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PREGAME SHOOTAROUND: The best game of December to be played tonight

Lon Kruger

Lon Kruger

AP

GAME OF THE NIGHT: No. 8 Villanova vs. No. 6 Oklahoma, 7:00 p.m. (Hawaii)

Not only is this the best game of the night, it’s one of the best non-conference games of the entire month. And here’s the part that intrigues me the most: we’ve yet to see either of these teams tested this season. Villanova, as good as they’ve been the last two years during the regular season, they’ve lost in the first weekend of the NCAA tournament. And Oklahoma lost the guy that we thought was their most important piece last season. Both deserve to be ranked in the top ten at this point, but tonight we’ll get a chance to see if they actually are, you know, top ten teams.

FOUR THINGS TO WATCH FOR


  1. No. 15 Oregon vs. Navy, 9:45 p.m. (Hawaii): Like Oklahoma-Villanova, this game will be played in Pearl Harbor to honor the 74th anniversary of the attacks on the military base.
  2. IUPUI at No. 11 Purdue, 7:00 p.m.: The Boilermakers have the most dominant front line in college basketball. Bar none.
  3. Belmont at Lipscomb, 8:00 p.m.: The Battle of the Boulevard. It doesn’t get much better than this in college hoops.
  4. Buffalo at No. 5 Iowa State, 9:00 p.m.: We’re still waiting on Iowa State to truly be tested this season. Early returns have been mixed.

NOTABLES


  • VMI at Butler, 7:00 p.m.
  • Western Illinois at Iowa, 7:00 p.m.
  • Brown at Georgetown, 7:00 p.m.