Those who wait until the end of the college football season to fully adjust their focus to the hardwood are in for quite a treat on Tuesday. For the first time in the 2016-17 season, three games featuring multiple top-15 teams will be played on the same evening.
College basketball schedule 2017: Tuesday features 3 top-15 games, including Baylor-West Virginia
College basketball was kind enough to wait for college football to end before having the biggest night of its season to date.
Rob Kinnan-USA TODAY Sports
Have the remote within arm’s reach at all times, because this is going to be great practice for March.
Here’s the slate (all times ET):
No. 1 Baylor at No. 10 West Virginia
Time: 7 p.m.
Television: ESPN2
Las Vegas doesn’t have a whole lot of respect for the nation’s new No. 1, pegging Baylor as a six-point underdog in the Bears’ first game ever as a top-ranked team.
The reason for the lack of faith in Scott Drew’s team likely has more to do with West Virginia than it does Baylor. The Mountaineers have yet to taste defeat on their home court this season, winning those contests by a ridiculous 33 points per game.
As has been the case for a few years now, West Virginia’s success is based significantly on its press, which has made the Mountaineers the nation’s leader in turnover percentage. The difference with this WVU squad is that the Mountaineers have significantly improved their halfcourt defense, which has made them a much tougher test for the teams on their schedule with the ability to navigate through their press.
The one key to success against West Virginia this season has been effective three-point shooting. In their two losses, the Mountaineers allowed Temple to knock down 10 of 19 shots from beyond the arc, and Texas Tech to hit seven of 13. That’s not the best of news for a Baylor squad that enters Tuesday night having misfired on 18 of their last 24 shots from deep.
Baylor will counter by trying to frustrate West Virginia in the halfcourt with their superior size and length. The Bears' trapping zone currently has them ranked No. 4 in the country in scoring defense (58.3 ppg), No. 6 in field goal percentage defense, and No. 13 in blocked shots. As for dealing with their opponents' pressure, that burden will fall largely on the shoulders of guards Al Freeman and Manu Lecomte, the Miami transfer who has been brilliant at the point for Baylor all season long.
West Virginia is no stranger to knocking off top-ranked conference foes in Morgantown. Almost exactly a year ago, Kansas walked into the WVU Coliseum with the No. 1 ranking, and they walked out with a 74-63 loss. The Mountaineers have more recent history on their side after winning both meetings with Baylor a season ago by 11 points.
No. 15 Xavier at No. 3 Villanova
Time: 7 p.m.
Television: FS1
Baylor is the nation’s new No. 1 because reigning national champion Villanova suffered its first loss in nearly 10 months last week when they went on the road and fell victim to some Hinkle Fieldhouse magic against Butler. The Wildcats bounced back with a 12-point win over Marquette, and will now look to take care of the team that most heading into the season believed would be their biggest challenge in the Big East.
Xavier, which is the only unbeaten Big East team remaining at 3-0, has enjoyed a great deal of success in the conference since making the move in 2013-14, but one team has been their foil. The Musketeers are just 1-6 against Villanova over the last three seasons, and all but one of those six defeats came by double-digits.
In order for that recent history to be reversed Tuesday night, Xavier will have to snap Villanova’s streak of 45 consecutive wins at The Pavilion. One more win for the Wildcats would tie the program’s longest home winning streak, which was set from 2007-11.
One of the game’s most interesting storylines will be the potential return of Xavier guard Myles Davis. The senior was reinstated over the weekend after being suspended for the season’s first 15 games following two misdemeanor criminal charges reportedly connected with a former girlfriend. Davis averaged 10.8 points and 4.1 assists per game last season while serving as one of the team’s most reliable ball handlers and outside shooters.
No. 7 Duke at No. 9 Florida State
Time: 8 p.m.
Television: ACC Network
Duke, the ACC’s preseason favorite, will go on the road and look to make an audible statement to the rest of the conference by knocking off the team in the league that has had the best start of anyone.
Picked to finish eighth in the conference back in October, Florida State is off to a 3-0 start in league play that includes a road win over then-No. 12 Virginia and a 15-point throttling of then-No. 21 Virginia Tech. The Seminoles are 15-1 overall thanks in large part to the play of sophomore guard Dwayne Bacon, who is averaging 18.1 points per game and has scored in double figures in 25 consecutive games dating back to last season.
While Bacon and fellow NBA prospects Jonathan Isaac and Xavier Rathan-Mayes have all been stellar, it's Florida State's depth that has emerged as arguably its greatest asset. Eleven Seminoles enter Tuesday's game averaging double figures in minutes, and 12 players are scoring at least 4.0 points per game.
Depth is a luxury that Duke may wish it had more of against Florida State. The Blue Devils will be without the services of senior forward Amile Jefferson, who suffered a foot injury during the team's win over Boston College on Saturday. Jefferson is averaging a double-double at 13.6 points and 10.1 rebounds per game. Duke will also be playing its second consecutive game without head coach Mike Krzyzewski, who is expected to miss at least the next three weeks while he recovers from back surgery to repair a herniated disc.
No. 9 Florida State will be carrying its highest ranking since the 1992-93 season into a game against a Duke program that the ‘Noles are just 9-35 against all-time. FSU has not knocked off the Blue Devils since a win in the 2012 ACC tournament.
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