Articles

The final day of 2011 features one of the most anticipated games of the college basketball season, a rivalry game that captivates an entire state and is one of the best games in college basketball. #4 Louisville (12-1), fresh off of a lost to Georgetown in their Big East opener, visits #3 Kentucky (12-1) in what should be a spirited battle at Rupp Arena. The Cardinals have played just one road game this season but it was also one of their best efforts as they won at Butler without the then-injured Peyton Siva.

There are three games on Wednesday matching ranked teams, but in terms of a conference title race the matchup between #12 Georgetown (10-1) and #4 Louisville (12-0) may have the greatest impact at the end of the regular season. John Thompson III's Hoyas have matured at a rapid rate but this will be their toughest test to date, and the same goes for the Cardinals (until they face Kentucky on Saturday). One reason to watch is the individual battle between two of the Big East's best centers, and their responsibilities are drastically different due to the systems both play in.

With conference play beginning for many leagues this week (a few conferences began their league slate in early December) it's a good time to look back on some of the top performers. Enter CHN writer Jon Teitel, who put together his all-conference teams for each of the leagues.

For a while on Tuesday night it looked as if a Southern Conference team would hand another undefeated team its first defeat of the season. But an important suggestion by Louisville assistant coach Richard Pitino set things in motion for the fourth-ranked Cardinals, sparking a rally that resulted in a 69-62 victory. The idea: instead of relying on the frontcourt tandem of Gorgui Dieng and Chane Behanan to occupy the foul line area against the Charleston zone, use the versatile Kyle Kuric at the four.

The first meeting between Memphis and Louisville since the 2005 Conference USA title game certainly did not disappoint from a drama standpoint, with both teams landing major blows throughout the contest. But despite a combined 74 first-half points the play was ragged for much of the contest, with the Cardinals taking a 42-32 lead into the break thanks to the Tigers shooting 29% from the field and turning the ball over ten times. But led by Will Barton (28 points, 16 rebounds) Josh Pastner's team refused to fold, fighting back to take a 57-55 lead with 11 minutes remaining.

NO. 2 OHIO STATE (9-1) AT SOUTH CAROLINA (4-5)

 

Time/TV: Noon, ESPN

With suspensions ruling out two of their key interior players for the next six games, many wondered what Mick Cronin's Cincinnati Bearcats would do to make up for the absence of Yancy Gates and Cheikh Mbodj. Without a consistent scoring option in the paint the strategy was to let the guards go to work, and that they did in the Bearcats' 78-58 win at Wright State. Sean Kilpatrick, who was a non-factor in their loss at Xavier on Saturday, scored a game-high 20 points (6-12 3PT) while JaQuon Parker added 14 points and all five starters finished in double figures.

Bradley Beal - Florida

William Buford - Ohio St

Marcus Denmon - Missouri

Ashton Gibbs - Pittsburgh

John Jenkins - Vanderbilt

Darius Johnson-Odom

Doron Lamb - Kentucky

Jeremy Lamb - UCONN

Damian Lillard - Weber St

Terrence Ross - Washington

Terrell Stoglin - Maryland

The lone matchup between ranked teams on Saturday has a rather prominent question that needs to be answered: will Ohio State big man Jared Sullinger (back spasms) be able to play? The sophomore sat out the Buckeyes' win over Texas-Pan American due to the issue, which flared up in #2 Ohio State's (8-0) win over Duke, and it hasn't been decided whether or not he'll go at #13 Kansas (6-2) on Saturday afternoon. If he can't go Boston College transfer Evan Ravenel (5.4 ppg, 2.5 rpg) moves into the starting lineup, and he accounted for 11 points and seven rebounds against UTPA.

Junior Cadougan (Marquette)

Aaron Craft (Ohio St)

Tu Holloway (Xavier)

Scott Machado (Iona)

Kendall Marshall (North Carolina)

Shabazz Napier (UCONN)

Austin Rivers (Duke)

Peyton Siva (Louisville)

Jordan Taylor (Wisconsin)

Tyshawn Taylor (Kansas)

Marquis Teague (Kentucky)

Erving Walker (Florida)

Maalik Wayns (Villanova)

Travon Woodall (Pittsburgh)