Looking ahead to the weekend on the hardwood

While ESPN has a "Blockbuster Saturday" at the NCAA Division I level, D-II South Nation has its share of critical college basketball games in the Division II ranks, too. Here are the games of interest this weekend.



WOMEN



Gulf South Conference



Harding (13-1, 1-1) at Arkansas Tech (12-3, 2-0)--4 p.m. CST



The Golden Suns enter this contest looking to stay unbeaten in GSC West Division play, while the Lady Bisons hope to win their second league contests after splitting their first two contests. One of HU's losses, however, came to a Henderson State (7-7, 1-1) squad that's been up and down for most of the season. It'll be interesting to see how the Harding women will fare against the No. 21 ATU women.



North Alabama (9-9, 2-1) at Valdosta State (12-4, 2-0)--1 p.m. EST



The Lady Blazers managed to stay unbeaten in GSC East after edging archrival West Georgia (11-5, 2-1) to gain sole possession of first place in the division after playing only two league games. As for the UNA women, the Lions must re-group quickly after losing to West Florida 76-71 on Thursday.



Peach Belt Conference



Columbus State (10-5, 3-2) at USC Aiken (12-3, 4-1)--5:30 p.m. EST



The Lady Pacers play host to the Lady Cougars in this critical PBC contest. While USCA had Wednesday night off, CSU needed overtime to defeat a scrappy North Georgia team 69-65. Which goes to show that nothing is easy in the PBC.



Honorable Mention: Georgia College & State University (8-4, 3-2) at Francis Marion (11-1, 4-1), Lander (8-4, 3-2) at Clayton State (11-1, 5-0)



SIAC



Clark-Atlanta (12-1, 8-0) at Kentucky State (9-3, 8-1)--1 p.m. EST



This is perhaps the game of the weekend in this league, the Lady Panthers putting their 12-game winning streak on the line against the Thorobrettes.



MEN



North Alabama (13-5, 3-0) at Valdosta State (13-3, 1-1)--4 p.m. EST



The Lions hope to run their record to 4-0 in GSC East play, while the Blazers look to go over the .500 mark in league games after splitting their first two contests (a loss at Alabama-Huntsville last weekend, followed by a win at home over West Georgia Thursday).



Delta State (11-4, 1-1) at Christian Brothers (13-2, 2-0)--5 p.m. CST



The No. 17 (NABC) Buccaneers will be going for their eighth straight win against the Statesmen, who hope to bounce back after a tough loss to No. 24 Arkansas-Monticello 75-70 on Thursday.



Honorable mention: Alabama-Huntsville (10-5, 3-0) at West Alabama (8-8, 1-1), Harding (11-4, 1-1) at No. 22 Arkansas Tech (12-3, 2-0), Ouachita Baptist (10-5, 0-2) at Arkansas-Monticello (12-3, 1-1)



Peach Belt Conference



Georgia College & State University (9-2, 3-2) at Francis Marion (10-2, 3-2)--4 p.m. EST



The Patriots play host to the Bobcats in a showdown of two-loss teams.



Honorable mention: Augusta State (11-2, 5-1) at North Georgia (8-4, 2-4), Lander (7-4, 3-2) at Clayton State (9-3, 2-3)