ESPN Tip Off Marathon 2012
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By Tyler Smith
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Schedule
Midnight: West Virginia at Gonzaga
2 a.m.: Davidson at New Mexico 4 a.m.: Houston Baptist at Hawaii 6 a.m.: Stony Brook at Rider 8 a.m.: Northern Illinois at Valparaiso 10 a.m.: Harvard at Massachusetts 12 p.m.: Temple at Kent State 2 p.m.: Detroit at St. John's 4 p.m.: Butler at Xavier 7 p.m.: Michigan State vs. Kansas 30 minutes after: Duke vs. Kentucky *All times Eastern Standard Top Games to WatchI salute you if you watch all 24 hours, but if you can't here's the ones you can't miss.
#1 Duke vs. Kentucky: Two of the most historic college basketball teams face off in the Champions Classic in Atlanta. Duke brings an experienced team to Atlanta. The Blue Devils rely heavily on seniors Mason Plumlee, Ryan Kelly, and Seth Curry. Two freshman to watch are Amile Jefferson and Rasheed Sulaimon. The Wildcats have a different approach with the majority of key contributors are underclassmen. The Wildcats bring in another star studded class featuring Archie Goodwin, Nerlens Noel, Willie Cauley-Stein and Alex Poythress. The lone holdover from last season, Kyle Wiltjer, is a gifted scorer. One upperclassmen that will make an immediate impact is Wright State transfer Julius Mays. Another key transfer, point guard Ryan Harrow, who didn't have a great debut vs. Maryland. Prediction: Duke by five. #2 Michigan St. vs. Kansas: Michigan State lost to UConn in the opening game of the season. The Spartans struggled behind the arc in Germany where they shot 4 of 17. Freshman Gary Harris is going to need to be the guy to knock down those shots. Harris went 1 for 7 from three in his debut. The Spartans had 15 turnovers to nine assists which will need to turnaround if they want to beat Kansas. Kansas brings in some new faces to mesh with the holdovers from last year final four team. Jeff Withey plays well on both ends of the floor and had five blocks in the first game of the season vs. SE Missouri State. Newcomer Ben McLemore will play a key role for the Jayhawks. McLemore had nine points, 12 rebounds, and five assists in his debut. Prediction: Kansas by six. #3 West Virginia at Gonzaga: The Kennel is never an easy place to play, especially at night on ESPN. The Zags have a solid backcourt that features sophomores Kevin Pangos and Gary Bell Jr. The two combined for great freshman season and averaged a combined for 25 points a game last season. One early suprise was the performance by freshman center Przemek Karnowski who had 22 points in the first game of the season. Senior Elias Harris has averaged double-digit points ever year hes been at Gonzaga. West Virginia brings in three key newcomers. Juwan Staten from Dayton, Aaric Murray from LaSalle, and Matt Humphry from Boston College. The key returnee for the Mountaineers is Deniz Kilicli. The 6-9 forward from Turkey averaged 10.7 ppg and 5.3 rpg. Prediction: Gonzaga by seven. #4 Davidson at New Mexico: De'Mon Brooks is an elite talent and the go to scorer for Davidson. Jake Cohen is the top front court player for the Wildcats. A season ago Cohen averaged 14.3 ppg, 6.1 rpg, and 1.7 bpg. Davidson is the reigning So-Con champion. Since the game will be played at the Pit that adds an advantage for New Mexico. The Lobos best player from a year ago, Drew Gordon, is gone. Who steps up in the frontcourt to replace Gordons productions is still up in the air. The backcourt is back and is the strength of the team. Tony Snell and Kendall Williams will have a huge year for New Mexico. Prediction: Davidson by three. Best of the Rest#5 Detroit at St. John's
Prediction: Detroit by 2 #6 Temple at Kent State Prediction: Temple by 7 #7 Butler at Xavier Prediction: Butler by 11 #8 Harvard at UMass Prediction: UMass by 12 #9 Northern Illinois at Valparaiso Prediction: Valparaiso by 15 #10 Stony Brook at Rider Prediction: Stony Brook by 12 #11 Houston Baptist at Hawaii Prediction: Hawaii by 15 Players to WatchF Mason Plumlee, Duke
G Archie Goodwin, Kentucky G Keith Appling, Michigan State G Ben McLemore, Kansas G Khalif Wyatt, Temple G Ray McCallum, Detroit F Ryan Broekhoff, Valparaiso G Rotnei Clark, Butler F Elias Harris, Gonzaga G Juwan Staten, West Virginia |