After an extremely quiet Monday of action, the college basketball schedule comes roaring back this evening. Of course, the major highlight will be the Jimmy V Classic in New York, where four top 15 teams will take to the court to honor the life and memory of the former Johns Hopkins, Bucknell, Iona, and NC State, and to raise money for the cancer research foundation that bears his name.
After the jump, I'll take a look at the doubleheader at Madison Square Garden, along with the rest of the night's slate, which features three in-state tussles.
If a team's name appears as a link, click it to visit that school's SB Nation blog for more coverage.
Jimmy V Classic, ESPN (7 and 9:15 p.m. ET)
Game 1: Kansas vs. Memphis: One of these two is leaving New York with their first defeat. At first glance, the Tigers look likely to fall, as they've taken a couple of inferior opponents lightly (LSU and Arkansas State), but been able to escape in the nick of time. However, the Jayhawks have not looked sharp in their last two games, a win over Arizona (thanks to Derrick Williams fouling out) and one-point victory over UCLA (that would have gone to OT, if not for a soft foul call on Malcolm Lee at the end). This could be a replay of the entertaining game these two played in St. Louis last November.
Syracuse vs. Michigan State: This game features two teams who are simply befuddling to their respective fanbases: The Orange for their tendency to look like worldbeaters for brief glimpses before taking their collective foot off the gas for seemingly longer periods, and the Spartans for turning the ball over a ridiculous amount. Given that Syracuse is a good transition team, Tom Izzo's team may want to take care of the ball a bit better; however, Michigan State's ability to hit outside shots may force Jim Boeheim to go away from the 2-3 zone more than he'd like.
Here are three others to keep an eye on for Tuesday night...
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Georgia at Georgia Tech, ESPN2 (7 p.m. ET): The hoops version of "Clean, Old Fashioned Hate" pits two of the most befuddling teams in the country against each other. The Yellow Jackets are having major issues on both ends of the court (but especially on defense), while the Bulldogs, frankly, aren't much better, despite a lot of preseason pub.
- Northern Iowa at Iowa, Big Ten Network (8 p.m. ET): Both these teams will be looking to stake their claims to the unofficial state title, as the Panthers defeated Iowa State in Cedar Falls last week, while this will be the first of three straight for the Hawkeyes against their in-state rivals (Iowa State at home on Friday and a trip to Drake on December 18).
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Purdue at Valparaiso, ESPNU (9 p.m. ET): This was supposed to be a homecoming game for Valparaiso High School grad Robbie Hummel, who redshirted this year after tearing his ACL during the Boilermakers' first practice. Purdue can't take the Crusaders, who currently share the Horizon lead with Cleveland State, lightly (especially with the news John Hart will be out for a month with a stress fracture in his right foot), but a good defensive performance should see them leave with a win.
There are also three Big East Network games on tap, with Robert Morris' visit to Morgantown possessing the most intrigue.
- St. Bonaventure at St. John's, Big East Network/BHSN/SNY/ESPN3/Full Court (7 p.m. ET)
- Robert Morris at West Virginia, Big East Network/FSN Pittsburgh/MASN/Altitude2/CST/ESPN3/Full Court (7 p.m. ET)
- Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at Marquette, Big East Network/TWC 32/MASN/SNY/ESPN3/Full Court (7 p.m. ET)
For information about games that will only be broadcast regionally, like Central Connecticut State at Dayton and East Tennessee State at College of Charleston,visit Matt Sarz's College Sports on TV site. Another good resource is the schedule page at BB State.
Please share your thoughts about today and tonight's action in the comments, after you sign up for a free SB Nation account, of course.
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