A Great Day of Basketball, to Honor a Great Man

In honor of Martin Luther King Jr., on this the 25th anniversary of the inaugural Martin Luther King Jr. Day, ESPN has a day of basketball games that rivals any other lineup. With the headliner being #4 Syracuse at #5 Pittsburgh (as per last weeks rankings) the lineup is not limited to that.

Chicago Bulls at Memphis Grizzlies 1 p.m.

The Bulls travel to Memphis to take on the reeling Grizzles to lead the day off with a game from the professionals. The Bulls have won 17 out of their last 22 games and have risen to third in the East standings, and making a push towards that top spot, coming off a win against the number one Miami Heat on Saturday.

Derrick Rose is an early MVP candidate and since Carlos Boozer has come off of injury their whole team has begun to have a better chemistry. Today however Boozer is unlikely to play, after injuring his left ankle during the Heat game, and he was seen in a boot. Despite the loss of Boozer the Bulls learned how to play without him early in the year and should be able to take this one of the road.

Villanova Wildcats at Connecticut Huskies 3:30 p.m.

In a top 10 matchup between two other Big East powerhouses Villanova heads into Connecticut off a big come from behind win against the Terrapins from Maryland and the ACC. They were down 12 with about nine minutes left on Saturday before a 19-0 run gave them the lead and control of the game en route to a big victory at home.

UCONN on the other hand handled bottom-dweller DePaul easily, but more importantly got Kemba Walker back on track with a 31 point outing despite only playing just a little over 30 minutes. This game should be a close one throughout though, with both teams having big men with tough names to pronounce in Mouphtaou Yarou of 'Nova and Alex Oriakhi of UCONN. Then the strenght of both teams comes in their guards with Walker (favorite for player of the year at this point) and very talented Shabbazz Napier.

This one should be very entertaining and fast paced as both teams like to run with their guards, and athletic bigs. Don't be surprised if this one is played in the high 70's-80's.

Kansas St Wildcats at Missouri Tigers 5:30 p.m.

In a pivotal Big 12 match up these two teams come in struggling, and not where either expected to be. Both ranked high in the preseason Kansas St. is on the brink of falling out of the top 25, as Missouri lost a big game this weekend in overtime. This is a game where both teams have really talented players on the offensive end, and the styles of play match each other well.

Jacob Pullen leads the Wildcats, a preseason player of the year candidate he will have to control the game for them to win, and get more consistent on his outside shot. He will be seeing a lot of pressure from the Tigers press that tries to speed the other team up into an uncomfortable flow. They should have some success with the ball handlers besides Pullen. Curtis Kelly is back in action and he will have to go up against a big front line that will be focused on speeding Kelly and the other big men up as well, and make him work for his buckets, and try to get him into foul trouble.

Expect another shootout, and a game that the winner will need if they are going to try and challenge top dog Kansas in the Big 12.

Syracuse Orange at Pittsburgh Panthers 7:30 p.m.

Look to the Lead post on the blog for a complete preview of this game: http://www.4sportscorners.blogspot.com/

Kansas Jayhawks at Baylor Bears 9:30 p.m.

Kansas is coming in with a couple of close calls but still undefeated, while Baylor will be looking for a signature win to make their way back into the top 25. The Jayhawks almost lost their NCAA leading home winning streak to Nebraska over the weekend, before gutting it out at the end, and now they enter Baylor's tough home environment to try and slow down a very offensive minded bunch.

Freshman Josh Selby will be called on to really handle pressure from the Bears and step up in his biggest road game yet in his first year. He will be seeing a lot of the Bears star LaceDarius Dunn, who is on his way to being the all-time Big 12 leading scorer. This guard battle is the highlight of the game, but much like Villanova at UCONN the big men will have their say too. The Morris Twins will be battling a front line in Baylor that loves to run, rebound, and block shots. The Morris twins thrive on their athleticism, but this is a game where that will be matched by the opponent. Parry Jones will see probably his toughest defensive match up though in the twins.

This is a great end to the day of great basketball with wonderful match ups. The basketball fans will be happy but looking for more by 11:30 tonight. I anticipate it myself.