College Hoops Viewing Guide: January 8, 2014

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 conference 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.

American (Non-Conference)

Harvard Crimson (13-1) at Connecticut Huskies (11-3), 7 p.m. (ESPNU)

This is the Crimson's last shot at a marquee win before the Ivy season begins this weekend. Of course, their opposition is reeling, as the Huskies have dropped their first two AAC games, both on the road.

Last night: Cincinnati escaped Houston and moved to 3-0 in the conference, as the Cougars (2-1) got a three at the buzzer, when they really needed a non-existent four-point shot (or a foul).

A-10

St. Joseph's Hawks (9-4) at UMass Minutemen (12-1), 7 p.m. (Comcast Network Philly/SNY/CSN New England)

One of the surprises of the first half of the season, UMass, opens its conference campaign against a St. Joseph's squad that's won five in a row (following two straight Big Five defeats).

Last night: In what looked to be the game of the night until things started to get crazy in East Lansing, Saint Louis, one of the A10's preseason favorites, slipped past Rhode Island in Kingston, 59-58.

ACC

Wake Forest Demon Deacons (11-3, 1-0 ACC) at Virginia Cavaliers (10-4, 1-0), 7 p.m. (ACC RSNs*/ESPN3)
Miami Hurricanes (8-6, 0-2) at North Carolina Tar Heels (10-4, 0-1), 9 p.m. (ESPN2)

In tonight's first ACC contest, the Demon Deacons will travel to Charlottesville, where they'll hope to build on Sunday's surprise home win over UNC. That won't be an easy task, considering how the Cavaliers won easily at Florida State on Saturday without Joe Harris, who missed most of the game with a concussion. It's not clear if he will be back for tonight. Game two sees the Tar Heels looking to bounce back against a Hurricane squad that gave Syracuse all it could handle before falling on Saturday afternoon. Given how UNC's season has gone so far, the Heels need to be on upset alert tonight.

Last night: Duke (1-1) got a big second half to defeat Georgia Tech (0-2), as the recovered nicely from Saturday's loss at Notre Dame. The Irish on the other hand, fell to 1-1, thanks to a home loss to N.C. State (1-1). Meanwhile, Syracuse moved to 2-0 with a 20-point triumph over Virginia Tech (1-1) in Blacksburg.

Big 12

Kansas Jayhawks (9-4) at Oklahoma Sooners (12-2, 1-0 Big 12), 7 p.m. (ESPN2)
Texas Longhorns (11-3, 0-1) at Oklahoma State Cowboys (12-2, 0-1), 9 p.m. (ESPNU)

The Jayhawks travel to Norman for the first of three difficult games this week to open the Big 12 slate. Kansas next hosts Kansas State on Saturday then travels to Iowa State on Monday. The Cyclones visit the Sooners on Saturday themselves, meaning that OU has a pair of nice opportunities here to boost its own profile. Lon Kruger's squad opened the conference season with a road win over Texas, who travels to Stillwater tonight. The Cowboys are also looking to rebound from a league-opening loss, as Kansas State tripped them up on Saturday in Manhattan.

Last night: Baylor (0-1) gave Iowa State (2-0) awhile until DeAndre Kane (30 points, 8 rebounds, 9 assists) took over with one of the performances of the night. Kansas State also moved to 2-0 with an 18-point victory at TCU (0-2).

Big East

Georgetown Hoyas (10-3, 2-0 Big East) at Providence Friars (10-5, 0-2), 7 p.m. (FS1)
Villanova Wildcats (13-1, 2-0) at Seton Hall Pirates (10-5, 1-1), 7 p.m. (CBS SN)

The Hoyas and Wildcats each visit teams that would like to avoid falling further down the Big East standings early on. Of course, Providence's one-point double-overtime home loss to Seton Hall is the biggest reason the Friars, a popular sleeper pick heading into the conference season, are in danger of being put to bed already.

Last night: Creighton (3-0) handled DePaul (0-3), as expected, but the win might have come at a cost. Grant Gibbs had to leave the game with what appeared to be a serious knee injury, while Doug McDermott had to play through a shoulder injury thanks to Gibbs' absence.

Big Ten

Minnesota Golden Gophers (12-3, 1-1 Big Ten) at Penn State Nittany Lions (9-6, 0-2), 7 p.m. (BTN)
Illinois Fighting Illini (13-2, 2-0) at Wisconsin Badgers (15-0, 2-0), 9 p.m. (BTN)

In game one, the Golden Gophers must be wary of the trip to Happy Valley, since they must avoid bad losses at all cost. The nightcap is really the one to watch, as the Badgers will look to stay perfect overall and in the conference against an Illini team that's capable of knocking them off.

