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I'm going to guess that finals weeks are playing a part here. There are games between now and Saturday, but the best games aren't until then. I would wager that coaches have schedule their teams a lesser opponent mid-week before a high profile game later in the week, as four of the five Big East teams in the Big Five this week are playing twice this week.
It's a big time for teams to make one last statement before the Big East schedule starts, as New Year's Eve is two weeks from today. Get your calendars ready, and let's get to the games!
Last Week: 4-1 (stupid Syracuse)
Overall: 18-12
Saturday, December 21: Georgetown at #18/#18 Kansas (11am Central, ESPN) - Hey, no pressure, Hoyas. Only a chance for a shining moment for the conference by winning in Phog Allen Fieldhouse. Aside: Has anyone looked at Kansas' schedule? This will be their first game at Allen since November 22, and they've only played top 100 KenPom teams since then.
Saturday, December 21: Xavier at Alabama (6pm Central, something called CSS) - Quite the week for the Crimson Tide, as they host Wichita State on Tuesday before this one. All five of the Tide's wins this season have been at home, but they haven't played a team above #122 in the KenPom rankings in Tuscaloosa. Meanwhile, Xavier's won three straight since finishing DFL at the Battle 4 Atlantis and could use a quality win to keep things rolling heading into the Big East schedule.
Saturday, December 21: Marquette vs New Mexico (8pm Central, ESPNU) - Y'know what I just said about "keeping things rolling" for Xavier? That goes about quadruple for Marquette. 1-3 against the RPI top 50, 1-4 against the KenPom top 100. It ought to be interesting to see how Buzz Williams goes about defending Alex Kirk.
Sunday, December 22: DePaul at Illinois State (3:35pm Central) - Ok, this one's only on Comcast Sports in Chicago, but DePaul had to go to overtime to fend off Chicago State at home. Now they have to go on the road against a team projected for the middle of the Missouri Valley this season. Odds are that they're going to screw this up, but it would really be pretty great if they didn't.
Sunday, December 22: Creighton vs California (6pm Central, Fox Sports 1) - Man, how did Creighton convince Cal to come to Omaha for this one? In any case, the Bluejays and the Golden Bears both need a win to boost their resumes after losing two of three in their respective non-conference tournaments.