College basketball on TV: This weekend’s viewers’ guide
This is the penultimate weekend of the college basketball regular season, and as you’d expect as the end of the season draws near, the weekend has a handful of notable games, especially in the Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC.
Here are 15 college basketball games to keep an eye on this weekend.
Saturday
Purdue (24-4) at Michigan State (18-9), noon, ESPN: Purdue has won nine of 10 but still is in a three-way tie for first in the Big Ten with Illinois and Wisconsin. The Spartans, meanwhile, have lost three in a row and five of six. Purdue is the most efficient offensive team in the nation, per kenpom.com. Michigan State’s offense has been inconsistent all season and recently has disappeared. The Spartans are extremely sloppy with the ball, and if they are careless against the Boilermakers, Purdue will be off and running.
Wagner (19-4) at Bryant (18-9), 1 p.m., ESPN3: This is for the Northeast Conference regular-season title, and that carries some weight because the regular-season winner will play all its conference tournament games at home. Both are 10-1 at home this season. Wagner is the only NEC team in the top 200 in the NET rankings. Also noteworthy is that the Seahawks are one of the worst 3-point shooting teams in the nation (a ghastly 27.1 percent) and do most of their damage in the paint. Bryant also is poor from 3-point range (30.4 percent), but the Bulldogs still shoot a lot of them. Wagner beat Bryant by three in OT at home on January 6.
Kentucky (23-5) at Arkansas (22-6), 2 p.m., CBS: Arkansas has won 12 of 13, with the lone loss in that stretch by one at Alabama. Kentucky has won eight of nine. Neither of these teams does all that much damage from outside the arc, so expect an aggressive and physical game, especially in the paint. UK is second in the SEC, one game behind Auburn; Arkansas is another game back. The Hogs do a nice job limiting second-chance points; can they keep Oscar Tshiebwe off the offensive boards? No one really has been able to do so. This is one of two huge SEC games Saturday — and in both instances, it’s the only regular-season meeting of the teams. Weak.
Seton Hall (17-9) at Xavier (17-10), 3:30 p.m.: Xavier has lost three in a row, including an epic 99-92 triple-overtime loss at Providence on Wednesday; that was the Musketeers’ fifth loss in six games and seventh in 10 games. Thus, if the idea is to be playing your best basketball down the stretch, Xavier ain’t doing it. Seton Hall beat the Musketeers by two at home on February 9. After scuffling some in January, Seton Hall has won five of seven, thanks to stout defense. The Pirates dominated on the boards (41-28) in the first meeting.
Auburn (25-3) at Tennessee (20-7), 4 p.m., ESPN: This is the other big SEC game of the day. The Vols are 14-0 at home, and the Thompson-Boling Arena crowd figures to make things tough on Auburn. Both these teams are in the top 10 in defensive efficiency, as per kenpom.com, though Auburn’s offense — at least by kenpom.com’s metrics — is markedly better. Auburn leads the conference by a game over Kentucky, with the Vols and Arkansas another game back. The Tigers’ three losses have come by a combined 11 points, and two of them were overtime affairs. The Vols’ most recent home game was a win over Kentucky on February 15. It should be fun to watch Vols G Zakai Zeigler get after Auburn’s ballhandlers.
Louisiana Tech (20-7) at North Texas (21-4), 4 p.m., Stadium: North Texas is the best team in Conference USA and has won 13 in a row to zoom into the top 40 of the NET rankings. But the Mean Green has just one Quad 1 win and losing to a Bulldogs team outside the top 100 in the NET would not be good for any long-shot at-large NCAA hopes. UNT beat Tech by one in Ruston on January 29, one of five victories during the winning streak that have come by five or fewer points. The Mean Green is extremely deliberate on offense but also solid from 3-point range (37.3 percent as a team, which is in the top 30 nationally). Louisiana Tech prefers a much faster pace.
Texas Tech (22-6) at TCU (17-9), 6 p.m., ESPN2: TCU has lost four of five and five of seven to fall to two games under .500 in the Big 12 and to 54th in the NET rankings. The Horned Frogs have four Quad 1 wins, and beating the Red Raiders would be a huge boost to their NCAA tourney hopes. The Red Raiders have won four in a row and seven of eight to move into a tie for second in the conference. Per kenpom.com, they lead the nation in defensive efficiency. Texas Tech beat TCU by 13 in Lubbock on February 12.
