College Hoops Viewing Guide: December 7, 2013

Friday was a mixed night for likely Pac-12 bubble teams. Arizona State had no trouble with DePaul in Rosemont, Ill., winning by 22. However, California traveled to UC Santa Barbara and lost to the Gauchos for the first time.

Saturday's busy slate is highlighted by UCLA's trip to Missouri to face the team it didn't play in Las Vegas over Thanksgiving and Arizona's chance to claim the top spot in the next poll.

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.

MSG Holiday Classic

La Salle Explorers (4-4) vs. Stony Brook Seawolves (6-3), 11 a.m. (FSN*)
So far this season, the Explorers do not look like a team that is set to contend for a second consecutive NCAA bid. They might have trouble righting the ship against a Seawolf team that would like to claim a significant non-conference win before America East play starts.

Fordham Rams (4-2) at St. John's Red Storm (5-2), approx. 1:30 p.m. (FSN*)
The Red Storm look to build on last Saturday's impressive win over Georgia Tech in the Barclays Center consolation game. The Johnnies will be challenged by a Rams squad that looks more competitive than previous editions. For instance, they won at MAAC contender Manhattan on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving.

The Best Of The Saturday Slate

Texas Longhorns (7-1) vs. Temple Owls (4-3) at Wells Fargo Center, 12 p.m. (ESPNU)
Both of these squads picked up a nice confidence boost during the week, thanks to a close win in a meaningful game. The Longhorns held off Vanderbilt to give their league a win in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge. Meanwhile, the Owls got their Big Five mark to 2-0 with a win over St. Joe's.

UCLA Bruins (8-0) at Missouri Tigers (8-0), 12:30 p.m. (CBS)
Both of these teams had no trouble with Nevada and Northwestern at Orleans Arena one week ago. As West Virginia found out on Thursday, the Bruins will probably wish they played this one on a neutral floor, especially with Tiger fans extra fired up on SEC Football Championship day.

Northwestern State Demons (3-3) at Memphis Tigers (5-1), 1 p.m. (ESPN3)
The Southland's 2013 NCAA entrant travels to the Mid-South to take on a Tiger team that has taken a nice break since claiming the Old Spice Classic.

BYU Cougars (7-2) vs. UMass Minutemen (7-0) at Springfield, Mass., 1:30 p.m. (CBS SN)
The Cougars travel East looking to hand the Minutemen their first loss, grabbing a significant non-conference win in the process.

Clemson Tigers (7-1) at Arkansas Razorbacks (5-2), 2 p.m. (SEC on CSS*/ESPN3)
This is one of those games that either have meaning in March or be an interesting footnote. The way the Tigers and Razorbacks -- a pair of wildcards -- play in their respective league seasons will most likely determine how this one is discussed, if at all, in March.

Marquette Golden Eagles (5-3) at Wisconsin Badgers (9-0), 2:15 p.m. (BTN)
Given the difficulty of their schedule, you wouldn't be surprised to find out the Golden Eagles' best win so far came against George Washington in the Wooden Legacy semifinals. That all changes if Marquette can somehow figure out a way to stop the juggernaut that is the 2013-14 Wisconsin Badgers. (Though "juggernaut" probably isn't the best word to describe them after their low-scoring win at Virginia on Wednesday night.)

Kansas Jayhawks (6-1) at Colorado Buffaloes (8-1), 3:15 p.m. (ESPN2)
These old Big 12 rivals meet for the second consecutive season with the Buffs looking to avenge a 36-point loss in Lawrence last season. Both of these squads rank in the top 15 of KenPom.com's Adjusted Defensive Efficiency rankings.

Cincinnati Bearcats (7-0) at New Mexico Lobos (6-1), 4 p.m. (CBS SN)
In the future, Mick Cronin may want to avoid scheduling his team's first road game of the season for an environment world-renowned for its hostility. Then again, the Lobos did struggle mightily with San Diego in their last game at The Pit.

Delaware Blue Hens (5-3) at Notre Dame Fighting Irish (5-2) (Gotham Classic), 4 p.m. (ACC RSNs*/ESPN3)
The Blue Hens will look to do what Indiana State did in its trip to South Bend -- shoot its way to a surprise victory. This one won't be a defensive struggle, that's for sure.

Virginia Cavaliers (7-2) at Green Bay Phoenix (4-2), 5 p.m. (ESPNU)
Tony Bennett reunion week continues as the Virginia coach takes his team to his alma mater, which happens to be among the favorites in the Horizon League race. Note that the Phoenix fell to Wisconsin by three at the Resch Center on November 16th.

UNLV Runnin' Rebels (3-3) at Arizona Wildcats (8-0), 5:15 p.m. (ESPN2)
With a victory over the inconsistent Runnin' Rebels, the Wildcats will most likely ascend to the no. 1 spot in the polls on Monday. Not that any team would ever want such a target on its back so early in the season.

Villanova Wildcats (8-0) at St. Joseph's Hawks (4-3), 6 p.m. (CBS SN)
Both squads played their Big Five openers on Wednesday night. The Wildcats routed Penn, while the Hawks could not get over the hump against Temple.

Alabama Crimson Tide (4-3) at South Florida Bulls (5-2), 9 p.m. (ESPNU)
The Bulls return home after taking an advantage of an epic George Mason collapse on Wednesday night. They'll take on a Bama team that blew by North Florida in their last contest. The Tide needs to be aware, however, that there is a bit of a gap in quality between the two directional-Florida schools.

New Mexico State Aggies (7-3) at Gonzaga Bulldogs (7-1), 11 p.m. (ESPNU)
The Aggies head to Spokane for the first of four consecutive difficult road games. At least they'll be prepared for the rough WAC travel schedule when that run is over.

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