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College Hoops Viewing Guide: December 5, 2013

Wednesday night was dominated by the conclusion of the Big Ten/ACC Challenge, which ended up a 6-6 tie. North Carolina's upset road win over top-ranked Michigan State played a significant part in the result, but the fact that N.C. State Wolfpack (over Northwestern Wildcats) was the ACC's only other winner on the night was just as important in the overall story. Outside of that pair of wins, it was a Big Ten rout, as Ohio State blew out Maryland in its last appearance on the East Coast side, Purdue ran Boston College out of Mackey Arena, Wisconsin held Virginia to only 38 points at John Paul Jones Arena, and Nebraska controlled Miami in its visit to Lincoln. Tonight, the Big Ten/ACC Challenge's more disjointed rival, the SEC/Big 12 Challenge, resumes with three games. The Big 12 leads the series two games to one after a sweep of Tuesday night's contests.

By ChrisDobbertean
Maddie Meyer

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.

SEC/Big 12 Challenge

West Virginia Mountaineers (6-2) at Missouri Tigers (7-0), 7 p.m. (ESPN2)
Early on, this version of the Mountaineers has looked significantly better than the 2012-13 edition, which missed the postseason. That being said, Bob Huggins' squad has already lost at Virginia Tech (a defeat that probably won't be a quality one come March) and against Wisconsin in Cancun. Tonight's visit to Columbia begins a difficult stretch that sees WVU host Gonzaga, challenge Marshall in Charleston, and host Purdue. As for the Tigers, tonight's contest is the first of two big ones in 48 hours -- UCLA visits on Saturday afternoon. The two teams saw plenty of each other in Las Vegas over Thanksgiving weekend, though the two did not meet on the court because of the scheduled matchup. Frank Haith's team cannot get caught looking ahead.

TCU Horned Frogs (4-3) at Mississippi State Bulldogs (5-1), 7 p.m. ET (ESPNU)
This contest matches up the two teams most likely to finish at the bottom of the two leagues in this series. You should probably focus on West Virginia-Missouri unless you're an alum or have family ties to either of these two schools.

Mississippi Rebels (6-0) at Kansas State Wildcats (4-3), 9 p.m. (ESPN2)
The Rebels have Marshall Henderson back in the lineup and they're coming off a pair of wins in the Barclays Center Challenge over the holiday weekend. On the other hand, the Wildcats have had a forgettable campaign so far -- four wins in seven outings with two of those coming against a Long Beach State squad that doesn't appear to be as good as recent versions. While Ole Miss will be favored on the court, it's worth checking out this game to see how Henderson handles the Octagon of Doom and its fans.

Other Games Of Note

LIU-Brooklyn Blackbirds (2-4) at Seton Hall Pirates (4-3), 7 p.m. (FS1)
On Sunday, the Pirates fell to Fairleigh Dickinson, a team picked to finish near the bottom of the NEC, in Newark. Tonight, the upset alert will be on at the Prudential Center as the Blackbirds will likely challenge for the title in that same conference, despite an unimpressive early record.

Providence Friars (7-2) at Rhode Island Rams (6-3), 8 p.m. (CBS SN)
With apologies to Brown and Bryant, the Ocean State's two most high-profile programs meet tonight in Kingston with probably a bit more on the line for the visitors, who need to avoid non-conference stumbles before the profile-building Big East slate starts. (However, you can't discount the A10's resume-building promise at this point, can you?) The Friars are coming off a loss to Kentucky in Brooklyn, while the Rams fell at George Mason last time out.

High Point Panthers (3-3) at Georgetown Hoyas (4-2), 9 p.m. (FS1)
The Hoyas welcome the Big South favorites to downtown Washington, D.C. Expect the Panthers to head back to North Carolina with a loss, but they'll be motivated to at least make it competitive.

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