142 games are on the college basketball schedule for the second-to-last Saturday in February, including a number of strong mid-major matchups. Here are four games on the mid-major slate to keep an eye on.
It’s a completely loaded college basketball slate on deck for the weekend. Kentucky will try to boost its March Madness resumé as it hosts No. 10 Tennessee, Kansas hosts Baylor in a Big 12 showdown, Alabama looks for a bounce-back after a mid-week loss, and much more.
But don’t forget about the mid-majors.
There are going to be some mid-major programs you need to know when they’re put into the field of 68 on Selection Sunday and Saturday, Feb. 18 is a great day to get eyes on several of those teams.
Here’s a look at the best mid-major matchups on the loaded college basketball schedule for Saturday, along with how to catch the action.
College basketball: Best mid-major action for Saturday, Feb. 18
Nevada (20-6) at Utah State (20-7)
8:00 PM ET, CBS Sports Network
A pair of NCAA Tournament hopefuls meet in Logan, Utah Saturday.
ESPN’s Joe Lunardi has the Wolfpack in the field, one of his Last Four Byes. Meanwhile, the Aggies find themselves on the outside looking in; Lunardi has them as Next Four Out. Utah State needs resume-boosting wins fast, and another Quad Two win could help offset some ugly losses come Selection Sunday.
The predictive metrics really like both of these teams. They’re both Top-40 in KenPom and Top-40 in the NET Rankings, but Nevada arguably has the better resume between them.
The Wolfpack boast three Quad One wins and zero Quad Four losses; meanwhile, Utah State hold losses to SMU and Weber St., both Q4 blemishes.
The history of this Mountain West rivalry is littered with great matchups, including their most recent in January. Ryan Odom’s group led for 32 minutes in Reno, but Nevada closed the game on a 19-0 run to win it, 85-70.
Key to Victory: The Aggies are the country’s best three-point shooting team by percentage, with many of their looks stemming from their pace and spacing. Utah St. likes to play fast (an average possession time of 16.8 seconds) which will put pressure on Nevada’s transition defense, something Steve Alford has called “brutal” this season.
If the Wolfpack can force Utah State to operate out of the half-court, Nevada should come out on top.
Louisiana (21-6) at James Madison (19-9)
7:00 PM ET, ESPN+
Keep the fire department on speed dial, because these two could set the nets on fire.
Kidding aside, if you like offense, this is the game for you. JMU leads the Sun Belt in scoring, 19th nationally. The Ragin’ Cajuns aren’t far behind at 26th in the country, having scored 75 or more points nine times during conference play.
Saturday’s tilt has massive implications for the Sun Belt Tournament. The top-four seeds all earn byes, meaning extra rest. Both currently find themselves in that picture, but Scott Cross’ Troy Trojans are nipping at the Dukes’ heels, just a game back of JMU in fifth.
The winner also stays mathematically in play for a top-two seed. Keep in mind, Louisiana holds the head-to-head tiebreak over Marshall, who they’re currently tied for second with.
Key to Victory: In their last 10 games, the Dukes and Ragin’ Cajuns have identical 8-2 records. While their points, rebounds and field goal percentages are all similar during this stretch, one area stands out: three-point shooting.
JMU does have a tendency to fall in love with the three, and it’s cost them; during a three-game losing streak this year, they shot 9/57 from deep. But in their last five games, the Dukes have drilled 45 triples, including 11 against App St.
Perimeter defending has been a struggle for Louisiana this season. Their opponents average 35% from beyond the arc and 38% during conference play, the worst in the league.
If the Dukes can stay hot from long range, they should lock up win number 20.
Fordham (21-5) at VCU (19-7)
2:30 PM ET, USA Network
You know those nature videos of rams headbutting each other repeatedly? That’s probably a good way to describe Saturday’s matchup of Rams (Fordham) at Rams (VCU).
Fordham finds themselves locked in a three-way tie for second in the A10 with Dayton and Saint Louis, who meet later Saturday night. All three are looking up at VCU, who holds just a single-game lead.
In a season full of feel-good stories, Fordham has arguably been the best. The Rams have largely been irrelevant in men’s college basketball…until now. Thanks to a win over Saint Bonaventure this week, Fordham has locked up its first 20-win season since 1990-91.
Just an incredible job by first-year head coach Keith Urgo.
Much like the Sun Belt matchup we highlighted, tournament positioning looms over this game. If Fordham can stay a top-four team in the A10, they’ll earn a bye in the conference tournament.
VCU is a tough out at the Siegel Center. The Rams are 36-9 in their last 45 home games but have lost back-to-back contests.
Key to Victory: Fordham has found success riding its defense this year, which has helped make up for some significant offensive shortcomings. The Rams allow less than 70.0 points per game and thrive off causing turnovers, forcing 14.0 per game and ranking 76th nationally in steals.
In their last three games, Fordham is averaging 14.3 points off turnovers.
One problem, though – VCU doesn’t cough the ball up often. In fact, the Rams have committed just 9.7 turnovers per game in their last five outings and the sixth-fewest in the A10 during conference play.
VCU can also cause a litany of turnovers, an area they lead the A10 in. During the same five-game stretch, they’re forcing an average of 14.0 per game, which could prove troublesome for a Fordham team that has a penchant for giveaways (242nd in turnovers per game).
Couple that with VCU’s improved offense (they’re averaging 72.0 PPG in their last 15 games) and that should give these Rams the edge.
Tulane (16-7) at South Florida (11-15)
8:00 PM ET, ESPNU
The month of February has been very kind to Tulane. Ron Hunter’s Green Wave are undefeated since the calendar flipped and have played themselves right into the conversation in the American, just a game behind Memphis at 9-3.
Must be the Mardi Gras magic.
Led by Jalen Cook and Jaylen Forbes, it’s been an offensive showcase for Tulane all season, averaging the highest clip among American teams (82.2) and shooting 47% from the field, the 45th-highest in the nation.
Those numbers are up from a season ago, which shows just how big of strides this team has made. They’re shooting percentage is up by .026, the free throw percentage has improved by 5% and they’re sharing the ball more, averaging 2.5 more assists.
A tip of the cap to Hunter and his staff for a masterful coaching job in 2022.
The Green Wave can flat-out score, and just like Ricky Bobby, they want to go fast; Tulane averages the eight-fastest possession time in the country according to KenPom. Just in their last three games, they’re averaging 15.4 fast break points, including 16 in the win over Memphis.
As for USF, not much has gone right for the Bulls this season. The Bulls are in the basement of the conference at 4-9 in league play but are riding high after a win against Tulsa this week. USF scored a program-record 96 points in the win and perhaps the biggest news is that Russel Tchewa is back healthy.
The 7-foot center scored a career-best 21 points en route to his fourth-straight double-double.
Key to Victory: This one isn’t so much a key, as much as something to keep an eye on. Over their last five games, four of Tulane’s games have gone into overtime. In each of those four games, Tulane has also had to rally from down at the half just to force the extra session.
The good news for the Green Wave is that they haven’t played in 11 days (the game against ECU was postponed), meaning ample time for rest.
A win Saturday matches Tulane’s conference win total from all of last season.
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