Author Archives: Joel Hollingsworth

No. 4 Tennessee (NET Rankings) travels to Auburn to take on the No. 19 Tigers tomorrow at noon on ESPN. It’s another opportunity for the Vols to get one of those all-important Quadrant 1 wins.

Here’s a look at the teams’ respective four factors numbers. Spoiler: Every category but one looks even when you put offense versus defense, but Tennessee appears to have an advantage on both ends of the floor in shooting percentage. They need to make sure they outshoot Auburn and keep everything else close to a tie.

Four Factors: Straight-Up

Effective FG%

• Tennessee 55.4 (No. 22) (down from 55.6 (No. 16))
• Auburn 53.9 (No. 51)

Prior opponents:

• Mississippi State 54.6 (No. 36)
• Kentucky 53.6 (No. 59)
• Ole Miss 53.5 (No. 64)
• LSU: 52.7 (No. 93)
• Vanderbilt: 50.3 (No. 198)
• Kentucky: 52.8 (No. 93)

Conclusions: Tennessee’s recent focus on defense has had some marginal negative impact on its offensive effective field goal percentage, but it’s still really, really good. Auburn, meanwhile, is not much different from Tennessee’s last three opponents in this category, meaning they’re not as good as the Vols, but they are still good.

Turnover %

• Tennessee 15.8 (No. 23) (down from 15.6 (No. 20))
• Auburn 18.3 (No. 151)

Prior opponents:

• Mississippi State 19.1 (No. 220)
• Kentucky 18.7 (No. 185)
• Ole Miss 18.7 (No. 172)
• LSU 19.0 (No. 196)
• Vanderbilt: 19.9 (No. 255)
• Kentucky: 18.5 (No. 158)

Conclusions: Different game, same story. Tennessee protects the ball, and its opponent does not.

Offensive Rebound %

• Tennessee 31.2 (No. 90) (up from 30.9 (No. 94))
• Auburn 33.5 (No. 39)

Prior opponents:

• Mississippi State 34.6 (No. 23)
• Kentucky 37.9 (No. 4)
• Ole Miss 31.9 (No. 64)
• LSU 37.4 (No. 6)
• Vanderbilt: 28.6 (No. 178)
• Kentucky: 38.3 (No. 3)

Conclusions: Tennessee is trending in the right direction in OR%, but it’s still not up to the level of its recent competition. Auburn is good at this, but not as good as either Kentucky or LSU. They’re essentially right in between Mississippi State and Ole Miss.

Free Throw Rate

• Tennessee 33.9 (No. 159) (down from 34.1 (No. 155))
• Auburn 30.9 (No. 245)

Prior opponents:

• Mississippi State 33.0 (No. 188)
• Kentucky 42.2 (No. 14)
• Ole Miss 32.8 (No. 200)
• LSU 39.8 (No. 29)
• Vanderbilt: 44.8 (No. 7)
• Kentucky: 41 (No. 22)

Conclusions: Good news. Auburn is allergic to the free throw line. They’re worse at getting there than any of the Vols’ last five opponents.

Those are the straight-up comparisons of the teams’ respective averages in the four factors, but what about the fact that those numbers are impacted in any given game by the opponent?

Four Factors: Opponent impact

Effective FG%

When Tennessee has the ball

Tennessee’s EFG% is 55.4 (No. 22), while Auburn’s defense against that is 50.8 (No. 174).

When Auburn has the ball

The Tigers’ shooting offense is 53.9 (No. 51), while Tennessee’s shooting defense is 46.3 (No. 22).

Conclusions

Auburn’s defense shouldn’t be much of an impediment to Tennessee’s effective field goal percentage, so it will basically just be up to the Vols’ players to get good shots and then hit them. Expect the Vols to shoot well. On the other side of the ball, Auburn’s no slouch in this category, but Tennessee’s defense is equipped to make things more difficult for them than usual.

Turnover %

When Tennessee has the ball

Tennessee’s turnover % is 15.8 (No. 23), which is really, really good. But Auburn is the best team in the nation at forcing turnovers (25.3, No. 1).

When Auburn has the ball

Auburn’s turnover % is not especially good at 18.3 (No. 151), but neither is Tennessee’s turnover defense, which is 18.9 (No. 153).

Conclusions

This is strength-on-strength when Tennessee has the ball and weakness-on-weakness when Auburn has it. Expect the Vols to have a few more turnovers than usual (11.2 average) and Auburn to have about their average of 12.8.

