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Games To Watch - 12/28/07
December 28, 2007 | By Benjamin Miraski
It has been over a week since the last Games to Watch article. That week was one that saw the downing of a number of our top teams in their first losses of the season.
Fridays don't normally bring us much in terms of Games to Watch, and likely won't have us losing any undefeateds, but it does have some interesting games on tap.
Let's check out what exactly those might be.
Delaware State at MRI #20 Xavier: Xavier has had a rough stretch lately (losses to Tennessee and a big MOV loss to Arizona State) and has fallen from their #1 MRI spot all the way to #20. Facing Delaware State should be a remedy to what ails them.
MRI Predicts: Xavier Confidence Factor: 94.22%
St. Joseph's at Siena: Two teams which could emerge as contenders in their conferences. St. Joe's has the benefit of the Atlantic 10 being slightly stronger and potentially up for multiple bids. They would still have to overcome a rocky start to the season, but conference season has a way of separating the best teams from the pack. Siena doesn't have any the advantage of the stronger league. That makes this all the more important for the Saints to win at home.
MRI Predicts: Siena Confidence Factor: 70.76%
Southern Mississippi at MRI #15 Mississippi: Southern Mississippi had a strong showing last week and made a big move in the MRI, capturing the biggest gain of the week. Mississippi is still undefeated. I am betting on that continuing to be the case tonight, but you never know what can happen when the visiting team is suddenly hot.
MRI Predicts: Mississippi Confidence Factor: 83.02%
MRI #23 Butler at Southern Illinois: Earlier this season, this might have been a highlighted game across the country. Unfortunately, Southern Illinois hasn't lived up to the big billing they got at the beginning of the season. Still, this is an important game as Southern Illinois is expected to do much better once they are into their Missouri Valley season, and this game will matter for those "good wins" come March. It may also affect how the seeding shakes out in the tournament should both teams make it. Surprisingly, given their performances this season, Butler is the underdog in this one. Look for a close game down in Carbondale.
MRI Predicts: Butler Confidence Factor: 59.09%
Mount St. Mary's at Oregon: I know this game doesn't look like much, but Oregon is an interesting team to keep an eye on. You can forgive them their loss to St. Mary's. The Gaels are a very good team. However, Oregon has now lost two straight to Nebraska and Oakland, of all teams. I am not thinking that Mount St. Mary's has a shot in this one, but given the struggles of the Ducks lately, I am not ruling anything out.
MRI Predicts: Oregon Confidence Factor: 86.16%
MRI Stats:
Yesterday: 7 - 2
This Season: 735 - 266, 73.43%
All Time: 12422 - 4868, 71.84%
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 December 28, 2007 10:55 AM
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