Watch Grid: 12/16-12/22

The non-conference season is approaching its close. This is your last jam-packed grid of non-conference games before things trail off for Christmas next week, followed by conference play getting going the week after that. Let's see what we've got this week:

Monday, December 16th



Don't watch tonight. Finish your Christmas shopping.

Tuesday, December 17th

Oklahoma-Creighton should be a close game, but the shine on this one has faded quite a bit since the season began. Both teams look to be near the outside of the bubble, so they could both be desperate for a nice non-conference win.

Wednesday, December 18th

What's this? The 2017 National Championship rematch doesn't even take precedence over Saint Mary's-Arizona State? It was a top-10 matchup at the beginning of the year, but honestly UNC has fallen so far after losing 4 of their last 5 games that they are down to an 8 point underdog against the Zags. There's still good game potential there, but I have to instead recommend checking out the other good WCC team and introducing yourself to Jordan Ford and the fine-tuned Saint Mary's offense. Earlier in the evening, ranked Tennessee has to follow up a hideous outing against Memphis with a tough road game in Cincinnati.

Thursday, December 19th

Seton Hall has struggled a bit, losing their last 2 games after incredibly named Sandro Mamukelashvili went down with an injury (including an embarrassing blowout to Rutgers), but they've got really good bounce-back potential in a home game against Maryland, featuring another awesome point guard duel for Myles Powell, this one against Anthony Cowan. Later, undefeated Auburn somehow made it 9 games without playing a single power conference opponent, but that changes as they host a solid NC State team.

Friday, December 20th

Not much tonight. Make some Christmas cookies or something.

Saturday, December 21st

A jam-packed pre-Christmas buffet of quality games to choose from today. I have no idea how Villanova got Kansas to agree to come play them in Philly, but as a neutral fan I'm not going to question it. We'll see if this time Kansas remembers to defend the 3 point line against the Wildcats. Next we get an epic showdown in the Crossroads Classic, which is always a treat when it happens to get the two best teams in Indiana playing each other. After that, a Final Four quality showdown in Las Vegas, as Kentucky gets their first crack at a team with a pulse since opening night against Michigan State. That wraps up the super epic showdown portion of the day, but if you still haven't had your fill by that point, LSU-USC should provide quality late night entertainment without the gravity of the earlier games.

Sunday, December 22nd

A calmer Sunday after a busy day of games Saturday, the one highlight today is Xavier trying to notch one power conference win in their 3rd try before heading into conference play. Nothing else really jumps out, although somehow we are not done with early-season tournaments, as the Diamond Head Classic kicks off in Honolulu, for some reason.

I'm not going to do a formal Watch Grid post next Monday since there are just so few games during the week next week, but I'll tweet out individual grids on Saturday and Sunday for the sake of completeness. Until then, enjoy the games this week!