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Tuesday’s Pregame Shootaround: Kansas heads to Florida, Boise State visits Kentucky

Wichita State v Gonzaga

SALT LAKE CITY, UT - MARCH 23: Head coach Mark Few of the Gonzaga Bulldogs calls a play in the first half while taking on the Wichita State Shockers during the third round of the 2013 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at EnergySolutions Arena on March 23, 2013 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

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GAME OF THE DAY: No. 13 Kansas at No. 19 Florida, 7:00 p.m. ET

I wonder how long it’s going to be before Bill Self regrets the schedule that he put together for this Kansas team? Three days ago, the Jayhawks were in Colorado, where they lost to the Buffaloes on a buzzer-beater by Askia Booker. They’ll return to Lawrence where they’ll get New Mexico on Saturday, following that up with home games against Georgetown, undefeated Toledo and San Diego State. Then they kick off Big 12 play. That’s as strong as it gets, and it comes at a time when Kansas is still trying to figure out who they are.

As far as tonight’s game, there are really three things I’m looking forward to seeing:


  • Can Andrew Wiggins build on the performance that he had on Saturday? Kansas lost, but it was the first time that Wiggins actually looked like Wiggins.
  • What will Joel Embiid do going up against Florida’s massive front line?
  • Scottie Wilbekin and Kasey Hill are both cleared to play tonight. It will be the first time that the two of them are both eligible and healthy at the same time. How good will they be? They are the difference between Florida being good and Florida being a legitimate contender.

WHO’S GETTING UPSET?: No. 20 Gonzaga at West Virginia, 9:00 p.m. ET

The Zags are going to be an interesting team to watch this season, as they are one of the most potent offensive teams in the country. But can they guard? West Virginia has a pretty good offensive team, particularly in their back court, where Eron Harris and Juwan Staten have been awesome. How will Kevin Pangos and David Stockton matchup with those two?

MID-MAJOR GAME OF THE DAY: Green Bay at Eastern Michigan, 7:00 p.m. ET

Green Bay is a really good team this season. They almost beat Wisconsin at home. They did beat Virginia at home. Kiefer Sykes in one of the nation’s best-kept secrets, and Alec Brown is a legitimate NBA prospect. That said, Eastern Michigan has a couple of high-major transfers, some length and athleticism and a coach that learned how to play a 2-3 zone under Jim Boeheim. Should be a good one.

FIVE THINGS TO KNOW

1) No. 11 Kentucky will be hosting Boise State, who needed to take a bus from Chicago to Lexington after a connecting flight got cancelled. The Broncos are one of the nation’s best three-point shooting teams. They get up and down the floor. They’ll make it hard for Kentucky to guard them. But they won’t have an answer for UK’s size inside.

2) Indiana will host the Oakland Fighting Travis Baders tonight. The irony: Indiana desperately needs some three-point shooting. If this was the NBA, they’d give up a recruit to be named later for Bader.

3) Cal will be looking to bounce back from a loss to UCSB by hosting Nevada tonight. The best individual matchup of the day will be Deonte Burton vs. Justin Cobbs.

4) Evansville squares off with Xavier tonight. The Muskies have not been impressive this season.

5) Minnesota hosts South Dakota State tonight in a game that would have been a lot more interesting if Nate Wolters hadn’t graduated.