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Tournament Week Viewing Guide: December 1, 2013

Saturday's action wasn't quite as intense as Friday's series of close finishes, but the evening finished strong (at least until Harvard blew out TCU to win the Great Alaska Shootout). That's because Kansas had a devil of a time defeating a feisty UTEP outfit in the Battle 4 Atlantis third-place game just before Villanova came back from 15 points down to defeat Iowa for the championship. Virginia easily claimed the Corpus Christi Challenge by routing Missouri State, while Mississippi held off Penn State to win the Barclays Center Classic. Today, the Old Spice Classic and Wooden Legacy wrap up, with a few non-tournament games of note also on the schedule.

Phil Sears-USA TODAY Sports

All TV info is courtesy Matt's College Sports on TV site.

All times are Eastern.

Old Spice Classic

Championship: Oklahoma State Cowboys (7-0) vs. Memphis Tigers (4-1), approx. 7:30 p.m. (ESPN2)
3rd/4th Place: Butler Bulldogs (5-1) vs. LSU Tigers (4-2), approx. 2:30 p.m. (ESPNU)
5th/6th Place: Washington State Cougars (3-3) vs. St. Joseph's Hawks (3-2), 12 p.m. (ESPNU)
7th/8th Place: Purdue Boilermakers (5-2) vs. Siena Saints (2-6), approx. 5 p.m. (ESPN3)
Curiously, both games in the evening session are rematches of the tournament's pair of non-bracketed games. Purdue defeated Siena by just eight in West Lafayette one week ago, while the first meeting between Oklahoma State and Memphis saw the Cowboys rout the Tigers, thanks to Marcus Smart's career-high 39 point performance. However, the Tigers aren't really doomed heading into the rematch -- they just have to look at how rival Tennesseehandled its second game in the space of a month against Xavier for inspiration. Plus, Shaq Goodwin and Austin Nichols were largely held in check on November 19th. I don't suspect that will happen again, especially with Nichols coming off a huge night against LSU in the semifinal. He's sure to be brimming with confidence.

In the afternoon session, Butler and LSU should be worth your time, though I will caution you that I suspect a crew led by Karl Hess will be officiating that one. In other words, the third-place game may take up a lot of your afternoon.

Wooden Legacy

Championship: Marquette Golden Eagles (5-2) vs. San Diego State Aztecs (4-1), approx. 9:30 p.m. (ESPN2)
3rd/4th Place: George Washington Colonials (5-1) vs. Creighton Bluejays (5-1), approx. 7 p.m. (ESPNU)
5th/6th Place: Miami Hurricanes (4-3) vs. Arizona State Sun Devils (7-1), approx. 4:30 p.m. (ESPNU)
7th/8th Place: Charleston Cougars (2-5) vs. Cal State Fullerton Titans (2-5), 2 p.m. (ESPN3)
On Friday night, San Diego State prevented the first of potentially four regular season meetings between Marquette and Creighton from occurring by outmuscling the Bluejays late. Thanks to the presence of Davante Gardner, Jamil Wilson, and Chris Otule, the Golden Eagles should be able to give the Aztecs' more of a challenge defensively and on the boards. As for the Bluejays, they can leave with a pair of wins by knocking out a GW team that was lucky to be in the winner's bracket.

Non-Tournament Games Of Note

Wichita State Shockers (7-0) at Saint Louis Billikens (6-1), 1 p.m. ET (CBS SN)
The Shockers face a stiff road test as they visit the defending Atlantic 10 champions.

Iona Gaels (2-2) at Florida Gulf Coast Eagles (4-2), 2 p.m. (ESPN3)
The MAAC and Atlantic Sun's standard bearers from a season ago meet in Fort Myers.

Oregon State Beavers (3-1) at DePaul Blue Demons (3-3), 4 p.m. (FS1)
On their last road trip, the Beavers won with coach Craig Robinson's brother-in-law, better known as the President of the United States of America, in attendance. Today, Robinson heads to his hometown looking for another big result.

Va. Commonwealth Rams (5-2) at Belmont Bruins (7-1), 5 p.m. (ESPN3)
Two weeks ago, the Bruins walked into the Dean Smith Center and departed with a famous victory. Today, they welcome HAVOC to the Curb Events Center.

North Carolina Tar Heels (4-1) at UAB Blazers (5-2), 6 p.m. (FS1)
Blazers' coach Jerod Haase welcomes his mentor, Roy Williams, to Bartow Arena. It's another dangerous game for the Tar Heels, but not as much as it appeared to be before their win over Louisville a week ago.

Providence Friars (7-1) vs. Kentucky Wildcats (6-1) at Barclays Center, 8:30 p.m. (FS1)
The Friars only loss came at the hands of Maryland in the Paradise Jam final on Monday night. It's likely they'll get a second tonight, but they'd love to finish what Cleveland State and Eastern Michigan could not earlier in the week.

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