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2 years ago
Big 12 / Mountain West Saturday Showdown
Well, as expected, the Big 12/Pac 10 hardwood series has been about as entertaining as watching “Gone with the Wind” with your grandparents, and currently sits at a lopsided 8-2 in favor of the Big 12. However, there is a series of games this weekend that could give a much better indication of where the Big 12 stands. So, while this is not an official “showdown” series, I give you the breakdown for…
The Big 12/Mountain West Three Game Throwdown
Don’t hate, the Mountain West has several legit teams, and would probably obliterate the Pac 10 in a full conference showdown. In fact, one of the worst in the MWC beat one of the worst in the Big 12 (Colorado State over Colorado) just last night.Game #1 - Oklahoma at Utah - 3:00 PM
Both of these teams have had up and down seasons thus far. OU might as well have stayed on the plane instead of going to the Great Alaska Shootout, and Utah followed up a mild upset of Illinois by getting obliterated at the hands of Oklahoma State. Following their three game losing streak, the Sooners have played much better as of late. They have won their last four games by at least 14 points, but one of them was against one of the worst teams in Division 1 (Nichols St) and the other three came at home. While Utah isn’t exactly awesome, this would be a decent road win for the Sooners. Oklahoma relies on Willie Warren more than Transformers 2 relied on how hot Megan Fox is while Utah has been just north of bad in every game this season except for their second half comeback against Illinois. I mean there was practically no reason to pay attention to them. But miracles never cease, and the Utes took down once top 15 team Michigan by 16 points on Wednesday. So, is Utah getting better? Has Oklahoma found their game? Why doesn’t Capel tweet anymore? Hopefully these questions start to get answered tomorrow. I look for this game to be close for a while, but for the Sooners to pull away late.
Prediction: Oklahoma 74 - Utah 65
Game #2 (16/18) Texas A&M vs (RV) New Mexico - 5:00 - TV on Fox Sports SW
What a big game for both of these teams, but especially for New Mexico. A win would put the Lobos into the top 25, while a loss most likely wouldn’t knock A&M out of it. However, it’s still hard to tell how good (or not) the Aggies really are. This game features two teams with good backcourts and average frontcourts. I expect this one to be decided by who can limit their mistakes with the ball, and who can control the boards on the defensive end. These teams both pride themselves on defense, but like to play at a pretty quick pace. I’m looking for the scoring to come in streaks. An “off the paper” factor in this game might the crowd at the Toyota Center in Houston. Will the Aggie fans show up? This game should be a close one and could really go either way. If this game were being held in Reed Arena I’d go with the Aggies, and if it were in The Pit I’d go with New Mexico. As it is, when the game is close and nothing stands out, I always pick the team with the best player. In this case (with props to Darington Hobson), that’s Donald Sloan.
Prediction: A&M - 75 New Mexico - 72
Game #3 - Kansas State at (18/17) UNLV - 6:00 - ESPN360
UNLV is still a bit of a mystery. They have a good win against Louisville (side note: I’m sure the UNLV faithful were thinking “Charlotte?!? Really?!”) and decent wins against Nevada and at Arizona. Kansas State has struggled a bit at times but continue to win after being picked to be in the top half of the Big 12 in preseason. Pullen and Clemente continue to put up big numbers consistently, but thus far Wally Judge hasn’t been overly impressive. This would be a huge win on a mostly uninspiring non-conference schedule for the Wildcats, but it’s going to be a tough one. I’m looking for this game to be played at a frantic (read: ridiculous) pace, but I think Kansas State is gong to find that that pace favors UNLV. Both of these teams have been impressive on the defensive end, and despite how fast I expect this game to be played, I think they will both struggle to score. Score one here for the Mountain West.
Prediction: UNLV - 69 Kansas State - 60
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