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College basketball viewing guide: Top 10 ACC showdowns highlight loaded Saturday
There’s big time college basketball on from noon until about 1:30 a.m. on the East Coast. Tell the kids you can’t make it.
Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports
MUST WATCH
No. 19 Baylor at No. 15 West Virginia (Noon/ESPNU)
These Big 12 matchups featuring ranked teams always look good on paper, but the majority of the actual games to this point in the conference season have been lopsided. In West Virginia’s last three games against top-25 opponents, the margins of victory have been 19, 27, and 21. Baylor’s last two? A one-sided 21 and 11. The Bears have dropped three of four on the road in conference play, with their lone win coming in overtime at TCU. They’ll be trying to upset a Mountaineer team that has won three straight at home, and which likely needs a win to stay in the Big 12 title race.
No. 10 Notre Dame at No. 4 Duke (1 p.m./CBS)
It’s a rematch of one of the most entertaining games of the season to date, Notre Dame’s 77-73 win over the Blue Devils in South Bend Jan. 28. The Fighting Irish won that game with a late Jerian Grant-led flurry that closely resembled the run that Duke used to knock off then-No. 2 Virginia in Charlottesvile last Saturday. This will be the third meeting between the two teams since Notre Dame joined the ACC a season ago, but the Fighting Irish’s first trip to Cameron Indoor Stadium since 1994.
If you’re a casual college hoops fan who wants to see more offense and excitement from the sport, this is the game you should have circled today. I suppose the same thing holds true if you’re a hardcore college hoops fan as well.
No. 24 Georgetown at No. 7 Villanova (2 p.m./Fox)
The Hoyas embarrassed Villanova in DC Jan. 19, and now ‘Nova needs a strong performance to put to bed the talk that they’re following the same path paved by last season’s ill-fated Wildcats. The bigger story here might be Georgetown, which has suddenly lost back-to-back home games against Xavier and Providence. This is a must for JT III’s club if it wants to have any hope of catching ‘Nova in the Big East standings.
No. 9 Louisville at No. 3 Virginia (7 p.m./ESPN)
Did you know this is the first time the ACC has ever had two top-10 matchups on the same day? That’s almost hard to believe, but it’s the case. The second showdown figures to be a polar opposite of the first, as Virginia and Louisville are both holding their opponents under 60 ppg for the season. If you appreciate tremendous defense and don’t mind a score that could resemble a 3rd grade “C Team” tilt midway through the first half, settle in for an enjoyable Saturday evening.
No. 1 Kentucky at Florida (9 p.m./ESPN)
The good news for Florida is that, despite its record, it’s probably the team with the second most talent in the SEC, and that talent is going to be playing in front of what figures to be a raucous crowd of Rowdy Reptiles. The bad news for Florida is Kentucky knows both of these things, which means any hope of the Wildcats trying to sleepwalk through their trip to Gainesville is out the window. This might be as close to a big-time-ish feeling game that UK gets between now and the postseason, so expect the Wildcats to try and put on a show.
SHOULD WATCH
No. 8 Kansas at Oklahoma State (2 p.m./ESPN)
The Jayhawks have been 8-1 or better at the halfway point in the Big 12 season seven times over the last decade, which is insane. Equally insane is the fact that those other three times, they’ve been 7-2 and also gone on to win the conference’s regular season championship. They’ll start the second half of their margin to consecutive title 11 in Stillwater against an Oklahoma State team with a resume that could use a marquee win like this one. Bill Self’s team won the first meeting between these two, 67-57, in Lawrence back on Jan. 13.
No. 6 Arizona at Arizona State (4:30 p.m./Fox)
The Sun Devils are 11-11 overall and currently in 10th place in the Pac-12, but ASU is also a team with a negative-.122 luck rating (via Ken Pomeroy), easily the worst in the conference and the ninth-worst in college basketball. One win won’t save Arizona State’s season, but expect the Sun Devil fan base to treat this afternoon sort of like a bowl game, and make Wells Fargo Arena an extremely difficult place for their arch-rivals to walk out of with a win.
No. 23 SMU at Tulsa (8 p.m./ESPNU)
This was supposed to be a battle for AAC supremacy, but SMU kind of ruined that by losing to Cincinnati at home Thursday. Instead, the game has become more about Tulsa's 12-game winning streak and the growing possibility that the league which produced last season's national champion might send just one team to the big dance a year later. The Golden Hurricane has dropped 26 straight games to ranked teams since upsetting fourth-seeded Dayton in the 2003 NCAA Tournament. If they break that streak Saturday night, then they'll likely find themselves swapping places with the Mustangs in next week's polls.
No. 21 Oklahoma at TCU (3 p.m./ESPNNews/WatchESPN)
No team is more representative of the Big 12’s growing theme of its ranked teams beating the brains out of one another than Oklahoma. The Sooners have played seven games already against fellow top-25 teams, and just one of those (an 85-78 loss at Kansas) has been decided by single digits. The four wins came by 10, 21, 17, and 19 points, while the other two losses came by 21 and 11 points. Advanced statistics love this Oklahoma team, but that’ll slow down a bit if they aren’t able to consolidate their impressive victories with wins in games like Saturday’s against a tough-luck, but dangerous, TCU team.
