NCAA Games of the WeekBy: Dan Kirby

Monday January 10th

#14 Notre Dame 14-2, 3-1 Big East at Marquette 11-5, 2-1 Big East

Key Players:

Notre Dame:
6’8 Sr. Tim Abromaitis 16.3Pts 7.2Reb 2.3Ast 2.3 3’s 39% 84%FT
6’3 Sr. Ben Hansbrough 15.2Pts 3.6Reb 4.0Ast 2.5 3’s 46% 80%FT
6’7 Sr. Carleton Scott 11.9Pts 6.4Reb 2.6Ast 1.8Blk 1.4 3’s 34% 88%FT
6’8 Sr. Tyrone Nash 10.1Pts 6.3Reb 2.8Ast 44%FG 73%FT

Marquette:
6’7 Sr. Jimmy Butler 14.9Pts 6.4Reb 2.4Ast 1.4Stl 50%FG 77%FT
6’2 Jr. Darius Johnsom-Odom 14.6Pts 3.6Reb 2.5Ast 1.6 3’s 33%
6’6 Jr. Jae Crowder 12.7Pts 6.6Reb 1.7Stl 57%FG 1.2 3’s 42%
6’4 Fr. Vander Blue 9.9Pts 3.6Reb 3.0Ast 1.7Stl
6’3 Sr. Dwight Buycks 9.9Pts 3.6Reb 4.6Ast 1.5Stl 51%FG 81%FT

Breakdown:
Notre Dame continues to pile up impressive wins as their seniors have all played great this season. Ben Hansbrough dropped 26Pts and had 4Stl in their 76-61 win over a strong St. John’s team and has averaged 19Pts in conference play. Abromaitis added 12Pts 9Reb and 4Ast and has hit 13-23 (57%) 3’s in ND’s 4 conference games. The versatile Scott is expected to miss about a month due to a hamstring injury but ND hasn’t suffered from his loss yet.

Marquette is coming off a 81-89 loss to #5 Pittsburgh as they provided little defense with the Panthers shooting 60% from the floor including 10-18 from 3. Johnson-Odom had 20Pts in the loss and is averaging 23.3Pts during conference play. Junior transfer Crowder is averaging 18Pts 7.3Reb and has hit 7-16 from 3 during conference play. Vander Blue needs to step up his game as he has averaged just 5.3Pts on 38% shooting during conference play.

Both teams are among the leaders in assists with ND at 17.9 per game and Marquette 18.1.

Key Match Up: Johnson-Odom vs. Hansbrough
Hansbrough did an excellent job containing Kemba Walker in ND’s 73-70 win holding him to 19Pts on 8-23 shooting. He will need that same pressure to cool down the surging Odom.

Wednesday January 12th

Louisville 13-2, 2-0 Big East  at #7 Villanova 13-1, 2-0 Big East

Key Players:

Louisville:
6’1 Sr. Preston Knowles 15.1Pts 3.7Reb 2.2Ast 1.7Stl 2.9 3’s 41% 83%FT

5’11 So. Peyton Silva 12.1Pts 2.7Reb 4.7Ast 2.1Stl 53%FG 75%FT
6’4 So. Mike Marsh 9.3Pts 2.8Reb 2.7Ast 1.2Stl 2.0 3’s 27%
6’9 Jr. Terrence Jennings 9.1Pts 5.6Reb 2.5Blk 53%FG 62%FT
6’8 So. Rakeem Buckles 8.4Pts 7.6Reb 1.0Stl 48%FG 57%FT

Villanova:
6’5 Sr. Corey Stokes 17.3Pts 3.8Reb 1.1Stl 3.2 3’s 44%

6’1 Sr. Corey Fisher 14.9Pts 3.1Reb 4.8Ast 1.6Stl 38%FG 77%FT
6’1 So. Malik Wayns 12.8Pts 3.5Reb 5.4Ast 1.3Stl 39%FG 81%FT
6’8 Sr. Antonio Pena 9.8Pts 7.5Reb 1.0Blk 57%FG 78%FT

Breakdown:
Louisville showed off it’s depth as 7 players scored at least 9Pts in their 86-77 win over South Florida. Knowles led the way with 12Pts and has taken over as the team’s go to guy as evidenced by a recent 4 game span in which he averaged 23Pts and hit 21-39 from 3. 6-9 sophomore, Stephan Van Treese, has scored 16Pts and grabbed 24Reb over his last 2 games, adding further depth to Louisville. The Cardinals are 3rd in the nation in steals at 10.3 per game.

