College basketball scouting reports

Syracuse (20-1, 7-1) at DePaul (8-12, 1-7)When: 1 p.m. at Allstate ArenaTV: ThisTVRadio: WSCR 670-AMThe skinny: The No. 4 Orange brings one of the nation's most consistent and balanced offenses to Rosemont. Syracuse has scored at least 72 points in every game while DePaul has cracked the 72-point barrier just four times. Iowa State transfer Wes Johnson leads the Orange with 17.1 points and 9 rebounds per game, but the next four players average between 10.0 and 10.6 points. Syracuse boasts three terrific inside players, four excellent shooters ... you get the idea. DePaul's mission, as it has been every game since Tracy Webster took over, is to slow the tempo and play tenacious defense. Mac Koshwal, who returned Tuesday, should have built more endurance and he'll need it. Sophomore center Krys Faber, who was ejected in the second half against WV for a flagrant elbow, faces no further penalty from the league and will be in the lineup.Northwestern (14-6, 3-5) at Michigan St. (18-3, 8-0)When: 6 p.m. at Breslin CenterTV: BTNRadio: WYLL 1160-AMThe skinny: Here's the place to insert a throwaway line such as, "Can lightning strike twice in the same spot," but then that belittles Northwestern's win last January over a seventh-ranked Michigan State squad at the Breslin Center. The Wildcats take a good group into today's game, but the fifth-ranked Spartans might be better than last year's crew. They're riding a nine-game winning streak, though they had to scrap to win 1-point decisions at Minnesota and Michigan within the last week. When MSU crushed NU 91-70 on Jan. 2 at Welsh-Ryan Arena, the Spartans carved up the Wildcats' 1-3-1 zone trap as if it weren't there. Coach Tom Izzo kept shifting around point guard Kalin Lucas to get him different access points into the heart of NU's defense. We'll find out if the Wildcats discovered a way to get the middleman in their zone above the Spartans' high-post guy.Indiana (9-10, 3-4) at Illinois (13-8, 5-3)When: 1 p.m. at Assembly HallTV: BTNRadio: WIND 560-AMThe skinny: Bruce Weber is eager to see whether his guys build on Wednesday's 10-point triumph at Penn State, seeing as how they haven't strung together back-to-back good performances in seven weeks. In honor of the Coaches vs. Cancer Suits Sneakers Awareness Weekend, the Illini will unveil white home uniforms with pink trim and they'll wear pink Nikes. Only three other schools (Oregon, BYU and Iowa State) are doing the same. The Hoosiers already have tripled last year's Big Ten win total. They'd have a winning record in league play if Illinois hadn't rallied from a 15-point deficit to earn a 66-60 victory at Bloomington on Jan. 9. Indiana couldn't guard Demetri McCamey on the perimeter and Mike Tisdale in the post the first time, so look for coach Tom Crean to try different schemes this time around.Buffalo (10-7, 3-3) at Northern Illinois (8-10, 4-2)When: Noon at the Convocation CenterRadio: WLBK 1360-AMThe skinny: This kicks off a men's/women's doubleheader in an attempt to "Cram the Convo." Before Carol Owens' women's team (8-11, 2-5) tries to upset Kent State, the men try to shake a two-game losing streak. The Huskies look like they might be reverting to last year's struggles when they couldn't stop anybody. NIU has lots of firepower, including MAC leading scorer Xavier Silas (20.7 ppg) but not enough to surrender 99 points to Ohio as it did Wednesday. Buffalo, which retained four starters from last year's team that earned the MAC tournament's No. 1 seed, comes to town with three losses in a row. First-team all-MAC returnee Rodney Pierce averages 18.1 points but shoots just 39.5 percent.Loyola (12-8, 3-7) at Wright St. (13-8, 6-4)When: 1 p.m. at Nutter CenterTV: Comcast SportsNetRadio: WAUR 930-AM, WNTD 950-AM, WLUW 88.7-FMThe skinny: The Ramblers earned their best victory of the season when they edged Wright State 53-52 on New Year's Eve at the Gentile Center. Since that game, though, Loyola has dropped 6 of 7 while the Raiders have gone 4-3 and jumped into the nation's Top 75 according to the computer stylings of Ken Pomeroy and Jeff Sagarin. Ramblers coach Jim Whitesell shook up his starting lineup for the first time on Thursday when he put sophomore John Benkoske in the post ahead of freshman Ben Averkamp. That likely was a move designed to counter Detroit's height and strength, so Averkamp could return to the lineup today.UIC (5-15, 1-9) at Detroit (13-8, 6-4)When: 3 p.m. at Calihan HallInternet: horizonleaguenetwork.tv.uicRadio: WMVP 1000-AMThe skinny: The Flames have the unenviable task of playing the Horizon League's top three teams in succession. The first two games didn't work out well (a 29-point home loss to Butler and a 36-point road loss to Wright State), but UIC might be able to draw on its 60-56 home win over Detroit on New Year's Eve. On the other hand, the Flames have lost eight straight since. When UIC beat the Titans the first time around, Robo Kreps piled up a career-high 31 points.