1:00 PM EST-Big Ten Network
13-4 (3-1) Indiana
at 12-6 (2-3) Illinois
13-4 (3-1) Indiana
Solid Wins:
-#22 SMU 74-68 (Home)
-Pittsburgh 81-69 in ACC/Big 10 Challenge (Home)
-#23 Butler 82-73 (in Indianapolis)
-Nebraska 70-65 (Big Ten Opener on Road)
-#22 Ohio State 69-66 (Home)
Losses to Unranked Opponents:
-Eastern Washington 88-86 (Home)
-Georgetown 91-87 in Overtime (Home)
-Michigan State 70-50 (Road)
Last Game:
-Win Against Penn State 76-73 (Home)
Key Players:
---#1 James Blackmon Jr. (FR)
-16.4 PPG & 5.6 RPG.
---#11 Yogi Ferrell (JR)
-15.4 PPG, 3.6 RPG, & 4.8 APG
---#5 Troy Williams (SO)
-12.9 PPG, 5.9 RPG, 2.0 APG, & 1.0 SPG.
---#4 Robert Johnson (FR)
-10.0 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 2.6 APG, & 1.1 SPG.
12-6 (2-3) Illinois
Solid Wins:
-Indiana State 88-62 in Semi-Final of Las Vegas Classic.
-Baylor 62-54 in Championship of Las Vegas Classic.
-Missouri 62-59 (in St. Louis)
-#11 Maryland 64-57 (Home)
Losses to Unranked Opponents:
-Oregon 77-70 (in Chicago)
-Michigan 73-65 in Overtime (Road)
-Nebraska 53-43 (Road)
Last Game:
-Win Against Northwestern 72-67 (Road)
Key Players:
---#21 Malcolm Hill (SO)
-13.7 PPG & 5.6 RPG.
---#25 Kendrick Nunn (SO)
-9.7 PPG, 3.1 RPG, 1.8 APG, & 1.4 SPG.
---#11 Aaron Cosby (JR)
-8.2 PPG, 3.7 RPG, & 1.7 APG.
---#32 Nnanna Egwu (SR)
-7.5 PPG, 5.6 RPG, & 1.8 BPG.
Prediction:
There is truly nothing better than a Big Ten rivilary to start off a day of College Hoops. The Indiana Hooisers and the Illinois Fighting Illini square off today in a battle in Champaign. The Hooisers have started off their conference season almost perfect and already have quality wins at Nebraska and at home against Ohio State. The only game they ended up losing was a blowout in East Lansing against the Michigan State Spartans. The Hooisers are led by three-year starter and future NBA point guard Yogi Ferrell. Ferrell can do it all for IU as he can facilitate, hit three pointers, drive the lane, and even rebound. Besides Ferrell Indiana lacks experienced talent as three of their four leading scorers are Freshmen and Sophomores. The Fighting Illini are in the same predicament. With the injury to Illinois' leading scorer and rebounder, Rayvonte Rice, the Fighting Illini now have to rely on Sophomores Malcolm Hill and Kendrick Nunn. The first test came against the ranked Maryland Terrapins as it would be Illinois' first game without Rice. In the first half the Fighting Illini played well and were within two points going into halftime. The second half was the difference as Illinois came out and jumped to a double-digit lead behind a game-high 28 points from Malcolm Hill. Illinois would win the game 64-57 while shocking the basketball world. Unfortunatley the next game, Illinois lost to Nebraska in Lincoln. Will Hill and Nunn be able to score enough to defeat their rivals? I personally do not feel like Malcolm Hill will have another twenty-eight points against Indiana to lead the charge but if Illinois' defense can step up the game will be competitive. Nevertheless, I believe Indiana will win because of their scoring power from James Blackmon Jr. and Troy Williams as well as team leadership from Yogi Ferrell.
---Indiana 74, Illinois 68
1:00 PM EST
7-9 (3-2) Boston University
at 6-10 (2-3) Loyola (MD)
7-9 (3-2) Boston University
Solid Wins:
-Norfolk State 71-63 (Road)
-Quinnipiac 71-68 (Home)
-Lehigh 75-56 (Home)
-Navy 70-64 (Away)
Conference Losses:
-Lafayette 63-62 (Home)
Last Game:
-Loss To Colgate 62-53 (Away)
Key Players:
---#21 Cedric Hankerson (SO)
-17.7 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 2.5 APG, & 1.7 SPG.
---#3 Eric Fanning (SO)
-9.9 PPG & 3.3 RPG.
---#2 John Papale (JR)
-9.4 PPG, 2.8 RPG, & 3.8 APG.
---#22 Nathan Dieudonne (JR)
-9.3 PPG & 7.4 RPG.
6-10 (2-3) Loyola (MD)
Solid Wins:
-Cornell 76-71 (Home)
-Columbia 64-62 (Road)
-American 56-53 in Overtime (Home)
-Lehigh 65-60 (Road)
Conference Losses:
-Navy 70-47 (Road)
-Army 77-63 (Home)
Last Game:
-Loss To Lafayette 69-65 (Road)
Key Players:
--#23 Tyler Hubbard (JR)
-12.4 PPG & 2.1 RPG.
---#5 Eric Laster (JR)
-10.3 PPG & 3.6 RPG.
---#2 Andre Walker (FR)
-9.1 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 2.2 APG, & 1.4 SPG.
