With the holiday season approaching, many NCAA basketball games are flying under the radar. Here is a look at 10 that should be on your television this week.
Bradley at Georgia Southern
Tuesday, Dec. 18
Both NCAA basketball teams got off to hot starts before cooling off since the end of November. Georgia Southern was brought back to earth by a 30-point blowout loss at Arizona and Bradley has lost to IUPUI and Eastern Illinois since knocking off SMU and Penn State. Both teams will be looking to avoid another loss and finish the non-conference schedule on a stronger note.
Penn State at Duquesne
Wednesday, Dec. 19
Speaking of the Nittany Lions, they’ll be heading to Pittsburgh to take on Duquesne at PPG Paints Arena in front of what most can imagine will be a Penn State heavy crowd. PSU has a couple of tough losses on its resume already and is sitting at .500 on the year. A loss against a dangerous 8-2 Duquesne team could plunge the Lions’ season into turmoil before they get the chance to fight Rutgers and Illinois for the Big Ten basement. Pat Chambers isn’t playing for his job quite yet but another NIT appearance, or worse, come March could really sink his chances at running the show next fall.
Utah State at Houston
Thursday, Dec. 20
The newly renovated Fertitta Center has hosted four games since its reopening a few weeks ago, and three have been absolute classics. Houston held off a late charge from a ranked Oregon team in its first game back on campus since the 2016-17 season, overcame a 15-point second half deficit to beat LSU in front of another sold-out crowd, and defeated Saint Louis on a late three this past weekend. The drama has all ended with Houston victories and they’ll put their undefeated record on the line against a Utah State team that blew out St. Mary’s and only lost to now-ranked Arizona State by five.
La Salle vs. Alabama A&M
Friday, Dec. 21
When Ash Howard took over the Explorers in April, he knew there would be some obstacles in an effort to return La Salle to the NCAA Tournament but he couldn’t have guessed he’d be heading to Boardwalk Hall a few days before Christmas looking for his first win as a Division-I coach. La Salle and Alabama A&M are a combined 0-19, and unless the Bulldogs pull off an upset away at South Alabama on Wednesday, one of these school’s will be heading into the holiday with their first win of the season. I don’t know much about A&M’s program, but I know you have problems when ESPN is giving you a 13% chance of victory against a winless team in December.
Furman at LSU
Friday, Dec. 21
Finally. Whether you love Furman or hate them, whether you think they should be ranked or not, you should be looking forward to Friday. The Furman question will (most likely) be put to rest when the final buzzer sounds in Baton Rouge. Either the Paladins will come out with another impressive road win and will finish nonconference play undefeated or LSU will knock Furman from the top 25, probably for good.
Providence at Texas
Friday, Dec. 21
If anyone knows what to make of either of these teams, please let me know. Both have decent wins (in Texas’ case, very decent) and head-scratching losses. The winner will add some value to an inconsistent resumé and the loser will head into conference play probably disappointed with the start to their 2018-19 campaign.
Georgia at Georgia Tech
Saturday, Dec. 22
This year, the Georgia-Georgia Tech game does not grant its victor the right to claim basketball supremacy in the Peach State. Georgia State clobbered the Dawgs by over 20 and, as we mentioned earlier, Georgia Southern is having a decent year themselves. Nevertheless, the UGA-GT rivalry is huge regardless of the setting or the standings.
Penn at New Mexico
Saturday, Dec. 22
When Penn knocked off Villanova on Tuesday to hand the Wildcats their first Big 5 loss since 2012, many did what people often do when a mid-major knocks off a rank school: they ran to Google Penn basketball or open their schedule on ESPN and found that the Quakers are 9-2. Their two losses came consecutively against Kansas State and an Oregon State team that might have a better Pac-12 season than most expect. This game will be huge for a Penn squad that earned a 16 seed in last year’s tournament after only losing two Ivy games last season. A two or three loss non-conference season might go a long way for landing Penn a higher seed if they win a second straight conference title.
Illinois vs. Missouri
Saturday, Dec. 22
Bragging rights are on the line in this edition of Braggin’ Rights on Saturday. Missouri hasn’t beaten their midwest neighbors since 2012 and this one looks to be evenly matched on paper. Expect a great game and a better crowd for this one.
Indiana State vs. Colorado
Saturday, Dec. 22
This game probably has nothing in particular to offer fans that don’t follow either program, but it’s the first game of one of the most fun tournaments of the year: the Diamond Head Classic. And yes, I can hear you scoffing about the lineup for this edition, which includes no teams currently ranked in the AP Poll, but you’re going to be glad it’s there on Christmas day when the NBA and one-too-many egg nogs are putting you to sleep.