Yes, it’s College Football Playoff First Round Day, but there’s a surprisingly strong set of college basketball games going on, too.
Yes, yes, yes, I know, college football playoff games today. I’m aware. I am very invested in the idea of watching a home team lose a playoff game in the first year that it is possible to do just that.
HOWEVER
Possibly because ESPN sold two of today’s three games to Turner Sports, there’s a TON of college basketball on national television today. 30 games, stretching from 11am Central (with YOUR Marquette Golden Eagles leading the way on Fox) alllll the way past 11:30pm Central for when the last game of the day will go final.
14 of today’s 30 games have at least one ranked team in action, but just two of them have two ranked teams squaring off, one men’s and one women’s. The men’s game is at 3:30pm, when #16 Purdue takes on #2 Auburn on ESPN in a game that’s in Birmingham for some reason. The women’s game is at 7pm Central, and it gets the big Fox broadcast because it is in fact a star-studded affair. #7 USC and JuJu Watkins head alllll the way to the other end of the country to visit #4 UConn and Paige Bueckers. What’s not to like here?
There are several ranked teams in legitimate road environments today. #5 Duke, #9 Marquette, and #11 UConn all line up on the men’s side of things, all in the 11am CT window, while #9 Duke and the aforementioned #7 USC squad travel on the women’s side.
There’s also the CBS Sports Classic, and while each game in that set does have one ranked team, the other sides of those two games at Madison Square Garden are strug-a-ling. Ohio State and North Carolina are a combined 13-9 on the season, but at least both of them have a shot at a major victory today?
As always, there is a load of games that are streaming only, so if you see something great, shout it out in the comments so everyone can go tune in.
Here’s your full national television schedule for the day!