Bilas/Gottlieb/Fraschilla

[DegenerateDish]

From Gottlieb: Look For Upsets In These Games

Much like the Chevy Silverado hybrid, I too am an interesting -- and at times a conflicting -- combination. My duties at ESPN are that of a nightly radio host and college basketball analyst. The radio guy in me wants to take every schedule and put the "W" or "L" next to each game on the hoops calendar, predicting the outcome of the season that lies ahead. On the other hand, the analyst in me wants desperately to be mindful of injuries, suspensions and even slumps that are unforeseen and can change the outcome of individual games, which makes them almost impossible to guess this early in the 2007-08 season.

With that in mind, there are five games that I feel confident about saying I know who will win, they will be considered an underdog and I can pick it in the middle of October. This is all in print and my archive will prove this column's value -- or lack thereof -- in due time.

Arizona State over Illinois, Nov. 19, Maui Invitational
Last season was tough on both of these proud coaches. Herb Sendek is rebuilding amidst a powerful conference, and Bruce Webber had injuries and suspensions that derailed his Big Ten title hopes. Yet somehow, the Illini fought their way into the Dance. Illinois continues to search for an identity without Dee Brown and James Augustine, while ASU is on the rise with Jeff Pendergraph, Duke transfer Eric Boateng and super frosh James Harden. The Sun Devils will make Illinois make shots over them, not around them, and Illinois will struggle with ASU's slower pace.

Baylor over Washington State, Nov. 30, Big 12/Pac-10 Series

With all the love and adoration going Tony Bennett's way for staying at Washington State -- and rightfully so -- and returning most of his team from last season's improbable run, there should be a ton of concern at the thought of playing Baylor in Waco, Texas. The Bears will be tested early with a trip to the Virgin Islands for the Paradise Jam, but this is their first substantial nonconference home game in years. Baylor has five guards who can play just about anywhere in the country. Add a maturing Kevin Rogers to that, and the Bears' jump-shooters and quickness will "sick 'em" Cougs.

Notre Dame over K-State, Dec. 4, Jimmy V
Do not get me wrong, the Wildcats have a ton of raw talent. Bill Walker should be ready to go and Michael Beasley is a beast. The Irish, however, play annually in Madison Square Garden, they have a tremendous backcourt with two quality ball handlers and Luke Harangody is as underrated a player as there is in the college game.

Wisconsin over Marquette, Dec. 8
The Kohl Center is a house of horrors for the road teams that enter, and this underrated rivalry is almost always won by whomever wears the white unis. Tempo tempo tempo. Wiscy.

Saint Louis over Southern Illinois, Dec. 15
The Salukis never play well in St. Louis. They have won the Missouri Valley regular-season title five of the past six years but have won Arch Madness -- the conference tournament -- in the STL only once during those years. In addition, new St. Louis coach Rick Majerus will have a game plan that breaks down the immense pressure of SIU and expose their youth without Jamal Tatum.

From Bilas: Ten Games I'd Pay To See

Conference play, rivalries and banners on the line are no-brainers for great games. I already know that I will be riveted by epic battles like Duke-North Carolina, UCLA-Arizona, Texas-Kansas, Michigan State-Indiana and Syracuse-UConn. But the games that get my blood pumping for the season are the ones that will be played before the ball drops in Times Square. Here are 10 early games I would dig deep into my own pocket to see:

1. Georgetown at Memphis, Dec. 22
The Hoyas have the discipline to give Memphis fits. Jonathan Wallace is the most underappreciated great guard in the country, and DaJuan Summers is ready to take off. Memphis has more horses and the home crowd. Joey Dorsey couldn't deal with Greg Oden, who had a rough time with Roy Hibbert. Dorsey has to battle Hibbert, and the transitive property of equality.

2. Texas at Michigan State, Dec. 22
No Kevin Durant, no problem. Texas will still be very good, and the Longhorns' game at Michigan State will be a shootout and a great way to start the holiday season. Last season, Texas and Tennessee had an epic battle on this same day, and you can expect the Spartans and Horns to do likewise.

3. Marquette at Wisconsin, Dec. 8
This game is Duke-Carolina with cheese. These two teams really want to beat each other, no matter how many times they tell us its just another game. Marquette has great guards and Tom Crean has built for this season with an older group. Wisconsin just keeps "fundamentalling" you to death, and the Badgers will be tough in Madison.

4. USC vs. Memphis, Dec. 4
Memphis has the most explosive talent in the nation, and Derrick Rose gives Chris Douglas-Roberts and crew a legit point guard to bring it all together. USC is young, but talented, and this will be a spotlight (in Madison Square Garden for the Jimmy V) that O.J. Mayo will crave. Plus, it will still be early, so all of the "can Memphis hold the Mayo" jokes will still be somewhat fresh … or at least tolerable.