Villanova sent Cincinnati to the land of the beatens as they won 72-61on Saturday. Corey Fisher had 21Pts 5Reb 4Ast and hit 10-11 from the free throw line. The Wildcats played stifling defense, holding the Bearcats to 36% shooting and 2-20 from 3. Wayns has been playing amazing ball lately as he has averaged 15.3Pts 7.8Ast and has gone 31-35 (92%) from the free throw line over his last 4. Stokes has also been hot averaging 22Pts while nailing 19-31 (61%) from downtown. He has also hit 53-57 (93%) from the line on the season, 4th in the nation.

Key Match Up: Louisville backcourt vs. Villanova back court
Stokes/Fisher/Wayns are all balling as of late and Knowles/Silva/Marsh have the speed and defense to slow down the trio.

#1 Duke 15-0, 2-0 ACC at Florida State 11-5, 1-1 ACC

Key Players:

Duke:
6’2 Sr. Nolan Smith 19.6Pts 4.9Reb 5.6Ast 54%FG 1.5 3’s 41% 76%FT

6’8 Sr. Kyle Singler 17.5Pts 5.8Reb 1.4Stl 2.2 3’s 39% 83%FT
6’4 So. Andre Dawkins 12.2Pts 1.1Stl 57%FG 2.5 3’s 53% 82%FT
6’2 So. Seth Curry 7.6Pts 2.1Ast 1.5Stl 1.5 3’s 44% 89%FT
6’10 So. Mason Plumlee 7.5Pts 7.7Reb 1.6Blk 56%FG 41%FT

Florida State:
6’9 Jr. Chris Singleton 15.2Pts 8.3Reb 2.4Stl 2.1Blk 1.4 3’s 40% 71%FT
6’4 Sr. Derwin Kitchen 10.1Pts 5.3Reb 3.7Ast 1.8Stl 51%FG 80%FT
6’10 Jr. Bernard James 7.2Pts 5.8Reb 2.3Blk 63%FG 46%FT
6’5 So. Michael Snaer 7.6Pts 2.9Reb 2.1Ast 1.2Stl 1.9 3’s 36% 82%FT

Breakdown:
Nolan Smith for Player of the Year? The senior has averaged 24.8Pts 6Reb and 6Ast over his last 6 while providing lock down defense for the top ranked Blue Devils. He had 18Pts 7Reb and 8Ast in Duke’s 71-64 win over Maryland and Singler added 25Pts and 10Reb, hitting 3-7 from 3. Duke is top 5 in the nation in scoring, FG% and 3-point%. Kyrie Irving is weighing a decision on surgery for his advanced turf toe and is still not ruling out a comeback later in the season.

FSU is riding a 2 game losing streak in which they couldn’t hit the side of a barn. In losses to Auburn and Virginia Tech, they have shot 35% from the floor including 12-50 (24%) from 3. They are also one of the worst teams at taking care of the ball as they average 17.3 turnovers a game. Singleton remains one of the few constants as he had 22Pts 8Reb and 2Blk in the loss to Virginia Tech.

Key Match Up: Singleton/ James vs. the Plumlee’s
What the Seminoles do have is size up front and both Singleton and James will look to get very physical against Duke’s frontline.

