On The Menu: Saturday, February 13, 2016

Game information courtesy Matt College Sports on TV Website, which has even more games listed and more specific info on coverage for regional sports networks and American Sports Network telecasts.

All times listed are Eastern, adjust accordingly.

ACC

Wake Forest Demon Deacons (10-14, 1-11) at North Carolina State Wolfpack (12-12, 2-9), 12 p.m. (ACC RSNs/ESPN3)
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (13-11, 3-8) at Clemson Tigers (14-10, 7-5), 2 p.m. (ACC RSNs/ESPN3)
No. 13 Louisville Cardinals (19-5, 8-3) at Notre Dame Fighting Irish (17-7, 8-4), 4 p.m. (ESPN2)
No. 7 Virginia Cavaliers (20-4, 9-3) at Duke Blue Devils (18-6, 7-4), 4:30 p.m. (ESPN)

While the noon tip has no impact on the NCAA race, Clemson has to win the game that follows, to stop a two-game losing streak that has seen the Tigers drop a decent distance from the cut line. But with five of their final six coming against the worst the conference has to offer, Brad Brownell's team can rack up some wins late, but they'll be of dubious value.

On Monday, Notre Dame took down Clemson, its second win in a row. The Fighting Irish welcome a Cardinal squad that fell at Duke just before the game in Greenville tipped. A victory over Louisville would be the fourth over a Top 50 opponent for Mike Brey's squad.

In the final game of the day, the Cavaliers head to Cameron Indoor riding a seven-game run of victories, while the Blue Devils have won three in a row, including the first of their rough Louisville, Virginia, @UNC, @ Louisville swing that could determine their seeding for March.

Big 12

TCU Horned Frogs (11-13, 2-9) at No. 10 West Virginia Mountaineers (19-5, 8-3), 12 p.m. (ESPNU)
Kansas State Wildcats (14-10, 3-8) at Oklahoma State Cowboys (11-13, 2-9), 1 p.m. (ESPNEWS)
No. 6 Kansas Jayhawks (20-4, 8-3) at No. 3 Oklahoma Sooners (20-3, 8-3), 2:30 p.m. (ESPN)
Texas Tech Red Raiders (14-9, 4-7) at No. 21 Baylor Bears (18-6, 7-4), 8 p.m. (ESPNU)
No. 24 Texas Longhorns (16-8, 7-4) at No. 14 Iowa State Cyclones (17-7, 6-5), 8:30 p.m. (ESPN)

Of course, the main attraction of today's Big 12 slate is the rematch of Kansas and Oklahoma's January 4th triple OT classic, with the scene shifting from Lawrence to Norman. If the Sooners' offensive struggles, particularly from the perimeter, continue, they might cede control of the conference title race to the Jayhawks.

In the evening's biggest game, the Longhorns travel to Ames aiming to sweep the season series with the Cyclones, whom they defeated in a three-point overtime thriller in Austin on January 12th. The winner will remain a game behind the KU-OU winner and, most likely, WVU (barring an unanticipated home loss to TCU) in the title hunt. Note that Jameel McKay is scheduled to return from suspension for ISU.

Elsewhere, a completed season sweep of the Cowboys would help the Wildcats stay relevant, and the Red Raiders can help their case considerably by topping the Bears in Waco. Baylor topped Tech by just three in Lubbock on January 16th.

Big East

Georgetown Hoyas (14-11, 7-5) at No. 20 Providence Friars (18-7, 6-6), 12 p.m. (FOX)
No. 5 Xavier Musketeers (21-3, 9-3) at Butler Bulldogs (17-7, 6-6), 2:30 p.m. (FOX)
Creighton Bluejays (16-9, 7-5) at Marquette Golden Eagles (16-9, 5-7), 8 p.m. (select FSN outlets)
St. John's Red Storm (7-18, 0-12) at No. 1 Villanova Wildcats (21-3, 11-1), 8 p.m. (CBSSN)

Has any recent No. 1 team in the country had as easy of a schedule after ascending to the top spot as Villanova's this week? The Wildcats, who already crushed DePaul Blue Demons in Rosemont on Tuesday, get to welcome the winless Red Storm to the Wells Fargo Center.

