Big 12-Big East Battle - Part 5

The Big 12-Big East Battle starts Tuesday evening 11/29 and continues through next Sunday 12/4 and will feature several great games. Please see below for Part 5 of my Previews. There will be a total of 5 Previews - one per day - previewing 2 games each day.

West Virginia at Xavier

Saturday 12/3 at - Cintas Center, Cincinnati, OH, 6:30PM FS1

West Virginia has had a really good start to the season as the Mountaineers are 6-1 with wins over Pittsburgh and Florida. Xavier has been extremely impressive as well with wins over Florida and Fairfield along with narrow losses to both Indiana, Duke, and Gonzaga. The Musketeers should be able to use their experience and home court to their advantage to take down the Mountaineers.

Steve's Thoughts - Xavier fans will have the Cintas Center rocking on Saturday night when West Virginia comes to town. WVU Head Coach Bob Huggins is familiar with the Musketeers and their raid fan base from his years at Cincinnati. West Virginia will hang with Xavier for a while but look for the home crowd to give the Musketeers the moral support they need in the 2nd half to win 85-78.

St. John's at Iowa State

Sunday 12/4 at - James H. Hilton Coliseum, Ames, IA, 3:00PM, ESPN2

Iowa State will be returning from the Phil Knight Invitational fresh off their upset of # 1 North Carolina looking to take down the Red Storm in the final game of the Big 12-Big East Battle. St. John's is off to their own torrid start as the Red Storm is currently undefeated with wins over Temple and Syracuse in the Empire Classic in Brooklyn. What team will be able to impose their will?

Steve's Thoughts - Iowa State fans will have the Hilton Coliseum bouncing as always and the Red Storm will need to play a near perfect game to win. St. John's has the talent and depth to win this game and could catch the Cyclones by surprise. Iowa State may be dealing with a slight hangover after defeating two Blue Bloods in Villanova and North Carolina in Portland last weekend. I think Andre Curbelo will make just enough plays to carry the Red Storm to victory. St. John's wins 80-78.

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