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Hey, have you heard that Duke is playing North Carolina tonight? ESPN usually likes to keep that a secret, so I understand if it was off your radar.
Just in case you feel tempted to watch a pair of unranked ACC teams, I put together a quick list of other games you can catch instead. After all, no one cares if you can diagnose why exactly Duke stinks or how North Carolina can navigate its way onto the bubble. What’ll really impress your coworkers at the virtual water cooler on Monday is whatever the hell is on ESPN+ instead.
The Blue Devils and Tar Heels tip at 6 p.m. ET. in Durham. Here’s how you can avoid that:
(all times Eastern)
Little Rock at Texas State, 5 p.m., ESPN+
This is a huge Sun Belt matchup. The Bobcats are one of the under-the-radar surprises in the mid-major world as coach Terrence Johnson has deftly navigated a tough situation. They beat Little Rock by 10 yesterday.
Cleveland State at Oakland, 5 p.m., ESPN3
Speaking of coaches doing a great job, Dennis Gates has turned things around at Cleveland State in year two. The Vikings are 13-5 and have won 13 out of their last 15, but face an Oakland team tonight that has rebounded well from an 0-9 start.
Lipscomb at Stetson, 5 p.m., ESPN+
This one is really only here because I tried to justify Stetson being good yesterday. Who cares? Give it a shot!
Miami (OH) at Buffalo, 5 p.m., ESPN3
A battle of two 5-4 MAC teams and a rematch of a 90-62 beatdown that the Bulls administered earlier in the year.
Mississippi Valley State at Alabama A&M, 5:30 p.m., YouTube
No, this isn’t going to be a great game. But any time you can watch the Delta Devils play, you should. They rank dead last nationally in offensive and defensive efficiency and have given up at least 90 points in eight of the 15 games they’ve played. Tune in for some non-stop action.
Nicholls State at Sam Houston State, 6 p.m., ESPN+
Abilene Christian is the Southland team ranked in The Other Top 25, but Nicholls and Sam Houston are tied with them for first in the league. The Bearkats and Colonels are also separated by only six spots in KenPom.
Colorado State at Wyoming, 6 p.m., CBS Sports
The Rams eked out a win at Wyoming on Thursday and need this one to stay on the right side of the at-large picture.
Marshall at Old Dominion, 7 p.m., ESPN+
The Monarchs erased a 21-point deficit last night to storm back and beat the Herd by one. The biggest comeback in school history gave ODU its fifth win in six games and a 5-2 mark overall in CUSA.