Tale of the tape

NCAA Basketball

1. 
   Big East Battle: #16 Pittsburgh At #18 Marquette

   After a weak nonconference slate, Pitt started 1-3 in the Big East. Jamie Dixon’s squad is 7-1 since and has a week to prepare for Marquette.

2. 
   Bulldogs Try Not To Get Chomped In The Swamp: Mississippi State At #2 Florida

   Rick Ray is in his first year as a head coach. He was most recently an assistant at Clemson. He inherited a team that returned just two contributors from a group that greatly underachieved last year.

3. 
   Tornado Alley Showdown: #5 Kansas At Oklahoma

   Bill Self will try to do something on Saturday he hasn’t had to do in 264 games, dating back to January 2006: stop a losing streak. The Jayhawks’ streak of not losing two in a row came to an end on Wednesday when they were shocked—an understatement—by TCU.

4. 
   Catholic School Showdown: Fordham At La Salle

   There are small signs of progress at Fordham under Tom Pecora, now in his third year. But the Rams are still buried in the Atlantic 10 basement and are just 6-17 overall.

5. 
   Battle On The Frontier: #11 Louisville At #25 Notre Dame

   Rick Pitino has more than 600 wins as a college head coach, has been to six Final Fours, and won a national championship. His current Louisville squad is capable of returning to the Final Four for the second straight year.

6. 
   Battle In The Land Of The Lakes: #3 Michigan At Wisconsin

   John Beilein has won at every stop in his long career, and Michigan’s current freshman class—Glenn Robinson III, Mitch McGary, and Nik Stauskas, to name three—have hushed any doubts about his ability to recruit at a top level.