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Tuesday’s slate and what to watch

spt-120110-mcdermott

Mike Miller

Doug McDermott just keeps shooting his way into the national player of the year discussion. Yes, into Jimmer territory. Except McDermott rebounds, too.

Creighton’s 6-7 sophomore, coming off a career-high 44 points in a win over Bradley, is not only the nation’s second-most efficient scorer, but he’s posting absurd numbers through 15 games that are even better than Jimmer’s.

McDermott: 25.2 points, 8.3 rebounds and 58 percent beyond the arc. Jimmer: 24.1 points, 3.2 rebounds, 38 percent from deep. (Though Jimmer attempted twice as many threes a game as McDermott)

Not bad, Doug. As Rick Brown from the Des Moines Register writes, soon Creighton coach Greg McDermott will be known as Doug’s dad. If he isn’t already.

(All times ET; TV info from HDSportsGuide.com)

Northern Iowa at Creighton, 9 p.m. (ESPN3)
Oh look, it just happens to be Greg McDermott’s old team! The Panthers (12-4) still aren’t on the same level as the teams Ben Jacobsen (McDermott’s successor) took to the NCAA tournament recently, but they’re hardly a pushover with wins over ODU, Iowa State and Iowa. Creighton (13-2) gets edge, but only because it’s at home. (Well, and because it has McDermott.)

Baylor at Kansas State, 8 p.m. (FSN Regional)
Could this be the Bears’ first loss of the season? K-State (12-2) did just that when Missouri came to town on Saturday, though Baylor (15-0) is a far tougher matchup. For one, the Bears’ frontcourt is bigger and more athletic than K-State’s. But they’re a little soft on the defensive boards, which plays right into the Wildcats’ biggest strength. Might be a good time for freshman Quincy Miller to assert himself.

Ohio State at Illinois, 9 p.m. (ESPN)
The Buckeyes (15-2) apparently recovered from their only Big Ten loss by throttling Nebraska and Iowa by a combined 60 points. Seems the defense has kicked into high gear, allowing just 0.6 points per possession in those two games. That’s a little absurd. And bad news for Illinois, which hasn’t had a good offensive game since early December.

FSU at Virginia Tech, 7 p.m. (ESPNU)
Quick, which loss is worse: By three at Wake Forest or by 20 at Clemson? Trick question. They’re both awful. That’s why this’ll get billed as one of those crucial January “bubble game” in which both teams could really really really use a win. Really.

La Salle at Penn, 7 p.m.
Big 5. ‘Nuff said.

Georgia at Florida, 7 p.m.
Iowa at Michigan State, 7 p.m.
Harvard at Monmouth, 7 p.m.
South Florida at Notre Dame, 7 p.m.
La Salle at Pennsylvania, 7 p.m.
Louisville Cardinals Providence, 7 p.m.
DePaul Blue at Seton Hall, 7 p.m.
Ball State at Toledo, 7 p.m.
Florida State at Virginia Tech, 7 p.m.
Liberty at Virginia Military, 7 p.m.
Charleston Southern at Gardner-Webb, 7 p.m.
Evansville at Indiana State, 7:05 p.m.
Baylor at Kansas State, 8 p.m.
Champion Baptist at Southeastern, 8 p.m.
Bradley at Drake, 8:05 p.m.
Southern Illinois at Missouri State, 8:05 p.m.
Illinois State at Wichita State, 8:05 p.m.
Northern Iowa at Creighton, 9 p.m.
Ohio State at Illinois, 9 p.m.
Miami (FL) at North Carolina, 9 p.m.
Vanderbilt at South Carolina, 9 p.m.
Chicago State at San Diego State, 10 p.m.
Seattle at Washington, 10 p.m.
NJIT at Cal State Bakersfield, 10 p.m.

You also can follow me on Twitter @MikeMillerNBC.