Friday notes, apologies for yesterday’s absence. Texas needs to follow Iowa’s lead on a certain legal front, if I may advocate on my colleagues’ behalf.
The Good College Basketball Games, as of Now
Everything’s on cancelation watch because of Covid, but games of the most interest this weekend, if they do get played, are:
- North Carolina vs. Kentucky in Las Vegas (5:30 PM EST Saturday, CBS)
- Texas Tech vs. Gonzaga in Phoenix (1:00 PM EST Saturday, CBS)
- Memphis vs. Tennessee in Nashville (12:00 PM EST Saturday, ESPN2)
- West Virginia @ UAB (5:00 PM EST Saturday, CBSSN)
There’s plenty more basketball, but these are noteworthy because:
- UNC and Kentucky are national brands and we don’t have a good read on either yet.
- Texas Tech is poised to be a pain in Gonzaga’s ass after an early wakeup for the Zags.
- Memphis could breathe a lot easier with the upset, Tennessee’s trying to get people to talk about them as a national contender.
- UAB’s one of the best mid-majors in the country this year, but they haven’t played like it when it’s mattered yet. Last nonconference opportunity, they could be one of those 27-5 teams on the bubble if they don’t take care of it.
The Good Bowls
Honestly, the FCS semifinals might be the best football of the weekend. NDSU hosts James Madison tonight, South Dakota State goes to Bozeman to play Montana State tomorrow afternoon. Beyond those, though, the Celebration Bowl could be a riot for Jackson State or a fun prove-it moment for South Carolina State, the Boca Raton Bowl has a pretty good WKU/Appalachian State matchup, ULL/Marshall in New Orleans is similarly fun, and really, there aren’t many clearly bad bowl games this weekend. Even the Bahamas Bowl earlier was a good game throughout.
Iowa State’s Second-to-Last Buy Game
The Cyclones host Southeastern Louisiana on Sunday afternoon. Just gotta take care of business, fellas. Maybe score a few more points than last weekend.
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No viewing schedule for the weekend, but generally, bowls and basketball and then a lazy day Sunday. Have a good one. Be safe. Try to improve your data literacy. It seems we all could stand to do that, based on all sorts of things in the discourse right now (NFL, omicron, etc.).
