All times Eastern
4 Top 25 showdowns highlight loaded weekend of college hoops
After suffering through a couple of weeks where final exams have limited the number of intriguing games, college basketball fans will be flooded with top 25 showdowns on the penultimate weekend of 2015. We’re here to guide you through the viewing experience.
Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
MUST WATCH
No. 12 Villanova at No. 8 Virginia (Saturday, 12 p.m./ESPN2)
No two programs in college basketball have had more success and gotten less respect these past two years than Virginia and Villanova. Of course, the Cavaliers and Wildcats haven’t done much to prove anyone wrong in the postseason, combining for just five wins and one Sweet 16 appearance in the last two NCAA Tournaments. The lofty national rankings and the abundance of doubters are both back for another run, making Saturday’s outcome, regardless of what it winds up being, something of a paradox for both sides.
No. 7 Duke vs. Utah (Saturday, 12 p.m./ESPN)
The first of seemingly dozens of high profile games that will be played in New York this weekend is a rematch from the Sweet 16 last March. This will be Duke's first real test without Amile Jefferson -- who is out for the foreseeable future with a foot injury -- as well as a final opportunity for Utah to make a national splash during the non-conference portion of its season. The Utes have already been dealt lopsided defeats by Miami and Wichita State, and don't play another opponent of note before Pac-12 play begins on New Year's Day.
No. 11 North Carolina vs. No. 22 UCLA (Saturday, 1 p.m./CBS)
A game that would have been viewed as a laugher as recently as two weeks ago is suddenly one of the more intriguing contests of the weekend. North Carolina will be looking to make amends for its last-second loss to Texas a week ago, but if they do so, it will have to happen without the services of injured big man Kennedy Meeks. UCLA, meanwhile, is riding high on a five-game winning streak that includes triumphs over then-No. 1 Kentucky and then-No. 20 Gonzaga.
While no one will doubt UNC’s status as a legitimate title contender regardless of Saturday’s outcome inside the Barclays Center, a third loss before the calendar flips to 2016 would be somewhat alarming for a Tar Heel squad that began the year at No. 1 in both polls. If a Carolina loss does occur, then the world will be forced to try and decide what to make of a UCLA team that will suddenly have as many quality wins as hard-to-explain losses.
No. 9 Purdue vs. No. 17 Butler (Saturday, 5 p.m./Big Ten Network)
Not many people would have predicted before the season that this would be the clear “showcase” half of this year’s Crossroads Classic, but Purdue and Butler have both been stellar through the season’s first five weeks, while Indiana and Notre Dame have both fallen out of the polls. Everyone is eager to see if the Boilermakers are as legitimate as the computer rankings believe they are, and rectifying their current 0-4 record in this event would speak pretty loudly.
No. 16 Baylor at No. 24 Texas A&M (Saturday, 9 p.m./ESPNU)
Does it still feel weird to anybody else that this isn’t a conference game? I’ve never been good at timely adjustments, so I’m just going to watch this and tell myself that it’s a conference game.
SHOULD WATCH
No. 1 Michigan State at Northeastern (Saturday, 12:30 p.m./NBC Sports Network)
It’s hard not to love the fact that the No. 1 team in the country is going to be playing inside historic Matthews Arena on Saturday afternoon. Unless you’re Tom Izzo, in which case it’s understandable to be more terrified than in love. The reason? A Northeastern team that beat Miami on the road this season and gave Notre Dame all it can handle in the first round of the NCAA Tournament last March.
Creighton at No. 3 Oklahoma (Saturday, 2 p.m./ESPNU)
Oklahoma enters the weekend ranking No. 1 in the country in three-point field goal percentage, No. 7 in scoring (88.0 ppg), No. 2 in field goal percentage defense (.340), and fourth in three-point field goal percentage defense (.240). Creighton, meanwhile, is a young team still searching for an identity. Of course, an experience and talent disparity didn’t help the Sooners last year when they blew an 18-point second half lead to suffer a stunning defeat at the hands of Greg McDermott’s team.
Indiana vs. Notre Dame (Saturday, 2 p.m./ESPN2)
The talented rosters and aesthetically pleasing playing styles was already going to make this one appointment viewing, but then Mike Brey went and said this on Thursday:
“We’re on a roll against Indiana. It’s great for in-state recruiting. I think we’ve won three of four against Indiana. That’s a little bit like going 4-1 against Duke and Carolina when you were 4-45.”
And then when asked about the state of Indiana being enamored with the Hoosiers ...
“They should be enamored with us, quite frankly. We’ve been winning games in that damn building for a while. We’re the most consistent program in this state and it isn’t even close.”
Understandably, the folks over at Crimson Quarry beg to differ.
No. 4 Kentucky vs. Ohio State (Saturday, 3:30 p.m./CBS)
Kentucky’s final tilt before arch-rival Louisville visits Lexington in a week isn’t going to be quite the test it seemed it would be at the start of the season, but that might give John Calipari the opportunity to play with his new toy before Christmas.
Best-case scenario: A freshman from New Zealand will bring new zeal to a Kentucky team in need of more competitive spirit along the front line. And he might get a chance to bring it barely 48 hours after joining the Cats.
Although he only met many of his Kentucky teammates Thursday, Tai Wynyard may play against Ohio State on Saturday.
