Syracuse Faces Georgetown Without Boeheim, Temple at Wisconsin

College basketball continues albeit for many in the obscurity of college football. Nevertheless, the season is well underway with a big upset having already taken place when UCLA knocked off the previously unbeaten and No. 1 ranked Kentucky Wildcats Thursday night.

A complete docket of games is on tap for the weekend. This weekend’s best game will be between longtime archrivals Syracuse and Georgetown.

The two have not played head to head since 2013 in the Big East tournament due to Syracuse moving to the ACC. However, Saturday at the Verizon Center in the nation’s capital the two will resume their fierce rivalry.

No. 14 ranked Syracuse will be without head coach Jim Boeheim for only the fourth games since 1976. Boeheim will be serving the first of a nine-game suspension issued by the NCAA.

Mike Hopkins will be the interim head coach. He has already been handpicked to succeed Boeheim when the veteran coach steps down.

Georgetown is just 3-3, while Syracuse is 6-1, but the Hoyas are 5.5-point chalk is this as they are playing at home and Boeheim’s absence could affect his players especially in the first game without him on the sideline.

Another big matchup this weekend pits Arizona against Gonzaga. Arizona has been beset with injuries to Kaleb Tarczewski and Ray Smith. However, the game features a No. 13 (Gonzaga) against a No. 19 (Arizona) which means there is deep talent on both sides.

Two teams not in the rankings meet on Saturday when Temple plays Wisconsin. Temple is just 3-3, but their losses are to the likes of Utah, Butler and North Carolina. The Owls will give Wisconsin a tough challenge and could pull off an upset if a few bounces of the ball go their way.

This weekend eyes should be focused on Jack Gibbs. The talented player at Davidson scored 41 points earlier this week in a win on the road at Charlotte. He also scored 35 in the team’s season opener versus UCF.

The guard, who is just 6-foot, has played only four games thus far but has scored 35 or more points on two occasions.

His average is 26 points while he is hitting over 55% of his shots from the field. He will be on the big stage on Sunday when his Wildcats visit the No. 9 ranked North Carolina Tar Heels.