College Hoops Viewing Guide: February 18, 2014

All TV info is courtesy Matt's College Sports on TV site. He has many more games listed, particularly ones broadcast only on local channels and in-house cable sports/local interest channels that are not widely available nationwide. You'll also want to check out his listings for information on which conference regional matchups and CSN, FSN, and Root Sports contests (all games listed in these posts marked with an *) are available on which affiliates.

All times are Eastern.

American

USF Bulls (12-14, 3-10) at Louisville Cardinals (20-4, 9-2)*, 7 p.m. (CBS SN)

On Saturday afternoon, the Cardinals travel to Cincinnati. They'll need to take care of the Bulls at home to keep their half of the first-place showdown intact. That shouldn't be much of a problem, considering they picked up a 39-point win in Tampa in the pair's first meeting.

ACC

N.C. State Wolfpack (16-9, 6-6) at Clemson Tigers (15-9, 6-6), 7 p.m. (ESPNU)
Wake Forest Demon Deacons (14-11, 4-8) at Maryland Terrapins (14-12, 6-7), 7 p.m. (ACC RSNs*/ESPN3)
Duke Blue Devils (20-5, 9-3) at Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (13-12, 4-8), 9 p.m. (ACC Network Regional*/ESPN3)
Virginia Cavaliers (21-5, 12-1) at Virginia Tech Hokies (9-15, 2-10), 9 p.m. (ACC Network Regional*/ESPN3)

In terms of bubble impact, Littlejohn Coliseum is the place to be tonight, as a pair of squads that dropped heartbreakers on Saturday meet up. The hosts have dropped three straight, while the Wolfpack have gone 5-2 in their last seven to climb back into the bid picture. An N.C. State victory would provide a second tiebreaker for them over a fellow bubble team, as the Pack defeated Tennessee in Knoxville on December 18th.

Duke and Virginia both play winnable road games, though the Blue Devils may want to save some energy for Thursday night's trip to Chapel Hill.

Atlantic 10

George Washington Colonials (19-6, 7-4) at Richmond Spiders (17-8, 7-3), 7 p.m. (NBCSN)

The Colonials head down I-95 looking to snap a two-game skid that has diminished their chances slightly, particularly since those losses came to fellow contenders VCU and UMass. That's not ideal for a team that has just a pair of wins over bid contenders. The Spiders, meanwhile, own a similar total, and their three-game winning streak isn't quite that meaningful, considering the victories all came against also-rans.

Big 12

Texas Longhorns (20-5, 9-3) at Iowa State Cyclones (19-5, 7-5), 7 p.m. (ESPN2)
Kansas Jayhawks (19-6, 10-2) at Texas Tech Red Raiders (13-12, 5-7), 8 p.m. (Big 12 Network*/ESPN3)

While the Jayhawks face a potentially tricky trip to Lubbock, the Longhorns begin a week which will determine whether they truly can contend with KU for the Big 12 crown. Texas faces two significant problems tonight in completing a season sweep. 1) They're playing in Ames, not Austin. 2) Jonathan Holmes, who scored a game-high 23 in the 'Horns' 10-point win on January 18th, will likely not play because of knee injury.

Big East

Villanova Wildcats (22-3, 10-2) at Providence Friars (17-9, 7-6), 7 p.m. (FS1)
Butler Bulldogs (12-13, 2-11) at St. John's Red Storm (17-9, 7-6), 9 p.m. (FS1)

Two of the conference's quintet of bubble teams are in action tonight. The Friars, who have only defeated DePaul Blue Demons in their last half-dozen games, can get their bid campaign back on track by stunning a 'Nova team that was torched by Creighton on Sunday. Later, a win over the Bulldogs won't do much to help the Red Storm's case, but a home loss to Brandon Miller's squad would certainly send the Johnnies tumbling out of Friday's projection.

Big Ten

Iowa Hawkeyes (19-6, 8-4) at Indiana Hoosiers (14-11, 4-8), 9 p.m. (ESPN) Postponed due to ceiling problem at Assembly Hall

The Hawkeyes last won in Bloomington in 2011, one of four Big Ten victories for Fran McCaffery's first Iowa squad. They'll have a good chance to snap that skid tonight against a Hoosier team that's dropped three in a row to basically fall out of contention.

Mountain West

Fresno State Bulldogs (13-13, 6-7) at Wyoming Cowboys (16-9, 7-5), 9 p.m. (ROOT Sports*/MWN, streaming directly at SB Nation's Mountain West Connection)
Boise State Broncos (16-9, 6-6) at Colorado State Rams (14-12, 5-8), 9 p.m. (ESPN3)
San Jose State Spartans (6-19, 0-13) at Nevada Wolf Pack (12-14, 7-6), 10 p.m. (MWN, streaming directly at SB Nation's Mountain West Connection)
Utah State Aggies (15-10, 5-8) at San Diego State Aztecs (22-2, 11-1), 11 p.m. (ESPNU)

With UNLV Runnin' Rebels and New Mexico Lobos squaring off in Sin City tomorrow, tonight's busy Mountain West slate is light on games with NCAA importance. The only such contest is the Aztecs' home contest against an Aggie team they defeated in overtime in Logan back on January 28th. I doubt there's a repeat in front of The Show this evening.

SEC

Kentucky Wildcats (16-9, 7-5) at Mississippi Rebels (19-6, 9-3), 7 p.m. (ESPN)
Georgia Bulldogs (14-10, 8-4) at Tennessee Volunteers (15-10, 6-6), 9 p.m. (ESPN)

Back on February 4th, the Rebels marched into Rupp Arena and were promptly defeated by 16. Tonight, they'll welcome the Wildcats to Tad Smith Coliseum with the dual aim of earning a marquee win and snapping a three-game losing streak in the series. In the nightcap, the Volunteers, whose two straight losses have cost them a spot in my projection, host a Bulldog team that has won four in a row to move all the way up to third place in the SEC,

Elsewhere

Missouri State Bears (17-9, 7-7 MVC) at Illinois State Redbirds (14-12, 7-7), 8 p.m. (CW Ozarks/ESPN3)
Detroit Titans (12-15, 5-7 Horizon) at UIC Flames (5-21, 0-12), 8 p.m. (ESPN3)
Northern Iowa Panthers (13-13, 7-7 MVC) at Drake Bulldogs (13-13, 4-10), 9 p.m. (FS Midwest/CSN Chicago/FCS Central/ESPN3)

None of these matchups have NCAA implications, though UIC will attempt to remove its name from the short list of teams that are currently without a league win.

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