Thanks to ESPN tonight we get our first good night of college basketball. There are 3 marquee primetime games that will let us know where a few top 10 teams are early in the season. Considering only one of them its still very hard to predict how good these teams really are but Ill take a stab at it.
The Picks
Michigan State over Duke – I correctly predicted the Belmont scare and Im gonna go ahead and predict Michigan State pulls off the upset here. In the Belmont game Austin Rivers was exactly who i thought he was, a high quantity shooting turnover machine. I didnt realize the refs though he was the second coming of MJ and were gonna give him every call. I think that changes tonight away from home and with Tom Izzo on the other sideline. I expect the front court of Michigan State to give the Plumlee’s all they can handle and for Michigan State to pull out a close one. As a consolation for Duke at least Coach K gets to celebrate 903 on the home floor, but man is ESPN gonna be pissed tonight.
Ohio State over Florida – If this game was in Gainesville Id probably pick it the other way. As I stated in my preseason predictions this is the game that will show me how good Ohio State and Jared Sullinger really are. The battle tonight between Patric Young and Sullinger is the key to the game and worth the price of admission. I see Sullinger doing just enough, William Buford hitting a couple big shots and some timely place home cooking refs and Ohio State pulls this one out.
Kentucky over Kansas (barely) – This game can really go either way for me. As with most Kentucky games over the past few years it will come down to whether or not they can hit jump shots. I have no idea what Kentucky is gonna do to stop Thomas Robinson, unless they figure out how to get him in foul trouble. At the same time I have no idea who Jeff Withey is gonna guard on Kentucky. I expect Kansas to turn to Kevin Young to deal with the matchup problem. The highly talented backcourts will trade blows all night. This game should come down to the very end and it should cap off a great night of basketball.