5. North Carolina at Ohio State, Nov. 29
This will be a high-scoring game. North Carolina is, along with Memphis, one of the best teams in the nation going into the season. Watch for Ty Lawson to be much improved, Deon Thompson to make an impact and Tyler Hansbrough to simply take over. Ohio State will be much better than people think, and Kosta Koufos will be a great player in Columbus before he's done.

6. Maui championship game, Nov. 21
The Maui always delivers great games, and this season will be no exception. Maybe it's the tiny high school gym that turns every player into Jimmy Chitwood, or maybe its Bill Raftery in shorts. The final could pit Marquette and Duke, with great guards, tradition and emotion.

7. Arizona at Kansas, Nov. 25
Kansas is Final Four good and has very good experience and depth. Arizona is younger and should be hungrier for success. Despite being played just three days after Thanksgiving, the crowd at Allen Fieldhouse will show no signs of the effects of L-tryptophan.

8. NC State at Michigan State, Nov. 28
Michigan State has another Big Ten title team, and Tom Izzo will be blending talented newcomers Kalin Lucas, Chris Allen and Durrell Summers with vets Drew Neitzel and Raymar Morgan. NC State may not have an established point guard, but the Wolfpack will still be a big challenge in what should be a fun game to watch.

9. Indiana at Southern Illinois, Dec. 1
Who scheduled this one? This is like agreeing to fight an angry snake in the depths of its favorite hole. Indiana newcomer Eric Gordon will get an eye-opener in Carbondale, and if Indiana isn't ready for a fight, Southern Illinois will win. No team in America closes out better than Southern Illinois. It's like a clinic.

10. George Mason vs. Kansas State, Nov. 22
The Patriots should be good and prepared to take on a high-powered group of talented young players, and new Kansas State coach Frank Martin in the Old Spice Classic in Orlando, Fla. George Mason's Folarin Campbell is ready to be a star, and Michael Beasley will get a chance to shine for the Wildcats. Don't be surprised to see Mason pull this one off.

From Fran: Top 10 Matchups This Season

One of the enticing things for me to do at this time of year is to look at our ESPN college basketball schedule and to pick out some intriguing individual match-ups to watch. Whether it will be two potential impact players going head-to-head (Michigan State's Drew Neitzel vs. Indiana's Eric Gordon) or two intense coaches matching wits (Memphis' John Calipari vs. Tennessee's Bruce Pearl), I have chosen 10 games that should be fun to watch.

1. Gonzaga vs. UConn, Dec. 1
7-foot-3 Huskie sophomore Hasheem Thabeet tangles with one of college basketball's best big men, the Zags' 6-11 Josh Heytvelt. This game will go a long way toward determining if UConn can rebound from Jim Calhoun's most disappointing season. Heytvelt will also be looking for redemption as he returns from last year's season-ending suspension.

2. Tennessee at Kentucky, Jan. 22
This will be the Vols' Chris Lofton's final game in the Bluegrass State, his native state, and he will want to put on a show at Rupp Arena. Wildcat seniors Joe Crawford and Ramel Bradley have been much maligned throughout their careers, so look for this to be a particularly emotional SEC match-up.

3. Georgetown at Louisville, Feb. 9, ESPN
The Hoyas will likely enter Freedom Hall ranked in the top 10 and led by 7-foot-2 All-American Roy Hibbert. No one in college basketball schemes defenses versus a big man better than Rick Pitino, so this turns into an intriguing coach versus player matchup. If Hibbert handles the Cards' double-teams well, the Hoyas will get open shots.

4. Kansas at Texas, Feb. 11
The Longhorns' D.J. Augustin could have a Jameer Nelson-like effect on Rick Barnes' young team, but he'll have his hands full with a wave of quality defensive guards in Kansas road blue uniforms. Bill Self can rotate Sherron Collins, Mario Chalmers and Russell Robinson on Augustin, who doesn't get a lot of rest.

5. Michigan State at Indiana, Feb. 16
Drew Neitzel has epitomized the Spartans' Izzo-like toughness for four years. He'll be matched up against one of the country's best freshman in 6-foot-3 Eric Gordon. It's been a while since this game has had Big Ten championship implications, and these two players are a big reason why it will this season.

6. Tennessee at Memphis, Feb. 23
For all of the great talent that will be on the floor at the FedEx Forum this night, the real action will be on the sidelines. While neither John Calipari nor Bruce Pearl will score a point, the animus and intensity level between two coaches will be high in this in-state showdown of Final Four contenders late in the season.

