Hoops In The Spotlight

The full rush of March Madness is still to come, but the warmup period of college basketball’s conference tournaments whets the appetite for more. So we’ll be just a little heavy on the hoops as we crack open our Weekend TV Six-Pack.

Gonzaga University, our mid-major friend out west, has been to the NCAA Tournament for 17 consecutive seasons. But now, having played a weak schedule and struggled a tad, the Zags may have to win the West Coast Conference tournament to get to The Big Dance. You can see the Zags pursue that bid in the WCC quarterfinals on Sunday night (or Monday morning) at 12:30 a.m. ET on ESPN2. The Bulldogs are playing Portland.

On Friday night, just for grins, cheer on Austin Peay, the Ohio Valley Conference’s No. 8 seed, as it takes on No. 1 seed Belmont, the defending champion. It is always fun to chant “Let’s go Peay.” Don’t deny it. You’ll find it on ESPNU at 7:30 p.m.

In the women’s tournaments, Connecticut will be in action on Saturday in the AAC quarterfinals against the winner of Friday’s Cincinnati-East Carolina game. That winner will be Saturday’s loser at 2 p.m. on ESPN3.

In the NBA, the Golden State Warriors play the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday at 3:30 p.m. on ABC. Watch the Warriors. Don’t watch the Lakers. NASCAR’s Kobalt 400 on Sunday will be televised from Las Vegas by Fox at 3:30 p.m. as well. So you can see the Warriors run circles around the Lakers or a bunch of cars simply run in circles. Your call.

We’re going to give you one wild card in your Six-Pack. Major League Baseball is back with its spring training slate, so tune in to your local team’s game to get a look at some of the guys who will be heading for the minor leagues in a couple of weeks.

As always, watch responsibly. Know when you’ve had enough.
 
 
Post By: Larry Weisman, a longtime sportswriter for USA TODAY, blogs for Twistity.com. Follow him on Twitter @MrLarryWeisman