#5 Pittsburgh 15-1, 3-0 Big East at #13 Georgetown 12-4, 1-3 Big East

Key Players:

Pittsburgh:
6’2 Sr. Ashton Gibbs 16.8Pts 2.4Reb 3.6Ast 3.1 3’s 45% 87%FT
6’4 Sr. Brad Wanamaker 13.0Pts 4.9Reb 5.3Ast 1.8Stl 50%FG 76%FT
6’6 Sr. Gilbert Brown 10.9Pts 4.5Reb 3.2Ast 44%FG 74%FT
6’9 So. Dante Taylor 7.2Pts 5.6Reb 70%FG 56%FT

Georgetown:
6’1 Jr. Austin Freeman 19.1Pts 2.7Reb 2.4Ast 57%FG 2.3 3’s 48% 83%FT
6’2 Jr. Jason Clark 13.2Pts 3.9Reb 1.7Stl 2.2 3’s 43% 76%FT
6’1 Sr. Chris Wright 12.8Pts 2.6Reb 6.3Ast 1.8Stl 1.5 3’s 36% 76%FT
6’9 Sr. Julian Vaughn 9.0Pts 6.7Reb 2.1Blk 53%FG 67%FT
6’7 So. Hollis Thompson 8.2Pts 4.8Reb 54%FG 1.1 3’s 45% 67%FT

Breakdown:
Pitt shot lights out in their 89-81 win over Marquette on Saturday. Gibbs led the way with 19Pts  5Ast and 5-8 from 3 as the Panthers shot 60% overall. Gilbert Brown added 14Pts 7Reb and 4Ast. Pitt has only played 1 road game this season so this game is a huge test even though the Hoya’s are struggling as of late. Pitt leads the nation in assists at 20.3per game and is 3rd in rebounding.

As opposed to year’s past, the Hoya’s rely on their guard play, and that play has been bad lately. Freeman has scored just 17Pts over his last 2 while shooting 5-18 from the floor including 3-11 from 3. Chris Wright has been worse as he has scored 16Pts over that span while shooting 6-22 including 2-14 from 3. He has also had just 6Ast to go along with 7TO. In their 59-65 loss to West Virginia, the Hoya’s had 10Ast and 18TO and failed to score more than 60Pts in 3 of their last 4 games, all losses.

Key Match Up: Gibbs vs. Freeman
Both Freeman and Gibbs are 2 of the deadliest and clutch shooters in the game and this match up could be electric if both are on their game.

#25 UNLV 13-3, 1-1 Mountain West  at #6 San Diego State 17-0, 2-0 Mountain West

Key Players:

UNLV:
6’8 Jr. Chace Stanback 12.1Pts 4.4Reb 1.4Stl 51%FG 77%FT
6’2 Jr. Oscar Bellfield 11.5Pts 2.6Reb 4.3Ast 2.1 3’s 50% 85%FT
6’4 Sr. Tre’Von Willis 11.5Pts 3.4Reb 2.9Ast 1.4Stl 41%FG 83%FT
6’3 So. Anthony Marshall 10.3Pts 3.6Reb 2.7Ast 1.3Stl 50%FG 74%FT

San Diego State:
6’7 So. Kawhi Leonard 15.6Pts 9.7Reb 2.5Ast 1.5Stl 48%FG 70%FT
6’9 Sr. Malcolm Thomas 12.0Pts 7.2Reb 2.1Ast 2.0Blk 62%FG 68%FT
6’0 Sr. DJ Gay 11.4Pts 3.2Ast 1.9 3’s 38% 75%FT
6’8 Sr. Billy White 10.1Pts 3.6Reb 1.3Stl 61%FG 64%FT

Breakdown:
UNLV played pressure defense in their 83-49 rout of TCU. They had 13STl and forced 23TO and will need every bit of that intensity against the Aztecs. Willis had 22Pts 7Reb 3Ast and 5Stl in the win and is the Rebels main threat on offense. Stanback has found his shooting groove again and chipped in 15Pts 7reb and 3Ast. The Rebels are holding Mountain West opponents to 38%FG, 1st in the conference.

Who is San Diego State? Unless you live on the West coast or are an insomniac, you probably haven’t seen much of them this season. One thing is for sure, Kawhi Leonard is the real deal. He had 20Pts and 9Reb in the Aztecs 71-62 win over Utah and dropped 16Pts 21Reb on the Rebels in the MWC title game last season. Malcolm Thomas added 17Pts 14Reb and 2Blk in the win over Utah and combines with Leonard and Billy White to form an intimidating frontline. They have not been tested that much this season and UNLV should be a team to get up for.

