Gonzaga and Cincinnati Headline a Light Friday Slate of Games

Wednesday night was a night of upsets in college basketball, and now that conference play is here, that is going to keep happening more and more.  Indiana, which probably should not have been ranked, lost in the barn to Minnesota.  Arkansas beat Louisville in Fayetteville, and UCLA barely escaped Washington.  Virginia blew out Texas, and LSU stayed undefeated by beating Boston College.

The Thursday slate wasn't incredible, and I didn’t make any picks.  There was one result that caught my attention, though.  South Florida blew out Utah State.  The Aggies were close to the rankings this week, but getting blasted by South Florida puts them out of the running for the top 25.  The Bulls finally get their signature non-conference win under head coach Bryan Hodgson.

There are two games in a small Friday schedule that are going to be excellent.  One of the games is between two top-25 teams, and the other is a huge rivalry game that might get heated.  I have broken down both games below, as well as picks for the remainder of the games.

No. 11 Gonzaga Bulldogs vs No. 18 Kentucky Wildcats - Music City Madness in Nashville, TN

Gonzaga is fresh off getting pounded in the Players Era final by Michigan, but make no mistake: the Bulldogs have one of their best teams under Mark Few and are a National Title contender.  The front court is elite with Graham Ike and Braden Huff looking unguardable at points.  Tyon Grant-Foster is one of the most athletic players in the country and is the player who sets this Gonzaga team apart from most others.  Gonzaga has a huge bounce back.

Kentucky is struggling in a big way right now.  The Wildcats have some key injuries in Jaland Lowe and center Jayden Quaintance.  Those two players were guys that head coach Mark Pope was relying on to help win games.  Winning games any way possible should be Kentucky's biggest concern right now. The team isn’t great right now and desperately needs to get healthy. 

Cincinnati Bearcats at Xavier Musketeers - Crosstown Shootout

These two teams cannot stand each other, and this rivalry has gotten violent in the past.  Here is hoping that doesn’t happen this time. For the first time in a while, the Bearcats have the better teams, but not by much.  The offense for Cincinnati is a work in progress, but the defense is borderline elite. The Bearcats recently lost to Eastern Michigan but bounced back against Tarleton State.  This game matters to the Bearcats, probably more than any other on the schedule.

Xavier is going through a transitional phase under new head coach Richard Pitino.  The roster is made up entirely of transfers, and they are starting to come together and play much better.  The Musketeers have shown they can really shoot the ball when they get going.  Tre Carroll and Roddie Anderson need to play well for Xavier to continue their hot streak.  Cintas Center is always a tough place to win when the Musketeers are good.  

Here are the picks for the rest of the games on Friday: