2:00 p.m. EST, CBS, Carrier Dome, Syracuse

This afternoon's matchup between #2 Syracuse (11-0) and #8 Villanova (11-0) may actually be the season's best in terms of true rankings. Only the #1 Arizona and #9 Duke game a few weeks back may have been better. From today's vantage point, highly anticipated early season contests between Kentucky and Michigan State and Kansas and Duke weren't as elite as they once felt, though that could change as the season progresses. (For the record, however, I'm not high on Kentucky).

Back to the game: Ironic, in a way, that both teams end (or come close to ending) non-conference play against a former conference opponent. (Syracuse actually plays Eastern Michigan before beginning ACC play). It's almost as if their respective schedule makers wanted to ease the loss of Syracuse from the Big East; instead of two games per year, they'll play just once. Fortunately for fans, they'll compete as undefeated teams, a rare occurrence for major programs at this point in the season.

Senior forward C.J. Fair, the late-blooming left hander, leads the Orange in scoring, followed by two sophomores and a freshman. Admittedly, I haven't seen much of Syracuse. Based on their young scoring distribution, they seem to be a little less seasoned than usual, but likely with their typical level of top tier talent. We'll see who emerges for the Orange at 2:00 today.

Fortunately for the sake of this preview, I've followed Villanova quite intensely this year. Like watching re-runs of "Mallrats" or "Wedding Crashers," they seem to get deeper after every viewing. That's mainly due to the comeuppance of junior forward JayVaughn Pinkston and senior guard James Bell. Neither of those guys were playing at this level last year. Bell (8 ppg last season) has unexpectedly taken over big shot duties (but not super big shot duties, which still belong to Ryan Arcidiacono) while getting a little more out of his next-level athleticism. Pinkston has finally learned how to use his early-life man strength and elite versatility; at 6-foot-7, the former Brooklyn kid can post, slash from the wing, rebound, and shoot capably from mid-range. The emergence of Bell and Pinkston is fine by junior Darrun Hilliard, who was mostly the go-to player last season, though he's actually improved his scoring this year by three points.

For the live stream, go to CBS Sports.