It could be quite a 24-hour stretch in Columbus, Ohio, concluding Tuesday night. The student body might still be inebriated for the Buckeyes' basketball game against arch-rival Michigan if OSU can win the college football National Championship on Monday night in Arizona against Oregon. I actually believe that result could have an effect on the hoops game -- if OSU gets blown out on the gridiron, it could leave the basketball players a bit flat. A Buckeyes win over the Ducks could really get the hoops guys fired up. Here's a look at that and two other intriguing matchups Tuesday.

No. 24 Oklahoma State at No. 9 Kansas (-6.5)

It's a 7 p.m. ET tip for this Big 12 matchup and shown on ESPN2. When Kansas (13-2, 2-0) plays badly it really does: Witness a 32-point loss to Kentucky and 25-point defeat at Temple. The Jayhawks have won four straight since that Owls loss, including a win at ranked Baylor. KU routed visiting Texas Tech 86-54 over the weekend. Freshman guard Devonte Graham returned after missing six straight games with a toe injury and had two points, six assists and six rebounds in 19 minutes in KU's 16th straight home win. It was Kansas' 11th straight win against the Red Raiders. The Jayhawks have started Big 12 play 2-0 for the ninth straight season. KU leads the Big 12 in 3-point field goal percentage at 39.5 percent.

Oklahoma State (12-3, 2-1) has played three ranked teams thus far and lost two of them: 73-64 at home against Maryland and 63-61 last Tuesday at Iowa State. The Pokes bounced back from that Cyclones defeat with a 69-58 home win over No. 10 Texas on Saturday. Le'Bryan Nash and Phil Forte each had 20 points. Forte and Nash rank 1-2 in Big 12 scoring with Forte at 17.7 points per game and Nash at 17.6 ppg. Forte also leads the conference with 2.6 steals per contest and his 2.8 3-pointers per game are second in the league

Kansas was 2-1 against OSU last season. The Jayhawks won 80-78 at home and 77-70 in overtime in the Big 12 Tournament. The Pokes won 72-65 in Stillwater. KU has won seven of the past nine meetings overall.

Key trends: OSU has covered just five of its past 22 road games. The Pokes are 4-1 ATS in their past five vs. teams with a winning record. KU has covered six of its past eight at home. The road team has covered six of the past eight meetings.

Why take the underdog: OSU won't win but should keep it close.

Michigan at Ohio State (-8.5)

This rivalry games tips at 7 p.m. and is on ESPN. I wonder what the atmosphere at this game will be like. Obviously it will depend on the result of Monday's National Championship Game. Will the OSU players and Urban Meyer perhaps show up at halftime of this game if they win? I could see that. Plus, any time you can rub Michigan's noses in anything you do that as a Buckeye.

Ohio State (13-4, 2-2) fell out of the Top 25 on Monday as the Buckeyes lost 69-66 at Indiana on Saturday. Shannon Scott scored 16 points, and star freshman D'Angelo Russell added 13 for the Buckeyes. Russell missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer. Starting forward Marc Loving was injured in the first half but played through it even though you could tell he was favoring his left knee. He finished just 3-for-11 from the field with seven points. Loving leads the Big Ten in 3-point shooting percentage. OSU is calling it a bruise. Ohio State is now 1-4 this season when trailing at halftime. Michigan (10-6, 3-1) beat visiting Minnesota 62-57 on Saturday. The Wolverines trailed 49-40 with just under nine minutes left, but the Gophers managed only three free throws during a 17-3 run by Michigan. The Wolverines have two of the worst losses of any Power 5 Conference team this season, coming to the New Jersey Institute of Technology and Eastern Michigan.

Michigan swept OSU last season, winning 70-60 in Columbus, ending UM's nine-game losing streak there, and 72-69 in the Big Ten Tournament. OSU coach Thad Matta has a record of 17-6 vs. the Wolverines over the last 10 seasons. The Buckeyes have won nine of 10 games in Columbus.

Key trends: Michigan is 3-8 ATS in its past 11 overall. OSU is 2-8 ATS in its past 10 vs. the Big Ten. UM is 5-2 ATS in its past seven at OSU.

Why take the underdog: Because I think OSU loses Monday night to the Ducks.

Alabama at South Carolina (-3.5)

SEC matchup starts at 9 p.m. and televised by ESPNU. This is a major trap game for Alabama in my opinion. Why? The Tide have their biggest home game of the year on Saturday as they host No. 1 Kentucky. Alabama (12-3, 2-0) might be the second-best team in the conference to UK. The Tide won their sixth straight Saturday, 56-38 at Tennessee, by far the fewest points allowed all season by Alabama. In one stretch, the Tide held the Vols without a field goal for more than 14 minutes. UT shot 31 percent overall and made just one of its final 16 shots. The win ended Alabama's 16-game road losing streak.

South Carolina (9-5, 0-2) has lost back-to-back games. It fell 65-49 at Ole Miss on Saturday, never leading. The Gamecocks' two leading scorers -- Duane Notice and Sindarius Thornwell -- combined to shoot just 6-for-21 from the field and score 18 points. South Carolina shot 4-for-20 (20 percent) from 3-point range.

Alabama and USC played once last season, a 67-66 Gamecocks home victory. Mindaugas Kacinas tipped in a missed shot with 16.6 seconds left; he remains a key contributor this year. Alabama's chance to win ended when Trevor Releford's 3-pointer got stuck between the rim and backboard. That's a dead ball and the possession arrow pointed toward South Carolina.

Key trends: Alabama has covered five of its past six in the SEC. South Carolina is 7-2 ATS in its past nine after scoring less than 50 points in its previous game. The Tide have failed to cover the past four meetings.

Why take the underdog: Alabama is better and now that road monkey is off its back it may win outright.

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