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Saturday's slate isn't as dynamic as other weeks, but this is one of the better Sundays we've had this season. I omitted a lot of mediocre Big East and Power 5 games, but feel free to add them below.
Enjoy!
SATURDAY
Noon
UConn @ Xavier - Fox: Just win.
#22 Loyola-Chicago @ Drake - ESPN2: Yes, Cameron Krutwig still plays for Loyola. Reason why Rambers fans should be excited: a better offensive (63 vs 36) and defensive efficiency (17 vs) ratings than their 2018 Final Four team. Krutwig doesn’t shoot threes, but all other players in their rotation shoot 32%+ from 3. They also play again at 3 PM on Sunday, also on ESPN2.
1 PM:
#12 Oklahoma @ #14 West Virginia - Big 12 Network: Could be the best game of the day. In their last two games, the Mountaineers have bTheaten Kansas and Texas Tech by a combined 23 points. Sooners have one 6 of their last 7. Underrated development for the Sooners: transfers Umoja Gibson (North Texas) and Elijah Harkless (CSU-Northridge) have both become major contributors to their rotation (23+ minutes each between the last five games).
2 PM:
#16 Tennessee @ LSU - ESPN: Tennessee’s projected lottery pick Jaden Springer is really heating up: 26.5p, 4.5r, 2.0s, 1b in last two games. Tennessee badly needs an alpha and if Springer becomes that alpha: watch out.
Oregon @ Arizona - ESPN2: Big game for Arizona, a bubble team at this point (7-6 conference play). Freshman wing Bennedict Mathurin has has had some huge games for the Wildcats, scoring 20+ three times since January. Now that Will Richardson is back for Oregon (14.5p, 4r, 5a in two games since returning), Oregon can be a sleeper pick in March.
Bowling Green @ Toledo - ESPN3: Toledo is tops in the MAC and Bowling Green (6-7 in conference) has had a dud of a year, especially since Justin Turner decided to spurn Power 5 options to return for his grad year. Toledo shoots, shoots, shoots: their top-7 players all shoot 32 3p%+. Lots of small-ball too with 6’7 JT Shumate playing the 5. I can see Toledo matchup excellently against a Creighton or Texas Tech trouble.
2:30
#15 Iowa @ Michigan State - Fox: Two Big Ten teams stinking it up late with both squads 2-4 in their last six. A must-win for Michigan State, who is firmly on the bubble (4-7 in conference play).
4 PM:
Arkansas @ #10 Missouri - ESPN2: Two hot SEC teams: (Arkansas 5-1 in last six, Missouri 6-2 in last eight). After wins against Tennessee and Alabama, Missouri shockingly lost by 21 against Ole Miss on Wednesday (Ole Miss shot 57% that game). I’m a big fan of Dru Smith/Xavier Pinson, arguably one of most underrated backcourts in the nation. Arkansas’ super freshman Moses Moody is impressive, 16.3 ppg and 37 3p%, but kinda meh last four games (12.2 ppg).
UAB @ Louisiana Tech - Stadium/Streamable online: UAB is the best team in the C-USA (9-1 conference play) and Louisiana Tech is vying for a top-4 spot in the conference. No star power in this game, but each team rosters FOUR double-digit scorers and both teams are top-50 KenPom defensive teams. The top half of the C-USA is very good and this should be a solid game.
Wofford @ East Tennessee State - ESPN+: The top-half of the SoCon is solid and the top-4 teams (UNC-G, Wofford, ETSU, Furman) are all good teams and in contention to take the conference crown. ETSU needs this win after two straight losses and already losing once to Wofford.
Duke @ NC State - ESPN: Root for NC State if you want Duke’s bubble to get closer to bursting.
5 PM:
#5 Villanova @ #19 Creighton - FOX: Another candidate for top game of the day. Two evenly matched teams: top-20 efficient offenses, but surprisingly this year the additions of O’Connell and Jones have helped Creighton be the better defensive team. Nova is awful at defending the 3 (299th in the nation) so I expect Creighton to feast.
Morehead State @ Belmont - ESPN+: Belmont is the cream of the crop in the OVC (14-0 in conference play, 20-1 overall), but Morehead State is a surprising #2 in the conference (12-2 in conference play, better than pre-season faves Austin Peay and Murray State). I caught the first half of the Belmont/EKU game on Thursday night and man, does Belmont’s offense look like the UConn women’s team: a calm, motion offense (against one of the best steal producing teams in the nation), ball movement, almost no dribbling. If they can’t win the OVC tournament, it’ll be criminal if they don’t get an at-large: easily one of the top 64 teams in the nation.
