ETSU

On the heels of their decisive win over Seton Hall, Connecticut (15-7, 5-5) will look to keep things going as they visit #25 Louisville (18-5, 6-4) in a critical Big East matchup. For all the issues that UConn's dealt with recently they're just a game out of fourth, and with that being the final double-bye slot in the Big East Championship this is a game both teams need.

While tonight's game between #4 Syracuse (20-1, 7-1) and Cincinnati (15-5, 5-2) may have lost a little luster from a national standpoint with both teams falling on the road Saturday, that shouldn't take away from the importance of Monday to Mick Cronin's Bearcats. The computer numbers are still a bit low although the Bearcats would most likely be a tournament team if the season ended today, so a win over a Top 5 opponent would be a nice line to add to the resume.

After going over the teams expected to win their regular season titles, we move on to talking about the top freshmen in each conference. Will all automatically take over and become the stars of their respective teams and leagues? It's tough to say at this point in the season, but that doesn't mean that we can't discuss it. Below are the picks for each of the 32 conferences.

America East: James Kennedy (Boston University)

Overall Rank: #134

Conference Rank: #2 Atlantic Sun Conference

 

Recently, CHN writer Jon Teitel spent some time with East Tennessee State legend Keith "Mister" Jennings, one of the greatest players in school history. Jennings still ranks in the top four in six major statistical categories and nearly led the Bucs to an improbable upset of top seed Oklahoma in the first round of the 1989 NCAA Tournament. In the first of three straight trips to the Big Dance, the Bucs fell 72-71, one of only a handful of one-point losses for sixteen seeds.

Jon Teitel: How did you get the nickname "Mister", and do you like it?