***** – quit your job and divorce your wife if that’s what it takes to watch this game live
**** – best watched live, but if you must, tivo and watch it tonight as soon as you get home
*** – set your tivo but make sure you watch it later
** – set your tivo but we’ll forgive you if it stays in the queue until 2012
* – don’t waste bandwidth (yours or the tivo’s) of any kind on this game
#13 Georgetown @ #7 West Virginia – 7 pm on ESPN (****)
Both of these teams look like they peaked at the wrong time this year. Georgetown has lost three of their last four games, and hasn’t put a three-game winning streak together since the turn of the year. West Virginia has fared a little better, but they are playing .500 ball over the last three weeks. Perhaps one of the reasons the Mountaineers have struggled of late is the play of Da’Sean Butler, whose point totals have gone down in each of the last five games. Nevertheless, WVU still ranks third in the Big East standings and both of these teams are capable of making a run in the next few weeks. Tonight’s matchup should be a great chance for Butler to get back on track against a Georgetown defense that ranks #43 in efficiency. The Hoyas have a solid offense, but if leading scorer Austin Freeman is still limited by the flu, they will depend on guards Chris Wright and Jason Clark to pick up the slack. Georgetown shoots 50% from the field on the season, so they have the weapons to deal with it. With the game in front of a tough Morgantown crowd, Freeman’s sickness may be too much for the Hoyas to overcome tonight.
Oklahoma @ #21 Texas – 9 pm on ESPN (*)
Much like the Hoyas and Mountaineers, both of these teams are reeling heading into March. Oklahoma has lost six consecutive games, and Texas has still not been able to recover from their first loss of the season. After a performance against Texas A&M in which they shot below 37%, they will likely finish outside the top 25. Oklahoma’s last win was February 6, but it came in a dominating effort against the Longhorns at home. Texas never led the entire game, and the Sooners shot almost 42% from the three-point line. With a sprained ankle and case of mononucleosis, Willie Warren will likely not play in tonight’s game, but that may not be such a bad thing for the Sooners. He is their leading scorer on the year, but he was benched earlier in the season and Sports Illustrated named him the most disappointing player in the country. On paper, Texas should dominate this game. They are one of the best rebounding teams in the country and are going up against a smaller Oklahoma lineup. The Longhorns have a solid defense, while Oklahoma’s offense fails to rank in the top 50 in the country and their defense ranks #169 in efficiency. Oklahoma looked strong against the Longhorns in their last game, but don’t expect the Sooners to break their losing streak on the road.