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Saturday Viewing Guide for 12-19-20
11:30 AM on FS1: Butler vs Indiana in Indianapolis: Another benefit of joining the new Big East is enjoying the in-state rivalries of our conference mates. Major props to senior Aaron Thompson's major offensive jump this year for Butler (17.5 ppg). However, blow to recently waiver passed ETSU wing Bo Hodges was declared academically ineligible. ON EDIT - Aaron Thompson isn't playing today (sprained knee). Great opportunity for freshman Chuck Harris to step up and show what he can do as the eventual replacement to Aaron Thompson.
12 PM:
#3 Iowa v #1 Gonzaga in Sioux Falls - CBS: Great chance for Iowa to take advantage of a Zags team that hasn't played in 17 days. Must watch. Unlike the Baylor/Gonzaga matchup, both teams and refs are confirmed NEGATIVE in recent covid tests.
#23 Louisville @ #12 Wisconsin - ESPN2: Interesting matchup between Wisconsin's size vs Louisville's guards. Radford grad transfer Carlik Jones has been amazing for the Cardinals (17.3 ppg).
2 PM:
#22 North Carolina vs Kentucky in Cleveland - CBS: I'm a pacifist by nature, so rooting for Kentucky to lose is one way for me to my anger out in harmless ways.
Western Kentucky @ Alabama- ESPNU: I say this every Saturday, but Western Kentucky is one of my favorite mid-majors. Their top-eight can stack up against anyone. Taveion Hollingsworth is built for March and as long as Charles Bassey is healthy and out of foul trouble, they can beat anyone.
Hofstra @ St. Bonaventure - ESPN+: The top team in the CAA is always a fun watch and good to see the Bonnies back from their quarantine. The Bonnies are my A-10 darkhorse fielding six players who averaged double-digits last season.
2:30:
Purdue vs Notre Dame in Indianapolis -ESPN2: The 2nd in-state game held today in Indianapolis, 7'4 freshman Zach Edey is a blast to watch and Notre Dame gets a huge boost to their depth with Santa Clara transfer Trey Wertz now eligible.
Ole Miss @ Dayton - NBCSN: This is the best Ole Miss roster in years and what Dayton lacks in game-ready depth, Crutcher/Watson/Johnson have barely been taken off the court.
4:00:
#2 Baylor @ Kansas State - B12/ESPN+: East Catholic Mike McGuirl's Wildcats should get annihilated, but a chance to see Baylor up against an always tough defensive team.
UCLA vs #20 Ohio State in Cleveland - CBS: Is it just me, or I haven't found UCLA interesting to watch in nearly 20 years.
Furman @ Winthrop - ESPN+: The best mid-major OOC matchup of the day. Furman held both Cincy and Alabama to wins of 5 points or less while the undefeated Winthrop have beaten top-25 mid-majors UNC-Greensboro and Little Rock and are led by 6'7 triple-double machine Chandler Vaudrin.
6 PM:
Buffalo @ Syracuse - ACC Network: Nate Oats' teams got me back into the program a few years ago. Read my Kentucky comment above.
UC Santa Barbara @ Pepperdine - Streamable for free on each school's website: Props to the Big West and WCC for regularly booking the best Californian mid-major teams to play each other all the time before conference play. Pepperdine, Loyola Marymount, UC Irvine and UC Santa Barbara are all perennially good programs that I watched for the first time this year thank to their streams. Most games are played during east coast friendly times too.
Pepperdine's inside/outside duo of Kessler Edwards and Colbey Ross combine for 40.5 ppg while UC Santa Barbara is a high-end D1 transfer haven. Overall, I've been impressed with the WCC's improvement around Gonzaga's rise.
Night:
7 PM Arizona @ Stanford - Pac12: Solid Pac12 matchup.
8 PM Colorado State @ Saint Mary's - streamable on teams' websites: another very good mid-major OCC matchup.
9 PM Saint Joseph's @ Villanova - FS1: Gotta love Big 5 matchups. Why isn't this game being played at the Palestra?!?
Will be hitting the road tomorrow to be TV-less and w/ poor internet for a few days. I'll catch the UConn/Creighton game but will be basketball-free til Wednesday. Enjoy today's matchups!
11:30 AM on FS1: Butler vs Indiana in Indianapolis: Another benefit of joining the new Big East is enjoying the in-state rivalries of our conference mates. Major props to senior Aaron Thompson's major offensive jump this year for Butler (17.5 ppg). However, blow to recently waiver passed ETSU wing Bo Hodges was declared academically ineligible. ON EDIT - Aaron Thompson isn't playing today (sprained knee). Great opportunity for freshman Chuck Harris to step up and show what he can do as the eventual replacement to Aaron Thompson.
12 PM:
#3 Iowa v #1 Gonzaga in Sioux Falls - CBS: Great chance for Iowa to take advantage of a Zags team that hasn't played in 17 days. Must watch. Unlike the Baylor/Gonzaga matchup, both teams and refs are confirmed NEGATIVE in recent covid tests.
#23 Louisville @ #12 Wisconsin - ESPN2: Interesting matchup between Wisconsin's size vs Louisville's guards. Radford grad transfer Carlik Jones has been amazing for the Cardinals (17.3 ppg).
2 PM:
#22 North Carolina vs Kentucky in Cleveland - CBS: I'm a pacifist by nature, so rooting for Kentucky to lose is one way for me to my anger out in harmless ways.
Western Kentucky @ Alabama- ESPNU: I say this every Saturday, but Western Kentucky is one of my favorite mid-majors. Their top-eight can stack up against anyone. Taveion Hollingsworth is built for March and as long as Charles Bassey is healthy and out of foul trouble, they can beat anyone.
Hofstra @ St. Bonaventure - ESPN+: The top team in the CAA is always a fun watch and good to see the Bonnies back from their quarantine. The Bonnies are my A-10 darkhorse fielding six players who averaged double-digits last season.
2:30:
Purdue vs Notre Dame in Indianapolis -ESPN2: The 2nd in-state game held today in Indianapolis, 7'4 freshman Zach Edey is a blast to watch and Notre Dame gets a huge boost to their depth with Santa Clara transfer Trey Wertz now eligible.
Ole Miss @ Dayton - NBCSN: This is the best Ole Miss roster in years and what Dayton lacks in game-ready depth, Crutcher/Watson/Johnson have barely been taken off the court.
4:00:
#2 Baylor @ Kansas State - B12/ESPN+: East Catholic Mike McGuirl's Wildcats should get annihilated, but a chance to see Baylor up against an always tough defensive team.
UCLA vs #20 Ohio State in Cleveland - CBS: Is it just me, or I haven't found UCLA interesting to watch in nearly 20 years.
Furman @ Winthrop - ESPN+: The best mid-major OOC matchup of the day. Furman held both Cincy and Alabama to wins of 5 points or less while the undefeated Winthrop have beaten top-25 mid-majors UNC-Greensboro and Little Rock and are led by 6'7 triple-double machine Chandler Vaudrin.
6 PM:
Buffalo @ Syracuse - ACC Network: Nate Oats' teams got me back into the program a few years ago. Read my Kentucky comment above.
UC Santa Barbara @ Pepperdine - Streamable for free on each school's website: Props to the Big West and WCC for regularly booking the best Californian mid-major teams to play each other all the time before conference play. Pepperdine, Loyola Marymount, UC Irvine and UC Santa Barbara are all perennially good programs that I watched for the first time this year thank to their streams. Most games are played during east coast friendly times too.
Pepperdine's inside/outside duo of Kessler Edwards and Colbey Ross combine for 40.5 ppg while UC Santa Barbara is a high-end D1 transfer haven. Overall, I've been impressed with the WCC's improvement around Gonzaga's rise.
Night:
7 PM Arizona @ Stanford - Pac12: Solid Pac12 matchup.
8 PM Colorado State @ Saint Mary's - streamable on teams' websites: another very good mid-major OCC matchup.
9 PM Saint Joseph's @ Villanova - FS1: Gotta love Big 5 matchups. Why isn't this game being played at the Palestra?!?
Will be hitting the road tomorrow to be TV-less and w/ poor internet for a few days. I'll catch the UConn/Creighton game but will be basketball-free til Wednesday. Enjoy today's matchups!
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