Offensive Rebounding %

When Tennessee has the ball

Tennessee’s OR% is 31.2 (No. 90), while Auburn’s defense in that category is 32.9 (No. 331). This is the biggest advantage for the Vols on offense.

When Auburn has the ball

The Tigers’ OR% is 33.5 (No. 39), while the Vols’ defense in that category is 30.0 (No. 256). And again, this is the biggest advantage of the game for Tennessee’s opponent tomorrow.

Conclusions

Tennessee should have its way on the offensive board tomorrow, but Auburn should do the same on its own end. Tennessee averages 10.10 o-rebounds per game while Auburn averages 12.53. Expect both to get more.

Free Throw Rate

When Tennessee has the ball

Tennessee’s FT Rate is 33.9 (No. 159), while Auburn’s defense against that is 37.7 (No. 286).

When Auburn has the ball

The Tigers’ FT Rate is 30.9 (No. 245), while Tennessee’s defense against that is 34.3 (No. 220).

Conclusions

To me, this looks like we should expect Tennessee to earn a few more trips to the free throw line than usual (20.4) and Auburn to get somewhere around its average of 19.3. Probably not a deciding factor.

Summary and Score Prediction

The numbers suggest that these two teams are close enough to equal in turnovers, offensive rebounding, and free throw attempts to call this an even matchup. If either team tips the scales on any of those three categories, it could decide the game.

Tennessee does seem to have a real advantage in effective field goal percentage, though. The Vols are marginally better shooting the ball than Auburn, plus the Vols’ defense should present more of a problem to Auburn’s offense than vice versa. I expect the Vols to outshoot the Tigers. If they do that and also maintain equilibrium in the other categories, they should come away with the victory. But the game is close enough on paper that if they don’t do both of those things, Auburn will likely win.

The goals for the Vols:

1. Keep the game even in turnovers, offensive rebounding, and free throw rate.
2. Outshoot the Tigers.

KenPom gives Tennessee a 54% chance of winning this one and puts the score at Tennessee 76, Auburn 75.

Go Vols.

Here’s the latest info from the team sheets, updated through the games on Tuesday night and sorted by NET Rankings:

Tennessee is still in the Top 4 despite having their Quadrant 1 win over Mississippi State Tuesday negated by the win at Texas A&M falling from Q1 to Q2 thanks to the Aggies’ loss to South Carolina Tuesday.

Comparing Tennessee’s and Duke’s Q1 resumes

The main curiosity in the Top 4 is why Duke remains ahead of the Vols with a worse overall record and a Q2 loss to boot. Looking at the detail of each team’s Q1 record probably provides the answer.

Tennessee has home wins over No. 5 Kentucky and No. 23 Mississippi State, neutral site wins over No. 1 Gonzaga and No. 24 Louisville, and road wins over No. 34 Florida, No. 37 Ole Miss, and No. 51 Memphis. Their Q1 losses are on the road to No. 5 Kentucky and No. 13 LSU (in overtime), and on a neutral court to No. 18 Kansas (also in overtime).

Duke has only 1 Q1 home win, but it is against No. 2 Virginia. The Blue Devils have neutral site wins over No. 5 Kentucky, No. 10 Texas Tech, and No. 20 Auburn, and they have road wins over No. 2 Virginia, No. 19 Florida State, No. 24 Louisville, and No. 42 Syracuse. Duke’s Q1 losses are on the road to No. 12 Virginia Tech, on a neutral court to No. 1 Gonzaga, and at home to No. 7 North Carolina.

Tennessee really has no bad losses, and the Vols’ best is a neutral-site win over No. 1 and a home win over No. 5. The LSU game would have been a “good” road win, but alas.

Duke has a home loss, but it’s to a No. 7 team. It’s best includes a road win over No. 2, a neutral-site win over No. 5, and a home-win over No. 2. That road win over No. 2 Virginia is probably the difference.

Can Tennessee jump Duke this weekend?

All that said, I wonder if Duke falls below Tennessee even if the Vols beat Auburn and the Blue Devils lose at No. 7 North Carolina this weekend. For them, it’s not a bad loss, but it is another loss. And for the Vols, it wouldn’t be the best win, but it would be a good one. This is where I should put my opinion, but I really have no clue. Regardless, they’ll almost certainly stay ahead of the Vols if they win this weekend, so I’m rooting hard for North Carolina.

