Holiday Bowl Preview Left out of the Bowl Championship Series, the No. 12 Arizona State Sun Devils will play No. 17 Texas in the Holiday Bowl on Dec. 27.
Author: Anthony Rome
Pointsettia Bowl Preview Utah coach Kyle Whittingham knows all about wild December games in San Diego, having played in the first four Holiday Bowls with BYU. Now he’ll be bringing his Utah Utes to town to play Navy on Dec. 20 in the Poinsettia Bowl, which will kick off the bowl season with a matchup of 8-4 teams at Qualcomm Stadium.
Looking For an Easier Task After making it through its first big test of the season, Kansas should have an easier time when it returns home to face Eastern Washington on Wednesday. The third-ranked Jayhawks (7-0) won 59-55 at then-No. 22 Southern California on Sunday in its first game against a ranked opponent and first away from Allen Fieldhouse.
Bring on The Cougars Washington State and Gonzaga have played each other 141 times, but they’ve never met when both were in the Top 25. That changes Wednesday, when the unbeaten and eighth-ranked Cougars travel 75 miles to Spokane to face the No. 17 Bulldogs.
No Derailing Texas Texas lost its leading scorer and rebounder to the NBA in the offseason, but that hasn’t stopped the Longhorns from reaching their highest national ranking in two years. Coming off a dramatic win over one of the top-ranked teams in the country, the fourth-ranked Longhorns look to remain undefeated when they host North Texas on Wednesday.
Hitting The Road Pittsburgh has won its first seven games of the season, but hasn’t yet hit the road. Its first contest in an opposing gym won’t even be outside of city limits. The 12th-ranked Panthers look for their sixth consecutive 8-0 start when they travel less than three miles down the road to face longtime rival Duquesne on Wednesday.
Holding Their Own Georgetown appears able to hold its own even when star Roy Hibbert is not at his best. The fifth-ranked Hoyas hope for another balanced effort and try to remain undefeated when they face Alabama on Wednesday night in Birmingham as part of the SEC/Big East Invitational.
Celtics Rolling Along The Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers are at opposite ends of the spectrum. They meet in Philadelphia Wednesday with the 14-2 Celtics off to their best start in 22 years and the Sixers in the midst of a front-office shakeup following another subpar start.
Showing Dominance The Colorado Avalanche have played like a different team at home than they have on the road this season. Location, though, has never mattered when it comes to facing the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Avalanche look to continue their almost complete dominance over the Blue Jackets when the teams meet Wednesday at Nationwide Arena.
Beating The Islanders The Atlanta Thrashers haven’t done much winning lately – except when they face the New York Islanders. Atlanta looks for its second victory over New York in the last five days when the teams meet at Philips Arena on Wednesday.