Last night: There was only one game on the schedule and while Michigan State (3-0) win over Ohio State (2-1) wasn't the prettiest game ever, it certainly provided plenty of drama, especially since it looked to be over with 8 minutes left. At that point, the Spartans led by 17 after an Adreian Payne three and Keith Appling layup. Then MSU went cold and the Buckeyes heated up, going on a 20-3 run to tie the game and force overtime. In the extra period, Sparty eventually got it going from outside with Kenny Kaminski. Payne, and Appling all hitting triples to push their squad over the line with a 72-68 win.

Mountain West

New Mexico Lobos (10-3, 1-0 MW) at Wyoming Cowboys (9-5, 0-1), 9 p.m. (ESPN3)
Nevada Wolf Pack (7-8, 2-0) at UNLV Runnin' Rebels (10-5, 1-1), 9:15 p.m. (CBS SN)
Air Force Falcons (8-5, 2-0) at Fresno State Bulldogs (7-8, 0-2), 10 p.m. (ROOT Sports*)
Boise State Broncos (11-3, 1-0) at San Diego State Aztecs (12-1, 1-0), 11 p.m. (ESPNU)

Tonight's showcase game is the Broncos' trip to Viejas Arena, where they'll look to knock off an Aztec team that's picked up a lot of buzz nationally following its big win at Kansas on Sunday afternoon. A win in San Diego would do wonders for Boise State's profile at this point. Elsewhere, New Mexico will look to keep pace with the leaders as it visits Laramie, Nevada will look to hand UNLV a second embarrassing home loss in a row, while Air Force -- who knocked off the Runnin' Rebels on Saturday -- will look to pick up a second straight win away from Clune Arena. The Falcons visit hapless Fresno State.

Pac-12

Colorado Buffaloes (13-2, 2-0 Pac-12) at Washington State Cougars (7-7, 0-2) at Spokane, 9 p.m. (Pac-12 Network)
Utah Utes (12-2, 1-1) at Washington Huskies (9-6, 1-1), 11 p.m. (Pac-12 Network)
It will be interesting to see what the crowd is like in Spokane tonight, as the Cougars didn't exactly cover themselves in glory on the Arizona swing. It's not really the best time for a home game away from Pullman, even if the opponent is an excellent one. In Seattle, the Utes play only its second road game of the season. They dropped their first, a two-point decision at Boise State, back on December 3rd.

SEC

South Carolina Gamecocks (7-6) at Florida Gators (11-2), 7 p.m. (SEC on CSS*/ESPN3)
Georgia Bulldogs (6-6) at Missouri Tigers (12-1), 8 p.m. (SEC TV Regional*/ESPN3)
Mississippi State Bulldogs (10-3) at Kentucky Wildcats (10-3), 8 p.m. (SEC TV Regional*/ESPN3)
Arkansas Razorbacks (11-2) at Texas A&M Aggies (9-4), 9 p.m. (SEC on FSN*/ESPN3)

The three SEC teams in this week's bracket projection all open the SEC season with winnable home games. Arkansas, a squad that's currently on the outside looking in, opens on the road. Struggles away from Fayetteville were a significant reason why the Razorbacks didn't get much of an at-large look in 2013. The Hogs only beat Auburn away from Bud Walton during last season's league campaign, which happened to begin with a loss in College Station.

Last night: Tennessee hammered LSU in Baton Rouge to open the SEC season with a bang, while grabbing a potentially vital tiebreaking win for bubble purposes in the process. Alabama, meanwhile, moved to .500 overall and 1-0 in the league with a home win over Vanderbilt.

Elsewhere

MAC: Ohio Bobcats (10-3) at Kent St. Golden Flashes (9-4), 7 p.m. (TWCS/ESPN3)

Mid-American conference play begins tonight and while the West Division showdown between Toledo and Western Michigan is not on TV, this big East Division contest is. Ohio wrapped up its non-conference slate with three consecutive wins, including one at Richmond. On the other hand, the Golden Flashes have dropped two straight to Cleveland State and Princeton.

Big South: Liberty Flames (6-9) at Radford Highlanders (10-5), 7 p.m. (Flames Sports Network/MASN)

The Highlanders, one of two Big South teams with a record that's above .500 heading into the league campaign (the other is VMI) hosts in-state rival Liberty to begin conference play.

OVC: Murray State Racers (7-7, 2-0 OVC) at Eastern Kentucky Colonels (10-5, 1-1), 7 p.m. (Racer Sports Network/ESPN3)

The Racers share the West Division with Austin Peay, while the Colonels, the OVC preseason favorite, suprisingly dropped a game at SIU-Edwardsville on Saturday.

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