Highlighted Games for Saturday, Dec 21st

-OKLAHOMA STATE VS COLORADO. Some say Oklahoma State has looked like the best team in the country this year, but other than their win against Memphis they’ve pretty much just beaten up on weak teams. Colorado started off sluggish, but has improved every week. This is a really good test for both teams on a neutral floor, and it should be a fun one.

-ILLINOIS VS MISSOURI. It’s the Braggin Rights Game. This year’s story line is that both have good records, and Missouri does have a nice win against UCLA, but other than that neither team has any really good wins. Mizzou hasn’t even played a true road game yet, and although his is a neutral site game and it would be a big win if they pull it off, I still won’t be completely sold on them until they win a notable game while sitting in the visitor’s locker room. This game is always fun, and hopefully will be again tonight.

-GEORGETOWN AT KANSAS. Georgetown really needs some notable wins. Kansas has played a killer schedule and although they’re 7-3, none of their losses are that damaging and they have a few good wins to go along with it, so they’re still in good shape.

-BELMONT AT KENTUCKY. Belmont managed some big wins, but they’ve added two really bad losses to their profile, which really hurts their chances for an at-large. I think they need to win today just to get back into the conversation. Kentucky still doesn’t have any big time notable wins yet.

-EAST CAROLINA AT NC STATE. Both teams have just two losses, but need big wins on their profile.

-UMASS VS FLORIDA STATE. This game is in Miami, and is a good test for both teams. Florida State has looked great at times, but has also been inconsistent. UMass has a string of notable wins and comes into this one unbeaten, but it’s still a big test for them if the Seminoles decide to show up.

-MIDDLE TENNESSEE AT CINCINNATI. It was an ugly game, but it was one Cincinnati really needed against Pitt. Middle Tennessee is good as well, and the Bearcats do not want to overlook them.

-YOUNGSTOWN STATE AT SAINT JOHN’S. I haven’t been that impressed with the Johnnies this year, but a win does get them to 8-3.

-MAINE AT PROVIDENCE. A win for Providence gets them to 10-2.

-BUFFALO AT MANHATTAN. We kind of wrote off Manhattan after a couple of early season losses, but they’ve held serve and are now 8-2. Their schedule is weak, so if they want to even be considered for an at-large their margin for error is razor thin.

-KENT STATE AT CHARLESTON. A win for Kent gets them to 9-2.

-BUTLER AT EVANSVILLE. Butler has just two losses on the season, but lacks notable wins and could always use a true road win on their profile.

-GONZAGA AT KANSAS STATE. K State hasn’t looked good at all when I’ve seen them, but they have a decent 7-3 record and can get a notable win today. Gonzaga doesn’t have a huge amount of notable wins either, so both teams should have somewhat of a sense of urgency coming into this one.

-MICHIGAN STATE AT TEXAS. Texas is 10-1 and although they are coming off a big win against UNC, they had played a weak schedule prior to that and struggled in a lot of their games. Michigan State, despite their high ranking, hasn’t always played well either. This is a good test for both teams.

-RIDER AT VILLANOVA. A win for Nova improves them to 11-0.

-NORTHERN IOWA AT VIRGINIA. Virginia has to string together some wins if they want to get back on track.

-CAL POLY AT PITTSBURGH. Pitt has only one loss, but they still don’t have any good wins.

-VERMONT AT HARVARD. A win for the Crimson gets them to 10-1.

-NC A&T AT SAINT LOUIS. A win for SLU gets them to 11-2.

-FRESNO STATE AT FLORIDA. The Gators have looked good so far despite not always being at full strength. A win in this one gets them to 9-2.

-DAVIDSON AT NORTH CAROLINA. North Carolina is a schizophrenic team with some great looking wins and some questionable losses. It’ll be interesting to see who shows up today.

-UAB AT LSU. These are two teams that appear to be right on the bubble, and could really use this win, especially UAB, who has very few notable games after this.

-VCU AT VIRGINIA TECH. Both teams really need this one. I wasn’t big on Virginia Tech at all this year, but they do have a somewhat respectable 7-3 record.

-LOUISVILLE AT FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL. Louisville shouldn’t have too much trouble in this one. They haven’t played a tough schedule, but they have beaten up on some pretty decent teams lately.

-TEXAS TECH AT ARIZONA STATE. A win for Arizona State will improve them to 10-2.

-OKLAHOMA AT TEXAS A&M (Big Twelve). Both teams have good records, but have beaten up on weak teams. It is yet to be determined if either one of them are actually good, so this is important. Not to mention, it’s a conference game.

-USC UPSTATE AT CHARLOTTE. I haven’t entirely given up on Charlotte, but they have a very small margin for error now.

-XAVIER AT ALABAMA. At 5-5, Alabama has been somewhat of a disappointment this year and needs to start stringing together some wins in order to get back in the NCAA Tourney picture. Outside of dropping three losses in the Battle 4 Atlantis, Xavier has looked pretty good, but they have no wins away from home. In order to be taken seriously they need to win on the road.

-OHIO STATE VS NOTRE DAME. Notre Dame is 8-3, but other than their win over Indiana they have looked very sluggish and need a big win to establish themselves as a tournament team. The question is are they good enough to beat an Ohio State team that has frequently looked like a #1 seed.

-WESTERN ILLINOIS VS UC SANTA BARBARA. UCSB fell short in an overtime game against Utah State last night that they really needed. They need to rebound and avoid a bad loss today.

-SOUTHEAST MISSOURI AT MEMPHIS. SEMO has a good record, but they’re likely overmatched today.

-TOWSON AT NORTH DAKOTA STATE. North Dakota State pretty much needs to win out to have any shot at all at an at-large.

-BRADLEY AT PACIFIC. A win for Pacific gets them to an impressive 9-2.

-STANFORD VS MICHIGAN. Both teams need this game. Stanford just got a notable win against UConn, but could use some more meet on their resume. Michigan has been disappointing all year and needs some wins just to get back in the NCAA Tournament conversation.

-THE CIDATEL AT NEBRASKA. They haven’t played the toughest schedule, but a win for Nebraska gets them to 8-3.

-MARQUETTE AT NEW MEXICO. Both Teams have been somewhat of a disappointment this season, and a win in this game would go a long way in getting them turned around.

-BYU AT OREGON. BYU has looked good this year, but Oregon has looked really good. This is a match-up between two solid tournament caliber teams.

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