KEY GAMES TODAY:

Marquette vs. Vanderbilt, 6:30 PM EST, CBSSN

Both teams projected to be on the bubble this season. Both lost some key pieces to the NBA last year, and Vandy obviously lost their coach... but gained Bryce Drew, which is a net positive IMO. Kind of weird to already talk about the tournament, but this is the type of game you want to win if you want to make the tournament-- because if your opponent fails to make the tourney, optics will call it a "bad loss."

Lots of shooting bound to happen, as neither team has a ton of depth inside or a predilection for pounding the ball inside and crashing the glass. Real coin flip. Market opened at Vandy -3.5, now it's at Marquette by 1.5-2 points. That trend scares me away from picking Marquette. In the battle of the Lukes, I'll go with Kornet, though it pains me to pick against Wojo.

Arizona vs. Michigan State, 7 PM EST, ESPN

Hot to pick against Arizona right now, with Ray Smith forced into early retirement by injuries (PAY THE PLAYERS) and Allonzo Trier missing some if not all of the season due to suspension for an unknown reason, rumored to be PED use. However, they have a highly touted trio of freshmen just like Michigan State-- and one of them, Lauri Markkanen, is an absolute matchup nightmare for MSU. It'll be interesting to see just how ready Cassius Winston is for Michigan State-- I imagine Parker Jackson-Cartwright will be overmatched on defense against him, so I wonder if the Kobi Simmons era will begin sooner than some maybe expected (at least for this particular matchup). Michigan State is a one-point favorite... but I'll take Arizona here. I think they win the boards which would help them win the game.

Indiana vs. Kansas, 9 PM EST, ESPN

Game of the night/weekend. Best game until Kansas plays Duke in a few days. I don't think the 6-point Kansas spread is fair. Indiana was one of the best teams in the country the last couple of months of last year. Inside, Kansas can't match up against Thomas Bryant. Indiana should feed the big fella early and often, as Bragg and Lucas would really have their hands full against a future lotto pick down low. On the wing, there will be a coming-out party tonight, either for frosh phenom Josh Jackson or for potential breakout star OG Anunoby for Indiana. They should guard one another-- and while Jackson's upside is really high, I wouldn't be surprised if Anunoby's experience and superior shooting touch gives him a slight upper hand. However, it'll come down to the back court. Mason and Graham crushed in the Big 12 last year, whereas James Blackmon was sort of famously awful on defense last season, especially highlighted in the loss to Duke, one of the most embarrassing displays by a team of tremendous talent that I've ever seen. Backcourt will be Indiana's biggest question-- Newkirk should be better defensively than Yogi, but Mason and Graham have the potential to win games by themselves, and I don't see Indiana's backcourt fixing that. I'd take Kansas for the win but Indiana to cover the spread.

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