The other three games are all a bit more exciting. The Friars welcome the Hoyas, the last team they defeated, looking to stop a three-game skid. A Bulldog home win over the Musketeers, who lost by 14 at Creighton on Tuesday night would do wonders for Butler's hopes. Speaking of the Bluejays, they and the Golden Eagles play twice in the next 11 days, with both squads needing the wins to move closer to the cut line.

Big Ten

No. 18 Purdue Boilermakers (20-5, 8-4) at Michigan Wolverines (18-7, 8-4), 2 p.m. (ESPN2)
Ohio State Buckeyes (15-10, 7-5) at Rutgers Scarlet Knights (6-18, 0-11), 4 p.m. (BTN)
Penn State Nittany Lions (12-12, 3-8) at Nebraska Cornhuskers (13-12, 5-7), 6 p.m. (ESPNU)
Wisconsin Badgers (15-9, 7-4) at No. 2 Maryland Terrapins (22-3, 10-2), 6:30 p.m. (ESPN)
Illinois Fighting Illini (11-13, 3-8) at Northwestern Wildcats (16-9, 4-8), 8 p.m. (BTN)

Two games of these five stand out. First, the Wolverines ended a two-game skid in unconvincing fashion at Minnesota on Wednesday. However, Michigan still has much to prove with a Big Ten contender visiting, considering how Michigan State and Indiana embarrassed John Beilein's team in its last two games at Crisler.

In the marquee evening tip, the Badgers will look to overcome Maryland's controversial Under Armour balls and grab a win that could vault them into Tuesday's projected field. However, the Terps claimed a 63-60 victory in Madison back on January 9th.

Pac-12

Washington Huskies (15-9, 7-5) at Colorado Buffaloes (18-7, 7-5), 2 p.m. (Pac-12 Networks National, Washington, Rocky Mountain)
No. 11 Oregon Ducks (20-5, 9-3) at Stanford Cardinal (11-11, 4-7), 4 p.m. (Pac-12 Networks National, Bay Area, Oregon)
Oregon State Beavers (15-8, 6-6) at California Golden Bears (16-8, 6-5), 6:30 p.m. (Pac-12 Networks National, Oregon, Bay Area)

The Huskies are reeling—falling two games back of the conference lead thanks to two losses in a row and three in their last four. And going to the altitude of Boulder won't help, even if UW topped the Buffaloes handily in Seattle back on January 20th. The Ducks will look to bounce back from Thursday's uncharacteristic loss in Berkeley by handing the Cardinal their fourth loss in a row. Meanwhile, the Beavers, who cruised at Maples on Thursday evening will look to pick up their fourth win in a row by completing a season sweep of the Golden Bears, whom they topped by a 77-71 score on January 9th.

SEC

No. 22 Kentucky Wildcats (18-6, 8-3) at South Carolina Gamecocks (21-3, 8-3), 12 p.m. (ESPN)
No. 15 Texas A&M Aggies (18-6, 7-4) at LSU Tigers (15-9, 8-3), 1 p.m. (CBS)
Arkansas Razorbacks (12-12, 5-6) at Ole Miss Rebels (15-9, 5-6), 2 p.m. (ESPNU)
Tennessee Volunteers (12-12, 5-6) at Missouri Tigers (8-16, 1-10), 3 p.m. (SEC Network)
Alabama Crimson Tide (14-9, 5-6) at Florida Gators (16-8, 7-4), 5:30 p.m. (SEC Network)
Vanderbilt Commodores (14-10, 6-5) at Auburn Tigers (9-13, 3-8), 6 p.m. (ESPN2)
Georgia Bulldogs (13-9, 6-5) at Mississippi State Bulldogs (10-13, 3-8), 8 p.m. (SEC Network)

The Gamecocks and Tigers can take big steps toward an SEC regular season crown and NCAA bids with home wins in the afternoon. South Carolina last defeated Kentucky in 2014, and while this year's Wildcat squad resembles that one, this Gamecock squad is far better. The Bayou Bengals, meanwhile, will aim to improve upon their deflating performance in a 71-57 loss in College Station back on January 19th. The Aggies have gone 2-4 since then, dropping their last three games.