Loyola-Chicago (22-6) at Northern Iowa (17-10), 6 p.m., ESPNU: This is for the Missouri Valley Conference regular-season title. The Ramblers hammered UNI by 27 at home on February 13; that’s the Panthers’ only loss in their past nine games. Loyola is 29th in the NET rankings, but a loss to UNI — which is 102nd in the NET — would not be good. Loyola has a perimeter-oriented offense, and in the Ramblers’ earlier rout of UNI, they were 14-of-27 from 3-point range.
Wisconsin (22-5) at Rutgers (16-11), 6 p.m., Big Ten Network: Rutgers won by eight in Madison on February 12, which is one of five Quad 1 wins for the Scarlet Knights. In the win, Rutgers shot well from 3-point range and from the line, and put the clamps on Wisconsin’s outside shooters. Can the Scarlet Knights do it again? The Badgers are tied with Purdue for the Big Ten lead, and the loss to Rutgers is their only setback in the past six games. The Badgers aren’t the best shooting team, but they take extraordinarily good care of the ball, don’t give away possessions and are getting a huge season from sophomore Johnny Davis.
Kansas (23-4) at Baylor (23-5), 8 p.m., ESPN: Two teams nationally have 10 Quad 1 wins — and here they are. Kansas owns a two-game lead in the Big 12 race, and if Baylor has any hope of catching the Jayhawks, well, this basically is a must-win situation. The Jayhawks crushed the Bears by 24 in Lawrence on February 5, thanks to a big performance on the boards and scintillating offense inside the arc. KU also held Baylor G James Akinjo scoreless. That was one of three times the Bears have allowed 80 points in a game; the Bears are 0-3 in those.
Creighton (21-7) at Providence (23-3), 8:30 p.m., FS1: Providence clinches the Big East regular-season title with a victory. The Friars are charter members of the conference, which began in 1979-80, but never have won the title; thus, a Dunkin’ Donuts Center crowd that always is in full throat will be in an absolute frenzy for this one. Each of the Friars’ past three wins has come in overtime, including a triple-overtime thriller Wednesday against Xavier that was one of the best games of the season. Creighton has gotten its offense cranked up and won six in a row to move into a third for third in the conference; still, the Bluejays are just 59th in the NET rankings.
Gonzaga (24-2) at Saint Mary’s (23-6), 10 p.m., ESPN: Gonzaga already has clinched the West Coast Conference title and is trying to finish unbeaten in league play. Both are in the top 25 of the NET rankings, and beating Gonzaga would be an enjoyable way to end the regular season for Saint Mary’s. Gonzaga beat the Gaels by 16 in Spokane on February 12; the Zags shot 55 percent from the floor (including 6-of-12 from 3-point range) and outrebounded Saint Mary’s by 11.
USC (24-4) at Oregon (18-10), 10 p.m., ESPN2: Oregon got a huge win Thursday night, edging UCLA to complete a season sweep of the Bruins. Still, the Ducks still have lost three of five, are 67th in the NET rankings and have just three Quad 1 wins. In short, this is another big one for Oregon — which is going for a season sweep of the Trojans. USC has won five in a row and seven of eight. Hide your eyes if this comes down to free throws: Oregon is at 68.2 percent from the line (288th nationally) and USC is even worse at 66.5 percent (327th).
Sunday
SMU (20-6) at Houston (23-4), 12:30 p.m., ESPN: SMU will be going for the season sweep of the Cougars, who are 13-1 at home this season. In addition, a win would move SMU into a tie with Houston atop the AAC standings and — perhaps most important — give the Mustangs just their third Quad 1 win of the season. In SMU’s earlier victory over Houston, Mustangs G Kendric Davis had a huge game: 22 points, seven rebounds, seven assists and three steals against his hometown team. Can he have the same type of outing this time around?
Illinois (19-8) at Michigan (15-11), 2 p.m., CBS: Michigan’s past three wins have come against Purdue, Iowa and Rutgers, and the victories over Purdue and Iowa were just the Wolverines’ second and third over Quad 1 foes. So while the Wolverines are 33rd in the NET rankings, they certainly need another “big” win. Illinois beat the Wolverines by 15 in Champaign on January 14. But the Illini have lost three of their past five overall to fall a game back in the Big Ten race. Illinois needs G Trent Frazier to regain his 3-point stroke: He is 7-of-26 from beyond the arc in the past five games.