College Hoops Viewing Guide For January 28, 2017

This list of games is not exhaustive by design. For a full schedule and more specific information about coverage—particularly for ACC RSN, ASN, CSN, and FSN games—visit Matt’s College Sports on TV Website.

If you’re only able to listen today, check out TuneIn’s college basketball lineup.

All times are Eastern, adjust accordingly.

Overview

in order of bracket impact

12-2 p.m. Tips

Notre Dame at Georgia Tech, 12 p.m. (ESPNU)
Florida State at Syracuse, 12 p.m. (ESPN2)
North Carolina at Miami, 1 p.m. (CBS)
Clemson at Pitt, 12 p.m. (ACC RSNs/ESPN3)
UCF at Tulsa, 1:30 p.m. (ESPN News)
Texas A&M at West Virginia, 12 p.m. (ESPN)
Wisconsin vs. Rutgers, 12 p.m. (BTN)

2-4 p.m. Tips

Maryland at Minnesota, 2:15 p.m. (BTN)
Duke at Wake Forest, 3 p.m. (ACC Network/ESPN3)
Kansas State at Tennessee, 2 p.m. (ESPN2)
Providence at Marquette, 2 p.m. (FSN)
DePaul at Creighton, 2:30 p.m. (FS1)
St. Bonaventure at Rhode Island, 2 p.m. (NBCSN)
Florida at Oklahoma, 2 p.m. (ESPN)
Furman at UNC Greensboro, 2 p.m. (ESPN3)
LSU at Texas Tech, 2 p.m. (ESPNU)
East Carolina at Memphis, 3:30 p.m. (ESPN News)

4-6 p.m. Tips

Arkansas at Oklahoma State, 4 p.m. (ESPNU)
Iowa State at Vanderbilt, 4 p.m. (ESPN2)
Illinois at Penn State, 4:30 p.m. (BTN)
New Mexico at Nevada, 4 p.m. (CBSSN)
Texas at Georgia, 4 p.m. (ESPN)
Chattanooga at ETSU, 4 p.m. (ESPN3)

6-8 p.m. Tips

Kansas at Kentucky, 6:15 p.m. (ESPN)
Baylor at Ole Miss, 6 p.m. (ESPN2)
Mississippi State at Alabama, 6 p.m. (SECN)
Louisiana Tech at Middle Tennessee, 6 p.m. (ESPN3)
Vermont at Stony Brook, 7 p.m. (ESPN3)
New Orleans at Stephen F. Austin, 7 p.m. (ESPN3)
Auburn at TCU, 6 p.m. (ESPNU)
La Salle at Saint Joseph’s, 6 p.m. (ASN)
Duquesne at Richmond, 6 p.m. (CSN Mid-Atlantic Plus/Comcast Network Phila.)
Oregon State at Utah, 7 p.m. (Pac-12)

8-10 p.m. Tips

Ohio State at Iowa, 8 p.m. (ESPN2)
Georgetown at Butler, 8 p.m. (CBSSN)
Oregon at Colorado, 9:30 p.m. (Pac-12)
UC Irvine at UC Davis, 8 p.m. (BigWest.tv)
South Carolina at Missouri, 8:30 p.m. (SECN)
Tulane at UConn, 8 p.m. (ESPNU)

Late Night Tips

Temple at Houston, 10 p.m. (ESPNU)
Gonzaga at Pepperdine, 10 p.m. (ESPN2)
Saint Mary’s at Santa Clara, 11 p.m. (CSN California/Spectrum Sportsnet/TheW.tv)

SEC/Big 12 Challenge

Texas A&M Aggies (11-8, 3-5 SEC) at No. 18 West Virginia Mountaineers (16-4, 5-3 Big 12), 12 p.m. (ESPN)
No. 25 Florida Gators (15-5, 6-2) at Oklahoma Sooners (8-11, 2-6), 2 p.m. (ESPN)
Kansas State Wildcats (15-5, 4-4) at Tennessee Volunteers (11-9, 4-4), 2 p.m. (ESPN2)
LSU Tigers (9-10, 1-7) at Texas Tech Red Raiders (14-6, 3-5), 2 p.m. (ESPNU)
Texas Longhorns (8-12, 2-6) at Georgia Bulldogs (12-8, 4-4), 4 p.m. (ESPN)
Iowa State Cyclones (13-6, 5-3) at Vanderbilt Commodores (9-11, 3-5), 4 p.m. (ESPN2)
Arkansas Razorbacks (16-4, 5-3) at Oklahoma State Cowboys (12-8, 2-6), 4 p.m. (ESPNU)
No. 5 Baylor Bears (19-1, 7-1) at Ole Miss Rebels (12-8, 3-5), 6 p.m. (ESPN2)
Auburn Tigers (13-7, 3-5) at TCU Horned Frogs (14-6, 3-5), 6 p.m. (ESPNU)
No. 2 Kansas Jayhawks (18-2, 7-1) at No. 4 Kentucky Wildcats (17-3, 7-1), 6:15 p.m. (ESPN)

