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College basketball games of the week: In-state rivalries on tap

By Mike Phillips

LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY - DECEMBER 03: Jordan Nwora #33 of the Louisville Cardinals celebrates during the 58-43 win against the Michigan Wolverines at KFC YUM! Center on December 03, 2019 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY - DECEMBER 03: Jordan Nwora #33 of the Louisville Cardinals celebrates during the 58-43 win against the Michigan Wolverines at KFC YUM! Center on December 03, 2019 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /
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Anyone can beat anyone in college basketball this year, meaning this week’s slate of action has the potential to be very intriguing.

College basketball is usually very wacky, but this year has been even more chaotic than usual. As upsets take down top team after top team, there is no presumptive favorite to win it all, simply a bunch of very good teams yet to separate themselves from the rest of the pack.

This is great news for those fans of the college basketball regular season since each and every game takes on added significance in a year like this. That holds true in this week’s action, which features several more marquee non-conference matchups, including the nation’s current top team in Louisville.

Jimmy V Classic: Texas Tech (5-3) vs. Louisville (9-0)-Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. ET on ESPN

The Jimmy V Classic should be a good one as No. 1 Louisville gets a stern test against Chris Beard’s Texas Tech squad. This game means more to the Red Raiders, who enter the game on a three-game losing streak, with the last loss coming in overtime against DePaul.

Butler (9-0) at Baylor (7-1)-Tuesday at 9:00 p.m. ET on ESPN2

One of the bigger surprises of the season is 9-0 Butler who is coming off a convincing win vs. Florida over the weekend. The Bulldogs hit the road to take on Baylor, which has looked like a stealthy Final Four candidate with wins over Villanova and Arizona.

Oregon (7-2) at Michigan (8-1) – Saturday at 12:00 p.m. ET on CBS

This game is fascinating because it’s another opportunity for a pair of early-season surprises to build their resumes. Oregon, which has already toppled good Memphis and Seton Hall squads, heads to Ann Arbor for a matchup with Juwan Howard‘s Wolverines, who made an unprecedented leap from being unranked to in the Top-5 of the polls by beating Gonzaga and North Carolina at the Battle 4 Atlantis.

Memphis (8-1) at Tennessee (7-1) – Saturday at 3:00 p.m. ET on ESPN

Not having James Wiseman hasn’t been much of a problem for Memphis who has won six straight games, albeit against inferior competition. The Tigers will step up in weight class to take on their in-state rivals, the Volunteers, who have exceeded expectations following the departures of Grant Williams, Admiral Schofield, and Jordan Bone off last year’s No. 2.

Gonzaga (10-1) at Arizona (9-1) – Saturday at 10:00 p.m. ET on ESPN2

West Coast basketball doesn’t get nearly enough attention, but this one should get your Saturday attention with no college football on. Gonzaga is always a threat to go deep in the NCAA Tournament while Arizona looks ready to regain Pac-12 supremacy behind star freshmen Nico Mannion and Zeke Nnaji, who leads the team with 16.6 points per game.

Mid-Major Game of the Week: Louisiana (5-4) at Louisiana Tech (6-3)-Saturday at 5:00 p.m. ET on CUSA.TV

This week’s mid-major spotlight brings us down to a showdown between in-state rivals. The team to watch here is Louisiana Tech, one of the favorites in Conference USA, and their high-powered offense that averages nearly 80 points per game.

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