It's Thursday which means more college basketball. Tonight we have Arizona and Michigan State in action, as well as a major duel in the American.
Via Cincinnati.com / Joseph Fuqua II
7 PM
(22) Connecticut at (7) Cincinnati – ESPN
Cincinnati -6
Read a comprehensive preview on Bearcats Blog.
9 PM
Oregon at (2) Arizona – ESPN
Arizona -11.5
The nation gets it's first look at Arizona without Brandon Ashley. Oregon has been struggling like crazy in the Pac 12 at 3-6. The Ducks have won two of three however. These have been a couple of middling offenses, some of the worst shooting numbers in the Pac 12. The difference is that Oregon's defense has alos been middling while the Wildcats play some of, if not the best, defense in the country. Nick Johnson averages 16.2 and Aaron Gordon 10.7, 8.8 and 2 assists for Arizona. Joseph Young puts up 15.3 for the Ducks.
Penn State at (9) Michigan State – ESPN2
Michigan St -13.5
Don't look now but Penn State has won 3 in a row in the Big 10. That comes to a big test against the Spartans, who already thrashed PSU once. Michigan St held PSU to 16 second half points on New Year's Eve. But two of their big contributors were Adreian Payne and Branden Dawson, who had 20. This could be a tricky game for Sparty.
OTHER TV GAMES
7 PM
Robert Morris at LIU-Brooklyn – ESPNU
RM -3
The Colonials are coming off their first conference loss of the year to hapless Central Connecticut State. LIU has lost 3 of 4, including back to back games. The Blackbirds have a balanced attack with 5 players averaging at least 9. Their star is Jason Brickman, who is averaging 10.8 points, 10.1 assists and 3.8 boards. Karvel Anderson is putting up 22.8 a game for Robert Morris on 55% shooting, 83.3% from the line and 29 of 57 from three.
Rhode Island at VCU – CBS Sports
VCU -15
VCU has been rolling with a 5 game win streak ever since they were topped by George Washington. The Rams has won four of them by double figures and topped 80 four times as well. Rhodey has alternated wins and losses their last 4 games.
LSU at Georgia – ESPN2
LSU -3
If LSU is a legit NCAA threat, they don't lose at Georgia.
8 PM
Temple at SMU – ESPNews
SMU -13
If SMU is a legit NCAA threat, they don't lose to Temple.
9 PM
Tulsa at Louisiana Tech – CBS Sports
La Tech -9.5
A couple two loss teams in C-USA lock up. Both have won 3 of 4. James Woodard leads four Hurricanes averaging double digits with 15. Woodard also averages 6.6 boards, 2 assists and a steal. Tech also has 4 averaging double digits with Alex Hamilton leading the way at 16.6. Kenneth Smith averages 9.8 assists, 8.5 points and 2.8 steals.
Murray State at Belmont – ESPNU
Belmont -8
The Racers are 8-1, leaders of the OVC West. The Bruins are 8-2, leaders of the OVC East. Murray has won 3 in a row. Belmont had a 5 game win streak snapped by Tennessee Tech on Saturday. Cameron Payne averages 17 for Murray but look out for Jarvis Williams. He's putting up 14-11-1.5 blocks. The Bruins are paced by the duo of Craig Bradshaw, 19.7 points, and JJ Mann, 18.9 points.
Washington at Utah – Pac 12 Network
Utah -9
11 PM
Oregon State at Arizona State – Fox Sports 1
ASU -7
5-4 teams clash to help clear out some of the logjam in the middle of the league. Oregon State swept the southern California schools last week and has won 4 of 5. The Sun Devils split with the northern California schools and have won 3 of 4. Jahii Carson for ASU is averaging close to 19 a game with 4 boards and 3.4 assists. Roberto Nelson has poured in 22.3 a game for the Beavers with 4 boards and 3 assists.
Santa Clara at BYU – ESPNU
BYU -15
St Mary's at Loyola Marymount – Root Sports
St Mary's -5
WATCH ESPN GAMES
7 PM
Jacksonville at Florida Gulf Coast
The Eagles are tied in the loss column with Mercer. One of their two conference losses was to Jacksonville. Keith McDougald scored 19 on 4 of 12, 7-9 at the line, shooting, while RJ Swanson held down the middle with 12 boards and 3 blocks to go with 9 points for the Dolphins. Chase Fieler scored 20 in the loss for FGCU.