7. Marquette at Villanova, Feb. 25
In a game that will feature more good guards than a maximum security prison, the key matchup will be the Wildcats' Scottie Reynolds versus the Golden Eagles' Jerel McNeal. Reynolds proved to be one of the most explosive guards in the Big East by the end of last season. He'll be challenged by the junkyard dog toughness of the Big East's Defensive Player of the Year.

8. Saint Louis at Saint Joe's, Feb. 28
All eyes will be on the sidelines as two of the country's best bald coaches, Rick Majerus and Phil Martelli, square off. Seriously, both teams should be part of an Atlantic 10 resurgence this season and this game should have serious NCAA Tournament implications.

9. USC at Arizona, Feb. 28
The Pac-10 has eight legitimate NCAA contenders this season, in part because of the influx of outstanding recruits in the past couple of years. Two of the best, the Wildcats' Chase Budinger and the Trojans' O.J. Mayo, will be on display in this game even though they won't guard each other. Get a good look at them, because neither will be in a college uniform much longer.

10. North Carolina at Duke, March 8
This Tobacco Road matchup traditionally has a lot of great story lines, but the key to this year's game could be point guard play. As Tywon Lawson continues to mature, the Tar Heels' national championship hopes increase. And, for all the criticism the Blue Devils' Greg Paulus has endured, he was terrific down the stretch last season.

[1990Warrior]

With respect to the WI game - they forgot to mention that we already have several fouls on our best players before the game even starts. I pulled this box score from the last time we played there:
http://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/boxscore?gameId=253440275&confId=4

28 personal fouls versus 16 - ouch.
What did they ever do to get such a 'home field advantage'?

[Sponge Ruiner!]

Ed Hightower and Tim Higgins...

Sends shivers down my spine.

[Mayor McCheese]

With respect to the WI game - they forgot to mention that we already have several fouls on our best players before the game even starts. I pulled this box score from the last time we played there:
http://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/boxscore?gameId=253440275&confId=4

28 personal fouls versus 16 - ouch.
What did they ever do to get such a 'home field advantage'?

I was at this game in blue and gold in the alumni section... I had 60 year old ladies cursing at me because I was rooting for a "traitor" in Wes Matthews.. asked them why Landry wasnt a traitor for going to Madison instead of staying in Milwaukee... oh that was fine... these were the same ladies who were blaming Marquette for playing with the ball out of bounds.. and the refs just couldn't see it... yea, the class and basketball intelligence by wives of Madison alums, it soars

[mosarsour]

With respect to the WI game - they forgot to mention that we already have several fouls on our best players before the game even starts. I pulled this box score from the last time we played there:
http://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/boxscore?gameId=253440275&confId=4

28 personal fouls versus 16 - ouch.
What did they ever do to get such a 'home field advantage'?

I was at this game in blue and gold in the alumni section... I had 60 year old ladies cursing at me because I was rooting for a "traitor" in Wes Matthews.. asked them why Landry wasnt a traitor for going to Madison instead of staying in Milwaukee... oh that was fine... these were the same ladies who were blaming Marquette for playing with the ball out of bounds.. and the refs just couldn't see it... yea, the class and basketball intelligence by wives of Madison alums, it soars

My friend Tim AKA Silky Johnston spilled an entire beer on a Badger fan last season at the BC. No matter how many times he apologized to her, she would not accept his apology. Her thought was that he did it on purpose. So yeah, Badger fans lack class...But I personally think she deserved it.

[Thomas' Danish Delight]

My friend Tim AKA Silky Johnston spilled an entire beer on a Badger fan last season at the BC. No matter how many times he apologized to her, she would not accept his apology. Her thought was that he did it on purpose. So yeah, Badger fans lack class...But I personally think she deserved it.

Haha....dude, you know what?  If someone spilled AN ENTIRE BEER on me and we were rooting for the same team, they better go buy me a new shirt or something...only then would I accept the apology.  I slight spill is totally understandable, but a whole beer? 

[Avenue Commons]

My friend Tim AKA Silky Johnston spilled an entire beer on a Badger fan last season at the BC. No matter how many times he apologized to her, she would not accept his apology. Her thought was that he did it on purpose. So yeah, Badger fans lack class...But I personally think she deserved it.

Haha....dude, you know what?  If someone spilled AN ENTIRE BEER on me and we were rooting for the same team, they better go buy me a new shirt or something...only then would I accept the apology.  I slight spill is totally understandable, but a whole beer? 

Seriously. I'd be pissed off as well. I don't care if Dwyane Wade spilled a beer on me at center court at the Bradley Center, I'd be pissed. The only thing classless in that story is someone not being able to hold onto a cup and drink responsibly.

[beato1]

My friend once brought a new girlfriend to a game who took off a sweatshirt to reveal Madison colors about halfway through.  After punching my friend for not asking the right questions we chipped in and bought a MU shirt that she had to wear.  I would expect an entire beer would also equal a shirt.