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Thursday’s Pregame Shootaround: Arizona hosts Colorado, lots of key mid-major games

Aaron Gordon

Arizona forward Aaron Gordon (11) walks off the court after defeating Michigan 72-70 in an NCAA college basketball game in Ann Arbor, Mich., Saturday, Dec. 14, 2013. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

AP

GAME OF THE NIGHT: Colorado at No. 1 Arizona, 9:00 p.m.

It’s a shame that Spencer Dinwiddie went down with an ACL injury, but the ineptitude of everyone in the Pac-12 these days, the Buffaloes could very well still be the second best team in the conference. I’m not sure that’s actually saying much at this point, but Colorado does have a front line that can matchup with Arizona size-wise.

WHO’S GETTING UPSET?: No. 6 Florida at Alabama, 7:00 p.m.

The Gators are one of the best teams in the country, I truly believe that, but they have this annoying tendency of going through bouts of what I like to call ‘offensive inability’. In other words, they have too many bad scoring stretches. Alabama is a middle-of-the-pack SEC team, but they’re tough and physical defensively and they do have one of the nation’s most underrated point guards in Trevor Releford.

MID-MAJOR MATCHUP OF THE NIGHT: Florida-Gulf Coast at Mercer, 7:00 p.m.

#DunkCity was the biggest story in college basketball for a week last year, when they made their run through the the first weekend and into the Sweet 16. They were everywhere, but they weren’t the even the reigning regular season champion of the Atlantic Sun. That title belongs to Mercer, who, like FGCU, sits at 6-1 in league play.

FIVE THINGS TO WATCH FOR:

1) You may not want to actually watch the game, but Illinois will be visiting No. 17 Ohio State tonight. The Illini and the Buckeyes are both really, really good defensively but struggle -- mightily -- to score. Take the under, I don’t care what it is.

2) A pair of ranked American teams take the floor at home tonight, with No. 17 Cincinnati hosting Central Florida and No. 23 Memphis welcoming Houston.

3) If Colorado isn’t the second best team in the Pac-12, who is? Well, Cal lost to USC last night. So that leaves UCLA, who hosts Stanford, and Oregon, who will pay a visit to Washington.

4 and 5) There are a number of key games in mid-major leagues tonight:


  • Belmont takes on Morehead State in a battle for first place in the OVC East.
  • Old Dominion is 3-0 in Conference USA, with all three wins coming on the road. They’re the only undefeated team in the conference. They’ll host league favorite Southern Miss tonight.
  • Chattanooga is 6-0 in the SoCon, but Davidson and Western Carolina, who play tonight, are both sitting one game back in the loss column.
  • Georgia State is undefeated in the Sun Belt. They’ll host Louisiana-Lafayette tonight. NBA scouts will be in attendance. Ryan Harrow, R.J. Hunter, Elfrid Payton and Shawn Long all take the floor.
  • Stephen F. Austin is three games into a five-game road stretch. They are 5-0 in the Southland, but pay a visit to 4-1 Oral Roberts tonight.

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