College Hoops TV Guide
By Steve Merril
Covers.com
Wednesday - Nebraska at Michigan State
Michigan State comes into this game off back-to-back losses, including a home loss to Iowa. That was a head scratching performance by the Spartans as a 9.5-point favorite, especially since they were playing with revenge from an earlier season loss to the Hawkeyes. Michigan State will come with a peak performance in this game, but Nebraska is playing with confidence and they are riding a 3-game winning streak.
Thursday - Kentucky at Arkansas
Kentucky’s heralded freshmen have not played up to their talent level this season. This year’s team has been highly inconsistent; a trait previous Kentucky teams did not have. The Wildcats lost at Auburn on Saturday despite the Tigers missing their best two perimeter players. Kentucky will be playing their fourth road game in five games against Arkansas; the Razorbacks are 7-2 SU at home this season.
Friday - Rhode Island at George Washington
Rhode Island and George Washington play a similar style of basketball as both teams like to play at a slow pace while playing solid half-court defense. The Rams have played much worse on the road than at home this season, so that is a concern for them in this game. George Washington is a perfect 10-0 SU at home, including an upset win over Virginia. The Colonials come into this game off a road loss at Dayton, so they’ll be looking to bounce back off that defeat.
Saturday - Arizona at California
The Pac 12 has been a conference full of parity this season. The teams have been highly competitive from top to bottom, and road teams have had a difficult time. The Wildcats have already lost at UCLA and at USC, and they’ll play at Stanford prior to this game. California will be glad to be back at home after losing three straight games on the road; they’ll host Arizona State prior to this game. The Golden Bears will go into that game with a perfect 11-0 SU record on their home court.
Sunday - Purdue at Iowa
Purdue opened the season at 11-0 SU, but they’ve gone just 5-3 since then. The Boilermakers will host Ohio State prior to this game. Purdue lost 70-63 at home to Iowa earlier this season, so they’ll be looking to atone for that poor performance. Iowa is still flying under the radar this season despite only having 3 losses on the year. The Hawkeyes are a veteran bunch with NBA talent on the roster, but expect a much better performance by Purdue in the second meeting.
Monday - Duke at Miami Florida
Duke inexplicably lost at home to Syracuse last Monday night as an 11-point favorite, and they’ll play at NC State before playing the Hurricanes in Miami. The Blue Devils will go into their game against the Wolfpack on a three-game losing streak, so all is not well. Miami is also struggling a bit as they’ll go into their game at Boston College on a two-game losing streak. However, those games were on the road; the Hurricanes have lost just once at home this season, and that defeat came by only a single point.
Tuesday - Xavier at Providence
Xavier has played fantastic basketball this season. As of this writing, they’ve lost just one time all season, and that was at Villanova. The Musketeers have an excellent offense and a stifling defense; the same cannot be said of Providence. After five Big East games, Providence was the worst shooting team (37.5%) in the conference, and they were ninth out of ten teams in three-point shooting at 29%.