Davis’ eight blocks also contributed to a school-record 18 team blocks. But it was the offense that wasn’t quite as impressive for the Cats. “We were just inept offensively,” Calipari said, as the Cats begin to look forward to Saturday’s showdown with the North Carolina Tar Heels. “If we play like tonight? I’d be a very sad coach after the game.” Kentucky hasn’t lost a home game with Calipari as coach, going 37-0 during his tenure.