Huge College Hoops Tuesday, NBA Showdowns, and More to Watch This Week

It's Super Bowl week! But the big game is not until Sunday, so for the next few days, you can turn your attention to the hardwood, where college and pro showdowns dominate what could turn out to be an incredible sports week.

Must Watch: College Hoops Super Tuesday

By the end of this week, we'll be in February, leaving college basketball's magical month of March just 28 days away. And this Tuesday offers some great games featuring teams that figure to play well into March Madness. (All times Eastern)

No. 1 Tennessee at South Carolina, 6:30 p.m., SEC Network (Game Center)

Another conference road trip for the Vols after reaching the top ranking, with a game against a Frank Martin-coached team—never easy.

No. 3 Virginia at No. 23 NC State, 7 p.m., ESPN2 (Game Center)

The ACC is rounding into its standard winter gauntlet, as the Cavaliers head to Raleigh to take on the Wolfpack, who on Saturday vs. Clemson trailed by 6 points with 19 seconds to play and then did this: 

No. 11 Kansas at Texas, 7 p.m., ESPN (Game Center)

Both of these teams will have spent Sunday licking their wounds after road losses in the SEC-Big 12 Challenge to Kentucky and Georgia, respectively, so each needs a bounce-back win. Even though the Jayhawks sit in first place in the conference, they've been a little vulnerable so far, and Texas is only two games back in the standings.

No. 9 North Carolina at Georgia Tech, 7 p.m., WatchESPN (Game Center)

Despite sitting in the middle of the ACC pack, Georgia Tech gave Duke everything it could handle over the weekend. So the Tar Heels should be on high alert for their trip to Atlanta, both because of the potential upset and the Super Bowl-week traffic.

Ohio State at No. 5 Michigan, 9 p.m., ESPN2 (Game Center)

The Buckeyes aren't ranked and don't seem to be a threat to the Wolverines or Spartans at the top of the Big Ten. But it's Ohio State-Michigan, there'll be plenty of intensity.

No. 7 Kentucky at Vanderbilt, 9 p.m., ESPN (Game Center)

Similar to the Yellow Jackets, the Commodores gave Tennessee everything it could handle last week and more, falling narrowly to the Vols in overtime. Vandy gets another shot at a big home upset against Kentucky, who, after defeating Kansas on Saturday for its third-straight win over a ranked opponent and sixth overall, might be the hottest team in the country.

No. 8 Nevada at UNLV, 11 p.m., ESPN2 (Game Center)

Nevada has only one loss all season but is still just one full game ahead of the Runnin' Rebels in the Mountain West race. The Wolf Pack, which could be the best team you haven't watched this season, looks to extend that lead and crown themselves kings of the Silver State.

And yes, all of those games are on Tuesday night. March is coming.

3 More Things to Watch This Week

1. NBA Showdowns and All-Star Selections

The stars of the league have big matchups this week, headlined by a Thursday doubleheader on TNT.

The top two teams in the East, Milwaukee and Toronto, tip off at 8 p.m., followed by Philadelphia heading West to take on Golden State at 10:30 p.m. And before those games begin, the All-Star reserves for the East and West squads will be announced in a special NBA Tipoff show on TNT at 7 p.m.

Speaking of rookie sensation Luka Doncic, go coast-to-coast with the top NBA League Pass games of the week on B/R Live, as the Dallas Mavericks play the New York Knicks on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. (Watch), marking the first visit to Madison Square Garden for Doncic. After James Harden put up 61 at The Garden last week, you know the kid is going to do something special too, just like he did last night:

Then stay up late on Thursday as the Lakers and Clippers battle for Los Angeles (unlike the movie, aliens probably won't invade Staples Center). The teams are side by side in the West standings, and with LeBron James returning to Lakers practice in recent days, this night may be when he returns to game action (Watch here).

Here's how to watch on B/R Live and here's the full NBA schedule.

  

2. International Cup Tournaments

European leagues and domestic cup competitions are rolling simultaneously right now, giving us some intriguing midweek matchups in the knockout rounds.

Coppa Italia Quarterfinals

AC Milan vs. Napoli, Tuesday 2:45 p.m., ESPN+

Fiorentina vs. AS Roma, Wednesday 12:15 p.m., ESPN+

Atalanta vs. Juventus, Wednesday 2:45 p.m., ESPN+

Inter Milan vs. Lazio, Thursday 3 p.m., ESPN+

Copa del Rey, Quarterfinals 2nd leg (first leg scores in parentheses)

Valencia (0) vs. Getafe (1), Tuesday 3:30 p.m., beIN SPORTS, fuboTV

Real Betis (1) vs. Espanyol (1), Wednesday 1:30 p.m., beIN SPORTS, fuboTV

Barcelona (0) vs. Sevilla (2), Wednesday 3:30 p.m., beIN SPORTS, fuboTV

Girona (2) vs. Real Madrid (4), Thursday 3:30 p.m., beIN SPORTS, fuboTV

   

3. Women's College Basketball Showdown

There isn't quite the Super Tuesday amount of top games in women's hoops this week, but the ladies may have the best singular matchup: No. 3 UConn at No. 4 Louisville, Thursday night at 7 p.m. on ESPN. The Huskies are 18-1 and lead the American Athletic Conference, while the Cardinals are 19-1, their only loss coming to ACC leader No. 1 Notre Dame. Louisville is undefeated at home, and UConn's only loss came on the road at No. 8 Baylor. Louisville's balanced attack will likely cause problems on both ends of the court.

Must Listen

Any time we come across a great sports radio or podcast moment, we'll share it here. Whether it's current or former players sharing a behind-the-scenes story, a coach giving a tidbit of insight, a reporter giving intriguing inside information, or something totally from outer space, like Steph Curry jokingly (?) questioning the moon landing, we'll mark it as Must Listen.

First up, we're featuring a throwback story about Atlanta Braves catcher Brian McCann, told by his former teammate with the Braves, relief pitcher Eric O'Flaherty. Over two weeks in September 2013, McCann was at the center of two bench-clearing incidents following long home runs that were admired a little too much for McCann's taste. One involved late Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez and the other involved then-Brewers outfielder Carlos Gomez.

On Friday O'Flaherty told the Midwest Swing Podcast what happened. Listen below:

Quick Catch Up

1. Monday Woj Bomb

New Orleans Pelicans star Anthony Davis has informed the Pelicans he will not sign an extension and wants to be traded, putting one of the best players in the entire league on the market. AD would have been able to sign a 5-year, $240 million contract extension with New Orleans this offseason:

2. National Hockey Women

At the NHL All-Star Skills Competition on Friday night, two United States Women's National Team players made their mark. Brianna Decker won the premier passing drill, and Kendall Coyne Schofield zoomed through the fastest skater event, impressing every NHL player and fan in the building:

3. Quote of the Weekend: "He can break my leg, but he will never break my will."

During the Flyweight World Championship main event of ONE: Hero's Ascent on Friday, Geje Eustaquio found himself in quite the position, with his left knee next to his chin and his left foot above his head. His opponent Adriano Moraes kept Eustaquio like that for what felt like forever, but he never tapped out, somehow.

"Well, that kneebar, I'll have to admit, it's a deep kneebar," he said to reporters after the fight, which Moraes won unanimously after the final round. "I'm waiting for Adriano to take off my knee and let him bring it, but I won't tap. I decided to finish the race and finish the fight. If it takes five rounds, then I will do it ... On my mind, by that time, he can break my leg, but he will never break my will."

Moraes couldn't believe he didn't get the tapout: "Oh man, did you see that? Man, I love that position," he said. "I call that position the 'Mikinho Kneebar from the Back.' Man, in training, every time I get that position, everybody taps, and Geje didn't tap. I didn't believe it when he didn't tap…He didn't tap, he's a true warrior, man. Congratulations to him, man."

You can watch a free replay of ONE: Hero's Ascent here on B/R Live and watch every ONE Championship event on B/R Live here.

   

4. Player of the Weekend: Novak Djokovic

In a matchup of the top-ranked players in the world, Novak Djokovic dominated Rafael Nadal on Sunday to win the Australian Open for a record seventh time. With Djokovic and Nadal both playing lights out for the entire tournament and their last Melbourne final lasting 5 hours and 53 minutes, many were ready for another epic. But Nadal never got his game going, and Djokovic took control from the first ball and did not relent until the trophy was his, playing phenomenal tennis on the way to a 6-3, 6-2, 6-3 win that took all of 2 hours and 4 minutes:

5. Dance Dance Revolution

The weekend brought two wonderful moments of dancing celebration, the first in England when Manchester United midfielder Jesse Lingard brought out some supreme Michael Jackson moves after scoring a goal:

Then Steph Curry, known for his shimmy celebrations as well as shooting three-pointers then turning around to run to the other end of the court before they go in, combined the two moves in the Warriors win over the Celtics. It was one of those nights for the sharpshooter:

6. High Five of the Week (almost)

Nikola Jokić can score, pass, rebound, block shots, and run the floor. What we're saying is he's too good a player to be left hanging for this long: