College hoops Wednesday viewing guide: Spartans, Gophers square off in Big 10 battle

Ain’t no time for wasting. Let’s get into it.

Baylor at No. 22 Oklahoma State (7 p.m./ESPN)

Oklahoma State looks to consolidate its signature win over Kansas with a revenge victory over Baylor. The Bears knocked off Marcus Smart and company 64-54 in Waco two weeks ago.

No. 24 Marquette at South Florida (7 p.m./ESPN2)

Games between these two are generally surprisingly entertaining for one reason or another, but let’s forget about that and all watch Buzz’s Quest: A GIF Adventure: Part I.

Connecticut at St. John’s (7 p.m./ESPNU)

Since it’s ineligible to play in the Big East tournament, Connecticut finds itself in the uncharted territory of knowing that a Big East regular season game inside Madison Square Garden will be its final visit to the world’s most famous arena this year. I don’t think it will really have an effect on the game, but still...weird. Also, St. John’s really needs this dub.
No. 18 Minnesota at No. 12 Michigan State (7 p.m./Big Ten Network)

Fairly or not, Indiana, Michigan and Ohio State have pretty much dominated the recent talk about the Big Ten’s elite teams. This is a key opportunity for one of these clubs to force their way that conversation. The Golden Gophers have dropped nine of their 11 meetings against the Spartans with Tubby Smith at the helm.

No. 17 Cincinnati at Providence (7 p.m./Fox Sports Ohio/SNY)

Providence is going to win this game. You read it on SB Nation first...probably.

No. 11 Louisville at Rutgers (7 p.m./MSG/MASN)

I’d like to know how the RAC earned this reputation for being “one of the toughest places to play in college basketball.” I get that it’s small, but shouldn’t that be outweighed by the fact that visiting teams seem to be able to win there pretty consistently? Maybe it’s just me.

Saint Louis at Fordham (8 p.m./CBS Sports Network)

Who said the Billikens are boring? In Atlantic 10 play, SLU is second in both scoring offense (71.4 points per game) and scoring defense (62.7 points allowed per game). The Bills lead the league in scoring margin (+8.7). They’ve also won four straight and are still one of the best stories in college basketball this season.

Stanford at No. 7 Arizona (9 p.m./ESPNews)

So basically every ESPN channel eventually evolves into a network which carries live games? I can’t wait for the groundbreaking 2015 30 for 30 documentary: “Lakers at Nuggets.”

No. 5 Kansas at TCU (9 p.m./ESPNU)

Poor Horned Frogs. Kansas coming off a loss was not the setup they wanted for this one.

Iowa at Wisconsin (9 p.m./Big Ten Network)

A four-point road loss to the Hawkeyes is the only glaring weakness on Wisconsin’s resume as it stands. They’ll look to rectify that situation tonight...or at least beat Iowa in their second chance.

Air Force at No. 15 New Mexico (9 p.m./ROOT Sports)

Andy Glockner is calling this “one of the season’s most interesting battles.” I’m not going to go that far. Unless Gus Fring is involved somehow. In that case, yeah, pretty interesting.

Colorado State at Nevada (10 p.m./CBS Sports Network)

The Rams don’t need your adoration. They’re just going to keep rolling up wins until the world’s forced to talk about them as a potential top six seed. Five guys on this team average double figures. Give them 10 minutes of your time and you’ll be hooked.