Prediction:
---Boston University 57, Loyola (MD) 54
6:30 PM EST-ESPNU
8-8 (0-3) Virginia Tech
at 13-4 (3-1) 15. North Carolina
8-8 (0-3) Virginia Tech
Twenty Plus Point Wins:
-Maryland-Eastern Shore 71-46 (Home)
-Morgan State 83-63 (Home)
-Presbyterian 87-65 (Home)
"Never Should Have Happened" Losses:
-Appalachian State 65-63 (Home)
-Radford 68-66 (Home)
Key Players:
---#10 Justin Bibbs (FR)
-13.6 PPG, 3.4 RPG, & 1.9 APG.
---#3 Adam Smith (JR)
-13.1 PPG & 2.9 RPG.
---#13 Ahmed Hill (FR)
-8.4 PPG & 4.0 RPG.
Prediction:
---North Carolina 70, Virginia Tech 50
13-4 (3-1) 15. North Carolina
Solid Wins:
-Davidson 90-72 (in Charlotte)
-#22 UCLA 78-56 in Consolation Bracket of Battle 4 Atlantis.
-#18 Florida 75-64 in Consolation Championship of Battle 4 Atlantis.
-#12 Ohio State 82-74 in CBS Sports Classic (in Chicago)
-#5 Louisville 72-71 (Road)
Losses to Unranked Opponents:
-Butler 74-66 in Quarterfinal of Battle 4 Atlantis.
-Iowa 60-55 in ACC/Big Ten Challenge (Home)
Last Game:
-Win Against NC State 81-79 (Road)
Key Players:
---#5 Marcus Paige (JR)
-13.9 PPG, 2.4 RPG, 3.9 APG, & 1.2 SPG.
---#3 Kennedy Meeks (SO)
-12.9 PPG, 8.7 RPG, & 1.5 BPG.
---#11 Brice Johnson (JR)
-11.2 PPG, 7.2 RPG, & 1.0 BPG.
---#44 Justin Jackson (FR)
-9.4 PPG, 3.1 RPG, & 2.5 APG.
---#13 J.P. Tokoto (JR)
-9.1 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 4.2 APG, & 1.2 SPG.
8:30 PM EST-EST
12-5 (2-2) Oregon
at 12-4 (1-3) Washington
12-5 (2-2) Oregon
Solid Wins:
-Detroit 83-66 (Home)
-Toledo 78-68 (Home)
-Illinois 77-70 (in Chicago)
-UC Santa Barbara 82-78 in Overtime (Home)
-UC Irvine 69-67 in Overtime (Home)
-Oregon State 71-59 (Home)
Losses to Unranked Opponents:
-Ole Miss 79-73 (Home)
Last Game:
-Loss To Washington State 108-99 in Overtime (Road)
Key Players:
---#3 Joseph Young (SR)
-20.1 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 3.8 APG, & 1.2 SPG.
---#24 Dillon Brooks (FR)
-13.4 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 2.3 APG, & 1.0 BPG.
---#23 Elgin Cook (JR)
-12.0 PPG, 6.3 RPG, & 1.1 SPG.
---#15 Jalil Abdul-Bassit (SR)
-7.7 PPG & 1.9 RPG.
12-4 (1-3) Washington
Solid Wins:
-UTEP 68-65 in Championship of Wooden Legacy.
-#13 San Diego State 49-36 (Home)
-#15 Oklahoma 69-67 (in Las Vegas)
Losses:
-Stony Brook 62-57 (Home)
-California 81-75 (Road)
-Stanford 68-60 in Overtime (Road)
-Washington State 80-77 (Home)
Last Game:
-Win Against Oregon State 56-43
Key Players:
---#5 Nigel Williams-Goss (SO)
-14.3 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 6.7 APG, & 1.2 SPG.
---#12 Andrew Andrews (JR)
-11.9 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 1.9 APG, & 1.1 SPG.
---#24 Robert Upshaw (JR)
-11.1 PPG, 8.0 RPG, & 4.5 BPG.
---#40 Shawn Kemp Jr. (SR)
-10.4 PPG & 3.9 RPG.
---#11 Mike Anderson (SR)
-7.7 PPG, 6.2 RPG, 2.5 APG, & 1.1 SPG.
Prediction:
The Seattle Seahawks won the NFC Championship earlier today and are going to the Super Bowl but can the Washington Huskies finish off the Washington state sweep. The Huskies looked unstoppable to begin the season as they had good guards like Nigel Williams-Goss and Andrew Andrews to go along with big man Robert Upshaw. The three led their team to a Wooden Legacy Championship and wins over the ranked teams of San Diego State and the Oklahoma. Then all of a sudden on a late December night, Stony Brook overcame a sixteen point deficit to defeat Washington and give the Huskies their first loss. All the positive momentum was drained as the home loss put them in a skid going into conference play. The Huskies dropped their first three PAC-12 contests leaving them in the cellar of the standings with Arizona State. Fortunatly for Washington Huskies' fans is the fact that the team has won a game to stop the bleeding and hopefully straighten everything out for a tough stretch of games that starts tonight against Oregon. Like Washington, Oregon was rolling off wins going into conference play but the conference favorite, Arizona, put a stop to theat by beating the Ducks in their second conference matchup. Coning into tonight, the Ducks are 1-2 in their last three games including an overtime loss at Washington State on Thursday. This game will be a tight bout but I am going with Washington in a close one. Oregon's Joseph Young can score at any moment, which he showed in the loss at Washington State (32 points on 13-25 shooting), but I see the win against Oregon State creating momentum for the Huskies to complement their home-court advantage.
---Washington 70, Oregon 67
PW's Prediction Record Coming into Today: 84-35 (20-8 in the MVC)
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