Key Match Up: Leonard/ Thomas vs. UNLV frontline
UNLV’s 6’10 Brice Massamba (4.5Pts 2.2Reb) and 6-11 Fr. Carlos Lopez (5.0Pts 3.2Reb) will have to step up their game to compete with Leonard and Thomas.

Georgia 12-2, 1-0 SEC at #22 Vanderbilt 11-3, 0-1 SEC

Key Players:

Georgia:
6’9 Jr. Trey Thompkins 17.4Pts 7.1Reb 1.3Stl 1.5Blk 52%FG
6’4 Jr. Travis Leslie 13.8Pts 7.6Reb 2.2Ast 1.8Stl 50%FG 81%FT
6’1 Jr. Gerald Robinson 12.6Pts 2.3Reb 4.7Ast 1.1Stl 50%FG
6’8 Sr. Jeremy Price 9.0Pts 4.6Reb 1.2Blk 56%FG 76%FT

Vanderbilt:
6’4 So. John Jenkins 17.8Pts 2.6Reb 3.0 3’s 38% 88%FT
6’7 Jr. Jeffery Taylor 14.5Pts 4.8Reb 2.3Ast 1.2 3’s 42% 72%FT
6’11 Jr. Festus Ezeli 13.0Pts 6.7Reb 2.4Blk 64%FG 60%FT
6’3 Jr. Brad Tinsley 10.0Pts 4.7Reb 5.1Ast 1.2Stl 44%FG 75%FT

Breakdown:
Georgia went 26-37 over the last 2 years but have turned things around in a big way this season thanks in large part to junior college transfer Gerald Robinson. Robinson had 17Pts in the Bulldogs 77-70 win over Kentucky and played great defense on Brandon Knight, holding the freshman to just 10Pts. Thompkins is the star of the team however and had 25Pts 7reb and 2Blk in the win while Leslie added 15Pts 8reb and 4Ast and the Bulldogs had their way underneath against the Wildcats. Georgia has won 9 games in a row.

Vanderbilt couldn’t match up down low in their 78-83 loss to South Carolina. Sam Muldrow beat up on the Commodores as he registered a triple double with 16Pts 14Reb and 10Blks. Ezeli has struggled over his last 2 games averaging 9.5Pts 3Reb while shooting 29% from the floor and will need to find his form quick against the Bulldog’s frontline. Jenkins dropped 27pts on 6-10 from 3 in the loss and is the team’s leading scorer and go to guy.

Key Match Up: Thompkins vs. Ezeli
Ezeli will try and get back on track against one of the best power forwards in the country.

Thursday January 13th

#11 Purdue 15-1, 4-0 Big 10 at Minnesota 12-3, 1-2 Big 10

Key Players:

Purdue:
6’10 Sr. JaJuan Johnson 19.8Pts 7.9Reb 2.2Blk 51%FG 73%FT
6’4 Sr. E’Twaun Moore 19.4Pts 5.8Reb 2.8Ast 1.8Stl 48%FG 2.1 3’s 43% 72%FT
6’2 So. John Hart 8.4Pts 4.5Reb 2.1 3’s 46%
5’7 Jr. Lewis Jackson 4.5Pts 2.8Reb 4.0Ast 48%FG

Minnesota:
6’4 Sr. Blake Hoffarber 13.6Pts 3.4Reb 4.6Ast 1.5Stl 2.9 3’s 40% 83%FT
6’8 Jr. Trevor Mbekwe 13.4Pts 9.9Reb 1.0Stl 1.2Blk 62%FG
6’11 Jr. Ralph Sampson III 11.4Pts 5.9Reb 2.0Blk 47%FG
6’4 Jr. Devoe Joseph 11.2Pts 2.2Reb 3.5Ast 2.0 3’s 38%

Breakdown:
Purdue has mainly relied on their 2 All American candidates in Johnson and Moore to carry them all season. 6’3 Jr. Ryne Smith decided to make a name for himself during conference play. In his 12 games before Big 10 play opened up, he averaged 4.2Pts. Since then, he has averaged 17Pts and has hit 18-27 (67%) from 3 while taking the load off of the other 2. Hart has miised the last 8 games with a stress fracture in his right foot and should return after the Minnesota game.

