No. 7 California Golden Bears vs. No. 10 Maryland Terrapins
The no. 10 seeded Maryland Terrapins and the no. 7 seeded California Golden Bears will square of Friday afternoon in what many people are considering the most intriguing game in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. California really struggled down the stretch losing 4 of their last 6 games to close out the season. Maryland was pretty similar losing 4 of their last 7 games as well. However, one of those teams will have the chance to right the ship and get a respectable first round victory and will go on to likely meet the no. 2 seed the Memphis Tigers in round two. Unlike many of the first round match-ups, both of these schools have the potential to score some points. Do not be expected to see a fairly high scoring game in this opener which is something you may not see much of in the first round.
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No. 13 Marquette Golden Eagles at No. 3 Pittsburgh Panthers
The Big East seems to have big game after another and that will be the case again this Wednesday night when no. 3 Pittsburgh host no. 13 Marquette in a battle of conference front runners. The Pittsburgh Panthers are staring at a brutal two game stretch to close out the season. The Panthers not only have to contend with the talented Golden Eagles this Wednesday, but they will turn around and square off with top ranked Connecticut this Saturday. The Golden Eagles have suffered from a brutal two game stretch as they have dropped two straight losses for the first time this season. However, Marquette has come up strong in big games on multiple occasions this season and they will seek a big victory over Pittsburgh on Wednesday.
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No. 5 Oklahoma Sooners at No. 15 Missouri Tigers
The No. 5 Oklahoma Sooners felt the importance of losing their superstar forward Blake Griffin after losing two straight games to both Kansas and Texas. However, Griffin has returned to play and the Sooners will try to get back the swagger they have carried all season. The No. 15 Missouri Tigers are most probably what many consider the surprise team of the conference. The Tigers had a legitimate shot at winning the Big 12 outright before getting blown out by Kansas on Sunday 90-65. However, the Tigers can still deliver another surprising performance if they could find a way to take down Blake Griffin and the Oklahoma Sooners this Wednesday night.
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No. 15 Kansas Jayhawks at No. 8 Missouri Tigers
The battle in the Big 12 is shaping out to be a dandy of a race. The Oklahoma Sooners appeared to be the dominant team in the conference before losing their last two straight games probably caused by the loss of superstar Blake Griffin. The No. 15 Kansas Jayhawks now sit on top of the standings in the conference one game ahead of both Oklahoma and Missouri. The no. 8 Missouri Tigers have kind of quietly sneaked into the picture and are putting together a great season. Missouri has a tough back to back scenario as they host Kansas and then will take the road to play Oklahoma in two games that will determine how the Big 12 regular season title shapes out. The Tigers could get everyone back to two losses in the conference if they could come up with a big win at home against Kansas on Sunday.
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No. 8 Marquette Golden Eagles at No. 6 Louisville Cardinals
The No. 6 Louisville Cardinals are in a tie with Connecticut among the top of the Big East standings after both Marquette and Pittsburgh lost earlier in the week. The Cardinals will need to win their last 3 games and need the Huskies to have some trouble because Connecticut would win the tie breaker due to their head to head win over the Cardinals earlier this season. That may not be much to ask for considering Connecticut still has another match-up with Pittsburgh left on the schedule. Still Louisville must handle their own business as they host a tough Marquette team on Sunday. Marquette could help their own cause and open up a 4 way tie if they could pull of the win over Louisville and get some help from Connecticut as well.
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No. 2 Connecticut Huskies at No. 10 Marquette Golden Eagles
The No. 10 Marquette Golden Eagles will host the no. 2 ranked Connecticut Huskies inside the Bradley Center from Milwaukee this Wednesday night in an epic showdown of Big East front runners. Connecticut lost the nations top ranking from conference rival Pittsburgh last week, but they still have aspirations of winning the Big East regular season title. However, the Golden Eagles of Marquette will be attempting the same task as these two teams are apart of a four way tie atop the Big East standings that feature in four nationally ranked Top 10 teams. Marquette schedules is brutal with no. 1 Pittsburgh and no. 6 Louisville to immediately follow Wednesday’s showdown, but they still have hopes of a regular season title as well.
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North Carolina State Wolfpack at No. 3 North Carolina Tarheels
The No. 3 ranked North Carolina Tarheels will host inner-state rival North Carolina State in Wednesday night hoops action. These two schools have a long history with over 200 plus meetings in their historic rivalry even though the last few years have been dominated by North Carolina. North Carolina State has really had some struggles this season, but they scored a big upset against Wake Forest and they will attempt to do the same against another North Carolina school in the Tarheels. North Carolina on the other hand started off the year very strong before hitting a few bumps in the road. However, since the Tarheels have regained their championship caliber style and appear to be one of the best teams in the country. The Tarheels have had some close encounters with these type of mediocre ACC opponents this year like their close 69-65 win over Miami on Sunday and they will attempt to avoid an embarrassing upsets on their home floor.
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No. 6 Michigan State Spartans at No. 19 Purdue Boilermakers
The battle in the Big Ten will rage on this Tuesday night when the No. 19 Purdue Boilermakers host the No. 6 ranked Michigan State Spartans in a big match-up of top 25 teams. This match-up will play huge importance for each team’s chances at winning the Big Ten outright for the regular season. As the standings sit now, the Spartans hold a two game advantage over Illinois and Purdue. However, a win by Purdue on Tuesday night would put everyone right back together again not to mention these two teams will tangle again in the season finale. Michigan State climbed in the polls this week after much of the top 10 fell and they still have a chance at earning a number 1 seed for the NCAA Tournament if they could close out the year strong.
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No. 4 Pittsburgh Panthers at No. 1 Connecticut Huskies
The biggest game of the Big East Conference basketball season will likely take place on Monday night live from the Gampel Pavilion when the No. 1 Connecticut Huskies host the No. 4 Pittsburgh Panthers. Connecticut not only holds the nations number 1 ranking, but also hold the top spot in the conference. However, the Panthers have won 5 straight games and they were the nation’s former number 1 earlier this season and they will make an attempt to take down the Huskies to get back on top of the Big East standings. The game will be the first of two meetings between these two regular season conference title hopefuls in the last month of the season.
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No. 3 North Carolina at No. 6 Duke Blue Devils
Less than a 10 minute drive up Tobacco Road separates two of the biggest college basketball powerhouses of all-time and also separates the biggest rivalry in college basketball. The Duke Blue Devils and the North Carolina Tarheels own one of the most hated rivalries in all of sports and they will take to the court to do battle again this Wednesday night in Durham, N.C. Both schools rank in the Top 5 in all-time wins in NCAA Basketball and have a combined 7 National Titles among them as well. These two ACC opponents have played in games year after year with Conference and National Title hopes and it has brewed into one of the most exciting college basketball spectacles in the country. The two schools meet up again this Wednesday night in a tie for first place in the ACC in one of the most highly anticipated match-ups of the season when the Duke Blue Devils host the North Carolina Tarheels on Wednesday.
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