UNC versus Duke

Sorry Vineesh, I beat you to it. The greatest rivalry in college hoops resumes tomorrow as UNC and Duke square off. These games are always tight and full of excitement. It seems like the average fan, even if they are not a Duke or UNC fan, picks one of the teams and hates the other one with a passion.

UNC was the #1 team in the country for several weeks until losing to BC. Duke was more recently #1 but fell to Wake Forest their first game in the top spot.

It's hard to look out for a player to watch because both teams are star studded, but X factors for me are Danny Green on UNC, and Kyle Singler for the Blue Devils. Danny Green is full of energy and is a serious scoring threat as well as a great defender. Singler is a solid all around player, and when he plays well Duke usually wins.

My prediction is that UNC beats the struggling Duke team 74-68. Psycho T is going to will his team to victory and silence the Cameron Crazies. The game will air on ESPN at 9:00 on Wednesday.

Duke vs. Wake Forest

Duke is back at No. 1, but staying there has proved to be difficult this month for Atlantic Coast Conference teams.
The Blue Devils (18-1, 5-0), looking for their 11th straight win, will be tested in a major way, traveling on Wednesday to face No. 4 Wake Forest, the team Duke replaced atop the rankings this week.

Duke made their climb to the top with a rout over Maryland on Saturday, combined with a Wake Forest loss to Virginia Tech earlier on in the week.

Duke became the third ACC team to reach No. 1, as North Carolina was there until a Jan. 4 loss to Boston College.

"It's a big deal for us because it means we're playing really well," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "We talked about it last week that, just don't worry about anything, let's just play. It's the same thing we're going to tell them going into this next week. ... It's an honor and it says you're playing real well. You don't get anything from it except a really big headline when you lose.

Wake Forest has won four of its last five home games against the Blue Devils, but the loss came when the Blue Devils were No. 1.
Wake Forest is 4-24 against No. 1 teams with all those wins coming when the Demon Deacons were unranked. Wake's previous victory over a top-ranked opponent.
The Blue Devils have taken five of the last six overall meetings and lead the all-time series 155-76.

Look for Jeff Teague to win the the point guard match up for Wake Forest against Nolan Smith, and Greg Paulus. Kyle Singler, and Gerald Henderson should handle their match ups easily, but Al-Faroug Aminu and Chas McFarland should win their match ups against Duke's big men.

This is a very exciting match up for any college basketball fan. I am looking forward to this great game, as well as many other college game on tonight that can be seen on the ESPN family of networks.

BIG SATURDAY!!

Today, Saturday, January 17th, there are some great college basketball games on display for everyone to see. Let me express my excitement for college basketball at this time of the year first. College Basketball is the best thing to happen to all of sports. It is the best sport played and the fact that kids play it with only their heart makes it that much of a pleasure to watch. Anyway, lets talk about big match ups on this glorious day.

Game 1: Syracuse vs. Notre Dame
A classic big east match up which consist of the number 8 and 13th teams in the nation. Both teams have great potential to go far in the month of March, and can make a push for the Big East title. With these two teams on the court, there are potentially 6-10 players that can make it to the big show next year.


Game 2: Georgetown vs. Duke
This is my favorite match up of the day. The Blue Devils who have a great line up with shooters as well as a solid inside present are the favorites to win the ACC. They have all the pieces in place to make a great push as the season progresses. Georgetown is one of the best teams in the nation. They are much better than their ranking shows, and I think center Greg Monroe is the best freshman in the nation.


Game 3: Wake Forest vs. Clemson
Wake Forest: The forgotten team in the ACC. Fresh of a win against U.N.C. Wake Forest has the ability to hit you from every position on the floor. Do not be surprised if Wake Forest stays healthy, they win the ACC, with ease. Clemson, my sleeper team for the year. They are talanted and amazingly athletic. Trevor Booker is their heart and soul. Look for him to have a big game.


Game 4: U.N.C. vs. Miami
Do not sleep on Miami. They were ranked not too long ago, and their team is stacked with shooters and jumpers. Just put it this way, they can flat out play. And U.N.C. can not afford to let another one slip in the ACC. with already two losses in the conference, they will come out strong. But look for this game to be a dog fight(no literally) but it will be a brawl.


Game 5: Pittsburgh vs. Louisville
I love how Louisville plays basketball. They are so athletic, and their leader Earl Clark can do it all. He fills up the stat sheet. Though they have had some hicups this season already, they are a deadly team. Pittsburgh to me, isn't good enough to have the number 1 ranking. However as long as they keep winning, you can not take anything away from them. This will be an excellent game tonight.

Hansbrough Is King At U.N.C.

Thursday night, North Carolina University's All American forward Tyler Hansbrough set the all time scoring record against Evansville in a 91-73 win. Hansbrough scored 20 points Thursday night to break the storied program's career scoring record and helped the Tar Heels remain unbeaten.

Last year's national player of the year went 7-for-14 from the field and had nine rebounds for North Carolina (10-0). Hansbrough passed Phil Ford for the record midway through the first half. Ford, now an assistant coach with the NBA's Charlotte Bobcats, finished his career in 1978 with 2,290 points.

Hansbrough, who needed nine points coming in, broke Ford's record early in the first half. As soon as the record-setting shot went through the net, officials briefly stopped the game to allow Ford, coach Roy Williams and athletics director Dick Baddour to present Hansbrough with the game ball.

After the game, the school showed a brief video montage of Hansbrough's career highlights that included congratulations from several former players. Hansbrough then briefly addressed the crowd, something he admitted Wednesday would probably make him nervous.

"I never dreamed I'd be here and be the all-time leading scorer," Hansbrough said as he stood alone at mid court. "This is a great honor to be here and to represent you guys every night in this uniform."

Being a Duke Blue Devils fan, i naturally dislike Hansbrough. However, a player of his calibre can not be overlooked. He is a grind-it-out player who out works every player on the other team every game. He works hard for his points, rebounds, and his position on the court. This is a great accomplishment for anyone to achieve. I commend Hansbrough for his accomplishments and everything he has done. He is one of the hardest working players I have ever seen, and I do not think anyone can disagree with me on that one.