What to Watch

Games of the Week:

#8 Georgetown (20-3) at Syracuse (16-9) - Noon Saturday – The Cuse losing to South Florida was as bad as it gets. They played the Hoyas to a two point heartbreaking loss in OT a few weeks back. If they want to get back into the committee’s good graces, they must win this game.

Cleveland State (17-10) at #10 Butler (23-2) - 2 PM Saturday – The Butler express hasn’t loss since the last time they saw Gary Waters’ Vikings. Can CSU pull off their magic twice against the #10 team in the country?

#7 Stanford (20-4) at Arizona (16-8) - 3:30 PM Saturday – Coming off the loss in Tempe, the Cats will get an angry Stanford club. Their lack of depth in the post will be severely tested by Brook Lopez. But if anyone can stop him, it’s Jordan Hill. Arizona holds the advantage in the backcourt with Jerryd Bayless and Jawaan McClellan.

#11 Texas (20-4) at Baylor (17-6) - 6 PM Saturday – Kansas and Kansas State fans will be big Baylor fans on Saturday. The Bear guards may be some of the only in the country who can hang with D.J. Augustin and A.J. Abrams, but can they pull off the stunner in Waco?

#9 Michigan State (20-4) at #12 Indiana (20-4) - 9 PM Saturday – ESPN’s Gameday crew rolls into Bloomington. The Hoosiers come in with major baggage surrounding the status of coach Kelvin Sampson and the specter of back to back home losses to two teams directly chasing them. MSU comes in with a bitter taste in their mouths after getting spanked by Purdue. This is a gigantic game for both teams. Over/under on how many times Dick Vitale mentions “Robert Montgomery Knight” is set at 12. We love the over.

#6 UCLA (21-3) at USC (15-8) - Sunday 10 PM – The rematch of USC’s stunning win in Pauley a few weeks back. What are the odds that they can sweep the Bruins? We don’t see it happening without starting PG Daniel Hackett and UCLA coming off a loss.

Syracuse (16-9) at Louisville (19-6) - Monday 7 PM – Remember what you read earlier about the Cuse? Imagine what it would do to their resume with back to back wins over Georgetown and Louisville. No chance it happens with the wave of fresh bodies Rick Pitino will throw at them. The Cuse zone could give Louisville trouble .

#13 Xavier (21-4) at Rhode Island (20-5)- Monday 7 PM – The Rams could really use this win for their NCAA resume. Xavier in the meantime is playing their way towards a potential #2 seed. Josh Duncan has played his best basketball all season over the last two weeks.

#16 Texas A&M (20-4) at #11 Texas (20-4) – Monday 9 PM – Tough week for Texas. In the span of seven days they played Kansas, Baylor, and now the Aggies. Three of the top five teams in the Big 12. A&M has played much better of late, but still lack that high-quality win. Here is a perfect opportunity to grab on Big Monday.

#23 Purdue (20-5) at #12 Indiana (20-4) – Tuesday 7 PM – The question here is will Kelvin Sampson still be the head coach at IU for this one. What a brutal three game stretch for the Hoosiers. Three games in six says against Wisconsin, Michigan State, and Purdue. Prediction: This will be the game D.J. White shows the country he is a first team All-American and puts the Hoosiers on his broad shoulders. Plus, Purdue is long overdue for a loss.

#24 Pittsburgh (19-5) at #18 Notre Dame (18-5) – Thursday 7 PM – Levance Fields is back running the point for the Panthers and we all get to enjoy the big man matchup of two Big East beasts: Pitt’s Dejuan Blair and Notre Dame’s Luke Harangody.

UMass (19-6) at Rhode Island (20-5) – Thursday 7 PM – A battle of two A-10 bubble teams. Gary Forbes and company would really benefit from a big road win.

Arizona State (16-7) at #20 Washington State (19-5) – Thursday 9 PM – ASU got themselves in good position with the committee after knocking off the scorching Stanford Cardinal. Now can they go on the road to Pullman and pull off another upset? We don’t see why not. ASU Freshman James Hardin will be the best athlete on the floor.