UK Coach John Calipari coyly suggested he might want to get an immediate idea of what Wynyard can do.
To show he wasn’t kidding, Calipari recalled shoving a newcomer into a New Jersey Nets game. The newcomer, former Arkansas big man Joe Kleine, had joined the team in a trade but hadn’t practiced.
Calipari was too busy with pre-game preparation to welcome Kleine to the team.
So in the second half, Calipari decided he wanted to take a look at what Kleine could do. “Joe, why don’t you get in there?” he said. As Calipari told the story, before reporting to the scorer’s table, Kleine stuck out his hand and playfully said to the coach, “By the way, I’m Joe Kleine.”
Thad Matta, meanwhile, is attempting to turn around the worst start of any season during his tenure at Ohio State. Getting freshman guard JaQuan Lyle going would be a nice start.
No. 5 Iowa State vs. Northern Iowa (Saturday, 7 p.m./ESPNU)
The only other time that Northern Iowa has faced a top five team this season, the Panthers stunned top-ranked North Carolina. Iowa State star Georges Niang knows all about that game, because he was there. If this is anything like the last time that two powers from the Hawkeye State got together, we should be in for a treat.
UNLV at No. 13 Arizona (Saturday, 9:30 p.m./ESPN2)
Is UNLV good? Can anybody figure this out? This game is probably only going to make the answer to the question even less apparent, but whatever, it should be a fun couple of hours.
WORTH WATCHING UNLESS YOU HAVE A VALID EXCUSE
Auburn at No. 10 Xavier (Saturday, 12 p.m./Fox Sports 1)
In a season which appears to lack the greatness from its top five teams that we saw in 2014-15, Xavier looks like a team with as much of a shot to win six tournament games in a row as any other. They’ll attempt to convince even more people of that by dispatching of the fighting Bruce Pearls.
Charleston at No. 15 Miami (Saturday, 2 p.m./ESPN3/ACC Regional Sports Networks)
Miami head coach Jim Larranaga will be shooting for win No. 100 with the Hurricanes on Saturday. To get it, he’ll have to slow down the son of the greatest player to ever suit up for The U. Canyon Berry enters the weekend averaging 21.4 points per game for 7-2 Charleston. That’s just a bit shy of the 37.4 ppg his dad, Rick, averaged as a Miami senior back in 1964-65.
No. 23 Cincinnati at VCU (Saturday, 4 p.m./CBS Sports Network)
Don’t feel like watching the Bearcats in the middle of a loaded college hoops Saturday? Mick Cronin would like a word:
Tennessee vs. Gonzaga (Saturday, 11 p.m./ESPNU)
Because Michael Che and Colin Jost still aren’t clicking on Weekend Update, and this might be your only opportunity to experience post-midnight Rick Barnes this season.
IF YOU WANT TO JUST CHECK THE BOX SCORE, THAT’S OK -- BUT CHECK THE BOX SCORE
Pittsburgh vs. Davidson (Sunday, 12 p.m./ESPNU)
This might be the best game that Sunday has to offer, if only because it features Jack Gibbs, the kid who dropped 41 in front of Steph Curry earlier this season.
Western Kentucky at No. 19 Louisville (Saturday, 12 p.m. Noon/ESPNU)
The all-time series between these two in-state powers is currently tied at 39, but whichever teams wins this year’s game figures to hold the series advantage for the foreseeable future. The reason? Well, this is the final game in the current contract between the two programs, and last year’s contest in Bowling Green got a little ugly.
Wichita State at Seton Hall (Saturday, 12 p.m./Fox)
It’s hard to overstate how important this game is for Kevin Willard, who is very obviously coaching for his job this season. That being the case, it’s not ideal that since Fred VanVleet’s return, Wichita State has looked like the team we all thought they’d be heading into the year.
Monmouth at Rutgers (Sunday, 1 p.m./Big Ten Network)
Save your “they’re actually a good team” comments. I’m aware of that, but the Hawks are on the guide because of the bench mob.
Northwestern at DePaul (Saturday, 2 p.m./Fox Sports 1)
It’s the only power five conference team that has never been to the NCAA Tournament against the one which hasn’t shown any sign of being able to make it back for over a decade. That’s worth at least two minutes of your day. Maybe. Probably not.
NC State at Missouri (Saturday, 6 p.m./SEC Network)
Because maybe Cat Barber will do this again.
No. 6 Maryland vs. Princeton (Saturday, 7 p.m./Big Ten Network)
There was a time when Maryland would always play one game a season in Baltimore, but that time ended in 1999 due to scheduling conflicts. Now, the Terps are headed back to the home of Bunk and McNulty to take on Princeton in what could be a fun game of contrasting styles.
Texas at Stanford (Saturday, 11:30 p.m./ESPN2)
The North Carolina win showed us that Texas has the natural ability to do major things in Shaka Smart’s first season, but I think this game figures to give us a better indication of whether or not the Horns have the focus and maturity to be taken seriously. If they lay an egg against the Cardinal, then I think the rest of their season becomes fairly easy to predict: a few major Big 12 wins, a couple of inexplicable clunkers and then an early exit from the big dance. If they handle business in the wee hours of Sunday morning, then they’ll warrant our attention as a national player.
See More:
