A Two Pack For Monday

When you get sick of watching Countdown to Inauguration coverage, flip to:

Syracuse at Pittsburgh
Lost in all of the hoolpa of their undefeated start was the fact that Pitt had only played one ranked team (Georgetown) before Saturday's game against Louisville. The Cardinals' win not only knocked the Panthers off the top of the polls, but it also knocked them off the one line in our latest Field of 65 in favor of another Big East team - UConn - that has a better overall resume. Fortunately for Pitt, they have a chance at some quick redemption tonight as they host a Syracuse team that didn't look so great in its last Big East road game, losing by 14 at Georgetown on Wednesday. The Panthers would be well served to get a win here, considering their next three games (at West Virginia, at Villanova, Notre Dame) are pretty rough. The Orange, meanwhile, need to carry over some of the shooting touch - and some of the interior defense - they showed against the Irish over the weekend. They made Luke Harangody look pretty awful (he finished 9-of-28 from the field), and on the offensive end, six Syracuse players scored in double figures.

Texas A&M at Kansas
This game is big for both teams, considering they've kind of set up shop around the 9-10 lines of our bracket for the last couple weeks. It's especially huge, though, for A&M, considering a loss would drop them to 1-3 in conference with a game at Texas looming on Saturday. An 0-2 week knocks them out of the Field of 65 for a while. Kansas, meanwhile, didn't do anything flashy last week, but they've now won five of six. Their next four Big XII games are very winnable (this game, then at Iowa State, at Nebraska, and home against Colorado); if they can win them all, they'll likely be the third-best Big XII team in terms of seeding and they'll finally work their way out of the 8-9 game.

Also receiving votes: Women's action: No. 1 UConn at No. 2 North Carolina