CBS Sports Classic 2014: Teams, Schedule, Live Stream, TV Info
Saturday may be the first day of college football’s bowl season, but its basketball counterpart is doing its best to divert some of that attention to the hardwood at the CBS Sports Classic.
Only seven programs in the history of college basketball have made double-digit Final Fours, and four of them will be in Chicago in Kentucky, UCLA, North Carolina and Ohio State. The Buckeyes and Tar Heels will face off in the first game, while the Wildcats and Bruins square off in the second.
Here is a look at the schedule and broadcast information for the two showdowns.
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*All stats are as of Friday, Dec. 19. Ken Pomeroy's rankings can be found here.
Ohio State vs. North Carolina
Date: Saturday, Dec. 20
Time: 1 p.m. ET
TV Info: CBS
Live Stream: CBSSports.com
Preview
Both North Carolina and Ohio State need a marquee win to put on their NCAA tournament resumes.
The Tar Heels do have victories over UCLA and Florida, but both of those teams have disappointed thus far. In their other games of note, they lost to Butler, Iowa and Kentucky. As for the Buckeyes, their best win came against a decidedly mediocre Marquette squad, and they lost on the road to Louisville.
North Carolina’s biggest advantage in this one will be on the inside, where it is fourth in the nation in total rebounds per game thanks to Kennedy Meeks and Brice Johnson. What’s more, the Tar Heels are No. 16 in Pomeroy’s pace-adjusted defensive efficiency rankings largely because of their ability to prevent easy second-chance opportunities.
North Carolina is going to need that defense because the team is once again struggling from deep at 28.9 percent from three-point range. Superstar Marcus Paige is only shooting 34.8 percent from the field and has not played up to his capabilities in the team’s three losses.
In fact, Paige only shot 14-for-44 from the field in those three defeats, which means Shannon Scott’s pressure defense on the North Carolina point guard could determine the outcome of the game.
The Buckeyes will counter with star freshman D’Angelo Russell, who is averaging 18 points, 5.2 assists, 4.4 rebounds and 1.7 steals per game behind a 47.8 percent shooting clip from the field and 43.1 percent mark from three-point range.
Eamonn Brennan of ESPN.com discussed Russell’s impact:
"Russell was a highly touted perimeter scorer when he arrived in Columbus, Ohio, this summer, but no one knew he was going to be this good, this savvy or this versatile. Russell, a lefty, is at his best attacking with the ball in his hands.
His ability to find angles off the dribble -- splitting screens, pushing into the defense, whipping passes to open teammates, stepping back for 3s -- has revitalized Ohio State's offense, transforming a group that finished 128th in adjusted efficiency last season and now ranks 22nd.
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The Tar Heels will likely use J.P. Tokoto on Russell, but the entire Ohio State offense is clicking by almost any metric you look at this season.
The Buckeyes are 10th in the nation in points per game, 13th in assists per game and third in the nation in field-goal percentage. Sure, a large part of that is due to the weak schedule against the likes of High Point, Campbell and James Madison, among others, but Thad Matta has plenty of athleticism and depth at his disposal this season.
Outside of Russell, Scott is averaging 7.8 assists a game and Marc Loving and Sam Thompson are scoring in double figures on the wings.
If the Buckeyes can push the tempo, it could neutralize North Carolina’s half-court defense and strong rebounding. Paige is still a superstar despite his early-season struggles, but Ohio State has more depth on the wings and in the backcourt. It needs to use that depth and athleticism if it wants to pick up a marquee nonconference win.
UCLA vs. Kentucky
Date: Saturday, Dec. 20
Time: 3:30 p.m.
TV Info: CBS
Live Stream: CBSSports.com
Preview
UCLA and Kentucky are arguably the two best programs in the history of the sport, but one team is much better than the other this season.
UCLA does have some talent, but it lost to the three teams of note on its schedule by double digits (Oklahoma by 10, North Carolina by 22 and Gonzaga by 13). For context, Kentucky destroyed that same North Carolina team that crushed UCLA.
The Bruins are impressive on offense and check in at No. 19 in the nation in points per game and No. 28 in Pomeroy’s offensive rankings. Bryce Alford leads the way as the primary ball-handler and scoring option with 18 points and 6.7 assists a night, but UCLA’s big-man combination of Tony Parker and Kevon Looney could give the Wildcats some issues.
The Bruins are 10th in the nation in total rebounds per game, largely because Looney and Parker combine for 19.1 boards a night. Throw in guard Norman Powell, who averages 17.4 points a game behind 46.7 percent shooting from three-point range, and the Bruins have a solid starting lineup.
John Calipari talked about Alford in particular leading up to the matchup, via Kyle Tucker of The Courier-Journal:
"Well, he's (averaging) 17 and 7. There's no other guard in the country averaging 17 points and seven assists. He's one of those guys – and there's not many in the country – that can take over a game and change the complexion of a game within a minute and a half. And the reason is he can pull up from anywhere, he makes free throws, he can get you in foul trouble, his three off the bounce, off the catch, very, very skilled and a great passer.
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The problem for UCLA is the depth. It features four players averaging 31 minutes or more a night, while Thomas Welsh is sixth on the team with 14.6 minutes per night. There is certainly a significant drop off from the starting lineup to the bench in terms of talent and on-court action.
The other issue for the Bruins against mighty Kentucky is the defense.
The Bruins are 86th in Pomeroy’s defensive ratings and a whopping 278th in the country in points allowed per game. That is a major concern considering the Wildcats are basically bringing an NBA team to the Windy City.
UCLA had difficulty preventing UAB and Montana State from scoring, so best of luck stopping Willie Cauley-Stein, Aaron Harrison, Andrew Harrison, Dakari Johnson, Devin Booker, Karl-Anthony Towns, Trey Lyles, Marcus Less and Tyler Ulis.
The Wildcats have elite talent at every level on the floor and bring the fourth-best offense and second-best defense in the nation, per Pomeroy.
Scoring will not be a problem against UCLA, and the Wildcats' length and athleticism all over the floor will prevent the Bruins from keeping up on the other end. That is not a promising combination for a UCLA squad trying to prove it is for real this season.
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