Kansas St

Conference play is in full swing on the second Saturday in January, but the biggest game is of the non-conference variety as #9 Connecticut (11-2) hits the road to take on #12 Texas (12-2) in their first meeting since the 2003 NCAA Tournament. The Longhorns, then led by point guard T.J. Ford, won that Sweet 16 matchup in San Antonio on their way to the Final Four and while they don't have a point guard in the mold of Ford they've got plenty of talent. At the top of that list would be sophomore wing Jordan Hamilton, who leads the Longhorns in scoring with an average of 19.6 points per game.

Things got off to a bad start for Frank Martin's team before last night's game against UNLV tipped off as Jacob Pullen and Curtis Kelly were both suspended due to a violation of NCAA rules. The two players purchased clothing at an area department store at a discount (how much is unknown), triggering a three-game ban for Pullen while the length of time Kelly sits out remains to be seen.

There's just one game between ranked teams on Tuesday night and it sets up to be an enticing matchup to watch while wrapping those gifts. UNLV (10-2) hits the road to take on Kansas State(9-2) in Kansas City in what will be anything but a "neutral" environment despite the designation. Both teams have dealt with disappointing losses within the past week and poor shooting was largely to blame in both instances. UNLV shot 29% for the game in a loss to UCSB last Thursday while K-State shot a frigid 22% in the second half of their loss to Florida on Saturday.

Overall Rank: #7

Looking at the semifinals of the O'Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic on paper many expected Duke and Kansas State to advance to Tuesday's title game, and they took care of business at the Spirit Center in Kansas City. But while the Wildcats had some perimeter shooters other than the explosive Jacob Pullen step up in their 81-64 whipping of Gonzaga, Duke had to rely on a change from last season's title team to get past Marquette.

We've already had a matchup between Top 10 teams this season (Ohio State at Florida), but Tuesday brings about the first matchup between Top 5 teams as Duke and Kansas State meet in the finals of the CBE Classic. The Wildcats, playing in front of a partisan crowd in Kansas City, scored 49 points in the first half and knocked down 12 three pointers in beating Gonzaga 81-64 in the nightcap of Monday's doubleheader.

Ohio State's trip south to take on Florida for the first time since 2007 was the first major test for both teams, a game in which we'd find out two important things about Thad Matta's team. One was how they'd navigate the loss of Evan Turner in regards to a primary ball-handler, one that many thought the Buckeyes lacked going into the season. And the second question was how a talented freshman class would mesh with established veterans such as William Buford, Jon Diebler and David Lighty.

This is the day that millions of college basketball fans have been waiting for since the final note of "One Shining Moment" (if that moment wasn't spent rightfully complaining about the butchering that Harvey Mason Jr. and Jennifer Hudson were allowed to pull off). 24 hours of college basketball to be viewed, from Miami (FL) at Memphis to a very good matchup between San Diego State and Gonzaga tipping off at 11 PM. In addition to that matchup at the Kennel there are a pair of games matching ranked teams that could have massive resume implications come March.

"The Butler Way demands commitment, denies selfishness, accepts reality yet seeks improvement everyday while putting the team above self." (courtesy of butlersports.com)

The above sentence is one of the major reasons why the Butler Bulldogs, winners of 24 straight games, are now headed home to Indianapolis not just because they have to but also to play in next weekend's Final Four. Matt Howard ran into foul trouble early but it didn't matter as Brad Stevens' team used defense and rebounding to knock off two-seed Kansas State 63-56 in Salt Lake City.

#2 Kansas State Wildcats

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