Today's Marquee Match Up on this New Year's Eve we have an early and a late game selection for you to ring in the coming year with and they feature two players from our National Program on opposite ends of the coast. Find out who else is playing right here ...
Marquee Match Up(s)
4:00pm Minnesota @ Michigan State
With Mo Walker out for season, Devoe Joseph becomes the lone Canuck for the Gophers now. Joseph has been playing great of late scoring about 13 points a game in the last three to go with 3 rebounds and 4 assists in that span. With the Gophers heading deeper into conference play, this game could be a good indicator of what Devoe will contribute. He’s played in seven games now and should be rounding into mid season form and going into a game against Michigan State, who lost to Texas at home before the Christmas break, he’ll need to be on his A game. The Spartans will not want to give up back-to-back losses at home and this will be a good game for Joseph to show exactly the player he is, with or without a healthy Al Nolen by his side picking up slack.
10:00pm Oklahoma State @ Gonzaga Just when you think the Zags have begun their nosedive they go on a four game winning streak. And a big reason for the success has been the play of Rob Sacre. He’s been more of an offensive minded player this year and in the last four games Sacre’s is averaging 15.3 points, 1.75 blocks and 2 steals. He is only averaging 4 boards in that span but he can be forgiven for his other contributions, at least for now, but he will need to pick that up against Oklahoma State. The Cowboys are on their own streak right now having won their last seven. I must also point out that Kelly Olynyk and Manny Arop have also contributed in spurts also and the Zags will need to have big production from at least one of them to make winning this game that much more likely.
And here is where everyone else played …
1:00pm Eastern Kentucky @ Georgia
2:00pm Coppin State @ Texas – Tristan Thompson dropped 17 points and 15 rebounds on Michigan State in East Lansing. After that game, you should be curious to see what kind of game he’ll have against a mid major school now.
2:00pm North Florida @ Kansas State
2:00pm MIT @ Harvard – Laurent Rivard has scored in double figures in five of the last six games averaging 16.2 points in that span, 18 even against non BCS schools. What will he do against MIT?
3:00pm Holy Cross @ George Washington
4:00pm McNeese State @ Texas A&M
7:00pm New Mexico State @ Boise State
7:00pm Utah @ Portland – Nem Mitrovic is coming off back-to-back 22 points games as well as a conference player of the week nod. Playing a weaker than usual Utah team that is riding a three game losing streak and Mitrovic riding a hot shooting streak, there is enough ingredients here for an offensive explosion of great proportions.
8:00pm Texas-Arlington @ Arkansas
10:00pm Louisiana Tech @ Idaho – Olu Ashaolu has had four straight double-double, five in the last six games. He currently leads all Canadians in that category with nine, two more than Andrew Nicholson at St. Bonaventure and we all know what kind of monster season he’s having. He has a shot at getting his tenth one tonight just in time to ring in the New Year against a not so strong Idaho team to help end the two game slide that Louisiana Tech is in.