6 PM:
North Carolina @ #9 Virginia - ESPN: Another down ACC year has me unsure of what to think about Virginia. The additions of transfers Sam Hauser and Trey Murphy has helped improve their offense (combined 26.4 ppg) but Virginia’s SOS is awfully low for an ACC team (49th overall). Virginia needs to keep winning these pedestrian games (only play one more ranked team, Florida State, this regular season) to keep their stock where it is.
7 PM:
Rhode Island @ Davidson - ESPN+: Davidson sits right around the top of the A-10 standings, being one of the five two-loss teams in conference play. Even though Rhode Island is 6-8 in conference play, they can beat (or lose) to anyone. They’ve had the 2nd toughest conference schedule and an overall SOS better than teams Gonzaga, Baylor, Houston and Tennessee, amongst many others. URI is much better than their 9-12 record.
SUNDAY
1 PM:
#3 Michigan @ #21 Wisconsin - CBS: Michigan’s first game since 1/22 and a start of quite a doozy of a rest of season schedule (Wisconsin, Rutgers, Ohio State, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan State). A win will be huge to seeing how they transition post-pause. Excited for the matchup between super freshman Hunter Dickinson (15.1p, 7.2r, 1.4b) against the duo of Micah Potter/Nate Reuters (combined 25.3p, 9.8r, 1.5b). Michigan is 1st in the nation in defensive 2p% while Wisconsin is 47th, so the edge to Michigan.
3 PM:
Marquette @ Seton Hall - FS1: Marquette has had a worse season than I’ve expected, but still an important game for Seton Hall to secure an at-large bid.
#22 Loyola-Chicago @ Drake - ESPN2: 2nd game of the weekend series.
4 PM:
Pittsburgh @ Georgia Tech - ACC Network: Important game for two bubble teams. After years of being more of a defensive-first team, Tech is a top-50 offensive team and not a top-70 defensive team for the first time in six seasons. I think Tech has a better shot at the tourney than Pittsburgh, who is as 70ish KenPom team in both O and D and are awful at shooting (246th in the nation). Let’s go Tech.
Wichita State @ SMU - ESPNU: Before I get piled on for putting on an AAC game, this tilt against two top-four AAC teams could be pretty good. I’m shocked how well Wichita State has played this year. 12-4 overall and 8-2 in the conference, only behind Houston. Sophomore lead guard Tyson Etienne has really exploded this year, averaging 17.3p shooting 39.8 from 3 while Alterique is 2nd in the team in scoring with 10.2p (albeit at a 34% shooting clip). Jankovich has had a solid tenure at SMU and this is his best team since 2017.
Enjoy!
SATURDAY
Noon
UConn @ Xavier - Fox: Just win.
#22 Loyola-Chicago @ Drake - ESPN2: Yes, Cameron Krutwig still plays for Loyola. Reason why Rambers fans should be excited: a better offensive (63 vs 36) and defensive efficiency (17 vs) ratings than their 2018 Final Four team. Krutwig doesn’t shoot threes, but all other players in their rotation shoot 32%+ from 3. They also play again at 3 PM on Sunday, also on ESPN2.
1 PM:
#12 Oklahoma @ #14 West Virginia - Big 12 Network: Could be the best game of the day. In their last two games, the Mountaineers have bTheaten Kansas and Texas Tech by a combined 23 points. Sooners have one 6 of their last 7. Underrated development for the Sooners: transfers Umoja Gibson (North Texas) and Elijah Harkless (CSU-Northridge) have both become major contributors to their rotation (23+ minutes each between the last five games).
2 PM:
#16 Tennessee @ LSU - ESPN: Tennessee’s projected lottery pick Jaden Springer is really heating up: 26.5p, 4.5r, 2.0s, 1b in last two games. Tennessee badly needs an alpha and if Springer becomes that alpha: watch out.
Oregon @ Arizona - ESPN2: Big game for Arizona, a bubble team at this point (7-6 conference play). Freshman wing Bennedict Mathurin has has had some huge games for the Wildcats, scoring 20+ three times since January. Now that Will Richardson is back for Oregon (14.5p, 4r, 5a in two games since returning), Oregon can be a sleeper pick in March.
Bowling Green @ Toledo - ESPN3: Toledo is tops in the MAC and Bowling Green (6-7 in conference) has had a dud of a year, especially since Justin Turner decided to spurn Power 5 options to return for his grad year. Toledo shoots, shoots, shoots: their top-7 players all shoot 32 3p%+. Lots of small-ball too with 6’7 JT Shumate playing the 5. I can see Toledo matchup excellently against a Creighton or Texas Tech trouble.
2:30
#15 Iowa @ Michigan State - Fox: Two Big Ten teams stinking it up late with both squads 2-4 in their last six. A must-win for Michigan State, who is firmly on the bubble (4-7 in conference play).