While Ole Miss, Vandy, and Georgia all face winnable games as they attempt to remain relevant, Alabama has to travel to Gainesville, where Florida has been pretty much unstoppable in conference play. The Crimson Tide might find it difficult to extend their winning streak to four and to pick up their fifth win over an RPI Top 50 opponent.

American Athletic

Memphis Tigers (14-10, 5-6) at Tulane Green Wave (9-16, 2-10), 2 p.m. (CBSSN)
UCF Knights (11-11, 5-6) at Houston Cougars (17-7, 7-5), 3 p.m. (ESPNEWS)
East Carolina Pirates (10-14, 2-9) at Cincinnati Bearcats (18-7, 8-4), 4 p.m. (ESPNU)
Tulsa Golden Hurricane (16-8, 8-4) at UConn Huskies (17-7, 7-4), 8 p.m. (ESPN2)

Non-Conference

Gonzaga Bulldogs (20-5, 12-2 WCC) at No. 16 SMU Mustangs (20-3, 9-3 AAC), 10 p.m. (ESPN2)

The American's bubble teams are in the spotlight on Saturday, though the Bearcats should be able to handle the struggling Pirates at home. Tulsa can boost its tournament profile by repeating its January 14th 60-51 win over UConn in Storrs, while the Huskies need to show serious improvement after giving Temple a season sweep on Thursday.

In the non-league game on the slate, a bubble squad from another league, Gonzaga, visits Dallas looking for a marquee road win. Some of the luster is off the Mustangs, however, as they've gone 2-3 in their last five outings. Still, this was a better scheduling idea for the Bulldogs than playing Memphis.

Atlantic 10

Saint Louis Billikens (8-15, 3-8) at VCU Rams (17-7, 9-2), 6 p.m. (CBSSN)
La Salle Explorers (5-17, 1-10) at Saint Joseph's Hawks (20-4, 9-2), 8 p.m. (ASN)

With Dayton escaping Rhode Island with a win on Friday night, the Rams and Hawks can only remain a game back in the Atlantic 10 title chase with home victories today.

Elsewhere

Florida Gulf Coast Eagles (15-11, 6-4) at NJIT Highlanders (15-11, 6-4), 4 p.m. (ESPN3)
Jacksonville Dolphins (15-12, 7-3) at Kennesaw State Owls (8-18, 4-6), 4:30 p.m. (ESPN3)
North Florida Ospreys (18-9, 7-3) at Lipscomb Bisons (9-18, 5-5), 5 p.m. (ESPN3)

The Atlantic Sun race could end up being a mess if Kennesaw State and Lipscomb complete their weekend sweeps of the league-leading Jacksonville schools.

Winthrop Eagles (17-7, 9-4) at Radford Highlanders (14-11, 7-6), 12 p.m. (ASN)

The Highlanders completed a season sweep of Big South leader UNC-Asheville Bulldogs on Thursday. Today, they'll look to earn a split of their series with the conference's second-place squad.

James Madison Dukes (19-7, 9-4) at UNC Wilmington Seahawks (19-5, 11-2), 3 p.m. (NBCSN)
William & Mary Tribe (17-7, 9-4) at Towson Tigers (17-9, 8-5), 4 p.m. (select CSN outlets)
Hofstra Pride (17-8, 9-4) at Delaware Blue Hens (6-18, 1-12), 5 p.m. (NBCSN)

While the Seahawks will still be at the top of the CAA at the end of the day. the size of their lead and the exact order of their challengers will also be slightly clearer. UNCW narrowly defeated JMU in Harrisonburg on January 28th, while Hofstra topped Delaware by 10 to open up its league slate and William & Mary dropped its conference opener to Towson on New Year's Eve.

UAB Blazers (21-4, 11-1) at Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (18-6, 7-4), 2 p.m. (select FSN outlets)

Might the Blazers drop their second C-USA game of the season in Ruston? Remember that the Bulldogs have lost only once at the Thomas Assembly Center in conference games since joining.

Green Bay Phoenix (15-10, 7-5) at Oakland Golden Grizzlies (17-9, 9-4), 3 p.m. (ESPN3)
Wright State Raiders (15-11, 9-4) at Valparaiso Crusaders (21-4, 11-1), 8 p.m. (ESPN3)

With the Raiders having to visit the ARC, the Golden Grizzlies can take a big step toward securing the two seed in the Horizon tournament by topping the Phoenix at the O'Rena.

Yale Bulldogs (16-5, 7-0) at Harvard Crimson (10-13, 2-5), 7 p.m. (NESN)
Princeton Tigers (15-5, 5-1) at Columbia Lions (17-7, 6-1), 7 p.m. (ESPN3)

The Crimson, all but out of the Ivy title hunt, would love to spoil the Bulldogs' hopes for a perfect league campaign, which would open the door for the winner at Levien to at worst tie Yale in the loss column.

Akron Zips (20-4, 9-2) at Northern Illinois Huskies (16-8, 5-6), 4:30 p.m. (ESPN3)

Once upon a time, this looked like a MAC title preview (and it very well could be, given how wacky that conference's tournament typically is), but the Huskies have cooled off, dropping five in a row after starting the season off 16-3.

Northern Iowa Panthers (15-11, 7-6) at No. 25 Wichita State Shockers (18-6, 12-1), 12 p.m. (ESPN2)

Back on January 20th, the Shockers won the first edition of what should have been the MVC Game of the Year by 19 in Cedar Falls.

Air Force Falcons (12-13, 3-9) at San Diego State Aztecs (18-7, 11-1), 10 p.m. (CBSSN)

The Mountain West's last-place squad visits the runaway favorite.

St. Francis (Pa.) Red Flash (13-11, 9-4) at Mount St. Mary's Mountaineers (11-15, 8-5), 3 p.m. (ESPN3)

The Red Flash are tied for first in the NEC, while the Mountaineers are a game back. Note that the Mount won the first meeting 82-72 in Loretto back on January 16th.

Belmont Bruins (18-8, 10-2) at Morehead State Eagles (13-11, 7-5), 12 p.m. (CBSSN)

The OVC-leading Bruins topped the Eagles by six in Nashville just nine days ago.

Bucknell Bison (13-11, 10-3) at Colgate Raiders (11-13, 7-6), 2 p.m. (Campus Insiders)

On Wednesday, the Patriot leaders were blown out at home by Lehigh. The bad news is, they've already lost to the Raiders in Lewisberg too.

Chattanooga Mocs (22-4, 11-2) at ETSU Buccaneers (16-9, 9-3), 4 p.m. (FS Southeast/ESPN3)
Mercer Bears (18-8, 8-5) at Furman Paladins (16-11, 10-4), 4 p.m. (ESPN3)

The Mocs haven't lost back-to-back games this season, but a trip to Johnson City will be a challenge. Further back in the SoCon race, the Bears will look to stop a two-game skid by completing a season sweep of the surprising Paladins.

Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders (18-5, 9-2) at Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks (17-5, 10-0), 7 p.m. (ESPN3)

The Lumberjacks can go three losses up on the Islanders, whom they defeated in Corpus Christi on January 30th, in the Southland with seven to play.

Loyola Marymount Lions (11-14, 4-10) at Saint Mary's Gaels (19-4, 10-3), 11 p.m. (CSN Bay Area/select ROOT Sports outlets)

The Gaels need this one after falling to Pepperdine on Thursday night. Otherwise, they'll be two games behind Gonzaga in the WCC with four games left.

