Pregame Shootaround 1.31.13: Arizona, Butler with tough road tests

Game of the Day: No. 8 Arizona at Washington (9:00 p.m. ET, ESPN)

After starting out Pac-12 play 4-0, Washington has dropped three straight games and found themselves two back of conference leader Oregon. The Huskies record, while far from impressive and including a loss to Utah, may be a bit inflated as well; five of their 11 remaining league games will come against UCLA, Arizona and Oregon. But if you’re a Washington fan, that’s a good thing. Because right now, the Huskies are not an NCAA tournament team, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have a chance of playing their way in. Beating Arizona at home is a good place to start.

As far as the Wildcats are concerned, I don’t think I’m alone in trying to figure out just how good this team truly is. I like Solomon Hill and Kevin Parrom. I think Nick Johnson and Mark Lyons make up a solid back court. There is potential in the Wildcat front court. But when it’s all put together, I’m just not sure I see one of the top ten teams in the country.

Sean Miller has never won at Washington as the head coach at Arizona. Can he change that tonight?

Who’s Getting Upset?: No. 9 Butler at St. Louis (9:00 p.m. ET, CBS Sports Net)

Butler has Rotnei Clarke back and St. Louis now has Kwamaine Mitchell healthy and playing well, which means that this should be just as good of a game as we all expected it to be back in October. Butler is sitting all alone atop the Atlantic 10 standings with a half-game lead on what feels like two-thirds of the conference. St. Louis is looking to makeup for losing to Rhode Island at home earlier this month. Will the Billikens be able to defend Butler’s perimeter attack well enough to get the win at home?

Mid-Major Matchup of the Day: Drexel at George Mason (7:00 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Net)

Drexel has been one of the most disappointing teams in the country, and while some of that is the result of bad luck on the injury front, they also simply haven’t played up to their potential this season. Neither has George Mason, for that matter, which is what makes this game so interesting. This was one of the best games of the CAA season when the schedule game out, and a tough start to the year doesn’t necessarily change that.

Five Things to Watch For

1) Illinois visits No. 13 Michigan State tonight. (7:00 p.m. ET, ESPN) Their next three games? Wisconsin, Indiana and at Minnesota. They still have roadies to Michigan and Ohio State. They’re 2-5 in the Big Ten right now. They need to turn this thing around, and quickly.

2) It’s been seven years since UConn has won at Providence. That’s not a long time considering it’s been 32 years since Dayton has won at Xavier, but considering how good UConn has been and how bad Providence has been, that’s a rather incredible number. (7:00 p.m. ET, ESPN2)

3) First place in the MAAC is on the line as Iona and Niagara square off at Niagara. (7:00 p.m. ET, ESPN3)

4) Loyola Marymount has struggled this season, but Anthony Ireland is one of the best point guards on the west coast. He’ll be on ESPN2 tonight at 11:00 p.m. ET squaring off with Gonzaga.

5) We wrote about Jahii Carson today. He plays tonight at Washington State. If you haven’t watched him yet this year, he can do things like this. Might wanna tune in. (11:00 p.m. ET, Pac-12 Net)

The Top 25

• No. 7 Gonzaga at Loyola Marymount (11:00 p.m. ET, ESPN2)
• No. 8 Arizona at Washington (9:00 p.m. ET, ESPN)
• No. 9 Butler at St. Louis (9:00 p.m. ET, CBS Sports Net)
• Illinois at No. 13 Michigan State (7:00 p.m. ET, ESPN)

Other Notable Games

• Stetson at Jacksonville (7:00 p.m. ET)
• Middle Tennessee State at Florida International (7:30 p.m. ET)
• Morehead State at Belmont (8:00 p.m. ET)
• Arkansas at Alabama (9:00 p.m. ET, ESPN3)

You can find Rob on twitter @RobDauster.