Louisville and Auburn Headline the Final Day of the ACC/SEC Challenge

Super Tuesday delivered in a big way. There was conference play, with Michigan State blowing out Iowa and Purdue destroying Rutgers. Then, in the night's games, we had the ACC/SEC Challenge.  In that event, Oklahoma crushed Wake Forest; Syracuse upset Tennessee at the Carrier Dome; Virginia Tech beat South Carolina; Duke beat Florida; Texas A&M beat Pitt; Miami beat Ole Miss; Georgia blew out Florida State; Notre Dame beat Missouri; and North Carolina beat Kentucky in Rupp.  That puts the ACC's record at 6-3.

It is going to be awfully hard for me to rank Kentucky and Florida next week with three losses on the year, especially with so many undefeated teams. UConn came from behind to beat Kansas at the Phog. The Jayhawks couldn’t score in the second half, and it cost them big-time.  Kansas also has three losses and desperately needs Daryn Peterson to return to lead the offense.

The Wednesday schedule doesn’t have nearly as many high-profile games as there were on Tuesday.  The Big Ten resumes conference play, and the ACC/SEC challenge concludes. Even without the same number of high-profile games, there are still a few games against top-25 teams that are going to be must-see TV.

No. 6 Louisville Cardinals at No. 25 Arkansas Razorbacks - SEC/ACC Challenge in prime time.

Louisville might be a little underrated to begin the year, and they are going to have a chance to prove to everyone that they should be ranked higher.  The Cardinals are one of the best shooting teams in the country, and when they get rolling, they can put up points quickly.  Ryan Conwell and big man Sananda Fru lead the offense and the defense, and Louisville goes as they go. The Cardinals have the better team, and it would be a surprise if they didn’t win this game.

A legend coaches Arkansas in John Calipari, and in true Calipari fashion, a freshman leads the Razorbacks in Darius Acuff, and Meleek Thomas is going to have to be excellent to win this game.  Billy Richmond and DJ Wagner make up the rest of an elite backcourt that will continue to put pressure on the Cardinals.  Arkansas doesn’t have the level of shooting Louisville does, but the Razorbacks have played better competition to this point.  This one will be close throughout.

NC State Wolfpack at No. 20 Auburn Tigers - Two teams with a lot of questions meet in the ACC/SEC Challenge

The Wolfpack were the talk of the offseason because head coach Will Wade assembled a roster of top transfers from the transfer portal, and it looked like NC State was going to provide a legitimate test for Duke and North Carolina.  The Wolfpack started well but didn’t fare well in Maui.  The Wolfpack have a chance to get their season back on track, and star Derrion Williams will be the best player on the floor against the Tigers.  NC State has a team capable of pulling off a big win.

There are still many questions Auburn has to answer for me.  Sure, they beat St. John’s, but they also got blown out by Michigan.  Which team are the Tigers?  The one that got smoked by Michigan or the one who beat St. John’s.  They fall somewhere in the middle, but lately they have been far too reliant on their star Tahaad Pettiford.  The Tigers will have to consistently get something from the rest of the roster, not just Pettiford or Keyshawn Hall.  A win here will go a long way towards solidifying Auburn as one of the best in the SEC.

Here are the picks from the rest of the games on Wednesday: