The Morning Mix

Morning folks. I hope you’re ready for another loaded night of college hoops, because Wednesday is bringing the thunder. Tonight is the first full night of conference play, and there are a handful of sneaky-good match-ups are on the schedule.

Lets hit the links.

Wednesday’s Top Games:
7:00 p.m. – Nebraska @ No. 2 Michigan
7:00 p.m. – No. 3 Louisville @ Seton Hall
7:00 p.m. – Iowa State @ No. 6 Kansas
7:00 p.m. – No. 14 Butler @ Saint Joseph’s
7:00 p.m. – Dayton @ Virginia Commonwealth
8:00 p.m. – Eastern Kentucky @ Murray State
8:00 p.m. – Valparaiso @ Illinois-Chicago
9:00 p.m. – No. 8 Minnesota @ No. 12 Illinois
9:00 p.m. – West Virginia @ Texas
10:00 p.m. – No. 24 UNLV @ No. 25 New Mexico
10:00 p.m. – Boise State @ Wyoming
11:00 p.m. – Washington @ California
11:30 p.m. – No. 16 San Diego State @ Fresno State

Top Stories:
Patsy Sutton, wife of legendary coach Eddie Sutton, has passed away: Patsy Sutton, the wife of legendary coach Eddie Sutton, passed away yesterday at the age of 76. Sutton had been hospitalized since Dec. 28 after suffering a stroke.

John Calipari pleased with the progress of Ryan Harrow: After a dismal start to his Kentucky career, NC-State transfer Ryan Harrow is developing the leadership skills John Calipari demands out of his point guards. How far this team goes in March will ultimately depend on the play of the Kentucky point guard, and Harrow is trending in the right direction.

Deshaun Thomas, No. 15 Ohio State bounce back after loss to Illinois, beat Purdue: Behind 22 points on 8-of-13 shooting from Deshaun Thomas, Ohio State bounced back from a loss over the weekend to beat Purdue on the road, 74-64. The Buckeyes needed a strong performance following a 19-loss against Illinois, and they got it from the guy they needed to get it from.

Wyoming’s Luke Martinez broke finger during bar fight, police say: Wyoming coach Larry Shyatt announced Dec. 31 that senior Luke Martinez would be out indefinitely after breaking his hand in an off-campus incident. Now, according to a police report, it has been revealed that Martinez was involved in a bar fight in Laramie that resulted in a broken right ring finger. The Cowboys are still undefeated and face a stern test from Boise State tonight.

Atlantic-10 Conference Catch-up: While the Big-Ten is the strongest conference in the country, it could be argued that the A-10 is the deepest in the country. Any of the league’s top-5 teams could emerge as conference champions, and the next five best teams are right behind them. This is going to be a fun conference to track.

Hoops Housekeeping
- Duke forward Ryan Kelly injured his surgically-repaired right foot during the Blue Devils’ win against Clemson on Tuesday. This is the third time in 12 months that Kelly has injured his right foot. (Charlotte Observer)

- Missouri forward Laurence Bowers injured his knee in the Tigers’ SEC opener against Alabama. It appears to be a MCL sprain on his left knee. Bowers was sidelined all of last season with an ACL tear in his right knee. (The Dagger)

- California guards Brandon Smith and Ricky Kreklow will not play against Washington tonight due to unrelated injuries. (Bear Talk)

- Louisville forward Chane Behanan sprained his ankle in practice and should be sidelined until the pivotal January 19th showdown with Syracuse. (Eye on College Basketball)

- Iona junior forward Shawn Jackson will not return to the Gaels basketball program this semester. (Yahoo Sports)

- The Drexel Dragons, CAA preseason favorites, continue to struggle, as evident by their overtime loss at Northeastern and their 5-10 record. But much of their struggles come from the fact that much of the Dragons’ firepower has been sidelined with injuries (Philahoops.com)

- Michigan reserve forward Jon Horford is set to return to action soon after sitting out four games due to a dislocated kneecap. (The Sporting News)

Observations & Insight:
- Georgetown suffered its worst Big East defeat in program history and its worst home defeat since 1971 last night against Pittsburgh. (CSN Washington)

- If you’re in to statistics and that sort of thing, you should be happy to know that the first RPI has been released. (ESPN)

- Tulane’s Josh Davis deserves some praise. The Green Wave forward has been sensational this season and the driving force behind Tulane’s 12-3 start. (Times-Picayune)

- You know, this is a great question. Can Minnesota win a Big-Ten title with no real deep threat? (Rush The Court)

- After two months of action UNLV’s Anthony Bennett is at the top of Jeff Borzello’s Freshman of the Year rankings. (Eye on College Basketball)

- Michigan State’ Branden Dawson was bummed out by the reaction he got froM Purdue fans. Dawson spurned Purdue during the recruitment process in favor of Michigan State. Oh, and he punched Travis Carrol in the stomach on Saturday. (Mlive.com)

- This is absolutely hilarious: .Gifs detailing the feelings of each SEC team heading in to conference play. LSU keeps cracking me up. (Kentucky Sports Radio)

Dunk(s) of the Day:
Plan and simple. #POSTERIZED of the night. Poor A.J. Hammons. (Big Ten Network)

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