Tonight's matchup between #1 Arizona (11-0) and Southern (3-7) is so disproportional on paper I'm beginning to think it has no betting line. A five minute internet search of vegas.com, the Sporting News, oddshark.com, and others yielded nothing. I then stumbled on ESPN's clandestinely labeled "odds" page in its college basketball section and found the spreads for eleven games scheduled for Thursday night, none of them Arizona vs. Southern.

That takes away most of the fun leading up to the 9:00 game in Tucson, Arizona. It won't even be on T.V., which may partially explain the lack of spread.

Even more absurd was ESPN.com's Eamonn Brennan's argument for Aaron Gordon as the leading candidate for the Naismith Award. Citing his defensive ability but not the mere 12 points he averages per game (combined with over 8 rebounds but no other distinguishing averages), Brennan also evidenced Arizona's undefeated record and Gordon's "big night" (14 points, 5 reb, 7-11 from the field), in Saturday's two-point win over Michigan. In his list of all potential candidates, Brennan failed to even mention Duke's Jabari Parker, the best offensive player in the game right now and one of the most offensively-polished freshmen to enter college basketball in a long time.

Choosing Gordon wouldn't make sense for another reason. As good as the Wildcats have been this year, it's been because of their arsenal of weapons and the ability of point guard T.J. McConnell (and to a lesser extent leading scorer Nick Johnson) to ensure proper ball distribution. Gordon may be the best player on his team, but he certainly isn't their most unique and surely not their most indispensable. Brandon Ashley has a similar game, as do the rest of the 6-foot-8 tweeners out there, too many of whom end up as busts. Being 6-foot-9 or so with the ability to shoot, drive, rebound, and defend sounds good on paper, but it doesn't always translate to the NBA, where a more specific game is preferred and more specific positions are played/ (Obviously, I'm not counting Lebron James).

Southern, a member of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC), have mostly been respectable in their losses and are coming off a lopsided victory (though it was against a non-dI program). They also played tough against Gonzaga tough as a 16 seed in last season's opening round of the NCAA tournament, according to ESPN.

I couldn't even find a live stream for this one. Hardcore fans of either school will have to make due with the radio broadcast while you rush to finish art projects intended as holiday gifts for significant others.