UConn and Wisconsin Headline Black Friday Basketball

Hopefully, you were all able to enjoy your Thanksgiving meals with your family and sit and watch some quality basketball.  The basketball schedule was excellent all day, highlighted by Michigan State using its physicality and ability to get to the paint to beat North Carolina.  The Spartans don’t shoot the ball very well, but this team isn’t going to have to make threes to do damage in the Big Ten.

Duke traveled to Chicago, the former home court of Carlos Boozer, to beat Arkansas in a game that was up-and-down the floor.  Cameron Boozer, Carlos Boozer’s son, had his breakout college game with 34 points and nine rebounds, and his dad was in the front row to watch it all happen.  Arkansas has seemingly gotten it figured out after almost losing to a good Winthrop team in Fayetteville.  Both teams look like Sweet 16 teams.

Friday of Feast Week is going to crown some more champions of the remaining Multi-Team Events.  The Acrisure Invitational, ESPN Events Invitational, Battle 4 Atlantis, Rady’s Children’s Invitational, and the Acrisure Holiday Classic will all crown champions.  Let’s highlight the best games on Black Friday.

No. 5 UConn Huskies vs No. 13 Illinois Fighting Illini - Black Friday basketball in Madison Square Garden

The Huskies are one of the best teams in the country and can win a title this season.  The problem right now is that UConn isn’t healthy and is trying to battle without its starting big man, Tarris Reed.  The Huskies still have an elite backcourt and the overall better team, at least that is what it looks like so far.  Dan Hurley is one of the best coaches in the country and always has UConn ready to play.

Illinois is an interesting team.  They have a ton of talent in the frontcourt who will be able to neutralize UConn's frontcourt. I give Illinois a significant edge here; its frontcourt depth is elite.  The guard isn’t anywhere close to as good as what UConn has to offer there, even though Kylan Boswell is playing the best basketball of his career.  Can the Illinois guards make enough plays to get them a win over UConn?  

Saint Mary’s Gaels vs No. 24 Vanderbilt Commodores - Battle 4 Atlantis Title Game

Saint Mary’s plays a slow half-court game on both sides of the ball.  The Gaels do all the little things to win games; Saint Mary’s rarely beats itself, and every team they play should be prepared for a battle of the glass and in the paint.  The Gaels are one of the better defensive teams in the country every year.  All of these factors make Saint Mary’s one of the most consistent teams in the country.  The Gaels are loaded again this year and have a team built to beat Vanderbilt.

The Commodores are a lot of fun to watch because they play as fast as possible and have elite ball movement.  However, something has to give because the Gaels rarely get sped up and are going to force the pace. If Vanderbilt lets Saint Mary’s force the pace and slow them down, they are going to lose.  If the Commodores can get up and down the floor, this game has the power to be over quickly.  I can promise you that Saint Mary’s is going to slow down Vanderbilt and will have a shot late to win this game.

Wisconsin Badgers vs TCU Horned Frogs - Radys Children’s Invitational Championship

Wisconsin was the team expected to compete for a championship at the Radys after the Badgers blew out Providence to advance. Wisconsin looked much better after getting blasted by BYU last week.  The Badgers are tough to beat when they are moving the ball and getting their shooters open.  The ball movement makes life a lot easier for their star, John Blackwell, who can score from all over the floor.  If Blackwell is getting open and able to move freely, it is usually a long night for the opponents.

TCU closed its upset win over Florida on a 16-6 run, and Iowa transfer Brock Harding was huge in the game, especially during the run. TCU looked good against Florida, but how good is the team really?  This is the same team that lost to New Orleans at home on opening night, but, since then, has looked like a completely different team.  This may be a sneaky good game because of how well TCU is playing.

Here are the picks from the rest of the games on a huge Black Friday: