Syracuse

While there are four games on Monday involving ranked teams it doesn't take much effort to realize which contest gets the main line on the marquee. Syracuse (18-0, 5-0) heads south to take on Pittsburgh (17-1, 5-0) in a matchup of the two 5-0 Big East teams, and the Orange have yet to lose at all this season. But the dynamic of this contest changed some when Syracuse wing Kris Joseph hit his head on the Carrier Dome floor in the first half of Saturday's win over Cincinnati.

While Saturday brings about the standard fare in regards to a full schedule offering a host of enticing matchups, the game of the day may be #12 Missouri (15-2, 1-1) making the trek to College Station. There await Mark Turgeon's Texas A&M Aggies (15-1, 2-0), one of the hotter teams in America but they've flown a bit under the radar since going 2-1 in the Old Spice Classic. The meeting between the Tigers and Aggies promises to be a battle of tempo, with Mike Anderson's squad looking to ramp things up while A&M is better suited for half-court play.

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 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.

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.

Tuesday night features one of the best in-season events in terms of both the caliber of play on the court and the larger purpose it serves off of it: the Jimmy V Classic. The doubleheader at Madison Square Garden may feature four ranked teams but they're at different stages in terms of finding out who they are and what they can potentially be. The first game matches a young Memphis squad that's gotten away with inconsistent play of late and a team in Kansas that right now isn't what they'll be in three weeks much less three months.

Overall Rank: #10

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#1 Syracuse Orange

Up 65-50 with 12:42 remaining following a Durrell Summers three pointer, Michigan State looked to be a safe bet to advance to the Sweet 16, despite losing starting point guard Kalin Lucas to an apparent Achilles' tendon injury. But the turnovers, nineteen in total, began to catch up with the Spartans as Maryland made their furious charge back into the game. Thanks in large part to senior Greivis Vasquez the Terps held an 83-82 lead with seven seconds remaining as Vasquez knocked down a driving basket.