College Hoops Viewing Guide: December 17, 2013

All TV info is courtesy Matt's College Sports on TV site. He has many more games listed, and you'll also want to check out his listings for information on which ACC and SEC regional contests and CSN, FSN, and Root Sports games (all games listed in these posts marked with an *) are available on which affiliates.

All times are Eastern.

Jimmy V Classic

Cincinnati Bearcats (7-2) vs. Pittsburgh Panthers (10-0), 7 p.m. (ESPN)
These two former Big East rivals meet at the Garden with the Panthers looking to stay perfect and the Bearcats looking to win away from Fifth Third Arena for the first time. Cincinnati faces a challenge on that front, as it looked outclassed in the Crosstown Shootout game against Xavier on Saturday, a loss that came a week after the Bearcats couldn't handle New Mexico on the road.

Memphis Tigers (7-1) vs. Florida Gators (7-2), approx. 9:30 p.m. (ESPN)
The Gators end a difficult sequence of four games (last second win over FSU, last second loss at UConn, victory over Kansas) with a trip to New York to take on a Tiger team that's not quite as talented as the Jayhawks, but is pretty close. The Memphis frontcourt, anchored by Shaq Goodwin and Austin Nichols, will provide quite a challenge to Florida's group of big men, especially since that Chris Walker, while on the Florida roster, has not yet been cleared to participate by the NCAA Clearinghouse. So, he won't play tonight. The Tigers also have three quality senior guards, while Florida basically has just Scottie Wilbekin and Kasey Hill, who still isn't 100 percent after a high ankle sprain.

However, you can ask Kansas how much Florida struggled without a fully healthy roster one week ago.

Elsewhere

Florida Gulf Coast Eagles (5-4) at South Florida Bulls (6-2) (Las Vegas Classic), 7 p.m. (ESPNU)
At the beginning of the season, this result looked to be a prime candidate to appear on the now-departed Red Line Upsets list. However, the Eagles haven't really built on their 2013 NCAA success and the Bulls look more competitive and -- dare I say -- composed than anticipated. USF's last two wins are exhibit of the latter quality, as they came back from a huge deficit to defeat George Mason in Fairfax, then defeated Alabama back at the Sun Dome -- each by the same two-point margin. Note that this is the Bulls' first game since defeating the Tide 10 days ago.

Charlotte 49ers (7-2) at Florida State Seminoles (6-3), 7 p.m. (ACC RSNs*/ESPN3)
The teams that finished first and third in the Puerto Rico Tip-Off meet in Tallahassee. Just think, only a Seminole collapse in the semifinals against Michigan kept this from being the second meeting of the season for these two. Both of these squads are coming off a nine-day layoff, with Charlotte hammering Appalachian State and FSU doing the same to Jacksonville State, so expect a bit of rust. Both teams need this one for profile purposes, as the 49ers don't really have much other than their win over the Wolverines (and they lost at Charleston, who happened to become Marist's first victim of the season on Sunday and to Davidson at home). The Seminoles, meanwhile, do have a win over VCU to go along with losses to Florida, Minnesota, and Michigan. At least they get a chance to knock off UMass on Saturday in South Florida.

Missouri State Bears (8-1) at Louisville Cardinals (9-1), 9 p.m. (ESPN2)
The Bears have a 3-1 record in games away from Springfield, Mo. Unfortunately for them, none of their wins came against a team even close to the Cardinals in talent and the loss came against Virginia, a likely NCAA Tournament team sure, but not one in Louisville's echelon. Still, if the hosts decide to not show up mentally tonight --always a possibility as the holidays approach -- perhaps Missouri State can finish the job Illinois State could not complete on the Valley's behalf last December.

Wichita State Shockers (10-0) at Alabama Crimson Tide (5-4), 9 p.m. (ESPNU)
Thanks to 2011 and 2012, the Shockers and Tide have a nice little rivalry brewing. Wichita State defeated Alabama in the 2011 NIT final with the Tide returning the favor in the semifinals of the 2011 Puerto Rico Tip-Off six months later. Both teams ended up falling in the first round of the 2012 NCAAs, and since then their paths have seemingly diverged. Bama's 2013 campaign ended in yet another NIT, this time in the quarterfinals, while Gregg Marshall's team gave Louisville all it could handle in the Final Four. Anthony Grant's squad could certainly use an upset win tonight, which is the start of a difficult stretch of the schedule. Xavier visits Tuscaloosa on Saturday, while the Tide travels to UCLA a week later.

New Mexico State Aggies (8-5) at New Mexico Lobos (7-2), 9 p.m. (ESPN3)
The Lobos are looking to sweep the season series between the two, while the Aggies can actually earn a split of their difficult four-game road trip. (NMSU defeated Drake in Des Moines on Saturday night, thanks to a big overtime.)

UC Irvine Anteaters (6-5) at Oregon Ducks (9-0), 10:30 p.m. (Pac-12 Network)
A little more than a month ago, the Anteaters hammered Washington in Seattle. Don't expect a repeat against a superior Ducks squad, but -- again -- it is a week and a day before Christmas, so funny things can happen.

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