The Golden Gophers came up just short in their upset bid over #2 Ohio State. Austin Hollins missed a 3 at the buzzer and the Buckeyes escaped 67-64 at home. Trevor Mbekwe had another great game going for 16Pts 12Reb and 4Blk and has averaged 13.8Pts 12Reb and 2.5Blk during league play. The Gophers are looking to get back in the mix with a home win here and improve to 2-2 in the conference.

Key Match Up: Johnson vs. Mbekwe
The Big 10 is loaded with big men this year and Mbekwe and Johnson are 2 of the best and most physical. Mbekwe played great against Jared Sullingers and needs even more against Johnson to get his team a win.

Saturday January 15th

#24 Cincinnati 15-1, 2-1 Big East at #4 Syracuse 16-0, 3-0 Big East

Key Players:

Cincinnati:
6’3 Jr. Dion Dixon 12.7Pts 2.6Reb 2.1Ast 1.2 3’s 35%
6’9 Jr. Yancy Gates 11.5Pts 6.6Reb 1.7Blk 49%FG
6’4 Fr. Sean Kilpatrick 10.1Pts 3.2Reb 1.6 3’s 42%
6’0 So. Cashmere Wright 9.3Pts 2.3Reb 3.9Ast 1.9Stl

Syracuse:
6’7 Jr. Kris Joseph  15.1Pts 5.1Reb 1.3Stl 45%FG 77%FT

6’9 Sr. Rick Jackson 13.9Pts 11.8Reb 2.4Ast 1.2Stl 2.0Blk 58%FG 49%FT
6’2 Jr. Scoop Jardine 13.3Pts 5.9Ast 2.0Stl 1.4 3’s 31% 69%FT
6’4 So. Brandon Triche 9.2Pts 2.6Reb 3.8Ast 43%FG 76%FT

Breakdown:
Cincinnati finally lost a game as they fell 61-72 to #7 Villanova in a game where their offense pulled a disappearing act. The Bearcats shot just 36% from the field and made only 2-20 shots from 3. They will have to re group in a hurry against another tough defensive team in the Orangemen. Gates scored 11Pts and grabbed 9Reb in the loss after going for 22-14 against Xavier the previous game. The Bearcats will rely heavily on Gates if they want to come up with a win. They will also need a better showing from Dixon and Kilpatrick, the team’s best perimeter shooters, then their combined 0-9 from 3 against Villanova. The 15-0 start was Cincinnati’s best start in almost 50 years.

Syracuse played bad and still managed to pull out a 61-56 win at Seton Hall to remain undefeated. They had just 9Ast to 15TO, were out rebounded 43-30, and shot 17-36 from the free throw line. Kris Joseph led the way with 15Pts 8Reb but he went 8-17 from the line. Rick Jackson had 9Pts 14Reb and 4Blk but Seton Hall’s 6’8 Herb Pope (14Pts 20Reb) and 6’6 Jeff Robinson (17Pts 14Reb) had their way inside. Fab Melo managed to get more than 10 minutes of playing time for the first time in 4 games and contributed 2Pts and a rebound.

Key Match Up: Gates vs. Jackson
Gates needs a Pope like game on the inside for Cincy to keep this one close.

#9 Missouri 14-2, 0-1 Big 12 at #16 Texas A&M 14-1, 1-0 Big 12

Key Players:

Missouri:
6’3 Jr. Marcus Denmon 17.2Pts 4.0Reb 2.0Ast 2.0Stl 2.9 3’s 50% 87%FT
6’8 Jr. Laurence Bowers 12.0Pts 6.1Reb 2.1Blk 54%FG 72%FT
6’8 Jr. Ricardo Ratliffe 11.4Pts 6.9Reb 1.3Blk 57%FG 61%FT
6’6 Jr. Kim English 11.0Pts 3.1Reb 2.6Ast 1.8Stl 1.9 3’s 40%

Texas A&M:
6’7 So. Khris Middleton 15.4Pts 4.8Reb 2.8Ast 49%FG 83%FT
6’8 Jr. David Loubeau 11.5Pts 5.2Reb 50%FG 67%FT
6’7 Sr. Nathan Walkup 10.1Pts 6.4Reb 52%FG 85%FT
5’11 Sr. BJ Holmes 9.3Pts 2.9Reb 3.6Ast 1.7Stl 1.6 3’s 40%

Breakdown:
Missouri got torched by All American candidate Alec Burks (36Pts 12-19FG 9-11FT) in their 76-89 loss to Colorado. They played well as they only committed 9TO but their 4-16 3-point shooting sealed their fate. Bowers had 15Pts 7Reb and 8Blk in the loss and Kim English continues his inconsistent season as he had just 7Pts on 2-10 shooting. The Tigers are ranked 5th in scoring (86.1Pts) 6th in Stl (10.2) and 5th in Ast (18.4) in the nation.

The Aggies 14-1 start is their best in over 90 years. Middleton had 16Pts 4Reb 5Ast 4Stl and shot 6-7 from the floor in their 69-51 rout of Oklahoma and are now 1st in the Big 12 standings. Like Missouri, they are a deep team as 10 players average at least 10 minutes a game. BJ Holmes added 13Pts and 5Ast in the win and the Aggies ahot 54% from the floor and out rebounded Oklahoma 28-18.

Key Match Up: Denmon vs. Holmes
Holmes is a pesky defender who will need to stay in front of Denmon, who is one of the best all around shooters in the country.

#20 Illinois 13-3, 3-0 Big 10 at Wisconsin 12-3, 2-1 Big 10

Key Players:

Illinois:

6’3 Sr. Demetri McCamey 15.7Pts 3.3Reb 7.1Ast 1.2Stl 50%FG 2.2 3’s 49% 72%FT
6’3 So. DJ Richardson 11.6Pts 2.0Reb 2.1Ast 2.3 3’s 44% 65%FT
6’9 Sr. Mike Davis 10.8Pts 6.7Reb 1.0Blk 53%FG 60%FT
7’1 Sr. Mike Tisdale 10.2Pts 7.5Reb 1.5Blk 48%FG 82%FT

6’4 So. Brandon Paul 8.5Pts 3.0Reb 2.0Ast 1.2Stl 42%FG 67%FT

Wisconsin:
6’10 Sr. Jon Leuer 19.8Pts 7.3Reb 2.2Ast 1.8Blk 51%FG 2.5 3’s 50% 79%FT
6’1 Jr. Jordan Taylor 15.4Pts 4.2Reb 4.8Ast 1.8 3’s 41% 86%FT
6’8 Sr. Keaton Nankivil 7.6Pts 4.6Reb 1.5Blk 54%FG 88%FT
6’3 Fr. Josh Gasser 6.7Pts 3.9Reb 2.3Ast 41%FG 88%FT

Breakdown:
Illinois won the first meeting 69-61 in Champaign on January 2nd as they shot 57% from the field. The Illini have shot 65% as a team in conference play including 70% in their 88-63 win over Northwestern. McCamey led the way with 14Pts 5Reb 7Ast and hit 3-3 from beyond the arc. Illinois is now 4th in the nation in 3-point shooting at 44%, 7th in FG% at 49, and 10th in assists at 17.7 per game. Their defense caused the Wildcats to miss 29 of their 38 3 point shots.

Wisconsin is looking to even things up at the Kohl Center and probably won’t shoot 35% from the floor as they did in their first meeting. Jordan Taylor had 20Pts 8Reb and 3Ast in the Badgers 66-50 win over Michigan and has averaged 20.3Pts and 5Ast in Big 10 play. Jon Leuer added 17Pts 8Reb 3Ast and hit 2-4 from 3 in the win. The Badgers rank 2nd in the nation in FT% at 81%.

Key Match Up: McCamey vs. Taylor
Taylor has emerged as one of the top PG in the conference and McCamey will have to play some defense this game.