College basketball this week: Louisville visits North Carolina in key ACC clash

The weather isn’t the only thing getting warmer. As it does every year at this time, the action around college basketball courts is heating up.

With the regular season winding down, here are a few matters to note on the upcoming weeknight slate.

Game of the week

No. 7 Louisville at No. 9 North Carolina, Wednesday, 9 p.m. ET, ESPN

Slumps are relative, of course, but Baylor’s recent results might have created an opening on the No.-1 seed line of the bracket. The Tar Heels, now a game up in the ACC standings following a pair of 20+-point wins during the past week, appear to have the best qualifications to take that spot. They’ll add to those credentials if they can manage another top-tier win on their home floor.

The Cardinals, however, have aspirations for that most favorable regional seed themselves. Louisville has won three in a row, though they’ve all been close. Louisville will need Donovan Mitchell to be at his disruptive best against UNC’s primary facilitator Joel Berry.

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Player to watch

Jalen Brunson, Villanova

The defending national champion Wildcats have pulled clear of the field in the Big East by a full three games. Brunson, who had to fill the considerable vacancy left by the graduation of Ryan Arcidiacono, is a major reason. The sophomore point guard is averaging 14.6 and 4.5 assists. He’s coming off arguably his best outing of the season in which he poured in 22 and handed out 10 dimes against Seton Hall.

The Wildcats return home Wednesday with an eye toward avenging one of their two conference losses as they host Butler (9 p.m. ET, Fox Sports 1). The Bulldogs appeared to snap out of a mini slump with a pair of needed wins in the last week.

Conference to watch

Southeastern

There’s a bit more depth in the league than there was a year ago, but that has come as a classic good news-bad news scenario for South Carolina. The Gamecocks aren’t yet in danger of missing the Big Dance, but they’ve dropped three of their last four and are moving in the wrong direction on projected brackets. Losses can’t be erased, of course, but a win Tuesday night at Florida (7 p.m. ET, ESPN) would help offset those recent setbacks. But the Gators are the hottest team in the conference, riding an eight-game winning streak while showing the ability to play at any tempo.

A night later, a Wednesday SEC Network doubleheader features some squads closer to bubble territory. Vanderbilt and Tennessee, both in need of every victory they can muster, start things off in Knoxville at 6:30 p.m. ET, followed at 8:30 by Arkansas looking to stay above the cut line hosting Texas A&M.

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