College hoops viewing guide: Big 12-SEC Challenge games highlight season’s biggest weekend

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No. 11 Virginia at No. 16 Louisville (Sat., 1 p.m., CBS)

The best thing about the must-watch games of Saturday is that they’re staggered ... and glorious. It starts at 1 p.m. on CBS, with Louisville and Virginia going at it in a battle of ACC teams still fighting to convince a hoard of non-believers. The issue, of course, is that a win over another team in virtually the same boat probably isn’t going to do the trick. For the Cardinals, however, a victory could both provide a much-needed boost to their resume and set the stage for a marquee showdown on Monday night when North Carolina comes to town.

No. 14 Iowa State at No. 5 Texas A&M (Sat., 2 p.m./ESPN)

Weren’t aware that the Big 12-SEC Challenge was a thing before today? A quick perusal of the sports Interwebz suggests that you have a great deal of company. The event is actually in its third season, but is being played in January for the first time. It would appear as though the event producers picked the perfect season (and the perfect matchups) for this change, as three of the sport’s top four games this weekend are all part of the challenge.

The showcase games start at 2 p.m. with a team fresh off an upset of a top-five team (Iowa State over Kansas) taking on a team in the top five that is fresh off being upset (Texas A&M lost at Arkansas). It’s also a battle of two former Murray State coaches, but that’s not nearly as sexy ... still cool, though.

No. 1 Oklahoma at LSU (Sat., 5 p.m./ESPN)

A fun thing to do for this game is to convince a friend who doesn’t watch a whole lot of sports to give you five bucks every time someone on ESPN says “green room guys” during this broadcast. Act really drunk when you do it so they’ll think you’re being an idiot and picking a random phrase that popped into your head. Then force them to exist as your personal servant after they can’t pay the $5,000 they owe you.

But seriously, Hield and Simmons are both really good at basketball and this should be fun.

No. 20 Kentucky at No. 4 Kansas (Sat., 7 p.m./ESPN)

For all the criticism he gets from some -- “he needs to play his future first-round picks more if he wants to avoid another early tournament exit” -- Bill Self is at the center of two of the more ridiculous statistics in college basketball right now. First, there’s the streak of 11 consecutive Big 12 regular season titles, and then there’s the fact that the Jayhawks are 200-9 at Allen Fieldhouse under his direction. Those nine losses have come at the hands of nine different teams, which means Self has never been beaten by a program more than once on his home floor. That’s absurd.

John Calipari doesn’t appear particularly confident about his chances of dealing Self home loss No. 10.

Even if the head coach isn’t a believer, there is some cause for Big Blue optimism. Kentucky enters this game playing easily its best basketball of the season, while Kansas has lost two of its last three and three of its last five. All three of those losses have come by double digits. Regardless of how the teams are playing, these are the two winningest programs in college basketball history going at it inside one of the sport’s cathedrals. It’s going to be a blast.

No. 9 West Virginia at Florida (Sat., 12 p.m./ESPN)

The Big 12-SEC Challenge kicks off at noon, with Bob Huggins and West Virginia hitting the road to take on a Florida squad that could really use a resume win over a top-10 team right now. The Gators don’t shoot the ball especially well, which could be an issue against a Mountaineer defense that is the most efficient in the country according to Ken Pomeroy’s ratings. Since knocking off UCLA in the 2014 Sweet 16, Florida has lost 10 straight games against ranked opponents.

No. 15 Miami at NC State (Sat., 3 p.m./ACC Network/ESPN3)

Keep an eye out for this storyline as the calendar flips to February: Miami has the friendliest final month schedule of any of the teams that appear to be in contention for the ACC regular season title. For that to matter, the Hurricanes can’t afford to slip up in dangerous spots like this one in Raleigh.

No. 10 Providence at Georgetown (Sat., 8 p.m./FS1)

DUNNIONS. Double Saturday night serving.

No. 22 Wichita State at Evansville (Sun., 4 p.m./ESPNU)

Vanderbilt at Texas (Sat., 12 p.m./ESPN2)

Texas plays hard every time it steps on the floor, and they seem driven to make Shaka Smart’s first season in Austin an overachieving success. Vanderbilt might be the biggest disappointment in college basketball, and its talented roster hasn’t appeared to be particularly interested in deviating from that path. Winning three straight over Florida, the Horns and Texas A&M could change all that.

Nebraska at No. 21 Purdue (Sat., 4:30 p.m./Big Ten Network)

Oregon State at No. 18 Arizona (Sat., 9:30 p.m./Pac-12 Network)

Arizona’s nation-leading 49-game home winning streak was snapped by Oregon on Thursday night, which was bad for both them and our dream of every team in the Pac-12 finishing 9-9 (Wazzou ain’t helping out much either). It’s also not a great situation for Oregon State, which hasn’t beaten anybody on the road since winning at UC Santa Barbara on Nov. 21.

No. 8 Maryland at Ohio State (Sun., 1 p.m./CBS)

Maryland finally got the signature win it had been waiting for when it knocked off No. 3 Iowa on Thursday night at home. Ohio State, meanwhile, still looks like a team that has no idea which combination of guards gives them the best opportunity to win.

No. 23 Oregon at Arizona State (Sun., 8:30 p.m./ESPNU)

Finding out what the Curtain of Distraction has planned next is the best way to spend your Sunday evening.

Terrific.

Butler at Marquette (Sat., 12 p.m./FS1)

Everyone knows the Bulldogs are better than their 3-5 Big East mark, but they can’t afford to keep losing these types of games anymore.

Georgia Tech at Syracuse (Sat., 12 p.m./ESPNU)

The Orange lead the ACC and rank 19th nationally with 8.4 steals per game, while the Yellow Jackets are 12th in the nation in turnovers per game (10.2). That’s not a great look for the upset bid.

Clemson at Florida State (Sat., 12 p.m./ACC Regional Network)

The ACC’s biggest overachiever through the first month of conference play takes on (arguably) the league’s biggest disappointment over the same span. If Clemson wants to prove that the “coming back down to earth” fall that everyone is expecting isn’t going to happen, well, this would be an audible statement to that effect.

La Salle at Dayton (Sat., 2 p.m./NBC Sports Network)

La Salle’s lone Atlantic 10 victory came earlier this month over the 17-3 Flyers. Revenge might not be pretty inside UD Arena.

No. 7 Xavier at DePaul (Sat., 2 p.m./CBS Sports Network)

The Demons may not be looking ahead to their Feb. 17 showdown at St. John’s, but I certainly am.

Ole Miss at Kansas State (Sat., 2 p.m./ESPNU)

Stefan. Moody.

Minnesota at No. 19 Indiana (Sat., 2:15 p.m./Big Ten Network)

Still searching for its first Big Ten win, Minnesota has lost to three conference foes -- No. 17 Indiana, No. 11 Michigan State and No. 21 Purdue -- by a total of nine points, but they all occurred at home.

Washington at USC (Sat., 3 p.m./Pac-12 Network)

A rematch from earlier this month when USC blew a 22-point lead and fell to the Huskies by two. Ironically, Washington is coming off a game against UCLA in which it narrowly escaped an eerily similar disaster.

Boston College at No. 2 North Carolina (Sat., 4 p.m./ESPN2)

So, let’s say BC, St. John’s and Rutgers all finish the regular season without a conference victory. How hard would it be to set up a four-team postseason tournament with DePaul as the host? We could call it, I don’t know, “The DePaul.” You can say you wouldn’t watch, but I’m not going to believe you.

Georgia at No. 17 Baylor (Sat., 6 p.m./ESPN2)

There weren’t enough good SEC teams for every Big 12 team to get one. Sorry, Rico, chew on these guys.

Alabama at South Carolina (Sat., 6 p.m./SEC Network)

Alabama exposed the suspected cracks in South Carolina’s unbeaten foundation with a 23-point win in Tuscaloosa earlier this month. They’ll go for the season sweep against the now unranked Gamecocks on Saturday.

Saint Joseph’s at Rhode Island (Sat., 6 p.m./CBS Sports Network)

Did you know Saint Joseph’s is 17-3? Joe Lunardi knows Saint Joseph’s is 17-3. The Hawks are also a perfect 7-0 on the road, but will be facing a Rhode Island team that has yet to lose at home.

Memphis at No. 13 SMU (Sat., 8 p.m./ESPNU)

One of the more intriguing storylines in the AAC going forward is going to be where SMU draws motivation from now that the quest for 30-0 is over. The chances of Memphis pulling an upset and Josh Pasnter making a much, much bigger deal about it than anybody else here are high.

UC Santa Barbara at UC Irvine (Sat., 10 p.m./ESPNU)

The fighting Mamadou Ndiayes feel like they let an NCAA Tournament upset of Louisville slip through their hands a year ago. At 17-5 overall and 6-0 in the Big West, they’re on pace for a shot at March redemption.

No. 6 Villanova at St. John’s (Sun., 12 p.m./Fox)

St. John’s is not going to win.

Wake Forest at No. 25 Notre Dame (Sun., 1 p.m./ACC Network/ESPN3)

Northwestern at No. 3 Iowa (Sun., 3 p.m./Big Ten Network)

The Wildcats have made extra sure their fan base knows this isn’t the year they make the NCAA Tournament for the first time by losing their last two games in horrifically one-sided fashion. A third straight 30+ point loss could be coming at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

Rutgers at No. 12 Michigan State (Sun., 5:15 p.m./Big Ten Network)

Also, read Ricky’s thing on Michigan State because it’s really good.

Virginia Tech at Pittsburgh (Sun., 6:30 p.m./ESPNU)

Pitt has trailed by double digits in each of its last three games, losing two of them. Virginia Tech, meanwhile, has lost three straight after its surprising 4-1 start in ACC play.

Wisconsin at Illinois (Sun., 7:30 p.m./Big Ten Network)

Because it’s on, and football isn’t, and the weekend’s not over, dammit.