Viewing Picks

Early Afternoon Tips

Kentucky at South Carolina, 12 p.m. (ESPN)
Texas A&M at LSU, 1 p.m. (CBS)
Georgetown at Providence, 12 p.m. (FOX)
Kansas State at Oklahoma State, 1 p.m. (ESPNEWS)
TCU at West Virginia, 12 p.m. (ESPNU)
Northern Iowa at Wichita State, 12 p.m. (ESPN2)
Winthrop at Radford, 12 p.m. (ASN)
Belmont at Morehead State, 12 p.m. (CBSSN)
Wake Forest at North Carolina State, 12 p.m. (ACC RSNs/ESPN3)

Mid-Afternoon Tips

Kansas at Oklahoma, 2:30 p.m. (ESPN)
Purdue at Michigan, 2 p.m. (ESPN2)
Xavier at Butler, 2:30 p.m. (FOX)
Washington at Colorado, 2 p.m. (Pac-12 Networks National, Washington, Rocky Mountain)
UAB at Louisiana Tech, 2 p.m. (select FSN outlets)
James Madison at UNC Wilmington, 3 p.m. (NBCSN)
St. Francis (Pa.) at Mount St. Mary's, 3 p.m. (ESPN3)
Georgia Tech at Clemson, 2 p.m. (ACC RSNs/ESPN3)
Arkansas at Ole Miss, 2 p.m. (ESPNU)
Bucknell at Colgate, 2 p.m. (Campus Insiders)
Green Bay at Oakland, 3 p.m. (ESPN3)
UCF at Houston, 3 p.m. (ESPNEWS)
Tennessee at Missouri, 3 p.m. (SEC Network)
Memphis at Tulane, 2 p.m. (CBSSN)

Late Afternoon Tips

Virginia at Duke, 4:30 p.m. (ESPN)
Louisville at Notre Dame, 4 p.m. (ESPN2)
Alabama at Florida, 5:30 p.m. (SEC Network)
Oregon at Stanford, 4 p.m. (Pac-12 Networks National, Bay Area, Oregon)
East Carolina at Cincinnati, 4 p.m. (ESPNU)
Chattanooga at ETSU, 4 p.m. (FS Southeast/ESPN3)
William & Mary at Towson, 4 p.m. (select CSN outlets)
Akron at Northern Illinois, 4:30 p.m. (ESPN3)
Mercer at Furman, 4 p.m. (ESPN3)
North Florida at Lipscomb, 5 p.m. (ESPN3)
Florida Gulf Coast at NJIT, 4 p.m. (ESPN3)
Wyoming at Boise State, 4 p.m. (CBSSN)
Hofstra at Delaware, 5 p.m. (NBCSN)
Ohio State at Rutgers, 4 p.m. (BTN)

Early Evening Tips

Wisconsin at Maryland, 6:30 p.m. (ESPN)
Oregon State at California, 6:30 p.m. (Pac-12 Networks National, Oregon, Bay Area)
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at Stephen F. Austin, 7 p.m. (ESPN3)
Saint Louis at VCU, 6 p.m. (CBSSN)
Vanderbilt at Auburn, 6 p.m. (ESPN2)
Yale at Harvard, 7 p.m. (NESN)
Princeton at Columbia, 7 p.m. (ESPN3)
Penn State at Nebraska, 6 p.m. (ESPNU)
San Jose State at New Mexico, 6 p.m. (select ROOT Sports outlets)

Mid-Evening Tips

Texas at Iowa State, 8:30 p.m. (ESPN)
Tulsa at UConn, 8 p.m. (ESPN2)
Texas Tech at Baylor, 8 p.m. (ESPNU)
Creighton at Marquette, 8 p.m. (select FSN outlets)
Wright State at Valparaiso, 8 p.m. (ESPN3)
St. John's at Villanova, 8 p.m. (CBSSN)
La Salle at Saint Joseph's, 8 p.m. (ASN)
Georgia at Mississippi State, 8 p.m. (SEC Network)
Illinois at Northwestern, 8 p.m. (BTN)

Late Evening Tips

Gonzaga at SMU, 10 p.m. (ESPN2)
Air Force at San Diego State, 10 p.m. (CBSSN)
Loyola Marymount at Saint Mary's, 11 p.m. (CSN Bay Area/select ROOT Sports outlets)

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