Monday Night:
Miami(Ohio) at Cincinnati - No offense to the Longwood Lancers, who Cincinnati will play on Thursday night, but this game is the final test for the undefeated Cincinnati Bearcats before they meet Illinois on New Year's Eve. Yes, Longwood could pull off the upset, but more likely, Cincinnati may lose to the Redhawks. These aren't the Miami teams that starred Wally Szczerbiak in the late nineties. Still, the Redhawks are picked to contend in the MAC conference with Kent State and Buffalo. They have Senior forward Danny Horace inside, who has stepped up his production this year, nearly doubling his points per game over last year. Chet Mason will work on getting the ball to him while scoring from around the perimeter. Mason also produces good rebounding numbers for a point guard, grabbing nearly 8 per game. Cincinnati will counter with their normal bruising style of play. Senior Jason Maxiell, a pre-season all conference player, will be a tough test for Horace and the Redhawks. Maxiell is true to form again this year, leading the team in points and second in rebounding. He will be helped on the inside by Eric Hicks and look for Armein Kirkland around the outside to draw the defense away from Maxiell and Hicks. Cincinnati probably won't lose this one at home, so look for them to be undefeated Friday when they rematch the Illinois team that knocked them from the NCAA tournament last year. Chances are, we are in for the same result. MRI Predicts: Cincinnati Confidence factor: 88.86%