Today’s marquee matchup features a little added intrigue with both Kansas and Kentucky losing on Tuesday night. Carlton Bragg will be suspended for the Jayhawks tonight, making their path to victory a little more difficult.

Elsewhere, Florida, Iowa State, West Virginia, and to a lesser extent, Baylor, will want to avoid picking up bad losses. Arkansas-Oklahoma State and K-State-Tennessee feature potential bubble intrigue Otherwise, there are a lot of lousy matchups here. Next season, the two conferences should just assign home and away teams and set the matchups in late December — like BracketBusters used to.

This is the Challenge’s fourth year and second playing in late January. The Big 12 has won all three previous editions and holds a 20-10 advantage overall.

ACC

No. 6 Florida State Seminoles (18-3, 6-2) at Syracuse Orange (12-9, 4-4), 12 p.m. (ESPN2)
No. 14 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (17-4, 6-2) at Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (12-8, 4-4), 12 p.m. (ESPNU)
Clemson Tigers (11-8, 1-6) at Pitt Panthers (12-8, 1-6), 12 p.m. (ACC RSNs/ESPN3)
No. 9 North Carolina Tar Heels (19-3, 7-1) at Miami Hurricanes (13-6, 3-4), 1 p.m. (CBS)
No. 17 Duke Blue Devils (15-5, 3-4) at Wake Forest Demon Deacons (12-8, 3-5), 3 p.m. (ACC Network/ESPN3)

Every one of these games has bracket impact. Georgia Tech, Miami, and Wake Forest will all aim to shake things up, and with Duke in turmoil, the Demon Deacons have a real opportunity. FSU heads to Syracuse looking to quickly respond to Wednesday’s loss in Atlanta, while the loser of Clemson-Pitt will slide even further down the bubble pecking order.

American Athletic

UCF Knights (14-6, 5-3) at Tulsa Golden Hurricane (11-8, 5-2), 1:30 p.m. (ESPN News)
East Carolina Pirates (10-11, 2-6) at Memphis Tigers (15-6, 5-3), 3:30 p.m. (ESPN News)
Tulane Green Wave (4-16, 1-7) at UConn Huskies (9-11, 4-4), 8 p.m. (ESPNU)
Temple Owls (11-10, 2-6) at Houston Cougars (14-7, 5-4), 10 p.m. (ESPNU)

It’s a pretty big day and night for the American’s many borderline contenders, with Memphis looking like the most likely winner. UCF will be tested on the road at Tulsa, while inconsistent Temple should challenge Houston at Hofheinz.

Atlantic 10

St. Bonaventure Bonnies (13-6, 5-2) at Rhode Island Rams (12-7, 4-3), 2 p.m. (NBCSN)
La Salle Explorers (11-7, 5-2) at Saint Joseph’s Hawks (9-10, 2-5), 6 p.m. (ASN)
Duquesne Dukes (9-12, 2-6) at Richmond Spiders (12-8, 6-2), 6 p.m. (CSN Mid-Atlantic Plus/Comcast Network Phila.)

Thanks to VCU’s home win over Dayton last night, the Atlantic 10 now has five two-loss squads, with URI a game back. Three of those squads are in action today, with only Richmond at home.

La Salle plays its second Big Five game in succession, and the Explorers will need a better result at Hagan Arena than the one earned against Penn at Tom Gola on Wednesday.

Big East

Providence Friars (13-9, 3-6) at Marquette Golden Eagles (14-6, 5-3), 2 p.m. (FSN)
DePaul Blue Demons (8-12, 1-6) at No. 16 Creighton Bluejays (18-3, 5-3), 2:30 p.m. (FS1)
Georgetown Hoyas (11-10, 2-6) at No. 11 Butler Bulldogs (18-3, 7-2), 8 p.m. (CBSSN)

Three bid contenders host three also-rans. The most important thing to watch in these three matchups is how Creighton plays after losing at Georgetown on Wednesday night.

