Jonathan Lee    AccuScore Analyst
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After two nights of play, the ACC and Big 10 are deadlocked at three wins apiece.Tonight’s match-ups lack any real wattage as the bottom teams from both leagues still need to prove that they can be more than just fodder for top-25 caliber squads.The one marquee game of course is No.1 North Carolina and No.12 Michigan State squaring off at Ford Field, the site of this year’s Final Four.

The three-all tie after two nights constitutes progress for the Big 10 as it won just three games in this event in each of the past two years.After Wisconsin’s dramatic win Monday, Minnesota had a fairly easy time in a 10-point win over Virginia while Ohio State used a huge 51 point second half to take down No.22 Miami on the road.Iowa however missed the front-end of a one-and-one situation and lost by two despite holding Boston College to just one point over the final 4:45.Purdue also lost handily to Duke at home, and showed it isn’t quite ready for primetime.

Onto tonight’s games:

(1) NORTH CAROLINA vs. (12) MICHIGAN STATE
While this game will be a nice early season test for each team, both would rather be playing at Ford Field in March.North Carolina currently looks like the juggernaut in college basketball with a deep experienced team already ready for a postseason run.Tyler Hansbrough, Wayne Ellington, Ty Lawson, Deon Thompson, and Danny Green have been playing together for three full seasons and are a well-oiled machine.Their ability to play deadly efficient offense at such a high pace makes them almost impossible to defend.An opposing team must be equal to the task offensively to beat the Tar Heels.

The Spartans have actually averaged an impressive 1.22 points per possession thus far this season, but has done so against some subpar competition.Against Maryland they scored just 0.89 points per possession which led to an 18 point loss.Guards Travis Walton, Kalin Lucas, and Durrell Summers will need to handle under pressure and make good decisions for 40 minutes for Michigan State to have a chance of pulling off the upset.While I think this is possible after 30 more games of Tom Izzo coaching, executing in early December might be too much to expect.

INDIANA vs. (17) WAKE FOREST
This could and should have been the second marquee match-up of the night.Instead this looks like the biggest mismatch in this entire series.Indiana was completely decimated after the Kelvin Sampson debacle last season, and will be rebuilding for the foreseeable future.Six of the top seven scorers for the Hoosiers are freshmen.The one upperclassmen leading the way is Devan Dumes, and junior college transfer who is shooting just 38.5% from the field.When looking at the roster there is no surprise as to why Indiana is terrible by every metric on offense, but the team can be given a pass this season due to the unprecedented upheaval the past few months.

The Demon Deacons on the other hand look poised to compete for the third spot in the ACC behind North Carolina and Duke.This is a team loaded with talented youngsters led by sophomore guard Jeff Teague.Teague is averaging 21 points, 4 rebounds, and 5 assists per game while shooting fantastically well from everywhere on the floor.He is shooting 49.4% from the field overall, but an absurd 57.1% from distance thus far.Fellow sophomore James Johnson has also stepped up his game mightily averaging 15 points and 9 rebounds per game.Freshman forward Al-Farouq Aminu has adjusted quickly to the college game averaging nearly a double-double himself with 13.3 points and 9.5 rebounds a contest.

PENN STATE vs. GEORGIA TECH
The Nittany Lions look improved over last season, but that is not saying much as they look to be competing at the bottom of the conference.The 6-1 early record is deceiving because of the subpar competition which makes judging the team difficult.They are led by do-everything guard Taylor Battle who, despite standing under 6-feet tall, is averaging 19.4 points, 6 rebounds, and 5.3 assists per game.

Georgia Tech roster has suffered greatly due to early defections to the professional ranks, but still has some quality talent remaining.Zach Peacock, Gani Lawal, and Alade Aminu combine to form one of the better frontcourts in the ACC with the three so far combining to average better than 46 points per game.Freshman Iman Shumpert has shown promise playing heavy minutes in the early going despite struggling with his shot.The Yellow Jackets are solid favorites at home projected to win 65 percent of the time with an average margin better than 5 points.

MICHIGAN vs. MARYLAND
Each team has scored a marquee win in the early going.Those wins cannot mask the deficiencies both teams have however.Michigan was able to defeat UCLA in Madison Square Garden but needed overtime to defeat Savannah State just one week later at home.Poor three-point shooting (27.6%) in an offense that is predicated on three-point shots is not a recipe for winning ball games.

Maryland was able to impressively beat Michigan State by 18 points, and then followed that up by being blown out by Gonzaga and Georgetown on successive nights.Those two teams are of high quality to be sure, but losing by a combined 49 points wasn’t exactly the way Gary Williams planned on building on the Michigan State win.

Both teams need a win that would look good at least on name recognition to their respective fan bases.In that vein Maryland has the advantage playing in the friendly confines of College Park.The Terps are favored in over 55 percent of simulations by an average margin of nearly three points.

FLORIDA STATE vs. NORTHWESTERN
Northwestern won just eight games a year ago and just once in conference play.The Wildcats have already won four times this season, and fell by only four to Butler on the road.Baby steps for this perennial losing program.

Florida State represents a significant step up in competition for Northwestern.The Seminoles are 7-0 in the early going, and have played solidly on the defensive end.The offense on the other hand has struggled mainly because of poor shooting (just 46.9% on two-point attempts) and turnovers.This has been partially masked by the fact that they have gotten to the free throw line at a terrific rate thus far.The Seminoles will need to become much more efficient offensively if they are to break through and finally reach the NCAA tournament under Leonard Hamilton.

Northwestern is actually projected to win nearly 60 percent of simulations, but by a margin less than 3 points.A win would be big for the program, and for the rest of the Big 10 as a whole.

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