4 PM:
Arkansas @ #10 Missouri - ESPN2: Two hot SEC teams: (Arkansas 5-1 in last six, Missouri 6-2 in last eight). After wins against Tennessee and Alabama, Missouri shockingly lost by 21 against Ole Miss on Wednesday (Ole Miss shot 57% that game). I’m a big fan of Dru Smith/Xavier Pinson, arguably one of most underrated backcourts in the nation. Arkansas’ super freshman Moses Moody is impressive, 16.3 ppg and 37 3p%, but kinda meh last four games (12.2 ppg).
UAB @ Louisiana Tech - Stadium/Streamable online: UAB is the best team in the C-USA (9-1 conference play) and Louisiana Tech is vying for a top-4 spot in the conference. No star power in this game, but each team rosters FOUR double-digit scorers and both teams are top-50 KenPom defensive teams. The top half of the C-USA is very good and this should be a solid game.
Wofford @ East Tennessee State - ESPN+: The top-half of the SoCon is solid and the top-4 teams (UNC-G, Wofford, ETSU, Furman) are all good teams and in contention to take the conference crown. ETSU needs this win after two straight losses and already losing once to Wofford.
Duke @ NC State - ESPN: Root for NC State if you want Duke’s bubble to get closer to bursting.
5 PM:
#5 Villanova @ #19 Creighton - FOX: Another candidate for top game of the day. Two evenly matched teams: top-20 efficient offenses, but surprisingly this year the additions of O’Connell and Jones have helped Creighton be the better defensive team. Nova is awful at defending the 3 (299th in the nation) so I expect Creighton to feast.
Morehead State @ Belmont - ESPN+: Belmont is the cream of the crop in the OVC (14-0 in conference play, 20-1 overall), but Morehead State is a surprising #2 in the conference (12-2 in conference play, better than pre-season faves Austin Peay and Murray State). I caught the first half of the Belmont/EKU game on Thursday night and man, does Belmont’s offense look like the UConn women’s team: a calm, motion offense (against one of the best steal producing teams in the nation), ball movement, almost no dribbling. If they can’t win the OVC tournament, it’ll be criminal if they don’t get an at-large: easily one of the top 64 teams in the nation.
6 PM:
North Carolina @ #9 Virginia - ESPN: Another down ACC year has me unsure of what to think about Virginia. The additions of transfers Sam Hauser and Trey Murphy has helped improve their offense (combined 26.4 ppg) but Virginia’s SOS is awfully low for an ACC team (49th overall). Virginia needs to keep winning these pedestrian games (only play one more ranked team, Florida State, this regular season) to keep their stock where it is.
7 PM:
Rhode Island @ Davidson - ESPN+: Davidson sits right around the top of the A-10 standings, being one of the five two-loss teams in conference play. Even though Rhode Island is 6-8 in conference play, they can beat (or lose) to anyone. They’ve had the 2nd toughest conference schedule and an overall SOS better than teams Gonzaga, Baylor, Houston and Tennessee, amongst many others. URI is much better than their 9-12 record.
SUNDAY
1 PM:
#3 Michigan @ #21 Wisconsin - CBS: Michigan’s first game since 1/22 and a start of quite a doozy of a rest of season schedule (Wisconsin, Rutgers, Ohio State, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan State). A win will be huge to seeing how they transition post-pause. Excited for the matchup between super freshman Hunter Dickinson (15.1p, 7.2r, 1.4b) against the duo of Micah Potter/Nate Reuters (combined 25.3p, 9.8r, 1.5b). Michigan is 1st in the nation in defensive 2p% while Wisconsin is 47th, so the edge to Michigan.
3 PM:
Marquette @ Seton Hall - FS1: Marquette has had a worse season than I’ve expected, but still an important game for Seton Hall to secure an at-large bid.
#22 Loyola-Chicago @ Drake - ESPN2: 2nd game of the weekend series.
4 PM:
Pittsburgh @ Georgia Tech - ACC Network: Important game for two bubble teams. After years of being more of a defensive-first team, Tech is a top-50 offensive team and not a top-70 defensive team for the first time in six seasons. I think Tech has a better shot at the tourney than Pittsburgh, who is as 70ish KenPom team in both O and D and are awful at shooting (246th in the nation). Let’s go Tech.
Wichita State @ SMU - ESPNU: Before I get piled on for putting on an AAC game, this tilt against two top-four AAC teams could be pretty good. I’m shocked how well Wichita State has played this year. 12-4 overall and 8-2 in the conference, only behind Houston. Sophomore lead guard Tyson Etienne has really exploded this year, averaging 17.3p shooting 39.8 from 3 while Alterique is 2nd in the team in scoring with 10.2p (albeit at a 34% shooting clip). Jankovich has had a solid tenure at SMU and this is his best team since 2017.