clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

College Basketball On TV For February 16, 2011

Wednesday night's slate is a busy one, with plenty of clashes between teams who are safe and battling for seeding, a numerous significant contests for bubble teams. Your remote control is especially likely to get a workout between 6:30 and 9 ET. My viewing picks for the night, starting with a Wisconsin's early evening trip to Purdue, are after the jump.

Early Evening (ET)

HD TV: Wisconsin Badgers at Purdue Boilermakers, Big Ten Network (6:30 p.m. ET)
OK, Jordan Taylor and Wisconsin, it's time to follow up your big victory over Ohio State with a sweep of the Boilermakers, a team the Badgers handled in Madison back on February 1st, a victory that started Sconnie's four-game win streak. The Boilers have won two in a row themselves, including Sunday's win at Illinois.
KenPom.com projection: Boilermakers 63-60, 58 poss.

SD TV: Georgetown Hoyas at Connecticut Huskies, Big East Network/ESPN3/Full Court (7 p.m. ET)
This is the first of two very difficult games in the span of three days or the Huskies, as they visit Louisville on Friday night. (By contrast, the Hoyas play two road games in a row, but the second is at struggling USF on Saturday.) Georgetown is looking for its ninth straight win and starting to look more and more like a threat to be a two seed come Selection Sunday. Meanwhile, the Huskies could be looking at a five seed if their recent struggles continue. In their last five, UConn has only beaten Seton Hall (by 2) and Providence.
KenPom.com projection: Huskies 69-67, 65 poss.

Laptop: Louisville Cardinals at Cincinnati Bearcats, ESPN/ESPN3 (7 p.m. ET)
Like UConn, Louisville also must play a pair of games in three nights, opening on the road against a Cincinnati team that's in desperate need of a win. While the Cardinals are in protected seed range, the Bearcats have only won once in their last four (a disappointing three-point triumph over DePaul). A home upset would do wonders for UC's diminishing hopes.
KenPom.com projection: Bearcats 66-64, 66 poss.

Alt. Ch. 1: Vanderbilt Commodores at Georgia Bulldogs, ESPNU (7 p.m. ET)
The Bulldogs could use a win over the Commodores to boost a shaking resume. Georgia's profile is Exhibit A for this season in terms of how all conference schedules are not created equal. Yes, the Bulldogs are 6-4 in the SEC, but they've racked up four wins against the West and own only a single victory against an NCAA contender, a conference season-opening win over Kentucky. The Commodores are looking to sweep the season series, as they beat Georgia by seven in the second league game of the season.
KenPom.com projection: Commodores 71-70, 67 poss.

Alt. Ch. 2: UAB Blazers at Memphis Tigers, CBS College Sports (7 p.m. ET)
These two played an overtime in classic in Birmingham, with the Tigers prevailing by three. A loss for the Blazers would pretty much knock them off the bubble, as they're lacking quality wins.
KenPom.com projection: Tigers 67-66, 66 poss.

Late Evening (ET)

HD TV: Michigan Wolverines at Illinois Fighting Illini, Big Ten Network (8:30 p.m. ET)
The Wolverines can get to .500 in the Big Ten, and closer to the field, with a win in Champaign, which is a possibility given the Illini's recent struggles (3-6 in their last nine and 2-2 at home).
KenPom.com projection: Illini 70-61, 63 poss.

SD TV: Oklahoma St. Cowboys at Texas Longhorns, ESPN2 (9 p.m. ET)
A win in Austin is a tough ask for the Cowboys, but may would be a significant boost to their profile.
KenPom.com projection: Longhorns 73-55, 65 poss.

Laptop: Valparaiso Crusaders at Milwaukee Panthers, Horizon League Network (8 p.m. ET)
The Crusaders (11-3) can move one step closer to the Horizon League crown with a win over a hot Panther team (10-5), who's won six in a row. Second-place Cleveland State (11-4) visits Wright State (10-6) in another significant Horizon game, streaming at 7 p.m. ET. The top five may want to study up on their Horizon tiebreaking procedures over the next few days.
KenPom.com projection: Crusaders 66-65, 65 poss.

Bonus Pick I Can't Actually See: New Mexico Lobos at San Diego St. Aztecs, The Mtn. (10:30 p.m. ET)
After their loss at Colorado State on Saturday (and thanks to a couple of bad losses), the Lobos are on the very fringe of the at-large discussion. They can improve their stock considerably if they hand the Aztecs their second defeat of the season, and first at home.
KenPom.com projection: , poss.

There are plenty of other games on TV on this busy Wednesday night, so visit Matt Sarz's College Sports on TV site for broadcast information for them. Another good resource is the schedule page at BB State.

Please share your thoughts about tonight's action in the comments, after you sign up for a free SB Nation account, of course.

Enjoy this post? Follow Blogging the Bracket on Twitter and Like the site on Facebook.