Weekend Preview

Cue the Kenny Loggins....

For the teams on this list, they are definitely headed to the Danger Zone in terms of securing an at-large bid.  A loss this weekend just might send Maverick and Ice Man right into a mountain...

1. Louisville (at W Virginia) - Pitino has beaten Huggins 3 straight times and 8 of the last 12. 
2. Marquette (at U Conn) - Size vs speed: Marquette's perimeter game leads the Big East in 3 point percentage while U Conn leads the nation yet again in blocks per game. 
3. Richmond (Home vs St. Louis) - A must win revenge game against the Billikens who won the first match earlier this month. 
4. Illinois (Home vs Indiana) - Barely in the conversation now, a loss to the Hoosiers would be very costly.  Following the Iowa game, the schedule is about to get flatout sick:  MSU, at Wisc, Ohio St, at Purdue.
5. Alabama (at Auburn)
6. Notre Dame (at Rutgers)
7. San Diego St (at Colorado St)
8. Dayton (at St. Bonaventure)
9. Cincinnati (Home vs Providence)
10. St. Mary's (at Loyola Marymount) 

Game of the Week: Harvard (13-3) at Cornell (16-3)

Even though it's only the fourth game of the Ivy League schedule, for both teams the stakes could not be any higher.  The Ivy League is the only league that does not have a conference tournament and therefore a head to head victory will go a long ways toward securing a league title.  The two heavy favorites have combined to go 6-0 with an average margin of victory of 23 points.  Lest we forget that Cornell nearly toppled Kansas at Phogg Allen Fieldhouse while Harvard had a late rally cutting the lead to just 4 against U Conn on the road.  

Harvard is off to its best start in 99 years.  Senior guard and POY candidate Jeremy Lin was the topic of a recent SI article and with good reason.  According to the article, Lin was the only player in Division I last season to rank in the top ten of his conference in every statistical category available.  This year he's the leader of a Crimson team with aspirations for the NCAA tournament.  If all goes as planned and Cornell and Harvard continue to dominate the conference, it is possible that both could make the Big Dance.  The scenario for an unprecedented two bids from the Ivy would be for both teams to run the table and perhaps split the head to head series.  Both teams are entirely capable of doing just that.