Weekend Preview with an ACC flavor

By Mark Buckets

As college basketball nears it’s midway point - The 2K Sports Coaches vs. Cancer classic seems like it tipped off yesterday - the jockeying for position in conference races heats up. The Kentucky Derby has nothing on the competition in the ACC, Big East and Pac 10 to name a few. Not only are the major leagues slugging it out, but the mid-to-lower tier conferences also have intriguing battles for supremacy. Don’t sleep on the Atlantic Sun (East Tennessee State and Artis Gilmore’s Jacksonville squad duking it out) as well as the Sun Belt and to a lesser extent, the newly-formed two-division Southland Conference. This post isn’t about the “big picture.” The focus of this journalistic masterpiece is on the games of the weekend . Hence the brilliant title.

Before I elaborate on the slate of games for this weekend, I’d like to voice my displeasure with ESPN. Why in the world is College GameDay going to Carbondale for the Creighton-SIU match up? I know the two teams have been the class of the Valley over the past five years, but come on. I also realize that ESPN cements their GameDay schedule in advance despite the play of the teams running up to Rece, Digger, Jay and Hubert’s arrival on campus. Don’t even get me started on the butchering of the English language on behalf of one Hubert Davis.

Back to business, Mr.Buckets.

One thing I will give ESPN credit is the time slot in which the Gonzaga/Memphis game is. There’s no better way to shudder off the boredom of GameDay at Southern Illinois than to take in one of the more important inter-conference battles of the year. The stakes couldn’t be higher for both teams, as Calipari’s Crew looks to fortify their place - in the process earning the respect of fans and journalists alike - on the national scene. Perhaps, more importantly, Gonzaga is looking for a statement game and signature win. The win over Uconn in Boston was impressive, but pales in comparison to what they could gain from a win at Memphis. Both teams like to run, so I’d give the advantage to Memphis, who imposes their will on their opponents better than anyone in the country.

In ACC play, Saturday provides an appetizer to the Sunday’s main course of games. The Saturday games, which include NC State’s trip to Tallahassee and BC’s home clash with Virginia Tech , are lacking of national importance. Don’t tell that to those four teams - three of which have legitimate NCAA Tourney aspirations - that these games don’t have implications. In all reality, Sunday is when things really start to get good. The noon game between Clemson and Miami on Saturday is a monumentally important hookup for two teams also sitting firmly on the bubble. If Clemson could knock down a few free throws - the Tigers average a whopping 62% from the line - it wouldn’t be a stretch to say that they would be competing with North Carolina and Duke for conference supremacy. Watch the battle between UM’s Anthony King (A shot-blocking machine) and Clemson’s two-headed post monster in Trevor Booker and James Mays. That game should be a nice warm-up for the game that will garner the most attention. Not only on a regional level - the Duke/Maryland game will be seen on almost every Fox Sports Net affiliate in the country - but of a national one as well. Gary Williams’ Maryland team is a fascinating bunch. They are as hot and cold as the water at the local Best Western shower. As has been well-documented, the Blue Devils lack a consistent inside game. Forward Lance Thomas showed glimpses of his talent as he stuffed the stat sheet in a commanding win over Virginia Tech on Thursday in Blacksburg. I will be interested to see how Duke approaches this game. For one, the Maryland fans are a loud bunch - and notoriously vulgar - and Duke will attempt to feed off of that negative energy. Should be a wonderful way to cap off the weekend.

It’ll be a relatively quiet weekend in the Pac 10. Outside of Wazzu’s trip to Wells Fargo Arena to take on Arizona State, Stanford travels to Cal and UCLA treks to Oregon State. Two pretty straightforward games that should see similar results: The road team winning with ease.

Looking across the Top 25 - that’s what we do at D&D - the Connecticut-Indiana game looks like it’ll shape up to be a dandy. D.J. White vs. Hasheem Thabeet? Are you kidding me? What a game. Even without Jerome Dyson and Doug Wiggins, the Huskies stand a chance to win at Assembly Hall. As an added bonus - being completely truthful here - the nation will be treated to analysis by Billy Packer. Here’s to hoping they add Jim Nantz back before March to the telecast. The two are a dynamic team and the best college hoops has to offer.

That’s all we have for now. In the immortal words of Andy Glockner, “enjoy the games.”