Unlike the two games below, this game does not feature a front-runner in the national championship race, but it does feature two storied programs that could play a key role in your NCAA bracket victory, even if you won’t be penciling them into the Final Four.\u00a0<\/p>\n Over the past eight seasons, Duke always sits in the Top 10 for most of the season (with the exception of ’07 when they\u00a0were mostly unranked),\u00a0but can’t get past the Sweet 16 in March (with the exception of a Final Four appearance in ’04).\u00a0 So the annual question has become, are the Dukies\u00a0for real this year?\u00a0 Despite a #7 ranking this week, a 17-3 record, and a trio of exceptional college players on the roster, the answer appears to be\u00a0‘no’, yet again.<\/p>\n First, let me\u00a0give myself\u00a0a little pat on the back for saying in November that Jon Scheyer<\/strong> was maybe the best player on the team<\/a>, not Kyle Singler<\/strong>.\u00a0 Scheyer has had a monster senior season and has supplanted Singler as\u00a0Duke’s National Player of the Year candidate.\u00a0 At the same time, allow me to place my foot in my mouth for proclaiming that Nolan Smith<\/strong> was a ‘question mark’.\u00a0 All Smith has done is average 18 points a game, shooting 47% from the field and 48% from 3, while playing lock-down defense on the perimeter.\u00a0 The bottom line though, is that, while the big men are improved from last year, they’re still not good enough.\u00a0 If things break right for Duke, they could end up in the Final Four, but it doesn’t look like the Big Three will have enough help to get them there.<\/p>\n As for Georgetown, I must say that I haven’t see them as much as I should have so far.\u00a0 Most of their publicity goes to sophomore center Greg Monroe<\/strong>, and rightfully so with his averages of 15 points and 10 boards.\u00a0 But I got my first good look at the Hoyas\u00a0during their loss\u00a0on Monday night against Syracuse and he was virtually non-existent.\u00a0 But he has had some huge games against top competition, including 29\/16 against Villanova and 24\/15 against Butler.\u00a0 For me, the player that makes Georgetown go is veteran guard Austin Freeman<\/strong>, who has really found his shooting stroke after struggling from the outside last season.\u00a0 He’s a smart player and a solidly built 2-guard.\u00a0 Finally, junior Chris Wright<\/strong> is perhaps second only to Scottie Reynolds among Big East point guards.<\/p>\n #23 Vanderbilt at #1 Kentucky, <\/strong>4:00 on ESPN Everyone will have plenty of opportunities to see Kentucky, as just about every one of their games has been televised nationally, <\/strong>but this will be their first game following their first loss of the season, and it will be against a talented Vanderbilt team.\u00a0 What do we make of this Kentucky team?\u00a0 First off, as I said a while ago, a loss was one of the best things that could happen to them.\u00a0 I’m not a believer that it’s always good for teams to have a loss before post-season play, but when 3 of your top 4 players are freshmen, I think it’s a great thing.\u00a0 Without a loss, it’s really hard to get these freshmen to keep practicing hard and to bring their A games every time out.<\/p>\n Also worth mentioning is that,\u00a0considering the disappearance of North Carolina and the disappointing showing so far from UConn, Kentucky really doesn’t have any “marquee” wins.\u00a0 We really haven’t seen these young kids match up with\u00a0any of the top teams in the country and we won’t, at least until the NCAA tournament.\u00a0 They clearly have the\u00a0physical ability to play with anyone, but\u00a0do they have it mentally?<\/p>\n Aside from the brilliant John Wall<\/strong>, track the continued development of freshmen DeMarcus Cousins<\/strong> and Eric Bledsoe.<\/strong>\u00a0 At the beginning of the year they looked like future lottery picks,\u00a0and it’s looking more and more like that\u00a0“future” could be\u00a0in about\u00a05 months.<\/p>\n I saw Vandy play for the first time on Wednesday night, when they picked up their best win of the year so far (at Tennessee) and improved to 5-0 in the SEC.\u00a0 Their standout players against Tennessee were senior guard Jermaine Beal<\/strong>, with 25 points, and 6-11\u00a0Australian center A.J. Ogilvy<\/strong>, \u00a0who showed shot-blocking ability and a soft touch.\u00a0 Their leading scorer is\u00a0swing-man Jeffery Taylor<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Obviously this is a major in-state rivalry game and the fans in Manhattan, Kansas will be giving a loud welcome to the Jayhawks.\u00a0 Kansas, who\u00a0would move back into the #1 spot with a win here, will have their hands full with the upstart Wildcats of K-State.\u00a0 Kansas has recovered well from their first loss of the season, winning 5 straight and blowing out solid teams in their last two games.\u00a0 K-State had a let-down loss to Oklahoma St.\u00a0following their\u00a0defeat of then-#1 Texas last week, but they came right back with a very nice win at Baylor, who will most likely\u00a0be a tournament team as well.\u00a0<\/p>\n The excitement in this game may very well come from two diminutive guards that can really score: Sherron Collins<\/strong> and Jacob Pullen<\/strong>.\u00a0 Collins, well-known to hoops fans at this point, is a leader and a big-game player that will surely have the ball in his hands if the game is close late.\u00a0 Pullen is one of the better guards in the country that most people don’t know about.\u00a0 He was a role player a couple years ago when K-State was thrust into the national spotlight thanks to\u00a0fellow freshman Michael Beasley.\u00a0 Now Pullen is the\u00a0Man in Manhattan, averaging nearly 20\u00a0points a game for the season.<\/p>\n The Jayhawk’s star\u00a0freshman guard, Xavier Henry<\/strong>,\u00a0has seen his production decrease as the season goes on after a red-hot start to the season, but two frontcourt players have been picking up the slack.\u00a0 Preseason All-American center Cole Aldrich<\/strong> has had two straight nice games and will have a definite size advantage against the K-State big men.\u00a0 Meanwhile, Philly native Marcus Morris<\/strong> has become something of an X-factor, breaking out to average nearly 20 points and 8 boards over\u00a0the last five games.\u00a0 Finally, keep track of Tyshawn Taylor<\/strong>, a starter as a freshman last year,\u00a0who has mentioned transferring because his minutes have been cut in favor of Brady Morningstar<\/strong> and Tyrel Reed<\/strong>.<\/p>\n For K-State, Pullen is joined in the backcourt by another small-ish guard, Denis Clemente<\/strong>, a tough and quick fifth-year senior who transferred in from Miami last year, and who just happens to be a second cousin of the great Roberto Clemente.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The NFL season is down to its final game and on Monday the calendar will flip to February, which means it’s about time for all of you fair-weather college\u00a0basketball fans out there to start paying attention so you can sound … Continue reading ![\"nolan](\"http:\/\/i2.cdn.turner.com\/si\/2008\/writers\/seth_davis\/10\/26\/duke.postcard\/nolan-smith.jpg\")
#7 Duke at #11 Georgetown<\/strong>,<\/em> 1:00 on CBS<\/p>\n![\"cousins\"](\"http:\/\/media.al.com\/press-register-sports\/photo\/demarcus-cousins-be3042a17d4d843d_large.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"pullen\"](\"http:\/\/cdn.bleacherreport.com\/images_root\/slides\/photos\/000\/132\/829\/80371904.jpg.12745.0_display_image.jpg\")
#2 Kansas at #13 Kansas St.<\/strong>, <\/em>7:00 on ESPN<\/p>\n