Seton Hall

There's just one game on Saturday matching ranked teams and surprisingly it comes in the SEC, where #11 Kentucky (16-5, 4-3) heads south to take on #23 Florida (17-5, 6-2). And while the SEC East has shown itself to be somewhat wide-open, John Calipari's young Wildcats would be well-served to win this one and avoid falling behind the Gators by two games in the loss column. But Kentucky also has just one road win in conference play (South Carolina) and they'll have their hands full with a talented group of Gators.

If you were upset that the game between Florida and Georgia wouldn't end in time for the tip between Purdue and Ohio State that's understandable. Because by the time ESPN switched its coverage from Athens to Columbus the Buckeyes had just about ended the game, going on a 17-1 run following a Purdue basket to make the score 6-4 with 17:27 remaining.

Conference play is in full swing on the second Saturday in January, but the biggest game is of the non-conference variety as #9 Connecticut (11-2) hits the road to take on #12 Texas (12-2) in their first meeting since the 2003 NCAA Tournament. The Longhorns, then led by point guard T.J. Ford, won that Sweet 16 matchup in San Antonio on their way to the Final Four and while they don't have a point guard in the mold of Ford they've got plenty of talent. At the top of that list would be sophomore wing Jordan Hamilton, who leads the Longhorns in scoring with an average of 19.6 points per game.

The final day of 2010 gives college basketball fans the treat of watching one of the sport's most intense rivalries. Kentucky makes the trek up to the KFC Yum! Center to take on a Louisville squad that while ranked has been dealing with a number of injuries. The latest loss was that of forward Rakeem Buckles, who had surgery on a broken finger and will be out a few weeks while the digit heals.

The Kohl Center should be rocking for the Big Ten opener between Wisconsin (10-2) and border rival Minnesota (11-1), a game that could hold even more importance come March for resume reasons. Tubby Smith's Golden Gophers have an in-season tournament title (Puerto Rico Tipoff) to their credit already, a run that includes likely valuable wins over North Carolina and West Virginia.

Eleven games involving Top 25 teams are on the schedule for tonight, with the lone meeting of ranked teams taking place in the second game of the SEC/Big East Invitational doubleheader at Freedom Hall. Notre Dame, winners of the Old Spice Classic, takes on a Kentucky team that's coming off of a close loss at North Carolina over the weekend. While many are obsessing over the question as to whether or not the school's appeal of Enes Kanter's suspension is upheld, the true concern for John Calipari's team right now may be the play at the point despite that lack of frontcourt depth.

Many will say that Michigan State is the best three-loss team in America, and you're unlikely to find many arguments to the contrary as all three of their losses have come to teams currently ranked in the Top 10. Connecticut, Duke and now Syracuse have all had the Spartans' number, with the Orange beating Michigan State 72-58 in the second game of the Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden. Rick Jackson posted yet another double-double, this time scoring 17 points and grabbing 16 rebounds while Scoop Jardine led all scorers with 19.

Thanksgiving week is here and with that more in-season tournaments either tip off or move to the semifinal stage. Monday features four games in Maui, with a lot of eyes focused on Wichita State/Connecticut in the first game of the day. Of course there's expected national title contender Michigan State along with two other good teams in Kentucky and Washington (given the meetings on the recruiting trail many hope that the Wildcats and Huskies advance to Tuesday's semifinals).

Friday brings about the first big day on the college basketball schedule and while most have taken the scheduling strategy of an initial "warm-up", there are some very enticing matchups on the slate. The biggest may be Seton Hall playing the first game of the Kevin Willard era at #22 Temple, the preseason favorite to win the Atlantic 10.

Overall Rank: #36