The Matchup 3/2/11

College Basketball
#13 North Carolina @ Florida State - ESPN 7 p.m.
After a sluggish start to the season, North Carolina may have a chance to win the ACC regular-season crown outright with a victory this weekend over its biggest rival. North Carolina (22-6, 12-2) and Duke are tied atop the ACC and will close out the regular season against one another Saturday in Chapel Hill. Before turning their attention to that showdown, the Tar Heels are first focused on running their winning streak to six at Florida State (20-8, 10-4) on Wednesday night. This will be the Seminoles' final game in Tallahassee this season, and they have a chance to go 8-0 at home in ACC play for the first time in school history. They upset top-ranked Duke at the Tucker Center on Jan. 12, but have lost their last four meetings with the Tar Heels there. North Carolina had no trouble in their first meeting of the season with the Seminoles, beating them 89-69 in Chapel Hill on Feb. 6.

#16 Connecticut @ West Virginia - ESPN2 7 p.m.
There's a four-way tie for seventh place in the powerful Big East. Those teams are desperately trying to avoid playing on the first day of next week's conference tournament. West Virginia and Connecticut are in that group, and they'll meet Wednesday night in Morgantown.The Mountaineers (18-10, 9-7), Huskies (21-7, 9-7), Marquette and Cincinnati are all tied for seventh. The top eight teams avoid playing Tuesday when the Big East tournament begins at Madison Square Garden.Wednesday's action will be pivotal since the Golden Eagles host the Bearcats in a game that begins an hour after this one starts. West Virginia is 10-2 at home but the Huskies have won nine of the last 11 meetings, including four of five on the road.

#22 Texas A&M @ #2 Kansas  - ESPN2 9 p.m.
The Jayhawks can clinch a share of the regular-season Big 12 championship with a sixth straight victory over Texas A&M (22-6, 9-5) on Wednesday night at Allen Fieldhouse. Kansas (27-2, 12-2) has won 3 straight since falling to Kansas State on Valentine's day. Though Kansas is 16-1 all-time against the Aggies and won the last five by an average of 12.2 points, Self won't take anything for granted. Texas A&M has won five of six overall and needs a win to secure the No. 3 seed in next week's Big 12 tournament in Kansas City, Mo. The Aggies have dropped nine straight on the road against Top 25 opponents since beating the then-No. 6 Jayhawks 69-66 on Feb. 3, 2007.

NBA

Phoenix @ Boston - NBA TV 7:30 p.m.
Although the Celtics are one of the league's best teams, they have had their share of problems lately facing the Suns. Phoenix has won 3 in a row over Boston including an 88-71 win earlier this season.
Phoenix, despite not being in the top 8 in the West, has played well enough to win 11 of 14 and move into contention for a playoff berth. The Suns have won four in a row overall -- one shy of tying their season high -- and extended their longest road win streak of the season to five Sunday.