Tuesday tip-off: No. 5 Louisville hosts No. 13 Ohio State

Setting up the day in college basketball:

Best bets: We're still a day away from the marquee top-five showdown in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge, but Tuesday night's slate offers a couple of attractive matchups.

One of them was a pretty good bet to be a clash of ranked teams when the schedule was drawn up as No. 5 Louisville hosts No. 13 Ohio State (9:30 p.m. ET, ESPN). Both teams have won each of their games to date by double digits, though the Cardinals' most recent outing was a not-so-pretty 45-33 slog past Cleveland State. Nevertheless, ACC newcomer Louisville's stingy defense figures to be a test for Buckeyes floor leader Shannon Scott, who is averaging a lofty 10.4 assists.

The other meeting of top-25 unbeaten clubs in this clash of leagues might be considered something of a surprise as No. 15 Miami (Fla.) hosts No. 25 Illinois (9 p.m. ET, ESPN2). The Hurricanes, whose early triumphs include a win at Florida, are getting contributions at both ends from Angel Rodriguez. He had to sit out a year after transferring from Kansas State, but it's been worth it so far as he's handing out 4.4 assists while snaring 2.7 steals a game. The Fighting Illini cracked the top 25 for the first time this season after winning the Las Vegas Invitational. Rayvonte Rice (17.8 ppg, 7.3 rpg) and Malcolm Hill (14.2, 6-3) lead a balanced Illinois attack.

Number of the day: .500. Memphis and Stephen F. Austin figure to be in contention in their respective conferences. But the early going has been rocky for both the Tigers and Lumberjacks, who enter tonight's meeting in Memphis (7 p.m. ET, ESPNews) with .500 records. None of the losses for either team can really be considered bad. SFA lost to undefeated Northern Iowa and at Xavier, Memphis was dropped by 10th-ranked Wichita State, and both were defeated by Baylor. Nevertheless, both teams could use a quality win tonight to gain confidence going forward.

Words of the day: "The right guys were at the line down the stretch. They shot it with a lot of confidence and knocked them down." — Washington coach Lorenzo Romar following the Huskies' 68-65 win against Texas-El Paso in Sunday's championship game of the Wooden Legacy tournament in Anaheim, Calif. Washington, 6-0 for the first time since the 2006-07 season, was only 8-of-14 from the line heading into the game's final minute when they trailed the Miners 63-62 but made their last six foul shots to seal the victory.

Days until Selection Sunday: 103.