It’s cold. My God, it’s cold. Comparatively. I live in Nashville, so “it’s cold” means that I had to wear a hoodie for warmth rather than comfort this week. Shut up, there’s a difference. I talked with a coworker in Michigan today; he had to shovel his driveway to pull into it a few days ago. We are not the same. He is better.
It’s awesome to have college hoops back in our lives. But between that, the NFL, college football and any NHL/NBA interests you might have, there’s just so much. So much to watch, keep track of, gamble on (if that’s your thing), tweet about while you can. You’re but one person, with a phone and a tv and a laptop, maybe an iPad, perhaps another tv or two… my point is, you have a finite number of screens to devote to Division I hoops the next couple of days. Let me help you with your weekend viewing plans.
As always, the weekend starts at 7 p.m. ET on Friday; apologies to the Rider-Stetson contest that goes down at 5 a.m. on the East Coast Friday morning since it’s in Dublin.
Must Watch (Times ET)
No. 19 Illinois at No. 8 UCLA, 9:30 pm, Friday (ESPNU)
Brad Underwood has a contender at Illinois, but it’s a contender still long on promise and short on cohesion. A top-10 recruiting class headlined by four four-star recruits and three high-major transfers (Matthew Mayer and Dain Dainja from Baylor, Terrence Shannon Jr. from Texas Tech) joined holdover RJ Melendez for a retooled Fighting Illini in the post-Kofi Cockburn era. Fortunately, Illinois has played three games (Eastern Illinois, Kansas City, Monmouth) designed to get them some live action without much stress. That changes in Las Vegas at T-Mobile Arena against a Bruins side with talented newcomers of their own in Amari Bailey and Adem Bona alongside veteran standouts Tyger Campbell, Jaylen Clark, David Singleton and Jaime Jaquez Jr. The Fighting Illini will have to grow up fast; win or lose, either Baylor or Virginia awaits on Sunday.
Honorable mentions: Lipscomb-Notre Dame (7 p.m., Friday, ESPN+); Villanova-Michigan State (8 p.m., Friday, FS1); Miami-Providence (4 p.m., Saturday, ESPN News)
Must Monitor (Times ET)
No. 4 Kentucky at No. 2 Gonzaga, 7:30 p.m., Sunday (ESPN)
This is awfully early in the season for panic, but one of these teams is going to have two losses in the opening five games after this one. Kentucky is a notoriously fickle fanbase pining for its first national title since 2012; Gonzaga has often been the bridesmaid (NCAA runner-up in 2017 and 2021, Elite Eight in 2019, Sweet Sixteen every tournament since 2015) but Bulldog fans have to be feeling a shift in the sea in Dr. Drew Timme’s final season. This contest being in Spokane Arena rather than The Kennel is disappointing; Kentucky should have had to face a rabid, intimate fanbase for the true test. But the Timme-Oscar Tshiebwe matchup is tantalizing on its own merits and the secondary standouts (Jacob Toppin and Sahvir Wheeler for Kentucky, Julian Strawther for Gonzaga) have a chance to take the spotlight off those two.
Honorable Mention: Florida-Florida State (8 p.m., Friday, ACC Network); New Mexico State-New Mexico (7 p.m., Saturday, Mountain West Network [online]); any of several Classic/Invitational/Tournament finals (Sunday, times and networks TBD)
Must Avoid (Times ET)
Texas Southern at No. 13 Auburn, 8 p.m., Friday (SECN+/ESPN+)
Texas Southern’s annual Tour of Misery continues Sunday on The Plains. Johnny Jones has assembled a SWAC juggernaut—the Tigers have made back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances and have never finished lower than third in the league during Jones’ tenure. It’s just that… Texas Southern has made a habit of aggressively scheduling high-major buy games every season, and this one is no exception—the Tigers have already lost to ranked Texas Tech and Houston, with Kansas on the horizon as well. However! Jones and his charges did take a win off Arizona State in overtime last Sunday—the same Sun Devils beat the fire out of 20th-ranked Michigan Thursday night. So no one is overlooking Texas Southern, but they are also paying them to come in and take a loss in November. Tough spot to be in.
Honorable Mention: Georgia Southern-Rice (7 p.m., Friday, conferenceusa.com); Hofstra-Saint Mary’s (8:30 p.m., Saturday, wccsports.com); Alabama State-Pitt (2 p.m., Sunday, ACCNX/ESPN+)
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