This Saturday at the John Paul Jones Arena, the Terrapins will be traveling to Charlottesville to face the Virginia Cavaliers. This match pits the Terrapins, who are eighth in the ACC with a 14-10 record and 4-6 conference record, with the Cavaliers. The Cavaliers are currently 5th in the ACC and have a 19-6 record and 6-5 conference record. They are at #22 on the Associated Press poll.
On Saturday afternoon, the #3 rated Missouri Tigers will be competing with the Aggies. Making them the best squad in the conference, the tigers have a 24-2 record and an 11-2 Big 12 record. The Aggies are in 8th place in the Big 12 with a 13-12 record and a 4-9 conference record.
Two of the bottom-ranked squads in the SEC, the LSU Tigers and Gamecocks, will be playing at the Colonial Life Arena in Columbia on Saturday. LSU is seventh in the SEC with a 5-6 conference record and a 15-10 total record. With a 10-15 record and a 2-9 conference record, South Carolina is at the bottom.
The Baylor Bears will sponsor a big 12 competition with the Wildcats this Saturday at Waco’s Ferrell Center. They are now rated #9 on the Associated Press poll. The Bears are 22-4 with a 9-4 Major 12 record while the Wildcats are 6-7 in the conference but have a 17-8 record.
The Seminoles and Wolfpack will be fighting at Raleigh’s RBC Center this Saturday in an ACC competition. With a 17-7 record with an 8-2 conference record, the Seminoles are 3rd in the ACC. The Wolfpack is fourth at 18-7 with a 7-3 conference record.
Coming off of a powerful – but losing – playoff effort last season versus the Bulls, the Pacers came roaring back to begin the 2011-2012 season. The team is experiencing its greatest early record in the earlier 8 years, but are still troubled versus the more skillful teams in the league. Whilst they’re 11-4 thus far, merely 4 of those wins are versus teams with records above .500.
Number 1 rated Kentucky against the NCAA tournament hopefuls Georgia? Sounds like a recipe for a crushing defeat, particularly as Kentucky just regained that coveted No. 1 berth on the rankings for the first time in the earlier two months. While the Wildcats are at the top of the rankings and relishing an 11 game win streak, the Bulldogs can best be called sporadic so far in the year.
The Sacramento Kings have their work cut out for them when they battle against the Rockets in Houston on January 13th. This is a case of both squads rebuilding for the longer term as both squads look nothing like their early 2000′s heydays. The Sacramento Kings look to go back to their past dominance in the west with standout play from their youthful stalwarts. The Houston Rockets are still dealing with the fallout from the retirement of Yao Ming. The Houston Rockets are preferred by 3 points by the sports book and this seeks to be a hard game to call.
The AT&T Center could get some long distance competition on Jan 13th as the Trailblazers head over to San Antonio to battle against the San Antonio Spurs. Portland is a young team trying to build up as the quick but electric Brandon Roy era formally came to a close with his retirement in December. Former #1 pick Greg Oden has furthermore had frequent problems with his knees as Portland seemingly can’t shake the specter of Sam Bowie. The San Antonio Spurs want to defend their court with amazing plays from their regular constant lineup. The San Antonio Spurs are favored by 8 points and this seeks to be an excellent bet.
On January 12th, things heat up when the Cleveland Cavaliers enter into Phoenix to face the Phoenix Suns. A few seasons ago, this might have been an amazing matchup with LeBron James and Amare Stoudemire going head to head in a collision course. In the age of free agency nevertheless, times surely have transformed as this matchup seems dramatically different. Phoenix is favored by 6 points over the Cleveland Cavaliers and this appears to be a safe wager.
