12/10 Open Thread / Preview - Top 25 in-town rival, SoCal and possible first wins on the docket

The AE has 7 games on tap for this weekend. Sunday's games look to be the most interesting, however Saturday brings some interesting rivals and story lines. We are open and ready for business. IT'S GAME TIME!

BU has not beaten a ranked foe since 1959. The Terriers are 8-2 in their last 10 games against the Crimson, but have lost two straight years to them. Harvard is ranked in the Top 25 for the first time ever. I don’t know about you, but to this looks like we have the makings for a perfect storm of a basketball game. The battle at Agganis Arena could be the best of the weekend games.

This will be the final non-conference Boston match-up of the season for the Terriers. They are 1-1 against Beantown teams, with their last victory of the season coming against Boston College at Chesnut Hill. However, this game will not be easy for BU. They must shutdown a solid offense led by Keith Wright and Kyle Casey. Both are at the top in scoring and rebounding for the Crimson.

The key will be the BU defense. The Terriers have an equal, if not better ranked, offense in comparison to Harvard. The battle of the boards will be vital. BU is ranked 153^rd in the nation in rebounding in comparison to Harvard’s 268. That means Dom Morris and Patrick Hazel will be a critical part of the Terrier game plan. If they control the boards, the Curse of ’59 could easily come to an end.

If there ever was a chance for Hartford to get a win, this is the game. Niagara has lost three straight and seem to be at the level of the Hawks. However, Hartford has to score (gee, like we have not heard that before), especially if they want to win this match-up. The Purple Eagles rank 172^nd in the nation in scoring.

Please Hartford! We beg you...WIN!

Two Baltimore programs with a combined record of 0-15 meet up. This should be interesting. The stats tend to favor UMBC. If you thought Hartford was bad at scoring, you have not seen Towson play. They are ranked 343^rd in the nation in scoring. Also, you got to laugh when your leading scorers last name is Damas (Long Island soph. Marcus Damas). However, the Retrievers should not sleep on Towson’s Robert Nwankwo. Kid can put up buckets and grab rebounds.

The 30^th nationally ranked offense (YEA, THE CONFERENCE MAY NOT HAVE A GREAT RPI, BUT WE CAN SCORE BUCKETS!) heads to California to take on the struggling Toreros. San Diego has lost three straight after starting the season 4-1. The Toreros are led by Chris Manresa, who is putting up nearly 12 points and 10 rebounds a game. If MidRangeGames' man crush (Edwards) and Alasdair Fraser can shut down Manresa in the paint, it could be a blowout for the Black Bears.