It's an unusually quiet January Wednesday night. (There are actually more games scheduled across the country tomorrow.) ESPN and ESPN2 only air one game apiece, and there aren't a lot of options after 9 p.m. ET. But that's fine, because there is one game you absolutely must pay attention to at 10 p.m. this evening, as the two best in the Mountain West meet in a game that has top line implications. My picks for the night after the jump.
Early Evening (ET)
HD TV: West Virginia Mountaineers at Louisville Cardinals, ESPNU (7 p.m. ET)
This is the first of two meetings between these two, as they meet in Morgantown on March 5th to close the regular season. The Cardinals will look to move past a bad road loss to Providence, while the Mountaineers will try to grab the road win without leading scorer Casey Mitchell, who's been suspended for the typical "undisclosed violation of team rules."
KenPom.com prediction: Cardinals 74-68, 68 poss.
SD TV: St. John's Red Storm at Georgetown Hoyas, Big East Network/SNY/MASN/ESPN3/Full Court (7 p.m. ET)
The Red Storm defeated the Hoyas at MSG on January 3rd, they've dropped four of five since then. For Georgetown, that setback started a three-game losing run, which they've followed with a two-game winning streak. Both teams are hovering around .500 (St. John's at 4-4, Georgetown at 3-4) in the league.
KenPom.com prediction: Hoyas 73-65, 65 poss.
Laptop: Texas Longhorns at Oklahoma St. Cowboys, ESPN2/ESPN3 (7:30 p.m. ET)
The Longhorns hit the road again, as they visit Stillwater days after grabbing a potentially season-making win at Kansas. Texas is the lone unbeaten in Big 12 play, while the Cowboys are trying to get to .500 after losing at Baylor on Saturday.
KenPom.com prediction: Longhorns 71-62, 67 poss.
Alt. Ch.: North Carolina Tar Heels at Miami Hurricanes, ESPN (7:30 p.m. ET)
The Hurricanes have dropped four of their last five, giving them a poor 1-4 ACC mark, but their biggest margin of defeat is nine (at Duke). Miami's last three have been decided by a total of five points, with the only win coming at home against BC. Look for this to be another nailbiter, as the Tar Heels have played some close ones in the league (except for their loss at Georgia Tech, of course).
KenPom.com prediction: Tar Heels 74-71, 72 poss.
Late Evening (ET)
HD TV: San Diego St. Aztecs at BYU Cougars, CBS College Sports (10 p.m. ET)
It's the unbeaten Aztecs vs. the once-beaten Cougars with Western supremacy on the line. San Diego State is 4th in the RPI right now (per BBState), but surprisingly BYU is in the top spot. This is a great opportunity to not only see BYU's Jimmer Fredette and Jackson Emery, whose exploits have been fairly well publicized this year, but San Diego State's great forward corps, featuring Kawhi Leonard, who's rising up the NBA Draft projection tables, and guard D.J. Gay, who made highlight reels from coast-to-coast by hitting an amazing half-court halftime buzzer-beater at New Mexico. These two might meet three times this year (with the second game in San Diego on February 26 getting actual national air on CBS, and not regionally either), and the games should all be entertaining affairs.
KenPom.com prediction: Cougars 75-70, 68 poss.
For broadcast information for the rest of tonight's slate, 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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