In a less than arousing college basketball weekend there’s still, as always, a fair share of story lines presented by Saturday’s slate.

Wichita State will probably continue its undefeated season. Steve Fisher will continue to coach in a time machine. And someone on Kansas is going to baptize someone on West Virginia.

After that, treat yourself to some average basketball and bank on next week being a little more exciting.

No. 15 Texas at Kansas State, 1:30 p.m., ESPN3

It’s an underwhelming weekend of college basketball when a Big 12 matchup featuring an unranked team sneaks its way into the top games. The Longhorns (18-4, 7-2 Big 12) are white hot in conference play, winning their last seven games including four against ranked opponents. Texas recently met Kansas State (15-7, 5-4) on Jan. 21 and beat the then-No. 22 Wildcats 67-64. Don’t expect this one to be as close as that, as the Longhorns are hitting their stride with a formidable combination of staunch rebounding and up-tempo offense.

No. 10 Michigan at No. 17 Iowa, 2 p.m., ESPN

Michigan (17-5, 9-1 Big Ten) was brought back down to earth by Indiana last Sunday, after starting 8-0 in the Big Ten. Then the Wolverines got back on track with a blowout win over Nebraska this week and will look to feast on a stumbling Hawkeyes (17-6, 6-4) squad. Iowa has lost three of its last five games — one of which was against Michigan two weeks ago. The Hawkeyes will have a chance if they slow down play in the half court, but if the Wolverines outshoot them, Nik Stauskas, Glen Robinson III and Caris LeVert will catapult the visiting team to a win.

West Virginia at No. 8 Kansas, 4 p.m., ESPN

Kansas (17-5, 8-1 Big 12) dropped its first conference game to Texas last weekend but hung on to its Top 10 spot. West Virginia (14-9, 6-4) has been shaky since the start of conference play — relying heavily on the scoring duo of Juwan Staten and Eron Harris — and will have to have a lot of things go its way to stick in this one. With Kansas, it really comes down to which Andrew Wiggins, Joel Embiid and Wayne Selden Jr. show up. They’re all going to get their shots, and if they’re hitting, the Jayhawks effortlessly put teams away.

Baylor at No. 21 Oklahoma, 7 p.m., ESPN2

After starting conference play with some signature wins, Oklahoma (17-6, 6-4 Big 12) has sputtered out with two straight losses. The buck doesn’t stop on Saturday against Baylor (14-8, 2-7), a team itching to prove its worth after a miserable start to its league slate. The Bears currently sit ninth in the conference and need to start getting more production out of sophomore Isaiah Austin. The Sooners are a good team for Austin to get back on track against, as they struggle against big men who can stretch the floor.

No. 23 Gonzaga at No. 24 Memphis, 9 p.m., ESPN

I hate reverting to the mid-major spiel, but Gonzaga is making it easy this year. Sure, the Bulldogs (21-3, 11-1 West Coast) are nearly untouched in conference play, but have played too many close games against far inferior opponents and therefore haven’t earned the pedigree of a Top 25 team. Memphis (17-5, 7-3 American Athletic) is in a prime position to boost its strength of schedule in a game that is so randomly placed in both teams’ conference schedules.

Rest of the schedule

Alabama at No. 3 Florida, noon, ESPN

No. 20 Virginia at Georgia Tech, noon, ESPN3

Virginia Tech at No. 25 Pittsburgh, noon, ESPN3

No. 18 Kentucky at Mississippi State, 1:30 p.m., ESPN3

Texas Christian at No. 16 Iowa State, 4 p.m., ESPN3

No. 13 Saint Louis at La Salle, 5 p.m., ESPN2

No. 11 Duke at Boston College, 6 p.m., ESPN

No. 7 Cincinnati at Southern Methodist, 7:30 p.m., ESPNU

No. 4 Wichita State at Northern Iowa, 9 p.m., ESPN2

No. 19 Oklahoma State at Texas Tech, 9:30 p.m., ESPNU

Nevada at No. 5 San Diego State, 10 pm., ESPN3

– compiled by Jesse Dougherty, asst. sports editor, jcdoug01@syr.edu, dougherty_jesse

Published on February 7, 2014 at 12:25 am