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December 12, 2007
Games To Watch - 12/12/07
The MRI went .500 last night, although you wouldn't know it from the games that I chose to point out yesterday.
Southern Illinois hosted an undefeated St. Mary's team which looked like it could do no wrong. Instead of the expected result, the Salukis practically blew the Gaels out of the gym. I guess that St. Mary's won't be ranked for long.
Bradley traveled to Ohio to face Wright State, and got an important road win for them. Bradley is going to be one of those teams (assuming they don't totally collapse in their conference season) that will get a long hard look from the committee. They are either a last one in or last one out at this point, at least from what I have seen from their early start. Joe Lunardi won't put out another Bracketology until next week, so we will all have to have a good look at that to see. Wright State was getting some hype from ESPN in their weekly watch, so this win should at least make a little ripple in the minds of those at the WWL.
And then there is Louisiana Tech, now #318 of 341 in the MRI. That is because they could not get well with a win over a SWAC team last night. Arkansas-Pine Bluff, a team that has been among the worst teams of the last decade, pulled off a win over the Bulldogs, 61-49. This on its own could illustrate the plight of the WAC this season. Louisiana Tech, with this futility, won't be helping to raise the RPI of anyone. Seven of the other eight teams are either at .500 or worse against Division 1 teams. One bid and a #12 seed or worse seems likely for the winner from the former power conference.
So what is there to take a look at tonight? Hopefully better than a 7-7 record, but that is besides the point. First up, let's head out to the home of 5-way chili, Cincinnati.
Cincinnati at MRI #1 Xavier: This is probably one of the most under-rated rivalry games in college basketball. Every season, this game has had the ability to go either way. Xavier is one of the top teams you never hear about while Cincinnati was a power for a long time under Bob Huggins. Huggybear isn't coaching the Bearcats anymore and they seem to have fallen a bunch since their move to the Big East. Xavier meanwhile is the top team in the country according to my computer and they have showed it. As I said before, they are doing it with a strong team oriented approach which has only gotten better over the course of the short season so far. Drew Lavender is now averaging over 5 assists per game, and his shooting has improved to make him a serious 5th threat on the floor. Meanwhile, things just keep clicking. This is a rivalry so you can't rule anything out, but the X-factor should be strong tonight
MRI Predicts: Xavier Confidence Factor: 94.33%
Ohio at Maryland: I am not necessarily agreeing with the MRI on this game. The computer thinks that Ohio can pull off the upset tonight at Maryland. But what I should point out is that Ohio is locked in a battle in the very difficult Eastern Division of the MAC. If the MAC is to get two teams into the tournament this season (probably more of a longshot than it should be), then both might come out of the horse race on this side of the conference. The Bobcats are four points away from an undefeated season right now, and Maryland, as we wrote about earlier this season, has some weaknesses which can be exploited. If Ohio can force the turnovers, look for the upset. It should at least be closer than the 8 point line that Las Vegas has set.
MRI Predicts: Ohio Confidence Factor: 51.00%
Massachusetts at Boston College: Another rivalry game which probably doesn't get as much attention as it should because both of these schools haven't been good at the same time in a while. Well, Boston College is a little down this season while Massachusetts is a little up, making this a fairly evenly matched contest. Massachusetts has already scored a quality road win at Syracuse although they followed that up with a loss at IUPUI. Another huge win on the road could go a long way towards erasing that. BC, for its part, is coming off of a big road win against Maryland to open their ACC season . I know everyone expects them to be out of the race in the ACC after all of their losses to graduation, but I think they should still be a strong contender, at least for 3rd place. That is because the losses have been more than accounted for by contributions from impact freshman Rakim Sanders and Corey Raji. Sure, the ACC season is like nothing that these two have seen before, but at least Raji's performance off the bench (17 pts.) against Maryland shows that they are ready for the challenge. Now it is a matter of making sure they win the non-conference games they are expected to win.
MRI Predicts: Boston College Confidence Factor: 73.43%
MRI Stats:
Yesterday: 7 - 7
This Season: 410 - 167, 71.06%
All Time: 12097 - 4769, 71.72%
The MRI is a computer basketball ranking system. It has been picking games since 2003. Ben Miraski writes for MRISports.com and is a featured blogger on FanIQ. Readers can contact Ben at bmiraski@mrisports.com
Posted by bmiraski at December 12, 2007 11:10 AM
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