12-8-19 College Basketball Games to Watch
Headliner Games
#19 Dayton (-3) vs. St. Mary’s (Jerry Colangelo Classic; Phoenix, AZ; Talking Stick Resort Arena) at 4 p.m. (ESPNU)
*#7 N. Carolina at #5 Virginia (-4 ½) (ACC) at 4 p.m. (ACCN)
We get two ranked vs. ranked match-ups today and #19 Dayton-St. Mary’s (who is just outside the rankings at #29). Dayton needs to win to further legitimize their ranking; St. Mary’s needs it to shore up its resume’ and to prove they can win consistently against a tougher non-conference schedule. UNC and UVa are coming off butt whippings at the hands of the Big Ten in their challenge games. The loser (especially if it’s UVa at home) could be in freefall and would have a lot of work to do to get back into the Top Ten as the season progresses. Gonzaga-Washington is a good rivalry game that will be a quality win for either team.
Upset Watch Games
*Clemson at #17 FSU (-9 ½) (ACC) at 2 p.m. (ACCN)
Wichita St. at Oklahoma St. (-4 ½) at 2 p.m. (ESPNU)
S. Alabama at Richmond (-7) at 2 p.m. (ESPN+) $$
Buffalo at DePaul (-9) at 5 p.m. (FS1)
Liberty (-9) vs. Grand Canyon (Jerry Colangelo Classic; Phoenix, AZ; Talking Stick Resort Arena) at 6:30 p.m. (ESPNU)
*Rutgers at #11 Michigan St. (-14 ½) (Big Ten) at 7 p.m. (BTN)
#16 Seton Hall at Iowa St. (-3) (Big East/Big 12 Challenge) at 9 p.m. (ESPN2)
These seven games are the most likely upset bids, and are good games on paper. DePaul and Liberty try to remain one of the nine unbeaten teams left. Michigan State and FSU try to stop the bleeding coming off lopsided losses with home games against conference opponents. Seton Hall is a slight underdog at Iowa State in a rematch of a game the Pirates won in the Bahamas in the Battle 4 Atlantis.
Other Games to Watch
Houston (-3) at S. Carolina (AAC-SEC scheduling alliance game) at noon (ESPNU)
Tulane vs. St. Louis (-5 ½) (Jerry Colangelo Classic; Phoenix, AZ; Talking Stick Resort Arena) at 1:30 p.m. (ESPN+) $$
Marshall at Toledo (-11) at 2 p.m. (ESPN+) $$
C. Michigan at Valparaiso (-3) at 2 p.m. (ESPN+) $$
Texas (-10) vs. Texas A&M (Lone Star Showdown; Fort Worth, TX; Dickies Arena) at 3 p.m. (ABC)
*Northwestern at Purdue (-13) (Big Ten) at 5 p.m. (BTN)
La. Tech (-7) at Sam Houston St. at 5:30 p.m. (ESPN+) $$
These are the “best of the rest” games. Enjoy!
Comments