Although it’s a legitimate question, I’m not all that concerned about the possibility of the Tar Heels actually jumping the Vols if they beat Duke Saturday. If they win, their Q1 resume would include a win over No. 1 Gonzaga, but it’s a win at home. Their best win would actually be the road victory over Duke. They’ve played No. 2 Virginia, No. 5 Kentucky, and No. 9 Michigan, but they lost all three of those games. The argument would be that Duke swept Virginia and UNC swept Duke, but I just think their overall resume is too far behind the Vols’ to jump Tennessee in one weekend, assuming Tennessee wins.

This weekend, what’s good for the Heels is good for the Vols.

The Tennessee Vols improved their Quadrant 1 record to 8-3 with an impressive 71-54 win over the Mississippi State Bulldogs last night in Thompson-Boling Arena.

The Volunteers were a little sloppier with the ball than usual, but they won decisively in both offensive and defensive effective field goal percentage, and they achieved an important stalemate on the offensive glass.

Effective Field Goal Percentage

We noted in our four-factors preview of this game that both teams were highly-ranked in effective field goal percentage but that Tennessee’s defense would likely have more of an impact on the Bulldogs’ offense than vice versa.

Both teams shot about the same percentage from three (Tennessee 26.1% on 6-23; Mississippi State 25% on 4-16), but the Vols dominated from the field. While shooting 26-61 for 42.6%, Tennessee held the Bulldogs to 19-57 for 33.3%. Tennessee’s season average from the field is 50%, while Mississippi State’s is 46.9%, so the Vols were a little off on offense themselves but did extremely well on defense. They’re now 21st in both offensive and defensive efficiency, according to KenPom.

It was a strong showing in the shooting and shooting defense departments last night for the good guys.

Turnover Percentage

As we expected, Tennessee did get plenty of freebies courtesy of a generous Mississippi State squad, but the Vols were pretty sloppy protecting the ball themselves last night, and it was mostly their own fault.

The Bulldogs gave up 15 turnovers, slightly more than their average of 13.4, but the Vols were all too happy to return the favor. They gave up 17 turnovers, significantly more than their average of 11.2.

It wasn’t the best night for Tennessee in this category, but it didn’t matter.

Offensive Rebounding Percentage

It seems to be a recurring theme that opponents have an advantage on paper over the Vols in offensive rebounding, but that Tennessee makes sure it doesn’t happen when the game is played. The Bulldogs are a really good offensive rebounding team (No. 23 in KenPom), and Tennessee’s season-long numbers at preventing teams from racking up the o-boards are terrible (they’re No. 248).

And yet, the rebounding game last night was essentially a stalemate. The Bulldogs had only one more offensive rebound than Tennessee (16-15), and the Vols had 29 defensive boards to Mississippi State’s 24.

Turning a disadvantage in this category into a stalemate should be considered a resounding victory for the Vols.

Free Throw Rate

The numbers suggested an even contest in this category with both teams getting essentially their season averages for trips to the line. Tennessee shot 22 free attempts (slightly above their average of 20.55), while the Bulldogs shot 17 (slightly below their average of 19.21).

Call this a win for the Volunteers, although it didn’t really appear to be much of a factor either way.

Tennessee’s recent renewed focus on shooting and rebounding defense has been paying dividends lately, and both were key to the dominating victory on Senior Night.

No. 5 Tennessee looks for another Quadrant 1 win tonight as Mississippi State comes to Thompson-Boling. It’s Senior Night, and the game tips at 9:00 ET and is televised on the SEC Network.

Here are the teams’ respective four factors numbers.

Four Factors: Straight-Up

Effective FG%

• Tennessee 55.6 (No. 16) (holding steady at 55.9 (No. 16))
• Mississippi State 54.6 (No. 36)

Prior opponents:

• Kentucky 53.6 (No. 59)
• Ole Miss 53.5 (No. 64)
• LSU: 52.7 (No. 93)
• Vanderbilt: 50.3 (No. 198)
• Kentucky: 52.8 (No. 93)

Conclusions: The Bulldogs have one of the best shooting offenses we’ve seen recently, which is saying something.

