Texas Tech and Mississippi State Spark Early Feast Week Drama on Packed Thursday Slate

Elite Basketball was played on Wednesday night.  The game between Arizona and UConn looked like an early Final Four preview.  I don’t ever like using that analogy because the Final Four is all about seeding and matchups.  With that said, there is a very real possibility that both Arizona and UConn make deep runs into March and could meet in the Final Four.

Full disclosure here, but when I release my rankings on Monday, Arizona is going to be my new number 1 team.  They have already beaten Florida and UConn on the road, and UCLA in a neutral-site game.  Arizona has a resume that most teams would dream of, and it's only three weeks into the season.  Enough about the Wildcats; there was another tournament-type game on Wednesday.

Alabama had a huge second half on the defensive end to beat Illinois in Chicago.  Alabama now holds wins over St. John’s and Illinois, both away from Tuscaloosa.  The Crimson Tide looks like the class of the SEC early on in the season.  Obviously, there is a long way to go, but with the way the Tide can shoot, run the floor, and their commitment to defense this season has them in a good position to make another deep run in March.

The Thursday slate of college basketball begins the run-up to Feast Week, with some multi-team events starting. The Hall of Fame Classic in Kansas City, the Boardwalk Battle, and the Baha Mar Championship in the Bahamas all begin.  Those tournaments will bring about some intriguing matchups.  Here is a preview of the best games on Thursday, followed by the picks for the rest of the games.

New Mexico Lobos vs Nebraska Cornhuskers - Revamped Lobos hope to slow down the hot-shooting Huskers.

The first game of the Hall of Fame Classic could get interesting for both teams.  The Lobos have a new roster and a new coach.  Eric Olen, who used to coach UC San Diego, brings his brand of havoc style to New Mexico.  New Mexico runs a pack-line defense that they hope forces teams to operate in the half-court, leads to turnovers, and works the ball inside.  New Mexico doesn’t guard the three-point line, and given how well Nebraska can shoot, that could be a bad strategy.

Nebraska scored 105 on Saturday when it beat Oklahoma.  The Huskers made 16 threes, and that now marks 4 of their six games this season (if we are counting exhibitions) in which Nebraska has made 15 or more threes. They can shoot the lights out of the building, can get downhill, and run a beautiful offense.  The Huskers have not been turning it over, but that may change today.  The other thing to watch for is that the defense for the Huskers wasn’t excellent against Oklahoma, especially in the interior.

Wake Forest Demon Deacons vs. No. 15 Texas Tech Red Raiders- Baha Mar Championship in the Bahamas.

It is hard to get a grasp on just how good the Deacs will be this year.  They have not played great competition this year and won those games, but in their game against Michigan, Wake Forest was down big early before taking a late lead, only to lose in Overtime.  The Demon Deacons have fantastic guards who can all score, but will they be able to neutralize what Texas Tech will throw at them?

Anyone who hasn't watched the Red Raiders this year, let's fill you in.  Texas Tech has one of the frontrunners for the Wooden Award right now in JT Toppin.  They have an elite point guard in Christian Anderson, and those two players are already better than everything that Wake Forest has to offer.  Toppin might have 40 tonight.

Mississippi State Bulldogs vs Kansas State Wildcats - The physical grinders against the finesse shooters.

The final game of the Hall of Fame Classic first round features two teams that are complete opposites in how they play, but are very similar in many ways.  Mississippi State likes to keep teams in the half-court, run them off the three-point line to funnel them into the shot blockers in the paint. They have an elite guard in Josh Hubbard, but they tend to turn the ball over a lot, which ultimately hinders the offense.

Kansas State is one of the best three-point shooting teams in the country, and add to that one of the best individual scorers in the game in PJ Haggerty. The Wildcats don’t play much defense, but if they make enough three, they don’t have to.  This one is going to be fun, and it has the chance to be an excellent battle between PJ Haggerty and Mississippi State’s Josh Hubbard trading baskets.

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