Who’s Getting Upset?: No. 16 Creighton
I like the Bluejays this year. I think they are one of the most fun teams in the country to watch run offense. They spread the floor, they shoot a lot of threes and they don’t turn the ball over. Plus, they have this kid named Doug McDermott, I don’t know if you’ve ever heard of him. There’s a reason this group is ranked 16th.
But ...
The one loss Creighton has this year came against a Boise State team with a strong back court of playmakers that shot the ball very well from three. Sounds a lot like Cal, doesn’t it? That’s who Creighton will be playing -- on the road -- on Saturday night. With Justin Cobbs and Allen Crabbe on the roster, the Bears are going to have a chance to play with anyone in the country if they get hot. Throw in the fact that the Bears desperately need this win after losing to Wisconsin and UNLV in their last two games, and you’ve got yourself a dangerous road trip. Can the Bluejays keep a duo that’s averaging a combined 39.7 points from the floor in check?
Who else is on upset alert?
No. 11 Cincinnati: The Bearcats head to Huntington, WV, on Saturday afternoon to take on Marshall at 2:00 p.m. ET. Marshall has been somewhat disappointing early on this season, but they do matchup well with Cincinnati. Deandre Kane has morphed into one of the nation’s most productive playmakers (even if he is shooting 14.3% from three) while DD Scarver is a lightening-in-a-bottle wing scorer and Nigel Spikes and Dennis Tinnon anchor a big, physical front line. This will be a nice road test for the Bearcats.
Miami FL: The Hurricanes will play host to still-undefeated Charlotte, who went into Davidson and knocked off the Wildcats last week. The Canes haven’t played in 13 days, since they went on a three-game run by beating Detroit, Michigan State and UMass. Will Jim Larranaga’s boys be rusty?
No. 4 Syracuse: This is probably crazy, but Canisius a pair of talented back court players, led by talented URI transfer Billy Baron. Will those two be enough to shoot the Golden Griffins to an upset?
Rob Dauster is the editor of the college basketball website Ballin’ is a Habit. You can find him on twitter @robdauster.