Men’s Basketball Games of the Week 2/6 – 2/10
Still recovering from that “super” game? Want to get back into college basketball but not jump in with both feet right away? Relax. The Monday and Tuesday schedules are light, although Tuesday does feature a strong Southeastern Conference matchup. Wednesday is traditionally a hoops-rich day, and this week is no exception.
WOFFORD at DAVIDSON (7 p.m. Monday at Belk Arena in Davidson, North Carolina)
With seven games remaining in the Southern Conference regular season, time is running out for teams to make a run at Davidson. Wofford (15-9, 8-4) is three games behind Davidson in the South Division standings, tied with Georgia Southern, and a Davidson victory effectively shuts the door on Wofford contending for the division title. The Terriers, whose 15.1 assists per game rank 37th in the nation, just saw their six-game winning streak broken with a loss to Samford. Davidson (17-5, 11-1) also lost to Samford a few games back, but the Wildcats otherwise have won 10 of their last 11 games. Davidson did beat Wofford earlier this season, 72-69, on December 1. Heads up: Wofford also plays Georgia Southern this week, on Thursday, so both of these games could have a big impact on the divisional race.
No. 9 FLORIDA at No. 1 KENTUCKY (7 p.m. Tuesday at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky)
The biggest matchup in the Southeastern Conference in a few weeks takes place Tuesday night when Kentucky could effectively shut the door on the SEC regular-season title. Or could it? Florida (19-4, 7-1) does have Kentucky twice on its schedule in the final weeks, so if the Gators are within one game of Kentucky at year’s end this could get interesting. Florida’s lone SEC loss was against Tennessee, but the Gators are on a seven-game winning streak. Florida’s 80.1 points per game rank ninth in the country. Kentucky (23-1, 9-0) hasn’t lost since the heartbreaking 73-72 setback to Indiana on December 10, a span of 15 consecutive wins. A national television audience present, two strong SEC teams… who could ask for anything more?
No. 12 GEORGETOWN at No. 2 SYRACUSE (7 p.m. Wednesday at Carrier Dome in Syracuse, New York)
Like Kentucky, Syracuse hasn’t had much of a stumble this season. The Orange have only lost once, but the Big East Conference could be a killer this week thanks to Georgetown’s visit. The Hoyas (18-4, 8-3) started February with wins over Connecticut and South Florida, the last game keyed in part by 13 points, nine rebounds and five assists by Henry Sims. Georgetown is tied with Marquette for second place in the Big East, two games behind Syracuse (23-1, 10-1). The Orange lost 67-58 to Notre Dame but otherwise have been perfect all season. Syracuse has a three-game winning streak, the last one coming in a 95-70 win over St. John’s. Syracuse has six games remaining following this contest, two against Louisville.
No. 7 KANSAS at No. 6 BAYLOR (7 p.m. Wednesday at Ferrell Center in Waco, Texas)
The second of three big games Wednesday takes place in the Big 12, when one of three teams in the lead will fall out of first place. Missouri, Kansas and Baylor all have identical 8-2 records and are a game ahead of Iowa State in the standings. Kansas (18-5, 8-2) has lost two of three in recent days to Iowa State and Missouri, throwing some drama into the conference race. Thomas Robinson had 25 points and 13 rebounds against Missouri. Baylor (21-2, 8-2) had back-to-back defeats against Kansas and Missouri and wouldn’t you know it? Kansas and Missouri are on the schedule now, again back-to-back, followed by Iowa State. The schedule is friendlier to Baylor down the stretch following Missouri, so that could be favorable to the Bears.
ST. BONAVENTURE at MASSACHUSETTS (7:30 p.m. Wednesday at William Mullins Center in Amherst, Massachusetts)
Eight of the 14 teams in the Atlantic-10 are within two games of each other, and this game isn’t likely to untangle the mess much, but it’s a start. St. Bonaventure (12-8, 5-3), which is one game back of Temple in the league standings, just lost to Saint Louis, one of four teams tied for second place. As for Massachusetts (17-6, 6-3), one of the other teams tied for second place, has had a rocky road in the last week. The Minutemen fell to bottom-feeder Rhode Island but recovered for a win over George Washington. Got all that? Temple controls the league so as long as it wins the Owls don’t have to worry, but the scuffling for second and other spots is a lot of fun.
