One of the best moves of the Darrin Horn era at WKU was the renewal of the basketball series with Eastern Kentucky University three years ago. WKU holds a monster lead in the all-time series, but EKU has a couple of historic wins that sting Topper souls. This cross-state rivalry game brings loads of fun for the players, fans, and alumni of both schools. The Tops have taken the first two games of this renewed series by handling Travis Ford's NCAA-bound EKU team two years ago, and the Tops held off Eastern in Richmond last year despite a furious second half comeback by the Colonels. Another edition of the Battle for the Bluegrass heats up tomorrow night in Bowling Green. WKU again will be favored to win, but EKU will undoubtedly pack a lunch and come to play. EKU is off to a decent 3-1 start including two road wins, but WKU's depth is going to be tough to overcome in this one.
Last Night's GOI
--at Missouri 86, Arkansas 64. Mike Anderson has Mizzou in a nice spot. They are 8-0 and seem to be recovering from the Quin Snyder debacle more quickly than expected. These are the kinds of losses that keeps pressure on Stan Heath in Fayetteville.
Belt
--The Sun Belt has been so bad to this point, readers can just assume that all Belt teams lost unless otherwise noted. Enough with me giving you the painful game-by-game embarrassment. Hey, by the way, Middle Tennessee won at home over Indiana State last night, 65-58. That secured a 1-3 record for the Belt last night. Yippee.
Weekend Forecast (All times CST)
Saturday
--Illinois vs Arizona. [4.15 pm, ESPN]. The Illini are likely to be without Jamar Smith.
--Northern Iowa at Bucknell. This figured to be another nice home win for the Bison, but the Panthers have performed better in the early going. Bucknell is 2-4 and desperately needs this one.
--Georgetown at Duke. [6 pm, ESPN2]. The Hoyas could really use a prestige win. Indiana nearly got Duke in Cameron earlier this week.
--Texas vs Gonzaga. [2pm, ESPN]. Tasty little matchup that is a great resume builder.
--Boston College at UMass. This is the Minutemen's chance to announce their NCAA At-Large viability.
--Kentucky at North Carolina. [11 am, CBS]. Battle of Bluebloods looks to have a powder blue tint this year. Kentucky still seems to be searching at this point.
--Villanova at Penn. Ah, a Big Five matchup. College hoops is officially in full swing.
--Clemson at South Carolina. [12 noon, FOX South]. In-state rivalry alert!
--Wichita State at Syracuse. The Shockers have already won at LSU. The Orange have not been challenged to date.
--Eastern Kentucky at Western Kentucky. In-state rivalry alert!
Sunday
--Nevada vs California. Both off to blazing starts.
--Florida at Florida State. In-state rivalry alert!!!
--Bradley at Michigan State. I'm not sure how good either of these teams are.
--NC State at Virginia. [2.30 pm, FOX]. Important ACC opener for both clubs.