WORTH WATCHING UNLESS YOU HAVE A VALID EXCUSE
Texas Tech at No. 11 Iowa State (2 p.m./ESPNU)
The Red Raiders stunned Iowa State two weeks ago in Lubbock. If they could somehow sweep the season series by ending Iowa State’s 19-game home winning streak, it might be the upset of the year.
No. 18 VCU at St. Bonaventure (2 p.m./NBC Sports Network)
The Rams were already dealing with the aftermath of the horrible season-ending injury suffered by Briante Weber a week ago, and now they're likely going to have to figure out how to beat the Bonnies without A-10 Player of the Year front-runner Treveon Graham. Graham aggravated a left ankle sprain he suffered last month during Wednesday's win over George Mason and is listed as doubtful for this afternoon's game.
St. Bonaventure, meanwhile, enters this game still riding the high of beating Davidson at the buzzer Wednesday night.
No. 25 Texas at Kansas State (4 p.m./ESPN)
The Longhorns, who have spent a considerable chunk of this season ranked in the top 10 and all of it ranked in the top 25, have suddenly lost four straight and are in eighth place in the Big 12 with a 3-6 record. Relief could come in the form of a Kansas State team which will again be playing without leading scorer Marcus Foster, who will reportedly remain suspended for the Wildcats' next two games. K-State didn't fare well in their Foster-less debut, dropping a 64-47 decision at hapless Texas Tech.
Northwestern at No. 5 Wisconsin (5:30 p.m./Big Ten Network)
The Badgers have it absolutely rolling even with Bronson Koenig stepping in for the injured Traevon Jackson at the point. It's hard to imagine that not continuing Saturday, but Northwestern has a history of putting unexpected scares into the best teams in the Big Ten.
No. 13 Utah at Colorado (10 p.m./Pac-12 Network)
All teams have better statistics in victories than defeat, but the disparity in the winning and losing performances for 11-10 Colorado are staggering. The Buffs have averaged 80.9 points on 50.3 percent shooting in their wins compared to 55.0 points per game with a 37.9 field goal percentage in their losses. That -- well, that is a stark contrast.
No. 2 Gonzaga at San Francisco (11:30 p.m./ESPN2)
Did you see the most recent “Weekend Update?” Even when they don’t fumble the jokes, which is rare, they’re still awful. Watching the No. 2 team in the country go on the road and put their No. 1 seed hopes on the line is the superior late-night option.
IF YOU WANT TO JUST CHECK THE BOX SCORE, THAT’S OK -- BUT CHECK THE BOX SCORE
Illinois at Michigan State (Noon/ESPN)
Illini guards Rayvonte Rice and Aaron Cosby have both been suspended from the team for the past week for unspecified violations of team rules. They missed Illinois' wins over Penn State and Rutgers, and will apparently be sitting out again this afternoon. Good news for the Spartans.
Marquette at Seton Hall (Noon/Fox Sports 1)
Getting swept by DePaul is a good way to erase all that “we’re back” talk, Seton Hall. Tossing in a home loss to Marquette would add a giant middle finger to everyone who predicted you could not just make the NCAA Tournament, but do some damage there. I’m talking about me. Lose this game and you’re basically throwing a giant middle finger in my face.
Providence at Xavier (1 p.m./Fox Sports 1)
This is an interesting game between a Xavier team that hadn’t been beaten at home before Wednesday’s overtime loss to Creighton, and a Providence squad that is just a win and a Villanova loss to Georgetown away from being tied for first in the Big East. The first game between these two was a quite enjoyable 69-66 overtime victory for the Friars.
Army at Navy (2 p.m./CBS Sports Network)
Navy won the first meeting at home by nine points, but Army has been the better team for the bulk of the season and should be able to exact some revenge at Christl Arena.
Purdue at Minnesota (3 p.m./Big Ten Network)
The Boilermakers are suddenly right in the thick of an NCAA Tournament discussion that Minnesota is still hoping it can re-join. The Gophers have won two straight at home and have just one ranked team (a double dip with No. 5 Wisconsin) remaining on their league slate.
No. 12 North Carolina at Boston College (3 p.m./ACC Network/ESPN FullCourt)
After back-to-back disappointing losses to Louisville and Virginia, the Heels now need to take care of business at Boston College and Pitt before stepping back into the national spotlight Feb. 18 at Duke.
DePaul at No. 22 Butler (3:30 p.m./Fox Sports 1)
DePaul is three wins away from clinching its first .500 record in conference play since Beethoven’s “Piano Sonata No. 23” sat atop the Billboard Hot 100.
Alabama at LSU (6 p.m./ESPN2)
At this point I’m convinced that everyone in the SEC is just doing whatever it can to make a potential upset of Kentucky as shocking as possible. That’s the only way to explain a team like LSU.
Drake at No. 14 Northern Iowa (8 p.m./ESPN FullCourt)
The Panthers need to maintain focus and keep the best two-horse conference race in college basketball alive.
Missouri State at No. 16 Wichita State (8 p.m./ESPN2)
South Florida at Cincinnati (8 p.m./CBS Sports Network)
Cincinnati making a strong NCAA Tournament push while its head coach doesn’t attend games, but is still kind of coaching could be one of the most intriguing stories of the regular season’s final month.
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