Big Ten

No. 15 Wisconsin Badgers (17-3, 6-1) vs. Rutgers Scarlet Knights (12-9, 1-7) at Madison Square Garden, 12 p.m. (BTN)
No. 22 Maryland Terrapins (18-2, 6-1) at Minnesota Golden Gophers (15-6, 3-5), 2:15 p.m. (BTN)
Illinois Fighting Illini (13-8, 3-5) at Penn State Nittany Lions (11-10, 3-5), 4:30 p.m. (BTN)
Ohio State Buckeyes (13-8, 3-5) at Iowa Hawkeyes (11-10, 3-5), 8 p.m. (ESPN2)

While the last two games on this list feature squads on the wrong side of the bubble (and with varying hopes of moving closer to the cut line), Minnesota desperately needs a home win over Maryland to avoid joining that group. The Golden Gophers have lost four in a row and are taking on water rapidly. As for the Terps, they’re quietly working their way toward the protected seed range.

Wisconsin-Rutgers is the first half of the Big Ten Super Saturday two-sport doubleheader at MSG, which closes with a Wisconsin-Ohio State hockey game in the evening. Again, the conference forgot that you can’t call anything involving Rutgers basketball “super.”

Pac-12

Oregon State Beavers (4-17, 0-8) at Utah Utes (14-6, 5-3), 7 p.m. (Pac-12 Networks National/Oregon/Mountain)
No. 10 Oregon Ducks (19-2, 8-0) at Colorado Buffaloes (11-10, 1-7), 9:30 p.m. (Pac-12 Networks National/Oregon/Mountain)

Utah should keep Oregon State winless in league play, while Oregon will have to be careful to avoid a trap game against a decent Colorado team that finally extricated itself from the Pac-12 basement on Thursday night.

SEC

Mississippi State Bulldogs (13-6, 4-3) at Alabama Crimson Tide (12-7, 5-2), 6 p.m. (SECN)
No. 23 South Carolina Gamecocks (16-4, 6-1) at Missouri Tigers (5-14, 0-7), 8:30 p.m. (SECN)

The four SEC squads left out of the challenge with the Big 12 play league games tonight. South Carolina will likely romp after Bama and Miss. State play what should be a more competitive game featuring a pair of teams that are surprisingly in the conference’s top half.

Elsewhere

Furman Paladins (13-8, 6-2 SoCon) at UNC Greensboro Spartans (16-6, 7-2), 2 p.m. (ESPN3)
Chattanooga Mocs (15-5, 6-2 SoCon) at ETSU Buccaneers (16-5, 6-2), 4 p.m. (ESPN3)
New Mexico Lobos (13-8, 6-3 MW) at Nevada Wolf Pack (17-4, 6-2), 4 p.m. (CBSSN)
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (14-7, 6-2 C-USA) at Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders (18-3, 8-0), 6 p.m. (ESPN3)
Vermont Catamounts (17-5, 7-0 America East) at Stony Brook Seawolves (11-9, 6-1), 7 p.m. (ESPN3)
New Orleans Privateers (12-7, 7-1 Southland) at Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks (10-10, 5-3), 7 p.m. (ESPN3)
UC Irvine Anteaters (13-10, 6-1 Big West) at UC Davis Aggies (12-8, 4-1), 8 p.m. (BigWest.tv)
No. 3 Gonzaga Bulldogs (21-0, 9-0 WCC) at Pepperdine Waves (6-15, 2-7), 10 p.m. (ESPN2)
No. 21 Saint Mary’s Gaels (18-2, 8-1 WCC) at Santa Clara Broncos (12-10, 6-3), 11 p.m. (CSN California/Spectrum Sportsnet/TheW.tv)

There are plenty of potential March previews in the mid-major ranks throughout this Saturday. For starters, the four two-loss teams in the SoCon will be reduced to a pair by 6:30 Eastern. There are also potential conference championship previews in the America East, Big West, Conference USA, and Southland. Louisiana Tech’s trip to Middle Tennessee could be particularly intriguing because of the Bulldogs’ brawl at UAB on Thursday night.

Later, Gonzaga will attempt to stay perfect in preparation for a likely promotion to No. 1 in Monday’s polls.

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