College hoops weekend viewing guide: 7 top 10 teams hit the road and Coach K goes for 1,000
The potential for multiple head-turning upsets is high this weekend as seven of the teams ranked in the top 10 hit the road.
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No. 1 Kentucky at South Carolina (Saturday - Noon/ESPN)
This isn’t quite a trendy upset pick, but it’s certainly become a trendy “hey this might be closer than you think” pick. There’s no question that Kentucky is college basketball’s main attraction right now, so even when there’s the slightest chance of their perfect record getting mucked up, it’s worth tuning in for.
No. 11 Kansas at No. 17 Texas (Saturday - 2 p.m./CBS)
On Monday, Texas finally got the performance they've been waiting for from Isaiah Taylor since his return. The sophomore point guard lit up TCU to the tune of 13 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists. Couple that with the Longhorn frontcourt's dominating performance against West Virginia last Saturday, and UT is finally looking the squad we thought they'd be before Taylor's wrist injury in November. But Kansas is always the ultimate test when it comes to Big 12 teams searching for definitive answers, and this tilt in Austin is no different.
No. 19 Oklahoma at No. 21 Baylor (Saturday 6 p.m./ESPN2)
Hey look, another Big 12 game that includes two teams in the Top 25. This one features an Oklahoma team that might be the biggest enigma in the country, and a Baylor squad that just played a 3-14 NAIA team because it wanted to be in a movie. There is no game this weekend with greater potential for insanity than this one.
No. 2 Virginia at Virginia Tech (Sunday - 1 p.m./ESPN FullCourt/ESPN3)
No. 23 Indiana at Ohio State (Sunday - 1:30 p.m./CBS)
Indiana might be the most fun team to watch in the county, and D'Angelo Russell might be the most fun player to watch in the country.
This is pretty much exactly how the Founding Fathers envisioned you spending the Sunday afternoon the week before the Super Bowl.
No. 5 Duke at St. John's (Sunday - 2 p.m./Fox)
I'm not going to do what you all think I'm going to do and make an "oh my God have you heard Coach K is going for 1,000 wins" joke. Yes, it's been overhyped and over-promoted for weeks now -- although, amazingly, not as much recently by ESPN now that the first time he gets a shot at hitting the milestone is going to be in a game not carried by one of their networks -- but it's still a pretty amazing accomplishment that is going to be worthy of the insane amount of coverage it's going to get Sunday. Instead of the joke, I'm just going to link to this video of the crazy ending from the 2003 game between these two at MSG.
SHOULD WATCH
No. 6 Wisconsin at Michigan (Saturday 7 p.m./ESPN)
Despite all their struggles and bad breaks, Michigan is still 5-2 in the Big 10 and a monster win in this game away from being the subject of a great deal of national love. The problem is that Wisconsin has Frank Kaminsky, and Frank Kaminsky just happens to play the position where the Wolverines have been exploited pretty much all season long. Still, Bucky lost to an overmatched opponent its last time out on the road (granted, Kaminsky didn't play in that game), and the environment inside the Crisler Center ought to be pretty impressive for this one.
No. 2 Virginia at Virginia Tech (Sunday - 1 p.m./ESPN FullCourt/ESPN3)
Again, they haven't yet reached the "have to watch regardless of where, who and when" status that Kentucky owns, but the Hoos are still the nation's only other unbeaten and thus must be accounted for when on the court. They've also already become just the second team since the inception of the 3-point line in 1986-87 to hold three opponents under 30 points for an entire game in a season. They made that fact a reality on Thursday with a 57-28 win over Georgia Tech.
Shouldn't the Bennett family be working on a Pack Line offense? Isn't that the logical next step here? You've gotta strike while the iron's hot with these things.
No. 8 Notre Dame at NC State (Sunday - 6:30 p.m./ESPNU)
This is the type of game Notre Dame has to win if it's serious about contending for the ACC title. NC State is still licking its wounds a little bit after a tough loss at Miami on Thursday, but ask Duke about the type of show the Pack is capable of putting on at home.
Washington at No. 12 Utah (Sunday - 8:30 p.m./ESPNU)
After a perfect 11-0 start to the season, U-Dub was in danger of slipping to 2-4 in the Pac-12 before Andrew Andrews saved the day against Colorado on Thursday. Now the Huskies have a chance to make an even larger splash against a Utah team that, despite its disappointing performance against Arizona last week, has a pretty firm grip on the title of second best team in the Pac-12 right now.
WORTH WATCHING UNLESS YOU HAVE A VALID EXCUSE
TCU at No. 18 West Virginia (Saturday - 2 p.m./ESPNU)
"The Miracle of TCU" is slowly evaporating, as the once 13-0 Horned Frogs are now 1-4 in the Big 12, and coming off an 18-point thumping at the hands of Texas. It's okay though, because their upcoming schedule is probably going to get a little easi---
Oh God....Oh God don't look at it directly in the face.
