Pregame Shootaround 2.6.13: Another B1G battle, Arizona at risk, UNM vs. AFA

Feb 6, 2013, 2:45 PM EDT

Game of the Day: No. 18 Minnesota at No. 12 Michigan State (7:00 p.m. ET, Big Ten Network)

Ho-hum, just another battle of top 20 teams taking place in the Big Ten.

The Spartans will be out for revenge in this one. Back at the start of league play, Tom Izzo’s team went into the Barn and gave the Gophers a fight, but Minnesota used a late 22-4 run to close out MSU and send them back to East Lansing with a 13 point loss. Michigan State has steadily gotten better this season while Minnesota has hit a bit of a rough stretch. They lost four in a row — which, frankly, did include single digit losses to Michigan, Indiana and at Wisconsin — and escaped Iowa at home in a game they probably should have lost.

The Gophers are at their best when they can get to the offensive glass, and that’s one thing that the Spartans are actually pretty good at preventing. With size, strength and athleticism at every position on the floor, this should be a treat for those of you that like physical, hard-nosed hoops. And Andre Hollins vs. Keith Appling won’t be too shabby, either.

Who’s Getting Upset?: Stanford at No. 7 Arizona (9:00 p.m. ET, ESPN3)

Stanford was a team that a lot of people thought had a chance to win the Pac-12 back in the preseason, and over the last three games, they’ve finally started to play that way. Chasson Randle and Aaron Bright have finally started hitting from three after a rough start to the season while Josh Huestis and Dwight Powell look like one of the nation’s more underrated front courts. That said, I’m not as high on Arizona as a lot of people, and it will be interesting to see how the Cardinal combat the presence of Solomon Hill.

Mid-Major Matchup of the Day: No. 16 Creighton at Indiana State (7:05 p.m. ET, ESPN3)

Creighton now owns a two games lead over Wichita State and Indiana State in the Missouri Valley, but with the recent three-game slide by the Shockers, the Sycamores look like they may be the second-best team in the Valley. ISU pushed Creighton the first time these two teams met, and the Bluejays can struggle on the road at times. It should be a dandy.

Five Things to Watch For

1) Air Force and No. 15 New Mexico square off tonight for first place in the Mountain West Conference in what is one of the more intriguing matchups of the year in the league. New Mexico is perennially underrated, while Air Force is rarely even good enough to be “rated”. Andy Glockner wrote about it for SI here, so I won’t go into too much detail. Just tune in. Trust me. (9:00 p.m. ET, ROOT)

2) The Big 12 suddenly looks like it could end up being competitive this season, as Kansas continues to struggle to find a way to score. Tonight, the team with the most raw talent in the league (Baylor) squares off against the team that actually knocked off the Jayhawks (Oklahoma State). (7:00 p.m. ET, ESPN)

3) Four teams are tied for first in the loss column in the A-10: VCU, Butler, St. Louis … and Charlotte? The 49ers, without Demario Mayfield, head to Philly to take on Temple and Khalif Wyatt tonight. (7:00 p.m. ET)

4) San Diego State may be digging themselves into trouble this season as they continue to try and figure out how to operate without a healthy Xavier Thames (back) and Chase Tapley (wrist). Boise State finally has Jeff Elorriaga back. The Broncos are legit. Watch out. (11:00 p.m. ET)

5) Memphis is the team that everyone talks about in Conference USA, but they are currently tied for first place in the league with Southern Miss at 7-0. The Golden Eagles will have one of their tougher road tests of the season tonight as they visit tourney ineligible Central Florida, who will be looking to play the role of spoiler. (7:00 p.m. ET)

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