The Holy Land of Hoops

There are 3 big games scheduled for the Martin Luther King Holiday, including a late afternoon matchup.

Xavier at DePaul, 4pm, (edit: not on FS1...)
#20 Creighton at #6 Villanova, 7pm, FS1.
Marquette at Georgetown, 9pm, FS1.
all times Eastern.

I think the best lineup card since New Years Eve, maybe even better since the storylines are now taking shape.

- Xavier rebounded from their good loss in Omaha with that huge comeback at home vs Hoyas. I'm finally pronouncing the XU superstar Christon's first name correctly (se-MAH-jay). DePaul has seen a resurgence lately under the heady PG play of Billy Garrett Junior and fellow freshman Tommy Hamilton IV... plus Melvin and Young have been making better decisions.

- Creighton should still be ranked on Monday or else voters are morons. A slight hiccup last night at PC, but otherwise have been winning every game in double digits. Beat the new PAC-12 wunderkind Cal by around 30 (ended at maybe 20 pts or so). Til last night, hadn't lost since Thanksgiving weekend. RPI still in teens.

- Villanova pulled away against a game DePaul team. Wildcats I would guess will play their uptempo game style, which when match against the Jays' fast pace will make this a track meet and have tons of entertainment. With my mother-in-law in town, I've got to establish control of the tv clicker early and then stay out of foul (language) trouble.

- Marquette and Georgetown both dropped tough games on Saturday. This is a matchup of traditional big name Big East powers, both of which need a confidence boost going forward here, still early in the schedule. GU playing without Smith still, plus Trawick busted jaw,plus Lubick's busted nose. Big opportunity for Warriors' (in the Golden State sense) Gardner down low. I've missed MU's recent games so looking to see how they've progressed.

Go Big East...!

Looking at those last 2 match-ups its not hard to envision Fox trying to push MLK day as a BE showcase tradition going forward as opposed to the New Year's Eve showcase. If the hoyas & MU were having their typical success Monday would be blockbuster w/Nova & CU slated at 7, even X vs. DU will be attractive next season with X's holdovers & top 10 class vs Billy Garret, Hamilton & DU's incoming local firepower.

Xavier-DePaul is on Fox Sports Ohio, not FS1. So I would check your regional fox sports channel if you're hoping to catch that game.

bmorex wrote:Xavier-DePaul is on Fox Sports Ohio, not FS1. So I would check your regional fox sports channel if you're hoping to catch that game.

Thanks, I fixed it...

billyjack wrote:There are 3 big games scheduled for the Martin Luther King Holiday, including a late afternoon matchup.

Xavier at DePaul, 4pm, (edit: not on FS1...)
#20 Creighton at #6 Villanova, 7pm, FS1.
Marquette at Georgetown, 9pm, FS1.
all times Eastern.

I think the best lineup card since New Years Eve, maybe even better since the storylines are now taking shape.

- Xavier rebounded from their good loss in Omaha with that huge comeback at home vs Hoyas. I'm finally pronouncing the XU superstar Christon's first name correctly (se-MAH-jay). DePaul has seen a resurgence lately under the heady PG play of Billy Garrett Junior and fellow freshman Tommy Hamilton IV... plus Melvin and Young have been making better decisions.

- Creighton should still be ranked on Monday or else voters are morons. A slight hiccup last night at PC, but otherwise have been winning every game in double digits. Beat the new PAC-12 wunderkind Cal by around 30 (ended at maybe 20 pts or so). Til last night, hadn't lost since Thanksgiving weekend. RPI still in teens.

- Villanova pulled away against a game DePaul team. Wildcats I would guess will play their uptempo game style, which when match against the Jays' fast pace will make this a track meet and have tons of entertainment. With my mother-in-law in town, I've got to establish control of the tv clicker early and then stay out of foul (language) trouble.

- Marquette and Georgetown both dropped tough games on Saturday. This is a matchup of traditional big name Big East powers, both of which need a confidence boost going forward here, still early in the schedule. GU playing without Smith still, plus Trawick busted jaw,plus Lubick's busted nose. Big opportunity for Warriors' (in the Golden State sense) Gardner down low. I've missed MU's recent games so looking to see how they've progressed.

Go Big East...!

I'd say 50-50 we are still ranked. Colorado, UCLA and Pittsburgh lost and they were behind us. I expect them to drop out. They will probably keep Oklahoma in cause even though they lost to Kansas State, they beat a ranked Baylor team on the road. The replacements will likely be Michigan, Cal and Kansas State. If the voters decide to put Texas in (who has NO votes currently), that will bump us out.

There's no doubt that Creighton will still the ranked. Any change will be slight. A road loss to a good conference opponent will not hurt them much.

just looking at coaches poll...
Pittsburgh was 21 and they lost to #2 Syracuse. They'll still be in(as well with AP)
Colorado was 22 and they lost to #25 UCLA. They're iffy
UCLA was 25 and they lost to Utah. They're out.

I think SLU gets in(they were 26). Kansas St likely gets in. I think Creighton stays in at like 23 or 24.

TheHall wrote:Looking at those last 2 match-ups its not hard to envision Fox trying to push MLK day as a BE showcase tradition going forward as opposed to the New Year's Eve showcase. If the hoyas & MU were having their typical success Monday would be blockbuster w/Nova & CU slated at 7, even X vs. DU will be attractive next season with X's holdovers & top 10 class vs Billy Garret, Hamilton & DU's incoming local firepower.

I do agree with you 100%. In a way it's a PERFECT time- it's the day after the conference championships with the NFL- so a chance for Fox to advertise the day before heavily. Also, it's a day a lot more folks have off than NYE.

Anyone have any predictions for the games? Im gonna go out on a limb and say that DePaul gets a really good home win, followed by Villanova taking advantage of their home crowd and getting the win, Ill also pick Marquette to win and hopefully get them some confidence and chemistry moving forward...

MooseFriar13 wrote:Anyone have any predictions for the games? Im gonna go out on a limb and say that DePaul gets a really good home win, followed by Villanova taking advantage of their home crowd and getting the win, Ill also pick Marquette to win and hopefully get them some confidence and chemistry moving forward...

I thought that everyone on this board has to root for chalk every game. Well atleast that's what they tell us SHU fans, anyway.

So I guess I'll start the "I hope DePaul loses this game" mantra! Come on, who else is with me?!?!?!?

.....

But in all seriousness. I think FS1 should make New Year's Eve and MLK Day "Showcase Days". Days were all teams are scheduled to play.