College basketball: It could be an unpredictable weekend, with 13 ranked teams playing on road
Of the 13 playing on the road, four are going against other ranked teams. No. 1 Kansas is at Kansas State, where coaches and officials don't want to see a repeat of the Jan. 21 brawl.
A rather unpredictable weekend could be in store in college basketball. No fewer than 13 ranked teams will be playing on the road, four of which will be playing another ranked team. Upsets could shake up the top 25, not to mention seeds for conference and NCAA tournaments.
For now, teams want to finish strong. Some mid-major leagues will wrap up their regular seasons this weekend, and everyone else will be finished by March 8, one week before Selection Sunday. It’s only nine days, but a lot of basketball will be played.
No. 1 Kansas at Kansas State, 1:30 p.m., CBS3
It’s been a little more than five weeks since these two teams created one of the darkest moments of the current season, engaging in a brawl at the end of what had been an easy 81-60 Jayhawks win. Four players received suspensions of multiple games for the incident, and Kansas’ Silvio De Sousa still has time left on his 12-game ban for brandishing a chair.
Kansas State officials say security will be beefed up at Bramlage Coliseum, both on and off the court, as well as at popular pregame hangouts. As Kansas State public information officer Lt. Brandi Millington told ESPN.com, “We don’t want to be in the highlights again.”
As for basketball, 7-foot Udoka Azubuike has sparked the Jayhawks (25-3, 14-1) during their 14-game winning streak, with totals of 42 points and 35 rebounds in his last two games. The Wildcats (9-19, 2-13), meanwhile, are looking for a better highlight than the Jan. 21 one — specifically, a victory.
No. 13 Seton Hall at Marquette, 2:30 p.m., Fox29
This game matches the two best guards in the Big East: senior All-American candidates Markus Howard of the Golden Eagles (18-9, 8-7) and Myles Powell of the Pirates (21-5, 12-3). Each player has poured in more than 2,000 career points, and they are 1-2 in the conference in scoring.
Saturday will mark senior day for Howard, the leading scorer in Division I with a 27.2-point average. In the last week, he has registered his 11th and 12th career games of 30 points or more. He has 59 three-point baskets in Big East play, almost four per game.
Powell checks in at 21.3 points per game, 14th in the nation. He has slumped a bit with his three-point shooting, hitting at only a 24.8% clip, but his all-around game — defense, playmaking, leadership — is a major reason Seton Hall holds the Big East lead.
By the way, Powell’s senior night will be Wednesday night, when Villanova visits the Prudential Center.
No. 16 Penn State at No. 18 Iowa, noon, Big Ten Network
The Nittany Lions (21-7, 11-6), who enter the weekend in a four-way tie for second in the Big Ten, blew a 21-point lead and fell behind in the final minute Wednesday night against Rutgers before Myles Dread hit the game-winning three-point basket.
The Hawkeyes (19-9, 10-7) will look to avenge last month’s 89-86 loss to the Lions at the Palestra, and have the advantage at home, where they are 13-1. But Penn State already has won at Michigan, at Purdue and at Michigan State, so it’s not intimidated by a road environment.
No. 7 Duke at Virginia, 6 p.m., ESPN
For the first time since 1995, the Blue Devils (23-5, 13-4) reached triple digits in a game and lost, dropping a 112-101 decision to Wake Forest, their second defeat against an unranked team on the road in as many weeks. Now they must travel to Charlottesville, where the Cavaliers (20-7, 12-5) will lock in a defense that allows a Division I-best 52.7 points per game. The Cavs have won five straight, four coming down to the last possession. Duke averages 83.3 points, second in the nation.
No. 24 Michigan State at No. 9 Maryland, 8 p.m., ESPN
The Terrapins (23-5, 13-4) pulled off an incredible comeback Wednesday night, outscoring Minnesota, 10-1, in the final 2:06 for a 74-73 win to regain their two-game lead in the Big Ten. The game against the Spartans (19-9, 11-6) matches two of the conference’s best point guards — Anthony Cowan Jr., of Maryland and Cassius Winston of Michigan State — and best big men — Maryland’s Jalen Smith and Michigan State’s Xavier Tillman.
No. 15 Auburn at No. 8 Kentucky, 3:45 p.m., CBS3
The Wildcats (23-5, 13-4), owners of a seven-game winning streak, will secure at least a share of the regular-season SEC championship with a victory. They have received great play recently from guard Immanuel Quickley, who has averaged 21.5 points in the last seven games. The Tigers (24-4, 11-4) are helped by the return of freshman forward Isaac Okoro, who missed three games because of a hamstring injury.
What else is happening?
Could a conference race get any closer than what we’ve seen in the Pac-12? UCLA (18-11, 11-5), which started 1-3 in the league, won its sixth straight game Thursday night on a last-second three-pointer by freshman Jaime Jaquez Jr. to defeat Arizona State and move into a tie with Oregon for first place. The Bruins take on Arizona (19-9, 9-6) with a chance to take over sole possession of the top. Behind the leaders are Arizona State at 10-5, Colorado at 10-6 and Arizona.
Expatriate of the week
Redshirt freshman William McNair, who played his last two seasons of high school basketball at Martin Luther King, is a 6-foot-10 reserve forward for New Mexico State. He has competed in 26 of the Lobos’ 29 games, averaging 1.8 points, 1.7 rebounds and 8.2 minutes of playing time and blocking 11 shots. In his collegiate debut against Western New Mexico, McNair scored 11 points and pulled down seven rebounds. The Lobos are riding a 17-game winning streak and already have clinched the Western Athletic Conference regular-season title.