It is the best week in the college basketball regular season it’s rivalry week. Wednesday’s action features the best rivalry in all of sports North Carolina and Duke. See who I like and don’t like from this game and many other games on Wednesday.
Must Plays:
Mason Plumlee (Duke) – Plumlee made a smart decision to stay for his senior season at Duke. He is right in the middle of the National Player of the Year. He is averaging 18 ppg and 11 rpg this season. Plumlee has put up 30 points or more in 2 of his last 4 games. Unlike past years North Carolina lacks a presence in the paint, so Plumlee should have a huge game versus the Tar Heels.
Jake Cooley (Notre Dame)- Cooley should be well rested, as he fouled out in regulation in Notre Dame’s 5 overtime win. Just a couple weeks ago Cooley had a monster game against DePaul with 26 points and 16 rebounds. Look for a repeat performance from Cooley. He has recorded double figures rebounds in 7 straight games.
Marcus Smart (Oklahoma State) – While he doesn’t get the attention; he is the best true freshman in the country. He has scored 20 plus points in 3 of his last 4 games. Smart fills up the stat sheet. He averages about 6 rpg and 5 apg. He could get a triple double on any given night especially against a very bad Texas Tech team.
Christian Wofford and Cody Zeller (Indiana) – Both Wofford and Zeller are must plays against a Nebraska team that lacks a post presence. Wofford is Mr. consistent; he has scored in double figures in 14 straight games. He is coming off a 20 point game versus Ohio State. The Hoosiers are finally starting to give Zeller the ball a lot more. In his last 4 games he is averaging 19 points and 10 rebounds.
Value Plays:
James Southerland (Syracuse)- Southerland is just returning from academic issues. So on some sites his price might me real cheap. His 1st game back versus St. Johns he scored 13 points.
Myck Kabongo (Texas)- Finally, the NCAA is allowing to Kabongo to play in a game this game. However, since he hasn’t played this season; he might not be listed on some sites. Head coach Rick Barnes has already said that he will start Kabongo.
Tyler Griffey (Illinois)- Griffey had a hot start to the season, but he cooled off. Now, he has picked it up again. In his last two games he has scored 14 and 16 points. In both of those games he has played over 30 minutes. He made the game winning layup versus Indiana.
Shawn Kemp Jr. (Washington) – Yes, his dad played for Seattle in the NBA. All of sudden Kemp is getting increased minutes and to do no surprise his production is going up. While he is averaging about 5 ppg on the season in his last 3 games he is averaging 11.3 ppg. The last two games he has played over 30 minutes.
Think about Sitting:
James Michael McAdoo (North Carolina)- As I said last Saturday McAdoo struggles versus size. McAdoo will have all kinds of trouble scoring over Duke’s Mason Plumlee. Against Miami he was just 3 of 12 from the floor.
Michael Snaer (Florida State)- Snaer is inconsistent as a scorer. Some nights he goes off then the next night is a dud. Last time out against Miami; he only scored 4 points and had 0 assists.
D.J. Byrd (Purdue)- The sharp shooter has really struggled lately. He has a combined 2 points in his last 2 games. In his last game versus Michigan State he only attempted 1 shot.
South Florida- I don’t know why anyone would be thinking about taking anyone on the Bulls, but don’t. They play at a slow pace. The Bulls are 323 in the nation in scoring. Last time out they only scored 40 points.
Injury Update:
Watch out for the injury status of Miami’s Kenny Kadji. He hurt his shoulder in practice on Monday.
DaJuan Coleman is out for Syracuse.
Jalen Steele is suspended by Mississippi State.
Ryan Kelly is still out for Duke.
Scott Martin is out for Notre Dame.
Dominic Artis is still likely out for Oregon.
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