Three Big East openers and an in-state Big Ten rivalry highlight the college basketball schedule for the second-to-last night of 2009.
No. 10 Connecticut Opens Big East Play At Cincinnati
- Tenth-ranked Connecticut, a team who's struggled at times this month -- losing to Kentucky in New York, barely getting by Harvard and UCF at home -- travels to Cincinnati, where highly-touted freshman Lance Stephenson makes his Big East bow. The buzz surrounding the Bearcats has faded some after losses to previously-ranked Butler and No. 24 UAB, but a win over the Huskies at home could be a season-changer.
- Louisville looks to have righted the ship in late December, winning four straight after dropping consecutive home games to Charlotte and Western Carolina. They host USF tonight in the Big East opener for both teams. The Cardinals have to be careful to look ahead to the Bulls, who are a surprising 10-2, as a road trip to third-ranked Kentucky awaits on Saturday. You can visit SB Nation's Louisville blog, Card Chronicle, for full coverage of this one.
- Notre Dame hosts Providence in another Big East opener. Both teams have racked up impressive records that don't look quite so good upon further inspection. The Irish have 11 wins, but only the one against struggling UCLA is against BCS level competition. The Friars are 8-4, but they've lost to the three best teams they've faced (Alabama, Boston College and Rhode Island). Both teams also have a somewhat embarrassing home loss. Notre Dame's came at the hands of Loyola Marymount, while Providence fell to Iona. Our Fighting Irish site, Rakes Of Mallow, will have more on this contest.
- Notice that I didn't say Notre Dame's loss to Northwestern was embarrassing. That's because the Wildcats, No. 25 in all the land, are shockingly the ranked team going into their Big Ten opener at rivals Illinois. The Fighting Illini are looking to rebound from consecutive losses to Georgia and Missouri, while the Wildcats have ripped off nine in a row. Will they be able to cope with the pressure of being ranked for the first time in 41 years? For more on this one, you can visit our Northwestern blog, Sippin On Purple, or our Illinois one, Hail To The Orange.
You can follow all four of these games -- and discuss three of them -- here on SB Nation.
FINAL: Cincinnati 71, No. 10 Connecticut 69
After a controversial foul, Lance Stephenson hit two free throws with 0.7 seconds left to give the Bearcats the win.
FINAL: Louisville 73, USF 52
The Cardinals didn’t look ahead to Kentucky at all, as they dismantled the Bulls to open Big East play.
Cardinal game preview and discussion at Card Chronicle
FINAL: Notre Dame 93, Providence 78
The Fighting Irish outgunned the Friars to claim their first Big East win.
Fighting Irish game preview and discussion at Rakes Of Mallow
FINAL: Illinois 89, No. 25 Northwestern 83 (OT)
The Wildcats stay in the top 25 should be a brief one, as they fell to the Illini for the 11th straight time.
Wildcat game preview and discussion at Sippin On Purple
Fighting Illini game preview and discussion at Hail To The Orange
For a full rundown of Wednesday’s other televised action, visit Blogging the Bracket.
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