By Sameer Kini
Sports Editor
This week, both national and WA sports have important games to watch. Here are my picks to see for this week.
National – NCAA Basketball. With conference tournaments on the horizon and the craziness of March Madness that follows, my pick to watch this week is the weekend in college basketball. Saturday has a few great games that between ranked teams looking to prepare for their conference tourneys while also lobbying for higher seeds for the Big Dance. The biggest game of the weekend will be when the Tobacco Road rivalry continues when Duke heads to UNC. Duke was knocked off their #1 ranking by Virginia Tech, but I expect Kyle Singler and Nolan Smith to bounce back as Duke will handle UNC in a close one. Another great game pits the UConn Huskies against the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame. UConn has been solid all season, with a few ups and downs, but I see coach Jim Calhoun leading this young team full of stars like Kemba Walker over Notre Dame. Other notable Saturday games include Villanova at Pitt and Kansas at Missouri.
On Sunday, there is a huge Big Ten matchup brewing as the Wisconsin Badgers will visit the Buckeyes of Ohio State. Earlier this season, the Badgers were able to beat the Buckeyes at home, when Ohio State was the top-ranked team in the nation. This came as a huge upset, and Ohio State will definitely be looking for revenge as they may gain another shot at the top ranking in the nation with a victory. I expect that this time there will be too much firepower for star Jon Leuer and the Badgers to handle, as the Buckeyes should cruise into the Big Ten tournament with a victory.
WA – Boys Basketball. This week, the Grey Ghosts get their first taste of playoff action after a strong season overall. While the Grey Ghosts seemed to stumble a bit at the end, they still had an impressive season, which earned them the 13 seed in the Division 1 North tournament. First up for the Ghosts is 22nd ranked Somerville. The game is Tuesday at WA at 7 PM. All fans should know that this is a blackout, and everyone is encouraged to go to root on WA as they look to reach the second round. As for my pick, I think WA will cruise in this one behind Mark Cornelius, whose fantastic season should continue throughout their entire playoff run. As for their entire playoff stretch, I expect big things from this team if they can bounce back from their slightly shaky end of the season to return to the midseason form they had where they looked untouchable. Fans should continue to follow the team throughout their whole run, as this team should provide great results.