Turnover %

• Tennessee 15.6 (No. 20) (up from 15.9 (No. 24))
• Mississippi State 19.1 (No. 220)

Prior opponents:

• Kentucky 18.7 (No. 185)
• Ole Miss 18.7 (No. 172)
• LSU 19.0 (No. 196)
• Vanderbilt: 19.9 (No. 255)
• Kentucky: 18.5 (No. 158)

Conclusions: Oooh, these guys come bearing gifts! We like gifts.

Offensive Rebound %

• Tennessee 30.9 (No. 94) (down from 31.3 (No. 86))
• Mississippi State 34.6 (No. 23)

Prior opponents:

• Kentucky 37.9 (No. 4)
• Ole Miss 31.9 (No. 64)
• LSU 37.4 (No. 6)
• Vanderbilt: 28.6 (No. 178)
• Kentucky: 38.3 (No. 3)

Conclusions: The Bulldogs are better than the Vols at grabbing their own misses, but they’re not as good as either Kentucky or LSU in that department.

Free Throw Rate

• Tennessee 34.1 (No. 155) (down from 34.6 (No. 141))
• Mississippi State 33.0 (No. 188)

Prior opponents:

• Kentucky 42.2 (No. 14)
• Ole Miss 32.8 (No. 200)
• LSU 39.8 (No. 29)
• Vanderbilt: 44.8 (No. 7)
• Kentucky: 41 (No. 22)

Conclusions: This could be a welcome reprieve for the Vols, as the Bulldogs aren’t especially good at getting to the free throw line.

Those are the straight-up comparisons of the teams’ respective averages in the four factors, but what about the fact that those numbers are impacted in any given game by the opponent?

Four Factors: Opponent impact

Effective FG%

When Tennessee has the ball

Tennessee’s EFG% is 55.6 (No. 16), while Mississippi State’s defense against that is 50.1 (No. 145).

When Mississippi State has the ball

The Bulldogs’ shooting offense is 54.6 (No. 36), while Tennessee’s shooting defense is 46.6 (No. 23).

Conclusions

The hope here is that Tennessee will shoot about as well as it usually does and that Tennessee’s defense will impede the Bulldogs more than they’ll impede us.

Turnover %

When Tennessee has the ball

Tennessee’s turnover % is 15.6 (No. 20), while the Bulldogs’ turnover defense is 20.0 (No. 92).

When Mississippi State has the ball

Mississippi State’s turnover % is 19.1 (No. 220), but Tennessee’s turnover defense is only marginally better, at 18.7 (No. 166).

Conclusions

The Vols should have an advantage in the turnovers category. They generally protect the ball well and shouldn’t be troubled too much by the defense. On the other side of the ball, they don’t create many turnovers, but should get plenty of freebies anyway.

Offensive Rebounding %

When Tennessee has the ball

Tennessee’s OR% is 30.9 (No. 94), while Mississippi State’s defense in that category is 29.4 (No. 232).

When Mississippi State has the ball

The Bulldogs’ OR% is 34.6 (No. 23), while the Vols’ defense in that category is 29.8 (No. 248). As usual, this is the biggest advantage of the game for Tennessee’s opponent tonight.

Conclusions

Tennessee should be able to get its share of offensive rebounds, but the biggest threat tonight appears to be Mississippi State on the offensive boards. If the Vols don’t box out and rebound as a defense, this could spell trouble. The Bulldogs shoot very well and could do some real damage against a defense scattered by a missed shot.

Free Throw Rate

When Tennessee has the ball

Tennessee’s FT Rate is 34.1 (No. 155), while Mississippi State’s defense against that is 31.7 (No. 145).

When Mississippi State has the ball

The Bulldogs’ FT Rate is 33.0 (No. 188), while Tennessee’s defense against that is 34.2 (No. 216).

Conclusions

To me, this looks essentially like a stalemate, so I expect both teams to get about their average trips to the free throw line (20.55 for the Vols and 19.21 for the Bulldogs).

Summary and Score Prediction

Both teams sport high-powered, efficient-shooting offenses, but the Vols’ shooting defense should have more of an impact on the Bulldogs than vice versa. Tennessee also has an advantage in protecting the ball.

The danger for the Vols comes after Mississippi State misses shots. The Bulldogs are good at getting offensive rebounds, and Tennessee’s not especially well-equipped to keep them from doing it. Plus, I wonder if it’s more difficult to defend against good shooting teams after they get offensive rebounds when the defense is out of position.

The goals for the Vols:

1. Make the most of their advantage in efficient shooting percentage.
2. Box out. Get the rebound.
3. When the Bulldogs get an offensive rebound, get back into proper defensive position quickly.

