A week ago, all five of our Games of the Week turned out to be well worth the watch, and we expect this week to be no different. While there were many contenders to highlight, we took three Power Five conference games and through in a little bit of mid-major action to highlight the quality basketball being played beyond the normal footprint of college hoops fandom.
1.) No. 18 Oklahoma at No. 16 West Virginia: On paper, Oklahoma has one of the most productive and versatile inside-outside combinations in the conference, with Buddy Hield and Ryan Spangler, and when you throw in TaShawn Thomas, things look good for the Sooners. But their loss to Kansas State has people wondering if this team has what it takes to sustain long term success as opposed to catching lightning in a bottle against the tougher teams on its schedule…sometimes. On the other side of things, West Virginia is coming off of their second loss of the year, this last one 74-72 to visiting Iowa State. The Mountaineers were inefficient on offense, despite their 18 offensive rebounds, and couldn’t contain the duo of Georges Niang and Abdel Nader.
If WVU can make Hield become a volume shooter, as well as keep Isaiah Cousins from getting hot from deep, I trust their interior presence to at least mitigate the effectiveness of Spangler and Thomas. I expect the Coliseum to be rocking for this one, and I’m looking for West Virginia to rebound and get back on track in the Big 12.
2.) No. 17 VCU at Rhode Island: Two teams riding long winning streaks, VCU’s at eight and Rhode Island sitting at six, the top of the Atlantic 10 is up for grabs here. We’ll also be pitting two of the top scorers in the conference, Treveon Graham and E.C. Matthews, who both average better than 16 points per game. But this game isn’t about the offensive end, for the most part. With VCU first and Rhode Island second in turnovers forced per game, its about which team can impose its will the most defensively. Both want to muck things up, and get the pace as wide open as possible. Both teams force you to shoot poorly from beyond the arc and make the task of setting up a half court offense absolutely miserable.
Rhode Island has yet to live at home, and their stingy defense is allowing under 60 points per game. If they can frustrate Graham and force him into tough, contested shots, then they have a chance to build confidence early on and let that carry them through it. However, I think Shaka Smart’s group is too tough minded, too tested to let an opportunity like this be wasted. Give me VCU on the road.
3.) San Diego State at No. 25 Wyoming: Some people around the country haven’t taken Mountain West basketball very seriously, unless it’s New Mexico, UNLV or San Diego State being discussed. However, while those schools were loading up on west coast talent, Larry Shyatt was quietly building a winner in Laramie, and he recruited the leading candidate for Mountain West Player of the Year in Larry Nance Jr. Meanwhile, San Diego State still hasn’t figured out that there are two ends of the basketball court, and you have to be able to score. Winston Shepard scored 20 points in a win over New Mexico, but the Aztecs still only put in 56 points as a team. That’s not a good omen for this trip to altitude. Wyoming is one of the most patient teams in the country, offensively. They’ll slow things down unless there’s a 2-on-1 advantage in the open court, and run their offense as long as it takes to get the look they want, and they usually get that look. Defensively, they have perimeter stoppers and rim protectors on the inside.
In my opinion, this is a terrible match up for SDSU. Going against a team who won’t let them get easy buckets in transition, in a hostile arena, at altitude…I don’t like what any of it adds up to for them. Sure, this could be their breakout game, and it’s not like Wyoming will be having a good go of things offensively, as the Aztecs are still a high-level defensive squad. Still, I like Wyoming here.
4.) No. 4 Duke at No. 6 Louisville: This game was already going to be monumental, with conference and national title implications. Pitino vs. Krzyzewski. Blue Blood vs. Red Blood. I mean, seriously, this game is huge. Add in the fact that both teams are coming off road losses, and you’ll have two of the country’s best coaches and programs geared up to get back to their winning ways. I’ll have much more on this game in my weekend Picks to Click, but I’ll give you a sneak peak: Coach K will be on his way to getting win No. 1,000 at home.
5.) No. 8 Utah at No. 10 Arizona: Two older powers, albeit from previously different conferences, match up in Tucson this weekend. Upstart Utah, led by Delon Wright, has the stingy defense and fluid offense to make things miserable for its opponents, even ones as talented as Arizona. But that’s not to say that the Wildcats don’t have tricks up their sleeves as well, with UA’s athleticism and length being far superior to anyone else in the conference, this will be a one of a kind match up in the Pac-12.
If you’ve been reading our site, you know I recently picked Utah as my Pac-12 Champion. I still like that pick, but I do think UA will get them at home and, at least for now, hold a lead in the conference standings.