NORTHWESTERN STATE at LAMAR (8 p.m. Wednesday at Montagne Center in Beaumont, Texas)
While Texas-Arlington leads the Southland Conference’s West Division by three games, rendering that race just about over, the East Division is still very much up for grabs. Two of the top three teams meet on Wednesday. Northwestern State (14-9, 7-2), paced by Shamir Davis’ 13.9 points and 3.0 assists per game, has a five-game winning streak under its belt. The Demons have already defeated Lamar this year, 74-62. Lamar (15-8, 6-3) got 23 points from Brandon Davis in its 80-66 win over Texas-San Antonio, and it has a three-game winning streak. Someone’s win streak will be snapped here, and someone’s regular-season championship hopes might be dashed as well.
No. 8 DUKE at No. 5 NORTH CAROLINA (9 p.m. Wednesday at Dean E. Smith Center in Chapel Hill, North Carolina)
Duke may have a couple of stumbles in the Atlantic Coast Conference this year, but this is a game with North Carolina and it still is a battle with first place on the line. Duke (19-4, 6-2) disappointed the Cameron faithful on Sunday when the Blue Devils lost in overtime, 78-74, to Miami. Still, Duke is only one game back of North Carolina and Florida State in the standings and this is just the first of two Duke-UNC regular-season matchups. The Tar Heels (20-3, 7-1) had that memorable loss against Florida State in addition to losses against UNLV and Kentucky. North Carolina has the nation’s best scoring (84.1) and rebounding (46.3) team and is on a five-game winning streak. The Tar Heels have two games with Virginia in addition to the two against Duke, so Roy Williams’ crew has its hands full.
VALPARAISO at CLEVELAND STATE (7 p.m. Thursday at Wolstein Center in Cleveland, Ohio)
With Valparaiso only a half-game behind Cleveland State and the Crusaders having beaten their Horizon League opponents once this season, this game will effectively decide the conference’s regular-season championship. Since dropping back-to-back games to Indiana-Purdue and Milwaukee, Valparaiso (17-8, 10-3) has won nine of its last 11 thanks to the scoring of Kevin Van Wijk (15.1 points per game) and Ryan Broekhoff (15.0 points, 8.6 rebounds). Valparaiso won 72-66 over Cleveland State on January 15. Cleveland State (20-4, 10-2) has also lost to Hofstra, Youngstown State and South Florida, but it appears to be a strong candidate for the NCAA tournament, especially if it can knock off Valparaiso. Cleveland State has won five in a row.
ARKANSAS-LITTLE ROCK at LOUISIANA (8:05 p.m. Thursday at Cajun Dome in Lafayette, Louisiana)
Like the Southland Conference, the Sun Belt has two divisions with one race about over and the second one up for grabs. While Middle Tennessee can all but hoist the Sun Belt East title flag, the West is a three-way race between these two teams and Denver. North Texas is only two games back, so don’t forget about that team, either. Little Rock (11-13, 8-2) lost to Louisiana 68-49 earlier this season and then fell to 8-15 Western Kentucky, so odds are Louisiana may walk away once again with another victory. Louisiana (14-11, 8-3) has won four in a row, including a 72-71 victory over Denver last week and have four games left, but one is against Denver.
No. 19 SAINT MARY’S at GONZAGA (11 p.m. Thursday at McCarthey Athletic Center in Spokane, Washington)
Six games remain in the West Coast Conference regular-season schedule, but a win by Saint Mary’s will render the rest of the WCC race worthless. The Gaels (22-2, 11-0) have led the WCC from the start, with losses only to Denver and Baylor, and they handled Gonzaga quite convincingly in an 83-62 win earlier this season. Does this mean the Bulldogs (18-4, 8-2) are toast? Not quite. Gonzaga is 13-2 in its past 15 games, but the losses are to Saint Mary’s and Brigham Young. Elias Harris’ 13.1 points and 7.7 rebounds lead the team. Gonzaga doesn’t quite have the flashy scorer of years past, nor is it the Cinderella it used to be, but the Bulldogs aren’t out of this race by any means.
IONA at LOYOLA MARYLAND (7 p.m. Friday at Reitz Arena in Baltimore, Maryland)
The week closes out with a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference showdown between the top two teams in the league. Iona (19-5, 11-2) just knocked off Manhattan 85-73 over the weekend, knocking Manhattan from a share of first in the MAAC. Leading scorer Michael Glover had 19 points and seven rebounds in the game. Iona can put itself in the driver’s seat with a win, as it has already beaten Loyola 74-63 earlier in the year, and the Gaels have the nation’s best assist unit (19.5) and is third in points (83.3) and shooting (50 percent). Loyola (18-5, 11-2) has won six in a row, including wins over Rider and St. Peter’s in the last week. The Greyhounds do get one more shot at Manhattan at the end of the season.
