Pregame Shootaround 11.30.12: Three ranked teams playing on Friday

Each day, CollegeBasketballTalk brings you the “Pregame Shootaround,” which will be posted at 2 p.m. ET and lay out a preview for the slate of games that night. We’ll take a look at some key match-ups and important games, as well as make some predictions and point out what you need to watch for. Take a look below at today’s edition:

Game of the Night: Tennessee at No. 20 Georgetown (6:30 PM)
This should be an entertaining contest in the nation’s capital, and the Volunteers still without the services of power forward Jeronne Maymon. That means Jarnell Stokes and Kenny Hall will be asked to lead the way in the paint for Tennessee, who will be a tough team to handle inside once Maymon returns. Georgetown will call on Otto Porter and Markel Starks offensively, and Whittington has been solid with an average of 13.6 points per game.

Who’s getting upset?: No. 6 Syracuse at Arkansas (8:30 PM)
With Georgetown at home and Kansas taking on Oregon State in Kansas City, the Orange are the Top 25 team most ripe for the picking. Mike Anderson’s Razorbacks dropped both of its games in Las Vegas last weekend and they’ve had some time to let the defeats fester. In front of what should be a spirited crowd at Bud Walton Arena do B.J. Young and company have enough to knock off a very good Syracuse team? They’ll need to force point guard Michael Carter-Williams, who has played well to start the season, into some hurried decisions in order to do so.

Mid-Major Match-Up of the Night: Montana at San Francisco (10 PM) 
Two very good wings will be on display in this one, as the versatile Kareem Jamar leads the Grizzlies into War Memorial to take on the Dons’ De’End Parker. Parker’s averaging 20.2 points per game for San Francisco, which has won three straight after dropping its season opener to Stanford. Another individual match-up to keep an eye on is Montana’s Mathias Ward, reigning Big Sky Player of the Week, and one of the country’s best rebounders in San Francisco’s Cole Dickerson (13.8 ppg).

Five Things to Watch For:

1) Oregon State takes on Kansas. The Jayhawks are coming off of a “closer than it should have been” victory over San Jose State, and while Bill Self’s team should win tonight the Beavers have the potential to be dangerous. If Oregon State’s front court (Joe Burton, Eric Moreland and Devon Collier) can hold their own with Jeff Withey they’ve got a shot.

2) Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (Georgia) and Victor Rudd Jr. (South Florida) on the same court. One of these two, if not both, will produce an above the rim highlight tonight.

3) More late-game heroics from Deonte Burton? The Nevada point guard knocked down his second game-winning shot of the season earlier this week in the Wolf Pack’s 84-83 win over UC Davis. With Ben Simons and the Drake Bulldogs in town, Nevada may have to call on Burton again.

4) Who guards Cleveland Melvin? Tough to find too much quality in that DePaul/Auburn match-up but don’t sleep on Melvin. It will be interesting to see who Auburn head coach Tony Barbee asks to guard the versatile junior, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if Melvin posted 22 or more points for the fourth time this season.

5) Louisiana State looking to move to 7-1. The Bulldogs, led by one of the WAC’s best guards in Raheem Appleby, have won six straight and visit Georgia State. Michael White’s team has limited opponents to 58.4 points per game and 38.4% shooting from the field, and while they haven’t taken on college basketball’s answer to a “Murderers Row” (their lone defeat came at Texas A&M) Tech’s fast start shouldn’t be overlooked.

The Rest of the Top 25:

Oregon State vs. No. 10 Kansas (8 PM; in Kansas City)

Other Notable Games:

Georgia at South Florida (7 PM)

Tennessee Tech at Lipscomb (7:30 PM)

DePaul at Auburn (9 PM)

Drake at Nevada (10 PM)

Raphielle also writes for the NBE Basketball Report and can be followed on Twitter at @raphiellej.