USC Upstate at Lipscomb
Cleveland State at Oakland
8 PM
Bradley at Loyola (IL)
Austin Peay at Arkansas-Little Rock
(:30) Marist at Rider
(:30) McNeese State at Northwestern State
9 PM
Mount St. Mary's at Sacred Heart
10 PM
Cal State Fullerton at UC Riverside
THE REST
4 PM
Barber-Scotia at Winthrop
7 PM
Bryant at Central Connecticut State
Fairleigh Dickinson at Wagner
St Francis at St Francis (NY)
East Tennessee State at Northern Kentucky
North Florida at Stetson
UAB at FIU
Middle Tennessee at Florida Atlantic
UTSA at Old Dominion
Wheelock College at NJIT
Citadel at Appalachian State
UNC Greensboro at Elon
Georgia Southern at Wofford
8 PM
North Texas at Rice
IUPUI at North Dakota State
IPFW at South Dakota State
The Mastodons are 6-1 in the Summit behind Luis Jacobo's 17.6 points. They knocked off the Jackrabbits at hom on January 11 with Jacobo's 24.
Georgia State at Arkansas-Little Rock
The 9-0 Sun Belt leading Panthers go to 7-3 UALR. Georgia State crushed UALR 99-73 on 53% shooting with 15 threes. RJ Hunter had 25 and Manny Atkins 23.
Louisiana-Monroe at Texas State
Southeast Missouri State at SIU-Edwardsville
Tennessee-Martin at Eastern Illinois
Southeastern Louisiana at Central Arkansas
Davidson at Samford
The Wildcats are tied in the loss column with Chattanooga for the league lead. De'Mon Brooks has been a huge reason why, averaging 22.4 points, 9.5 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.5 blocks.
8:30 PM
Louisiana-Lafayette at Texas-Arlington
South Alabama at Troy
Houston Baptist at Abiline Christian
Texas A&M CC at Incarnate Word
New Orleans at Oral Roberts
9 PM
North Dakota at Weber State
The Weber State Wildcats are still on top of the Big Sky despite their heartbreaking loss Saturday night. Weber already beat North Dakota by 12 on January 11. The Wildcats had 4 players in double figures with 16 by Jordan Richardson and 15 by Jeremy Senglin leading the way.
Portland State at Montana
UTEP at East Carolina
The Miners are tied atop C-USA with Southern Miss. Vince Hunter, 16.4, and Julian Washburn, 15.9, carry the scoring burden but CJ Cooper, 12.9, and John Bohannon, 12.1, are no slouches. Bohannon averages 8 boards and 2 blocks.
Utah Valley at Grand Canyon
The Wolverines are coming off a 72-49 ass whooping at the hands of New Mexico State over the weekend. Utah Valley still leads the WAC by a game though. Grand Canyon has won 4 in a row since they were topped by Utah Valley. Ben Arid scored 21 with 15 boards in the win.
Nicholls State at Stephen F. Austin
The Lumberjacks lead the Southland at 9-0. Nicholls St isn't too far back at 7-2. SFA hasn't lost since my birthday on November 23. They have 5 players averaging at least 11.6 points in conference play. Jacob Parker puts up 15.3 a game to lead the team, along with 8 rebounds and 2.7 assists. The Colonels are led by 17.6, 6.1, 3.6 and 1.3 steals from Dantrell Thomas.
Eastern Washington at Montana State
Northern Colorado at Idaho State
10 PM
New Mexico State at Idaho
UTPA at Seattle
CS Northridege at UC Davis
Pacific at Pepperdine
San Francisico at San Diego
Northern Arizona at Sacramento State
(:30) Long Beach State at UC Irvine
12 AM
UC Santa Barbara at Hawaii
These two games feature the top 4 teams in the Big West. Irvine, Santa Barbara and Long Beach St are all 5-2, Hawaii 4-3. UCSB has knocked off LBSU and Irvine already. Irvine beat LBSU, LBSU beat Hawaii and Hawaii beat Irvine. It's a circle that will be made clearer around 2 am.