The Saturday before Christmas is a busy one for college basketball. However, it also is the first day of the bowl season, which means the marquee action is all in the afternoon.
Two Epic Top 25 Battles Highlight A Busy College Basketball Saturday
Three games stand out among the crowd.
Top ranked Kansas starts the day by welcoming struggling Michigan to Allen Fieldhouse. While the Jayhawks are one of the last remaining unbeatens in America, the Wolverines have struggled to win five games in a season of pretty high expectations. ESPN’s been billing this as the Green Game for some reason. I say that because I may be the only person in America who has yet to actually hear Kermit the Frog’s promo, which has to be considered a minor miracle.
In terms of the actual game, Manny Harris and DeShawn Sims have been great for Michigan so far this season, but they're going to need a lot more support to have a shot against Cole Aldrich, Sherron Collins, Xavier Henry, and co. For a full breakdown, visit our Kansas blog, Rock Chalk Talk.
Two top 25 teams clash at the new Cowboys Stadium in that building’s first college basketball game. No. 2 Texas will have the bulk of the support in Arlington as they take on 10th-ranked North Carolina. Peter Bean of Burnt Orange Nation interviewed T.H. of Carolina March in anticipation of this one. My takeaways, watch how the Tar Heels deal with the Longhorns’ physical play, and watch for Texas to try to force Carolina to turn the ball over, something they’ve had major issues with all season.
The second top 25 clash of the day is supposed to happen in New York, where no. 17 Gonzaga is slated to meet seventh-ranked Duke. This one is a battle between one of the sport’s traditional powers and a school that has become a national force, seemingly against the odds.
Our Bulldog blog, The Slipper Still Fits, has an almost overwhelming amount of coverage for this one. They expect Jon Scheyer vs. Matt Bouldin to be a matchup to watch on the perimeter. (I doubt Scheyer will score 36 in this one.) And Robert Sacre to be a force inside against Brian Zoubek and the Plumlee brothers.
There is a lot of other action Saturday, but the anticipated quality of the televised action drops after 4 Eastern. For more on these games visit, Blogging the Bracket.
For those of you stuck on the East Coast, it looks to be a good day to settle in and watch some hoops. You can follow and discuss all of today’s featured games on SB Nation.
Michigan at No. 1 Kansas, 12 p.m. ET, ESPN
Live score
Wolverine game preview and discussion at Maize n Brew
Jayhawk game preview and discussion at Rock Chalk Talk
No. 10 North Carolina vs. No. 2 Texas in Dallas, 2 p.m. ET, ESPN
Live score
Tar Heel game preview and discussion at Carolina March
Longhorn game preview and discussion at Burnt Orange Nation
No. 15 Gonzaga vs. No. 7 Duke in New York, 4 p.m. ET, CBS
Live score
Game preview and discussion at The Slipper Still Fits
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