Saturday’s late afternoon basketball schedule features a long-awaited intrastate battle, a top 25 tilt that’s flown a bit under the radar and conference tilts from the Big East and Big Ten.
Bluegrass Battle, No. 1 Kansas At No. 18 Temple Highlight Late Saturday Afternoon Hoops
- The game of the day is in Lexington, where third-ranked Kentucky welcomes Rick Pitino's Louisville Cardinals to Rupp Arena. There are many juicy storylines in this one -- Pitino's relationship with Wildcat head coach John Calipari, the Rupp crowd's response to Pitino's offseason of turmoil, John Wall and how he'll play in what is likely his only appearance in the Bluegrass Battle -- you may want to head over to our Kentucky blog, A Sea Of Blue, and our Louisville blog, Card Chronicle, to read more.
- At the same time, eighth-ranked Villanova travels to Milwaukee to take on Marquette. While this will be the Wildcats' Big East opener, the Golden Eagles showed the league they'll be a force to be taken seriously in their opener Tuesday night, a one-point loss at No. 6 West Virginia.
- Minnesota travels to Iowa for the second Big Ten contest for each team. The Golden Gophers topped Penn State on Tuesday in Minneapolis, while the Hawkeyes gave fourth-ranked Purdue a fight before falling by 11. You can discuss this one over at SB Nation's Minnesota blog, The Daily Gopher, and our Iowa blog, Black Heart Gold Pants.
- Top-ranked Kansas travels to Philadelphia to take on 18th-ranked Temple. Last January, the Jayhawks beat the Owls by 12 in Lawrence. Temple's potent guard duo of Ryan Brooks and Juan Fernandez will do their best to reverse that result at home. Kansas remains unbeaten, but they haven't been seriously tested since their game with Memphis back on November 17. Visit our Kansas blog, Rock Chalk Talk, for full coverage of this contest.
Here’s all the information you’ll need to follow (and discuss four of) the big late Saturday afternoon games here on SB Nation.
FINAL: No. 3 Kentucky 71, Louisville 62
The Wildcats held off a Cardinal rally to claim victory in a chippy, at times sloppy affair before a record crowd at Rupp Arena.
Cardinal game preview and discussion at Card Chronicle
Wildcat game preview and discussion at A Sea Of Blue
FINAL: No. 8 Villanova 74, Marquette 72
The Golden Eagles couldn’t finish for the second straight game, and the Wildcats picked up a win in their league opener. Live score
FINAL: Minnesota 86, Iowa 74
The Gophers picked up their second straight Big Ten win, while the Hawkeyes fell for the second straight time.
Golden Gopher game preview and discussion at The Daily Gopher
Hawkeye game preview and discussion at Black Heart Gold Pants
FINAL: No. 1 Kansas 84, No. 18 Temple 52
The Owls had trouble offensively and defensively, meaning the Jayhawks romped to yet another win.
Jayhawk game preview and discussion at Rock Chalk Talk
For a full rundown of Saturday’s college basketball TV schedule, visit Blogging The Bracket.
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