Big Al's Daily Angle: UEFA Champions League and NCAA Basketball Preview

by Big Al Staff

Wednesday, Nov 25, 2020
The Wednesday sports card features the debut of the college basketball season with a full slate of games all day. Another eight matches also take place in the afternoon for the UEFA Champions League Group Stage Matchday 4.

The televised college basketball schedule begins at noon, with Xavier hosting Oakland on FS1 as an 18.5-point favorite with a total set at 138.5 (all odds from BookMaker). George Washington travels to Navy on the CBS Sports Network for a noon tipoff with the Midshipmen 2-point favorites. 

Four more nationally-televised matches take place at 2 PM ET. Illinois State travels to Columbus to play Ohio State on ESPN with the Buckeyes a 17.5-point favorite and the over/under set at 137.5. ESPN2 has St. Mary’s facing Memphis in the Crossover Classic in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, where the Tigers are a 7.5-point favorite with a total of 138.5. Kansas State hosts Drake on ESPNU as a 5-point favorite with an over/under of 131.5. Fairfield travels to Providence on FS1 with the Friars' 20-point favorites with a total of 126.

The 4 PM ET window has three more televised games. EPSN has Oklahoma State traveling to UT-Arlington, where they are an 8-point road favorite with an over/under of 138.5. Michigan hosts Bowling Green on ESPN2 as a 14-point favorite with the total set at 148. Georgetown plays at home against Maryland-Baltimore County as a 13-point favorite on FS1.

At 4:30 PM ET on ESPNU, Western Kentucky visits Northern Iowa, and is  a 2-point road favorite, with the total set at 140. The CBS Sports Network broadcasts the Liberty/Purdue matchup in the Space Coast Classic in Melbourne, Florida at 6 PM ET with the Boilermakers' 9.5-point favorites with a total of 124.5. Butler hosts Western Michigan at 6 PM ET on FS1, with the Bulldogs laying 19.5-points with an over/under of 132. 

The 7 PM ET window has three more nationally televised games. ESPN has Rhode Island playing Arizona State on a neutral court in Uncasville, Connecticut, for the 2K Empire Classic, where the Sun Devils are an 8-point favorite with the total set at 150.5. Rhode Island is a late replacement for Baylor, who pulled out of the event given COVID issues. West Virginia visits South Dakota State on ESPN2 as a 10-point road favorite with an over/under of 146. St. John’s hosts Saint Peter’s on FS2 as a 10.5-point favorite with an over/under of 139. 

At 8 PM ET, Connecticut hosts Central Connecticut on FS1 as a 26-point favorite. The CBS Sports Network has Mississippi State hosting Clemson at 8:30 PM ET with the Tigers' 4.5-point road favorites with a total of 136. 

The second game in the 2K Empire Classic on ESPN takes place tentatively at 9:30 PM ET, with Villanova playing Boston College as a 14-point favorite with an over/under of 140. Utah State travels to Virginia Commonwealth on ESPN2 at 9:30 PM ET as a 14-point favorite with a total of 136.

Two more nationally televised games close out the Wednesday card. Marquette hosts Arkansas-Pine Bluff at 10 PM ET as a 30-point favorite on FS1. At 10:30 PM ET, UCLA visits San Diego State on the CBS Sports Network as a 3.5-point road favorite with an over/under of 133.

The UEFA Champions League plays their final eight games for Group Stage Matchday 4. These matches are all reverse fixtures of the games played on November 3rd in the round-robin group stage six-match schedule.

Two matches take place at 12:55 PM ET. Borussia Monchengladbach hosts Shakhtar Donetsk after defeating them by a 6-0 score. Manchester City travels to Olympiacos after their 3-0 victory earlier this month. 

The remaining six matches take place at 3 PM ET. Bayern Munich hosts Salzburg after defeating them by a 6-2 score. Atletico Madrid plays at home against Lokomotiv Moskva after these two teams played to a 1-1 draw. Real Madrid travels to Inter Milan looking to avenge a 3-2 loss at home. Porto travels to Marseille after defeating them by a 3-0 score in their first meeting. Ajax hosts Midtjylland after beating them by a 2-1 score. Atalanta attempts to avenge their 5-0 loss at home to Liverpool. 

All eight games are available on the CBS Sports All-Access package. Alternatively, the CBS Sports Network broadcasts a whip-around show during the six 3 PM ET games.

All photographic images used for editorial content have been licensed from the Associated Press.

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