It was unclear if the Arizona Wildcats would be able to keep up the level of play they had grown accustomed to under the coaching of Lute Olsen once Olsen announced he would be missing the entire season for personal reasons. With the exception of a few minor hiccups, it’s clear that the Wildcats are playing just fine. As of this writing they are 9-2, with their only loses coming to Virginia, the second game of the season, and Kansas. They lost both of those games by a combined seven points, meaning either game could have gone either way. Three of their five starters are scoring in double digits, and are led by freshman Jerryd Bayless. Bayless leads the team with 18.5 points per contest.

Oregon is better known as a football score, but has compiled a decent record of 8-3 up until this point of the year. I say football score, but within the last five years they have begun to make more and more of an impact, so it isn’t like I’m comparing Duke football to Duke Basketball. First we’ll start with the good though. All five of their starters are averaging double digits in points. Now, the bad. Tiny Oakland University decided that the first time they beat a top 25 team in their schools history it would be against Oregon. That has sort of deflated some of the hopes their school had. Previous to that they had lost to Nebraska, so they are currently on a two game losing streak as of this writing. For that reason I am favoring the Wildcats.

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As mentioned in an earlier post this week, Portland is on an incredible winning streak. On the other hand, Utah is playing less than stellar basketball, and now have the task of going to Portland to try to beat a team that is 13-3 at home this season. Good luck with that.

The Utah Jazz would seem they have the talent to be doing better then they are. Carlos Boozer is averaging a double-double, with 24 points and 11 rebounds a game. Deron Williams is one of the better young talents in the league, averaging nearly a double-double himself, with just under 20 points and nine assists per outing. Finally, Andrei Kirilenko is a defensive nightmare with his freakishly long wing span. Despite all this Utah has struggled to maintaine a record about the .500 mark.

Portland, as noted, is playing out of this world. Brandon Roy is a great team leader, averaging around 19 points a game. LaMarcus Aldridge has almost made an impact, leading his team in rebounds with 7.6 a game. He is also contributing points to a tune of 17 a game, showing this team has more than a few viable offensive scoring threats.

In years past, in fact just last year, you would strongly favor the Jazz in this contest. To be fair Portland didn’t exactly start the season off hot, and could just be a game or two away from a relapse. For now I will favor Portland in this game, which I truly feel could go either way, depending on who is hot, and who is not, at the time.

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An inner-state rivalry game will take place win the Louisville Cardinals take on the Kentucky Wildcats. Both teams have lost to teams they would have never lost to in the past, but the season is still early and they may be able to rebound. Louisville has lost to BYU, Dayton, and Purdue, with the final two coming back-to-back. Kentucky lost it’s second game of the season to Gardner Webb, a loss that sent shockwaves through Wildcat Nation, and gave them a taste of what’s to come. They were able to bounce back, winning three in a row, but when their schedule got a little tougher they dropped four in a row, before winning one as of this writing.

The problem with Kentucky is that they are young. Their leading scorer is freshman Patrick Patterson at a clip of 17.2 points a game. He is also averaging just under nine rebounds a game. Unfortunately he has very little in the way of help to support him, and it could just turn into a very long season for Kentucky, and their faithful.

On paper, Louisville looks like they have a good team, but have also struggled. They have a fair balance of older leadership, but that hasn’t equaled wins to this point in the season. I believe the Kentucky might just be what the doctor ordered, and Louisville will come up on the winning side. Kentucky is just too young right now, but being a rivalry game, they will bring their A game.

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Hawaii has become the second team in as many years to become a non-BCS team to play in a BCS bowl game. Last year Boise State also finished the regular season undefeated, and then played Oklahoma in one of the most exciting bowl games in recent history, that ended on an even more memorable “Statue of Liberty” play. Even though the Warriors beat Boise State this year I still feel they have them to thank a little bit for showing that the smaller conferences can play with, and beat the big boys. Georgia will try it’s best not to be the second consecutive BCS team to drop a big bowl game.

Hawaii hasn’t played the toughest schedule in the world, but they did get the job done. They also have a very exciting quarterback named Colt Brennan who has beat just about every major NCAA quarterback record there is. The 24 year old got a late start at Hawaii after running into some trouble as a younger man, but he is making the most of his time now, finishing in the top-five in the Heisman trophy race. This season alone he passed for over 4100 yards, a remarkable feat, but in comparison to his junior year of 5549 yards, it was a bit of an off year. Even though Brennan only missed one full game due to injury, he was bothered by them the entire season, often missing a good part of games. He passed for 38 touchdowns, including more than five in four games. His biggest wins came against the previously mentioned Boise State, and a 35-28 thriller at the end of the season to Washington to keep their perfect record intact.

Georgia also has a pretty decent quarterback named Matthew Stafford. Georgia’s two losses came against South Carolina and Tennessee. The South Carolina loss was only by four points, but the Tennessee game was much worse. Stafford has since led them to six straight wins, including victories over tough teams Florida, Auburn, and Kentucky. In that winning streak he has thrown nine touchdowns with five interceptions. Not great numbers, but it might be enough to take down a Hawaii team that hasn’t seen a team as near the talent level as Georgia.

Last year I thought Oklahoma would be too much for Boise State, and I was obviously wrong. This year I am also going to favor the BCS team only because they are playing so well, and they’ve already beat three teams this year that I’m not sure Hawaii could have beat. The Bulldogs are also very good defensively, and will probably be a tough scheme for Colt Brennan to overcome. I’m going to favor Georgia by a touchdown or two, but I’m prepared to eat crow when Hawaii wins again. I will be honest, out of all the teams Hawaii could have been matched up with this post season I do think they have the best chance to beat Georgia.

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If the USC Trojans would have been able to hang on against Stanford they would most likely be playing in the championship game as opposed to this one. However, a Rose Bowl finish, for a team who wasn’t even expected to be good until next year, isn’t exactly bad either. For a season that could have goon either way for a lot of teams, not just USC, the way things work out wasn’t too bad. Illinois enjoyed a victory over top ranked Ohio State earlier in the season, and was one of the biggest surprise teams in the land, finishing 10-2 9-3. Also, a Big Ten-Pac 10 matchup can never be too bad, as that is the traditional pairing in the Rose Bowl.

Many people feel that if their were a playoff system in NCAA football, that USC would have a good chance of winning the whole thing. Many writers and football experts say USC is the hottest team in the land, and that they will be a force to reckon with in the next few seasons. A lot of their recent solid play can be attributed to quarterback John David Booty. Booty has come on strong since the Stanford loss, winning four straight while throwing eight touchdowns with just one interception in that span. Running back Chauncey Washington has emerged as the best player among a group of six other running backs who have seen playing time this season. In 183 carries he has compiled just under 900 yards for an average of just under five a carry. He has also scored ten times, nine of those coming on the ground. Against California on November 10th he exploded for 220 yards. Since then he has only ran for 80 and 66 respectively, but he is still considered their first option.

Illinois sophomore quarterback Juice Williams will probably be on the short list to win the Heisman trophy next season. Williams is a dual threat, both showing a passing accuracy that is up from his freshman season, and he is also running the ball at a Michael Vick level. Williams has run for over 90 yards in five games, and over 100, including 136 against Northeastern in the season finale, twice. Their two losses came in back-to-back weeks against Iowa and Michigan, so they didn’t have exactly an easy schedule. They only lost those games by a combined 14 points. They are currently on a four game winning streak, including that previous win against Ohio State.

I believe with the majority of America when I think USC is playing well enough to win this game. USC has a very decent defense that might be able to give the young quarterback some troubles. Also, USC is looking forward to ending this season on a good note, and I think they will, by the tune of at least a 14 point victory. Oh, and not to mention, they are playing in Pasadena, CA, making this a virtual home game for the Trojans.

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A rivalry is reborn. All throughout the history of basketball these teams have been regarded as one of the greats. However, for the first time in years both of these teams are playing well, with both squads having dreams of NBA championships. The Lakers are led by Kobe Bryant, who is averaging 26.8 points a game. Also, for the first time in a few years, Bryant actually has a decent supporting cast. Andrew Bynum is averaging a double-double, and is quickly becoming a very good center. Streaky shooter Siberian born Sasha Vujacic has been more on then off lately.

Despite Kobe and his supporting cast gaining credibility, they don’t quite compare to the cast of Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett, and Paul Pierce. Long time Celtic Paul Pierce leads the team with 20.9 points a game. Right behind him are Garnett, who leads the team with over ten rebounds a game, and Allen, who leads the team in 3-point shooting. On this team the list of stars is just as long as the supporting cast, and that’s why they are off to a 20-2 start as of this writing. At this pace they won’t only be holding the NBA championship at the end of the year, but they will be the new holder of the best ever regular season record.

Playing in LA is always tough, but I believe this Boston team is up for the challenge. I expect Kobe to shine, but for the Celtics to leave LAX as the winner.

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Kentucky is off to a slow start this season, but a visit from San Diego may help the Wildcats get back on the winning track. Kentucky has not been able to really stay above .500 this season. They had to go through a coaching change, and overall the team is quite young and may not quite be able to compete on a level that basketball fans have expected from them almost ever since Kentucky basketball first came in to fruition. One of the older leaders of the team is senior Joe Crawford who leads his team with 18.2 points a contest. However he, or anybody else on the teams has been able to prevent the four game losing streak they are currently on. They aren’t losing to cup cakes though, in those four losses, two of them came against top teams UNC and Indiana. However, Kentucky fans knew this might be a tough year when during the second game of the season they lost to unheralded Gardner Webb. If you bet on Gardner Webb in that game you are probably very happy with yourself. My guess is that not many people did though.

