Scouting college basketball

Northwestern (14-5, 3-4) at Minnesota (12-7, 3-4)When: 8 p.m. at Williams ArenaTV: BTN; Radio: WIND 560-AMSkinny: The Wildcats boosted their NCAA Tournament chances with Saturday's win over Illinois. If they get a split on this week's road trip to "The Barn" and Michigan State, then they'll be another step closer. The Gophers have lost four of their last five, but that includes two tight defeats against MSU and a whuppin' at Purdue. Minnesota, which boasts the nation's No. 12 defense according to Ken Pomeroy's efficiency ratings, is still adjusting to the academics-related loss of point guard Al Nolen. While he wasn't a scorer, Nolen ran the show and set the tone defensively. NU will shift defenses frequently to try to confuse interim point Devoe Joseph. From there, it comes down to NU's ability to hit early 3-pointers to set up later slashes to the hoop by Drew Crawford and Jeremy Nash.West Virginia (15-3, 4-2) at DePaul (8-11, 1-6)When: 7:30 p.m. at Allstate ArenaTV: ThisTV; Radio: WSCR 670-AMSkinny: This is what the Big East is all about. The ninth-ranked Mountaineers show up today in Rosemont and No. 4 Syracuse follows on Saturday. West Virginia's offense, which features four double-figure scorers led by Da'Sean Butler's 16.1 ppg, is just as efficient as Notre Dame's. The Mountaineers aren't as elegant to watch as the Irish, but they shoot their share of 3-pointers and pound the glass when they miss. They also defend voraciously, so we're talking the usual Bob Huggins squad. DePaul plans to get back to the defense-first mode that worked so well against Marquette last week. That mindset also requires Krys Faber and Eric Wallace to control the defensive boards. One other thing? The Demons rank 347th out of 347 Division I teams with their .561 free-throw percentage.-