As Washington D.C. has most of the country transfixed, we should remember that it's mid-January, aka, the heart of the college basketball schedule. There are only a handful of weeks left until the start of conference tournaments. Many teams need to heat up soon in order to get themselves in NCAA tournament considerations. Lucky for us, there are a ton of games on tonight, many of which have some serious conference standings implications.
On a side note, I have heard that a couple teams playing on the road tonight have altered their flight/travel schedules in order to watch the inauguration and parade, so some of these games might start later than expected.
Games To Watch:
- 7:00PM ESPN: Ohio St. (13-3, 3-2) @ #24 Illinois (15-3, 3-2) - Both teams are coming in to this battle with two different mindsets. Ohio St. is coming off a big win against the upstart Wolverines of Michigan and has won three in a row. On the flip side, Illinois has lost two of its last four, and has Wisconsin and Minnesota up next. Having said this, The Illini have been one of the surprise teams in the first half of the season and find themselves in the top #25. A win for either team here would mean 3rd place in the Big Ten standings.
- 8:00PM: North Carolina St. (10-5, 1-2) @ #2 Duke(16-1, 3-0) - Hot off their impressive victory over my G'Town Hoyas, the Blue Devils look to continue their streak of solid play. Duke has won eight in a row and has a showdown with #1 Wake Forest next week. Lets hope they don't overlook the so-so Wolfpack. Brandon Costner and Courtney Fells need to have career games to propel NC State to victory. The Dukies have a handful of players who can step up and have big games, which should be more than enough to beat the Wolfpack.
Lets just hope that NC St. has ATLEAST studied Duke's in-bounds play. (Henderson arcs from the top left side, slashes to the hole while defender's backs are turned, in-bound alley-oop pass from Scheyer - 2 points. Duke is using this play on a regularly basis)
(It's #1 in the second video)
- 9:00PM ESPN: Tennessee (11-5, 2-1) @ Vanderbilt (12-5, 1-2) - Both these teams have tons of potential, but seem to be stuck in the mud in the mediocre-at-best SEC. Lets hope Bruce Pearl's team can hold a single Vanderbilt player to under 50 points (Jodie Meeks anyone?). If Vandy wants any shot at making the NCAA tourney whatsoever, they need to step it up now. They have Tennessee tonight and Florida on the weekend, meaning a week against the top two teams in the conference.
- 9:00PM: Michigan (13-5, 3-3) @ Penn St. (14-5, 3-3) - I really like both these teams. Penn State has been getting better and better every year. They have shown great strides this year, and a win against a Michigan team that was ranked two weeks ago could be huge for Penn State. Michigan was ranked earlier this season, but has lost two in a row. This is a must-win game for the Wolverines. These team's stats are nearly identical, but Michigan hasn't played well on the road.
Other Games Being Played:
- 7:00PM: Boston College (13-6, 1-3) @ Georgia Tech (9-8, 0-4)
- 7:00PM: Miami (OH) (6-9, 2-1) @ Bowling Green (8-8, 1-2)
- 7:00PM: Akron (9-7, 1-2) @ Ohio (9-7, 2-1)
- 7:00PM: Delaware (8-11, 2-5) @ Drexel (8-8, 4-3)
- 7:00PM: Liberty (13-6, 4-3) @ High Point (5-12, 1-6)
- 7:00PM: Western Michigan (6-10, 3-0) @ Ball St. (7-8, 2-1)
- 7:00PM: Central Michigan (4-11, 1-2) @ Toledo (3-14, 1-2)
- 7:05PM: Creighton(14-5, 4-3) @ Evansville (12-5, 4-3)
- 8:00PM: Virginia (7-7, 1-2) @ Maryland (12-5, 1-2)
- 8:00PM: Colorado (8-8, 0-2) @ Texas Tech (10-7, 0-2)
- 8:00PM: Utah Valley (8-7) @ North Dakota St. (12-5)
- 8:00PM: Eastern Michigan (3-14, 1-2) @ Northern Illinois (5-10, 1-2)
- 9:00PM: Eastern Kentucky (10-8) @ Chicago St. (10-8)
- 9:00PM: DePaul (8-10, 0-5)@ South Florida (6-11, 1-4)
- 10:00PM: Air Force (9-8, 0-4) @ Colorado St. (6-12, 1-3)
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