Monday's Pregame Beat

7:00 pm: Georgetown @ West Virginia: The Hoyas suffered a big blow before this game even started as Austin Freeman, who played just 23 minutes against Notre Dame, was sent back to DC as he is still suffering from the same stomach virus. Freeman is Georgetown's leading scorer and a huge part of what they do on both the offensive and defensive end. Against Notre Dame, Georgetown's biggest issue was on the defensive glass. Notre Dame got far too many offensive rebounds (10 in the first half on 11 missed shots) and second chance points. West Virginia is one of the best offensive rebounding teams in the country. If the Hoyas don't box out, they could be in for a long night.

That is where the injury to Freeman is going to hurt. Freeman doesn't get the most rebounds in the world, but he is the strongest of Georgetown's wings. Can Jason Clark or Chris Wright keep a guy like Da'Sean Butler off the offensive glass?

9:00 pm: Oklahoma @ Texas: Well, this one has significantly less intrigue than it did at the start of the season. The good news for Texas is that J'Covan Brown, who took a nasty spill in the Longhorns loss at Texas A&M, is cleared to play tonight.

The key for Texas is going to be slowing down Tommy Mason-Griffin, who has shown the ability to go for 30, but also the ability to go 3-19 and shoot the Sooners out of a game. The latter would be preferable for Texas, who can absolutely not lose this game. Given how weak the bubble is this season, Texas is not going to play their way out of the tournament. But they could play their way into a bad enough seed that they don't make it out of the first weekend.

9:05 pm: Fresno State @ Utah State: Two reasons to watch this game: 1) Utah State has a very good chance of making the NCAA Tournament if they can win out and make the finals of the WAC tourney. 2) Paul George might be the best dunker in college basketball.