Michigan State at Nebraska (Saturday - 4 p.m./ESPN)
Every season there is one good, not great, team that I inexplicably find myself watching every single night. Or at least it feels that way. This year, Nebraska is that squad, so I'm sure I'll wind up watching a solid chunk of this. At some point in the last two months, Terran Petteway, Shavon Shields and I ended up in a hilarious group text where we pretty much just make fun of Tom Crean.
No. 7 Arizona at California (Saturday 10:30 p.m./Pac-12 Network)
Cal will see TCU's midseason collapse, and raise it like a billion struggle points. The Bears have lost five straight and seven of eight since their 10-1 start, the most recent of which was an embarrassing 79-44 home beatdown at the hands of a 9-9 Arizona State team. Maybe they were just looking ahead to this one? Maybe Tyrone Wallace is about to snap out of his recent shooting funk? Maybe MTV is going to bring "Rich Girls" back? I still love you, Ally.
No. 10 Louisville at Pittsburgh (Sunday - 4 p.m./CBS)
Bill Raftery's on the call, and Pitt is 13-2 all-time at home against top 10 teams. Should be fun.
Creighton at No. 4 Villanova (Sunday - 7 p.m./Fox Sports 1)
The Wildcats are still hurting from a loss to Georgetown that looked eerily similar to the two Creighton gave them a year ago, but this Bluejay squad isn't that one, in fact they've lost eight in a row.
IF YOU WANT TO JUST CHECK THE BOX SCORE, THAT'S OK ... BUT CHECK THE BOX SCORE
Oklahoma State at Kanas State (Saturday Noon/ESPN2)
The Wildcats built on their surprisingly stellar start in the Big 12 by nearly upsetting Iowa State and moving to 5-1 on Tuesday. They'll now host an Oklahoma State squad that already beat them by 14 at the beginning of the month. When you're two of the just four unranked teams in a conference, those shots you get against the other squads without little numbers next to their names are ones you have to take advantage of.
No. 25 Iowa at Purdue (Saturday - Noon/Big Ten Network)
The Hawkeyes were embarrassed by Wisconsin on Tuesday, but they don't have any time to sulk against a Purdue squad that is hungry to stay in the middle of the pack in the Big 10.
DePaul at Xavier (Saturday - Noon/Fox Sports 1)
Bruh:
Demons are gonna end up winning this whole damn thing and SB Nation is going to instantaneously explode and rain real life GIFs in the streets of Chicago. That's an official prediction.
Georgetown at Marquette (Saturday - 2 p.m./Fox Sports 1)
Come for the top dog, stay for the other team that's in "first place."
Florida State at No. 15 North Carolina (Saturday - 2 p.m./ESPN)
The Seminoles haven't won at the Dean Dome in five years, and have just three wins total in Chapel Hill since joining the ACC. That second stat doesn't seem likely to change Saturday.
No. 9 Iowa State at Texas Tech (Saturday - 4 p.m./ESPNU)
Texas Tech is sort of like Cooper Manning if Cooper Manning had nine elite NFL QB brothers instead of two ... and then also if they forced Cooper Manning to keep playing in actual games against all his brothers and their teams even though he himself was nowhere near qualified to be an NFL quarterback.
Miami at Syracuse (Saturday - 4 p.m./ESPN2)
Five of Syracuse's last seven regular season games will be played against teams currently ranked in the top 10, so yeah, these coin flip-ish tilts are pretty crucial for them.
Utah State at UNLV (Saturday - 8 p.m./CBS Sports Network)
I'd say this inclusion is about more than just the hair, but I don't like lying to anyone on the Internet this close to Valentine's Day.
Some interesting hair at Utah State. pic.twitter.com/7U5XSemYM0
— Brent Briggeman (@BrentBriggeman) January 17, 2015 Auburn at Alabama (Saturday - 8:30 p.m./SEC Network)
Apparently these two programs have had some misunderstandings in the past or something. If this one is anything like the women's game earlier this week, then it's going to be worthy of your attention.
Arizona State at Stanford (Saturday - Midnight/ESPNU)
Again, the Weekend Update guys aren't getting any better. This is the superior option.
South Florida at Connecticut (Sunday - Noon/CBS Sports Network)
There's no such thing as a "must-win" game in January, and eye gouge anyone who ever tries to tell you differently. That said, if the defending national champions want to maintain any hope of making the big dance without winning the AAC Tournament, they probably can't afford to drop this one.
Boston College at Georgia Tech (Sunday - 1 p.m./ESPN FullCourt/ESPN3)
These are the only two winless teams left in the ACC, so pull this one up on your computer so you can mock them both .... and then ironically start cheering for one of them .... and then shockingly fall in love .... and then sell all your possessions to buy a game-used Olivier Hanlan wrist band.
No. 24 Seton Hall at Butler (Sunday - 3 p.m./Fox Sports)
No team in the Big East needs a win more than the Hall, which has handled the success of beating top 15 teams in back-to-back games by dropping three of their last four.
Northwestern at No. 13 Maryland (Sunday - 7:30 p.m./Big Ten Network)
Because Chris Collins might go crazy, and that's reason enough.
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