No. 9 Oklahoma State at No. 15 Kansas, 4 p.m., CBS

At the beginning of the season, Oklahoma State sophomore guard Marcus Smart was angered by the publicity the incoming freshmen were receiving. One of those freshman was Andrew Wiggins, and Smart will get his chance to prove his worth against the freshman phenom when the Cowboys (15-2, 3-1 Big 12) travel to Lawrence, Kan., to take on the Jayhawks (12-4, 3-0) on Saturday. The Jayhawks also have top freshmen in Joel Embiid and Wayne Selden Jr., and they will test their early season pedigree against a veteran conference foe.

No. 25 Oklahoma at No. 12 Baylor, 2 p.m., ESPN2

Oklahoma has been a big surprise this season, sneaking into the Associated Press Top 25 poll this week. Now the Sooners (13-4, 2-2 Big 12) will look to upset Baylor (13-3, 1-2) in Waco, Texas. The Sooners average the eighth-most points per game (85.8) in the nation, and the Bears’ long, active defense will look to slow down the high-octane attack. Cory Jefferson, who’s averaging 13.2 points and 8.4 rebounds per game for Baylor, is a matchup problem for just about every team, and Saturday should be no different.

Indiana State at No. 5 Wichita State, 4 p.m., ESPN2

Who’s going to stop the Shockers? It’s looking increasingly likely that Wichita State (18-0, 5-0 Missouri Valley) could run the table in a weak mid-major conference. Either way, the Sycamores (14-3, 5-0) will be one of the Shockers’ toughest conference tests. Indiana State has beaten a ranked opponent — then-No. 17 Notre Dame on Nov. 17 — while Wichita State has not, further punctuating a wildly easy schedule. For both teams, the contest will provide a measuring stick for how far they could potentially go this season.

Michigan at No. 3 Wisconsin, 6 p.m., ESPN

When these two teams met on Feb. 9 last season, Wisconsin’s Ben Brust made what was arguably the shot of the college basketball season: a half-court heave that sent the game into overtime in Madison, Wis. Now Michigan (12-4, 4-0 Big Ten) is the underdog after Wisconsin (16-1, 3-1) suffered its first loss of the season to Indiana earlier this week. Like last season, it’s almost a definite that sparks will fly in this one, with sharpshooters Brust and Josh Gasser for the Badgers, and Nik Stauskas and Spike Albrecht for the Wolverines.

No. 18 Louisville at Connecticut, 9 p.m., ESPN

This is the best matchup the newly formed American Athletic Conference has to offer, and with Louisville moving to the ACC next season, it’s one of the last chances to see the two square off as conferences foes. Both teams are coming off big wins on Thursday night: Louisville (15-3, 4-1 American Athletic) throttling Houston 91-52, and Connecticut upsetting No. 17 Memphis 83-73. This matchup is all about guard play, placing the Cardinals’ Russ Smith and Chris Jones against the Huskies’ Shabazz Napier and Ryan Boatright.

–compiled by Jesse Dougherty, asst. sports editor, jcdoug01@syr.edu 

Published on January 17, 2014 at 4:25 am