All times are p.m. Eastern. Check out the daily schedule at MattSarzSports.com for a full listing of televised and streaming games.
Games are listed in rough order of importance by window. Leader(s) of single-bid conferences are in bold. All references to NET rankings and records reflect all games played against D1 opposition through Monday, February 24, 2025.
Early Evening ET
(30) Baylor at (46) Cincinnati, 7 (ESPN2)
(4) Florida at (40) Georgia, 7 (SECN)
(2) Duke at (218) Miami, 7 (ESPN)
(87) Providence at (27) Marquette, 7 (FS1)
(31) VCU at (249) Richmond, 7 (CBSSN)
(128) Georgia Tech at (55) Pitt, 7 (ACCN)
(57) Northwestern at (92) Minnesota, 7 (Peacock ($))
(97) Akron at (269) Ball State, 7 (ESPN+ ($))
(142) James Madison at (346) ULM, 7:30 (ESPN+ ($))
While Florida and Duke both face potential trap road games, the bubble and race to avoid being left out of conference tournament play take center stage throughout the evening. Cincinnati, who has beaten BYU, Utah, and TCU in its last three home games, can move closer to the cut line by beating Baylor tonight. Pitt is still hanging around, but losing at home to a Georgia Tech team that shares its 7-9 ACC record won’t help. While both those teams will be heading to Charlotte, the same cannot be said for Northwestern and Minnesota, Despite being in the NET top 60, the Wildcats are currently in 16th place in the Big Ten, one place below the Golden Gophers in 15th—with only the top 15 making the trip to Indy.
Three current (likely) single-bid conference leaders play road games in this window, though VCU is the only one that takes real at-large hopes with them across town to face archrival Richmond. Akron will be looking to rebound from a Saturday loss at Ohio, the Zips’ first MAC defeat of the season, while JMU needs to win to stay a game ahead of Troy (who plays Texas State tonight), Arkansas State, and South Alabama (both of whom next take the floor Wednesday). The top two seeds earn a bye to the semifinals in the Sun Belt’s ladder-formatted tournament, while teams three and four only get a bye to the quarters. So, finishing in a top-two spot has its rewards.
Mid-Evening ET
(28) Mississippi State at (6) Alabama, 9 (ESPN2)
(8) Iowa State at (101) Oklahoma State, 8 (ESPN+ ($))
(95) Washington at (13) Wisconsin, 9 (Peacock ($))
(5) Tennessee at (80) LSU, 9 (SECN)
(24) Louisville at (158) Virginia Tech, 9 (ACCN)
(65) Iowa at (23) Illinois, 9 (FS1)
(74) TCU at (48) West Virginia, 9 (CBSSN)
(89) South Carolina at (15) Missouri, 9 (ESPNU)
(62) Colorado State at (316) Air Force, 9 (Altitude/MWN)
(110) Troy at (199) Texas State, 8 (ESPN+ ($))
Alabama is in a great position to earn a bye to the SEC Tournament quarterfinals, while Mississippi State is actually in danger of dropping down to Wednesday’s eight-team first round at 7-7. It’s a similar story for Tennessee (on track for the top four) and LSU (who is more than likely to be wearing road uniforms on opening day in Nashville). Missouri, however, could very well jump the Vols, though losing the “Battle of the Columbias” at home would make that extremely unlikely. Iowa State and Louisville both face potential trap road games, while Illinois hosts Iowa with the aim of ending a three-game skid before rough final week (at Michigan and Purdue at home). Wisconsin, meanwhile, hosts a Washington team that’s currently 18th in the Big Ten—three spots out of conference tournament qualification. In the Big 12, West Virginia hosts a TCU team that can still make a late push at 15-12 and 8-8 in the league. However, the Horned Frogs really have only one remaining regular-season quality win opportunity left after tonight—at home against Baylor in one week’s time.
Late Evening ET
(10) Gonzaga at (52) Santa Clara, 11 (CBSSN)
(42) New Mexico at (49) San Diego State, 11 (FS1)
(182) Wyoming at (72) Nevada, 10 (NSN/MWN)
On Saturday, Saint Mary’s completed a season sweep of Gonzaga, a result that pushed the Bulldogs closer to the cut line, despite their top 10 NET ranking. Tonight, Santa Clara will also unexpectedly have brooms handy, as the Broncos already won in Spokane, 103-99, back on January 18th. While the Gaels have the No. 1 seed in the WCC Tournament locked up, both the Broncos and San Francisco (who visits fifth-place Oregon State before hosting Gonzaga at Chase Center on Saturday) might be able to knock the Zags into the third or fourth seed, which only comes with a bye to the quarterfinals.
Then there’s San Diego State, which seems destined for the Mountain West Tournament’s 4 vs. 5 quarterfinal. Fresh off a loss to Utah State on Saturday, the Aztecs will aim to avenge a road loss to the Lobos to give the Aggies a share of the conference lead. Of course, Richard Pitino’s squad would still be in the driver’s seat for the 1 seed in Vegas, thanks to a sweep of the Aggies.
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