OK people, with the Sunday Selection Show only a few days away, we have some big conference games happening today. We have a whole slew on tap to keep you playing hooky from work/school/responsibility starting with Kris Joseph and Syracuse at noon and finishing with Myck Kabongo and Texas taking on Iowa State and Melvin Ejim and company at night plus a lot in between all right here ...
Here is where the men are playing today ...
11:30am Illinois vs. Iowa
12:00pm UConn vs. Syracuse - Last season, UConn rode the Big East Tournament to the championship and then run through the NCAA Tournament for that championship. I'm sure Syracuse doesn't want their conference season to end this afternoon. I expect that the Orange will look to funnel their offense through Kris Joseph in this game and have him make plays if he's not scoring. He's working a four game double digit scoring streak right now averaging 14.5 points along with 6.3 rebounds and 1.5 steals. If UConn stays hot, I would think it's Joseph who'll play the cooler roll in this one.
12:30pm Kansas State vs. Baylor - Baylor has not had the best second half of the year ending their regular season with a loss to Iowa State in Ames. Now with the start of the Big 12 Conference tournament, they need to get their momentum back. Baylor has split the season series with K-State and the total point differential was three points. Brady Heslip has only scored 11 points in his last two games and will be needed to provide the outside shooting for keep the middle open for the team's great interior players and slashers.
1:00pm Arkansas vs. LSU
2:00pm Boston College vs. North Carolina State
3:00pm Hawaii vs. Idaho - Idaho's Djim Bandoumel has been a great addition to the lineup and is providing backup in the post. He's averaging 7.2 points, 6 rebounds and 1.2 blocks in the last five games and should be an X-factor for this game.
5:30pm Minnesota vs. Northwestern
5:30pm Fresno State vs. New Mexico State - The last time these two teams met New Mexico State won the contest in overtime. You can bet that the Bulldogs have their eyes set on revenge and knocking the Aggies out of the WAC Tournament. Look for Hernst Laroche, Tyrone Watson and Daniel Mullings to make huge impacts tonight. The trio accounted for 27 points, 11 rebounds, 11 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks in that victory and they were all having not so great nights. This could be a game to watch for sure.
5:30pm UC Irvine vs. Cal State Fullerton
7:00pm Louisville vs. Marquette
9:00pm Stanford vs. California
9:30pm Texas vs. Iowa State - This will be a big game for Texas. Iowa State should be in the NCAA Tournament regardless of how they play in the next few days but the Longhorns need to show huge. They have lost three of their last five games and the Cyclones will not be an easy out. To compound Texas' issues, Alexis Wangmene is out for the remainder of the season due to injury. Myck Kabongo will need to play bigger than he did in his last three games for his team to have a chance. He's only scored 1 point over his last two but he did have 15 assists, 4 rebounds and 4 steals. Any contribution will help immensely to the Longhorns getting closer to a win. For Iowa State look for Melvin Ejim to be the big difference maker in this game. With Texas short on bigs, Ejim will likely be matched up against a guard on D and should be able to take advantage. His teammate Royce White will likely taking up lost of post attention and him being a great passer, expect Ejim to get a lot of buckets in the paint.
And here is where the women are playing today ...
2:30pm Texas Tech vs. Baylor
5:00pm Northeastern vs. George Mason