The San Diego Toreros aren’t really known for being a basketball team, nor will they change your mind on that this year either. They are losers of their last four games, against teams I feel even Kentucky could beat right now, despite the Gardner Webb debacle. That is the reason I will favor the Wildcats in this one and they will start a winning streak of one.

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Usually when you see an undefeated, top-ten ranked team taking on Dayton you don’t think of that as a possible upset. However, when the home team has only loss, and some good wins over a solid team, then you begin to wonder. The Flyers only loss came to the much improved George Mason by eleven points the second game of the season. Since then they have knocked off Louisville, in Louisville. The Flyers are just sitting outside of the top-25 rankings, and with a win over Pittsburgh they can be expected to shoot way up in the rankings. They are led by a very solid senior guard named Brian Roberts. Roberts leads the team with nearly 19 points a contest. His current field goal percentage is over 52 percent, his career best, and a very high mark for a guard.

Pittsburgh will be playing Duke before this game, so it is unclear whether they will still be undefeated, but even if they aren’t this will still be one of their toughest road challenges to date. They were lucky to escape Washington with a one point victory, but they did find a way to win, which is what good teams do. Sam Young leads the team with 17.8 points a game, and is among three players scoring double digits for the Panthers. This is a tough game to predict, and a lot of answers will be given when they suit up against Duke. As of right now I favor Pittsburgh, but the outcome of the other game may change my opinion before this one is set to tip-off.

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Over the past few years the Washington Wizards have had very little success against the Miami Heat. This season it appears things might change. The Hear are already over ten games under .500, and it doesn’t seem like any relief will be coming anytime soon. The Wizards are among the hottest teams in the league, despite being with out Gilbert Arenas for at least another two months. Washington has won seven out of their last ten ball games, and with the plethora of young talent they have on their squad it seems they may be looking up for a long time to come.

One of the main reasons the Heat have started off so poorly is the declining play of their ageing warrior Shaquille O’Neal. After years of taking nightly punishment it is only natural that the big man starts to wear down, but it all happened a little too quickly for the Heat. Their back up center Alonzo Mourning is even older then Shaq, so that isn’t really an option either. Also, Dwayne Wade missed a good portion of the early part of the season battling a shoulder injury. While his numbers have improved, he still isn’t what he was in years past.

Nick Young, Antwan Jamison, Roger Mason, and company seem prepared to take over this game. They are younger, fresher, and playing at a very high level that is making them one of the most exciting teams. Compared to past years, they are even playing defense better, making their chances of a good season that much better.

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As I’ve mentioned in previous articles, you can’t change the schedule once it was made in the early part of the summer, but this is one of those games you might have wanted to switch out for another one. Pretty much all the playoff scenarios have been figured out in this one. The Denver Broncos are simply playing for pride, hoping to end the season on a good note, as they are officially out of the playoffs. The Chargers could be playing for a shot at a home field advantage in the first round of the playoffs, but they too have already clinched a spot, so it is unclear if you will even see their big guns out their, such as LaDainian Tomlinson. However, Monday Night Football still beats out a lot of other things you could be doing, so sit down, pop open your favorite beverage and enjoy the game.

The Chargers have a worse record then last year, but Coach Norv Turner is finally getting some credit because he does have the team playing well. They have only lost one game at home, and have won four and a row and five of their last six. Earlier in the year the Chargers beat the Broncos, in Denver 41-3, embarrassing them in the national spotlight. Tomlinson is actually playing better then he was during their first meeting. In the first 11 games of the year Tomlinson only ran over 100 yards twice. In the last three games he has broke the 100 yard barrier three times, including 177 yards against Kansas City a few weeks ago. In that first game against Denver, despite not needing him much, Tomlinson only rushed for 67 yards. If he stays in recent form in this contest the final score could be much worse.

Despite the shellacking against the Chargers, the Broncos have been fairly competitive in all of their games. In fact, up until a couple of weeks ago they were right in the running of competing for a playoff position. Now that they know they will have to wait until next year to do that it is hard to determine how hard they will play, but they are professionals, and they should show up no matter what the circumstances. Quarterback Jay Cutler had been touted as the next big thing, but after dropping three of the last four games it has left many fans wondering if he’s the man for the job. A lot of times the quarterback position seems like the best thing for the fans to argue about, but overall Cutler has been playing find. His quarterback rating of 90.8 is right up there with other winning quarterbacks in the league. This year he has thrown for 18 touchdowns and 12 interceptions, which isn’t awful, but it isn’t spectacular either. Inconsistency has seem to be a problem for Cutler, as he has had individual game ratings that are off the charts, only to have ones that are embarrassingly low.

If the Chargers bring the big guns in, they walk away with this one. Even if they are playing second stringers I think they could compete enough to win.

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