KenPom gives Tennessee a 78% chance of winning this one and puts the score at Tennessee 79, Mississippi State 71.

Go Vols.

Here’s our list of games worth watching this week, specifically curated for fans of the Tennessee Volunteers.

Monday

Tonight we’re rooting for Syracuse over Virginia.

Tuesday

The first order of business Tuesday is the Vols taking care of business at home against Mississippi State at 9:00 on the SEC Network.

But we’re also rooting for Duke, Michigan State, North Carolina, and Kentucky to all lose. Kansas can win.

Wednesday

On Wednesday, we want Florida to beat LSU.

Thursday

Root for SMU to upset Houston Thursday night.

Full college basketball TV schedule

And here is the full searchable college basketball TV schedule for this week:

After adding two more Quadrant 1 wins to their resume this past week, the Tennessee Volunteers moved from No. 7 to No. 4 in the all-important NET Rankings.

Here’s the summary version of the team sheets for the Top 8 teams in the most current NET Rankings (games through Saturday, March 2, 2019)

Comparing to last week, Tennessee’s Q1 record changed from 5-3 to 7-3. The only other team in the current Top 8 to improve its Q1 record was UNC, which went from 7-5 to 8-5 by beating Clemson.

Meanwhile, Kentucky took another Q1 loss and went from 9-3 to 9-4 (hi!). Duke and Houston also each took another Q1 loss, the Blue Devils going from 8-2 to 8-3 and Houston going from 4-1 to 4-2. Michigan State took a double hit, going from 11-3 to 10-4, meaning they not only lost to Indiana, they lost a Q1 win to Q2 due to Iowa losing the NET Ranking that used to qualify it as a Q1 team.

Gonzaga and Virginia both kept the same Q1 record they had last week.

That’s a pretty good week for Tennessee. They can’t be that far behind Duke, which has one more Q1 win but also one Q2 loss to the Vols’ none. Blame the efficiency numbers and the computers that love them there.

Opportunities moving forward

Tennessee still has two additional Q1 opportunities to go in the remainder of the regular season. They host Mississippi State tomorrow and travel to Auburn Saturday.

Virginia is the only other team in the current Top 8 that has two more regular-season Q1 opportunities (Louisville and at Syracuse). Go Cards and Orange.

Kentucky has one left (at Ole Miss), Houston has one left (at Cincinnati), and Duke and North Carolina play each other. Go Heels.

Gonzaga is done for the regular season already, and the Bulldogs just have to hope that everyone else blows their opportunities this week. The only thing that can explain them being ahead of Virginia right now is that they’ve played more games, and now that they’re done, their hold on the No. 1 spot is in jeopardy.

Virginia could finish with an 11-2 (or 11-4) Q1 record. Duke and Tennessee could both finish 9-3. You still have the conference tournaments, of course, but you would have to think that all three of those records would beat out Gonzaga’s regular-season 4-2.

Meanwhile, the Bracket Matrix still has Tennessee as the first No. 2 seed, behind Kentucky. I expect that to change once everybody updates.

The Vols still need to take care of business this week against Mississippi State and Auburn, but they have a real opportunity in front of them. And if Virginia stumbles and UNC beats Duke, things could get really interesting in the conference tournaments.

Nearly two weeks ago, the Kentucky Wildcats beat the Tennessee Volunteers 86-69 in Lexington, and while most everyone else immediately commenced the meltdown, Will simply posed the question of whether the Vols had been educated or exposed by the experience.

A listless performance against the SEC’s worst team, a two-point loss to LSU, and a two-point win over Ole Miss later, and the growing consensus was a rousing and all caps EXPOSED, never mind the fact that the level of competition had increased significantly.

Today’s rematch with Kentucky in Thompson-Boling ended with a 71-52 win for the Vols and a vote of confidence for those in the “educated” camp. Tennessee today looked again like the team that blew through January and February without even trying, and they did it against a rival that was also a legitimate threat to earn a much-coveted 1-seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Jordan Bone was flawless, scoring a career-high 27 points, many of them at key moments when the cornered Wildcats hissed something about coming back and making it a game. Bone just tossed them around by the scruff of the neck, going 11-15 from the field and a perfect 5-5 from the arc, and he added three rebounds, three assists, and two steals just for good measure.

Not shown in the box score is the fact that Bone owns the keys to this offense. He may loan them to Grant Williams regularly, but Bone is the guy that makes this thing go. When he’s at his best, Tennessee’s offense is unstoppable.

Speaking of Williams, he, too, was a major factor in this game. His stat line: 24 points on 7-13 shooting from the field and 2-4 shooting from three, 8-11 from the free throw line, 7 boards, 2 assists, and a steal.

The best news for Tennessee and its fans may be that the game was won with a defensive effort we haven’t seen much this year.

The Vols’ offense looked like it just got unstuck from the mud, and the buys shot better against the ‘Cats this time both from the field and from the arc. But the real story is the impact the defense had on Kentucky’s shooting percentages this time around.

In the first meeting this season, Kentucky shot 54.7% from the field and 38.5% from the arc. Today? Only 31.8% from the field and 26.3% from three. That’s a huge difference, enough to negate a continued advantage for the Wildcats in free throw and still provide a 19-point cushion.

Credit everybody involved, including whoever came up with the gameplan for Kentucky’s P.J. Washington. In the first game, Washington had 23 points, but today the Vols held him to 13. Somebody figured out that he is allergic to the baseline, and the post defenders played him high, taking the middle away as an option and forcing him into help where he made bad decisions.

Despite the payback win, there are still some concerns and opportunities for improvement for the Vols. Three-point shooting is still an issue, as Lamonte Turner and Admiral Schofield were a combined 0-10 from the arc. Whether that’s shot selection (probably) or something else, they need to start hitting those or stop taking as many of them. Jordan Bowden — also in a recent three-point shooting slump — did hit 1 of 3 attempts. All of those guys had good games otherwise, but missing shots from three too often is becoming an ongoing concern.

Also, much like Schofield did earlier in the season, Kyle Alexander has now struggled for several games in a row. It’s getting to the point where it looks like John Fulkerson is being more productive, and might be what led Rick Barnes to starting Derrick Walker in the second half.

In addition to those two things, 29 free throw attempts for your opponent (to your own 14) is a very dangerous thing to keep playing around with.

But this was not only a huge Quadrant 1 win for the Tennessee Volunteers, it was a definitive answer to the question of whether the earlier loss to Kentucky was a hard bump against a low ceiling or merely an educational experience.

We have our answer, and now we get to see how far it can take us.

It’s Gameday on Rocky Top, with No. 7 Tennessee (25-3, 13-2) hosting No. 4 Kentucky (24-4, 13-2).

Here’s the Gameday Gameplan for Vols fans. Where and when to find the Vols game on TV, what other games to watch, and what to listen to and read as you wait for kickoff.

When is the Vols game, and what TV channel is it on?

Here are the particulars for today’s Tennessee game:

• Tipoff: 2:00
• TV: CBS
• Official video streaming: CBS
• Official audio streaming: Vol Network
• Live stats

The best other games for Vols fans to watch today

Here’s our list of games to watch today and tomorrow, curated just for Vols fans:

And here’s the complete list of this weekend’s games in case you’re looking for something else:

GRT game-week audio

Here’s Will’s regular Friday appearance with Josh Ward and Will West on WNML’s Sports 180:

Pre-game prep

And in case you missed any of it, here’s some additional reading material to get you game-ready:

• All Roads Lead Through Kentucky
• Tennessee-Kentucky four-factors preview: Defend better, shoot much better
• Tennessee 73, Ole Miss 71: four-factors review
• Vols need to make the most of their upcoming Quadrant 1 opportunities

Here’s our list of games worth watching this weekend, specifically curated for fans of the Tennessee Volunteers.

Saturday

The only game that really matters to Vols fans today, of course, is the Tennessee-Kentucky game at 2:00 on CBS.

No. 2 Virginia is on at the same time, and it would be cool if Tennessee won and Virginia lost, but the Cabs aren’t likely to lose to Pittsburgh.

In the noon slate, we’re rooting for Kansas to win, but for Michigan State and LSU to both lose.

In the evening slot, we’d like to see any or all of Duke, North Carolina, and Houston to lose. And hey, if Gonzaga wants to go down to St. Mary’s while we’re sleeping, we’ll give a good woo in the morning.

Sunday

The only game worth watching tomorrow is No. 9 Michigan vs. No. 17 Maryland. Go Terps.

Full college basketball TV schedule

And here is the full searchable college basketball TV schedule for this weekend: