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Pregame Shootaround: Minnesota at Iowa highlights a slow day

Fran McCaffery

Iowa coach Fran McCaffery reacts during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Nebraska, Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2013, in Iowa City, Iowa. Iowa won 67-57. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

AP

GAME OF THE DAY: Minnesota at No. 14 Iowa (1 p.m., BTN)

The Big Ten is going to churn out awesome matchups on a daily basis this season, and Minnesota at No. 14 Iowa falls into that category. The Gophers looked great beating Ohio State at home. Road trips are a different story.

After a week in which some of the Big Ten’s best like Wisconsin and Ohio State were knocked off, can the Hawkeyes avoid a trap in this rivalry game? The Gophers have taken Michigan State to overtime in East Lansing and beat Ohio State, so they’ll be prepared for this one.

THE OTHER GAME OF THE DAY: Louisiana Tech at Southern Miss (1 p.m.)

How about this solid C-USA matchup of 15-3 teams? While Charlotte and UAB also are off to decent starts -- and UTEP is 12-5 despite their recent troubles -- Louisiana Tech and Southern Miss are likely the two teams we’ll see competing at the end of the season for the conference title and they matchup on Sunday.

Southern Miss dropped a conference game to Tulsa last week and will look for the home victory to even it up with the 3-0 Bulldogs. Louisiana Tech has won all three conference games by at least 20 points, but they’ll be without leading scorer Raheem Appleby the next six-to-eight weeks as he recovers from a ligament injury in his ankle.

MID-MAJOR GAME OF THE DAY: Wright State at Cleveland State (1 p.m.)

This should be an enticing battle in the Horizon League as a pair of 3-2 teams with league title aspirations collide. Wright State is coming off of a loss to Green Bay -- the team both teams are trying to keep pace with -- while the Vikings have ideas about playing for the title in the Horizon as well.

FIVE THINGS TO KNOW

1) There’s a good CAA Battle on the NBC Sports Network on Sunday, as Towson heads to Charleston at 3:30 p.m.

2) After Oregon’s tremendous start to the season, they’re 1-3 in Pac-12 play and could desperately use a win as they face rival Oregon State on the road on Sunday night. Craig Robinson’s bunch could use the win themselves, as they also sit at 1-3 in Pac-12 play and could use a shot in the arm by beating the formerly-ranked in-state rival.

3) After Notre Dame’s impressive ACC win over Duke, the Fighting Irish sit at 1-3 in the ACC and they’ll face another 1-3 league team when Virginia Tech comes to visit on Sunday. Can Notre Dame bounce back?

4) Larry Brown comes from an extensive NBA background, so he can help prepare his SMU Mustangs for the tail end of the road-home, back-to-back the team is playing this weekend. The Mustangs won 58-46 at Central Florida on Saturday, in an American contest, and SMU will host Hofstra on Sunday at 6 p.m. These non-conference opponents were originally scheduled to play on December 7th, but the game was postponed due to inclement weather in the Dallas area.

5) If you really have no desire to watch Tom Brady vs. Peyton Manning, ESPN3 will have a 2 p.m. MAC battle between Bowling Green and Western Michigan. David Brown has missed a lot of time in his college career due to injury but the Western Michigan senior is playing great ball this year, averaging 18.1 points per game while increasing his field goal percentage and free throw percentage. Brown is a potential All-League performer.

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