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College Hoops Viewing Guide: February 26, 2014

Tonight's bubble focus will bounce around from coast to coast, as no fewer than six conferences have bid contenders in action.

Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

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

Rutgers Scarlet Knights (10-17, 4-10) at UCF Knights (10-15. 2-12), 7 p.m. (ESPNU)
Connecticut Huskies (21-6, 9-5) at USF Bulls (12-15, 3-11), 7 p.m. (CBS SN)

The Huskies are the only AAC bid contender in action on this Wednesday night, and they'll look to complete a sweep of a Bulls team they obliterated by 43 in Harftord two weeks ago.

Atlantic 10

Richmond Spiders (18-9, 8-4) at George Mason Patriots (9-17, 2-10), 7 p.m. (MASN/SNY/A 10 Network, streaming directly at SB Nation's Mid-Major Madness)

While UMass will look to defeat Rhode Island in a non-televised game, the Spiders will look to keep pace with St. Joseph's in the bubble race by toppling a Patriot team that's dropped two in a row.

ACC

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (13-14, 4-10) at Notre Dame Fighting Irish (14-14, 5-10), 7 p.m. (ESPN2)
Miami Hurricanes (14-13, 5-9) at Virginia Cavaliers (23-5, 14-1), 7 p.m. (ACC RSNs*/ESPN3)
North Carolina Tar Heels (20-7, 10-4) at N.C. State Wolfpack (17-10, 7-7), 8 p.m. (ACC Network Regional*/ESPN3)
Pittsburgh Panthers (20-7, 8-6) at Boston College Eagles (7-20, 3-11), 8 p.m. (ACC Network Regional*/ESPN3)

The ACC game of the night is in Raleigh, where the Wolfpack will look to pick up a crucial late win, particularly after Clemson's defeat in Winston-Salem last night. The Tar Heels handled N.C. State rather handily in their first meeting at the Dean Dome back on the first day of February.

Meanwhile, the Cavaliers and Panthers will each look to pick up stress-free victories against a pair of beatable opponents. However, if Pitt's struggles on offense continue in Chestnut Hill, all bets are off.

Big 12

West Virginia Mountaineers (15-12, 7-7) at Iowa State Cyclones (21-5, 9-5), 8 p.m. (Big 12 Network/ESPN3)
Baylor Bears (18-9, 6-8) at Texas Longhorns (20-7, 9-5), 9 p.m. (ESPNU)

Two of the Big 12's quartet of bubble teams take the court tonight, with the Mountaineers looking for (and frankly, in need of, after dropping three of four) a repeat of February 10th's 25-point win over the Cyclones and the Bears in search of a fifth-straight victory. The Longhorns, on the other hand, will look to improve upon the 74-60 win they picked up in Waco on January 25th -- a result that would end a two-game slide.

Big East

Butler Bulldogs (12-15, 2-13) at Villanova Wildcats (24-3, 12-2), 8 p.m. (FS1)

This is a rematch of the pair's New Year's Eve meeting, won by the Wildcats after overtime. I don't expect a repeat this evening, especially since the Bulldogs last tasted victory on January 29th.

Big Ten

Michigan Wolverines (19-7, 11-3) at Purdue Boilermakers (15-12, 5-9), 7 p.m. (BTN)
Nebraska Cornhuskers (16-10, 8-6) at Illinois Fighting Illini (15-12, 4-10), 9 p.m. (BTN)

The Wolverines travel to West Lafayette with the knowledge that a win will push them just a bit closer to the Big Ten regular season crown. Michigan took care of Purdue by 19 in their first meeting back on January 30th, but note that the Boilermakers are 2-1 in their home games since then.

Later, the Cornhuskers will attempt to avoid a trap in Champaign, where the Illini will surely be a bit more confident than usual following a road win over Minnesota one week ago. Considering the lack of quality win opportunities remaining for Nebraska, a loss here could be fatal to its hopes.

Mountain West

Boise State Broncos (18-9, 8-6) at Fresno State Bulldogs (14-14, 7-8), 9 p.m. (CBS SN)
Colorado State Rams (15-13, 6-9) at UNLV Runnin' Rebels (17-10, 8-6), 11 p.m. (CBS SN)

The race for the third and fourth seeds in the Mountain West Tournament heats up tonight, as the Broncos head to Fresno and the Runnin' Rebels host a Ram team that blasted them in Fort Collins three weeks ago.

Pac-12

California Golden Bears (18-9, 9-5) at Arizona Wildcats (25-2, 12-2), 9 p.m. (ESPN2)
Stanford Cardinal (18-8, 9-5) at Arizona State Sun Devils (19-8, 8-6), 11 p.m. (ESPNU)

At least one Pac-12 bubble team will make a move closer to safety tonight, although the Golden Bears can make that a pair if they can complete an unexpected sweep of the league-leading Wildcats in Tucson. The Cardinal also have such a goal in mind, as they defeated the Sun Devils by six in Palo Alto on February 1st. However, Stanford will face a desperate opponent in Tempe this evening, as the hosts are aiming to end a two-game skid.

SEC

Tennessee Volunteers (16-11, 7-7) at Mississippi State Bulldogs (13-14, 3-11), 8 p.m. (SEC TV Regional*/ESPN3)
Texas A&M Aggies (16-11, 7-7) at LSU Tigers (16-10, 7-7), 8 p.m. (SEC TV Regional*/ESPN3)
Alabama Crimson Tide (11-16, 5-9) at Mississippi Rebels (16-11, 7-7), 8 p.m. (ESPN3)
South Carolina Gamecocks (10-17, 3-11) at Auburn Tigers (12-13, 4-10), 9 p.m. (SEC on FSN/ESPN3)

For some reason, I'll be at the game in Baton Rouge, hate-tweeting it along the way. The Bayou Bengals, Volunteers, and Rebels all need to win tonight to keep their hopes afloat, which means that two out of the three will likely lose.

Elsewhere

Western Michigan Broncos (18-8, 11-3 MAC) at Ball State Cardinals (4-21, 1-13), 7 p.m. (TWCS*/ESPN3)
Belmont Bruins (21-8, 12-2 OVC) at SIU Edwardsville Cougars (11-17, 7-7), 8 p.m. (FS Midwest/FCS Atlantic)
Southern Illinois Salukis (12-17, 8-8 MVC) at Northern Iowa Panthers (14-14, 8-8), 8 p.m. (Panther Sports/WSIU/ESPN3)

Both the Broncos and Bruins hit the road this evening, as they encounter struggling opponents in their quest to stay at the top of their respective conferences. Tonight's MVC contest, on the other hand, will help determine which of the conference's four eight-loss teams can earn the three seed and avoid a potential semifinal meeting with Wichita State.

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