Big Games of the Weekend 2/18 – 2/19
Ohio State at Michigan
Ohio State will be looking to hold off Michigan from jumping into a tie for first in the conference. The Buckeyes already dropped a game to Michigan State earlier in the week. They would love to rebound from that performance against a strong opponent. The Buckeyes were not totally outplayed in the game against the Spartans. They had one of their worst shooting performances of the season, hitting 26.4% of their shots from the field. That stat line is very unlike this team. The fact that this game was at home was even more surprising. Michigan State’s defense proved to be too much for Ohio State. Tom Izzo’s team is a strong opponent, and they have been in the mix in the Big Ten all season. But Ohio State’s display on Sunday was a huge disappointment for a team with championship aspirations. After getting by Minnesota during the week, they head to Michigan to try and regain themselves.
Michigan is looking to vault themselves into the mix for first in the Big Ten. Clearly, Ohio State and Michigan State are superior teams in terms of talent. The Wolverines have not shied away from the big boys all season, though. They already have a victory over Michigan State this season and have beaten strong teams like Wisconsin and Indiana as well. This will be their first meeting with Ohio State this season. This game will be in Ann Arbor, which will help the Wolverines a lot. The key will be their kick out to the 3-point line. If Evan Smotrycz and Zack Novak can hit some long range shots, Michigan can find themselves primed to grab a win.
Saint Mary’s at Murray State
Time to give the little guys some love! Murray State finally ended their undefeated run on February 9th against Tennessee State. It is not out of line to think that the Racers might play themselves into a 3-seed in the NCAA tournament if they run the table for the rest of the year. Murray State puts six players on the floor that shoot over 48% from the field. Isaiah Canaan is their leading scorer at 19.6 points per game. The Ohio Valley conference leader scores over 75 points per contest, ranking them in the top 50 nationally. Not bad for a non-AQ conference school.
In order to complete a dream season, they have to go through the St. Mary’s Gaels on Saturday. The Gaels are 23-3 and lead Gonzaga in the West Coast Conference (though one of their losses was to the Bulldogs). St. Mary’s is 30th in the country in scoring and they share the ball well averaging over 16 assists per game. Senior forward Rob Jones, who is listed at 6’6”, averages a double-double for the Gaels, pulling in 10.6 rebounds per game on top of his 15 point average. This is a veteran team with eight upperclassmen on the roster. That experience appears to be paying off for head coach Randy Bennett. This should be a great matchup that no one would have foreseen up until now. Postseason seeding could be on the line.
Arizona at Washington
While California seems to have a hold of the Pac-12, don’t count out the Washington Huskies. They are tied for the conference lead with Cal, but sit second based on record. Sitting just behind them with a 9-4 conference record is Arizona at 18-8. Pre-season the Wildcats were highly ranked but perhaps it was a bit early. Sean Miller has done a great job there and has the number one recruiting class coming in next year. Arizona has a lot of veterans on the team, but the overall talent has not matched typical Arizona teams of years passed. Superstars like Derrick Williams do not fill out the roster. Solomon Hill is their most consistent player. He’s second on the team in scoring (12.5 points per game), first in rebounds (8.2), and first in assists (2.7).
The Huskies have been fairly solid all season and they are trying to fight off the four teams trying to leap-frog them for second in the league. To keep Arizona from beating them, Washington needs to lock them down on defense. They are a higher scoring team than the Wildcats. Their bread is buttered on the glass. They out-rebound Arizona by five per game. Their advantage inside might be the difference. In their first matchup, Washington won a squeaker, 69-67 and the Wildcats would love to even the season series out. This will be another close meeting. Jockeying for position this time of year is important. Both of these teams would love top seeds in the conference tourney.
Florida State at North Carolina State
Florida State finds itself tied for first in the ACC with the perennial favorites Duke and North Carolina. North Carolina State sits a game back. This game gets bigger if both win their games during the week. That is asking a lot of the Wolfpack. Their current three game stretch is a game at Duke on Thursday, and then they come home to face Florida State and North Carolina in succession. They have already lost to UNC this season, and their game against Duke is their only one. Should they beat Duke, then the outcome of the Florida State game puts the ACC standings in the hands of the Wolfpack. After North Carolina, they face teams in the lower half of the conference. They could find themselves as a top 4 seed in the ACC tournament. This team has hit their stride since conference play began. They are third in the conference in field goal percentage and second in three point field goal percentage. Scott Wood is their best long-range shooter. He will be key for them this week.
Florida State has had a solid year, but they’ve also had some losses that must have Leonard Hamilton going crazy. They drubbed UNC by 30 earlier this year, but they’ve lost to Harvard and Princeton at home and an abysmal Boston College team on the road. Thankfully, they bolstered their resume with their strong performances against Duke and Carolina. Once again, they are tops in the conference in defending shooters. They’ll need to limit NC State from the outside. With a lot riding on this game, both teams will battle until the end.
