NCAA basketball schedule, Dec. 3: Scores, highlights, news, and what to watch for in Saturday’s games

All times ET

Must watch

No. 11 UCLA at No. 1 Kentucky (12:30 p.m./CBS)

The fact that this is a matchup featuring perhaps college basketball’s two most accomplished and recognizable programs is cool and all, but the real attraction here is a game featuring the most exciting team in the country -- Kentucky -- and the most exciting player in the country -- UCLA freshman point guard Lonzo Ball.

The top-ranked Wildcats steamrolled every team that stood in their way in November, but those speed bumps grow a great deal in size starting Saturday. The Bruins have also passed the eye test on their way to a relatively untested 8-0 start, but they’ll still be nearly a double-digit dog when they take the court inside Rupp Arena.

For objective viewers, the most positive aspect of all when it comes to this game is UCLA saying during the week that it will embrace the torrid pace that Kentucky will undoubtedly attempt to dictate. That could make this one of the most entertaining games not just of December, but of the entire season.

No. 25 West Virginia at No. 6 Virginia (2 p.m./ESPNU)

Virginia hadn’t seemed phased at all by the surprise in-season dismissal of Austin Nichols before it needed a furious late rally to eek out a 63-61 home win over Ohio State on Wednesday. That performance left some doubt as to how the Cavaliers will handle a West Virginia team that forced them into 19 turnovers a season ago, and which forced Manhattan into an almost unbelievable 40 giveaways earlier this week.

Don’t be surprised to see UVA utilize the same four-guard lineup -- London Perrantes, Marial Shayok, Devon Hall, Darius Thompson and forward Isaiah Wilkins -- that it played down the stretch against Ohio State. That also could wind up being Tony Bennett’s strongest hand once the team gets into the heart of ACC play.

No. 7 Xavier at No. 9 Baylor (3:30 p.m./ESPN2)

Despite the Baylor football team taking on West Virginia at the same time, all eyes (or at least most eyes) in Waco will be on the hardwood Saturday afternoon. Scott Drew’s Bears have the best resume in the country through three weeks, owning top 50 wins over Louisville, Michigan State, VCU and Oregon. They’ll put their perfect record on the line against a Xavier team that is 7-0, but hasn’t been quite as impressive as their record or national ranking would indicate. They can validate both with one victory on Saturday.

No. 8 Gonzaga at No. 16 Arizona (5:30 p.m./ESPN)

These two powers of the Pacific Region have met in each of the last three seasons, with Arizona emerging victorious every time. That streak would appear to be in serious jeopardy on Saturday, as the Wildcats are expected to have just seven available scholarship players for the game. Sean Miller has already lost two players to ACL tears, expected star Allonzo Trier is still sidelined with an unspecified eligibility issue, and starting point guard Parker Jackson-Cartwright suffered a high ankle sprain earlier this week. That’s good news for a Gonzaga team which has won five of its seven games by 20 or more points.

Oklahoma at No. 17 Wisconsin (1 p.m./Big Ten Network)

Greg Gard got a glimpse of the Nigel Hayes he’s hoping to see for the rest of the season during the team’s domination of Syracuse earlier this week. The preseason All-American destroyed Jim Boeheim’s vaunted 2-3 zone, finishing the night with 9 points, 11 rebounds and a career-high 10 assists. He’ll hope to keep that momentum against an Oklahoma team that looked terrific in a win over Clemson, but is still trying to figure out the best way to adjust to life without Buddy Hield.

Saint Joseph’s at No. 2 Villanova (1 p.m./CBS Sports Network)

Saint Joe’s has dropped its last three games, but this is the Holy War, and none of that matters. Villanova will likely be without Phil Booth once again, an absence that hasn’t kept the reigning national champions from winning their first seven games by an average of nearly 18 points. The Wildcats haven’t lost to their city rivals since 2011.

Akron at No. 10 Creighton (8 p.m./FSN2)

The Zips are no joke, and they make more 3-pointers per game than all but eight other teams in Division-I. That’s the perfect pairing for a Creighton team whose 92.0 ppg average ranks No. 6 in the country. This one will be entertaining enough to take the time to see if you have FSN2 for.

Oklahoma State at Maryland (9 p.m./Big Ten Network)

Oklahoma State will hit the road for the first time under Brad Underwood to take on a Maryland team that is “mentally tired” after playing four games in one week. The final game of that stretch wound up being a disappointing 14-point loss to Pitt in the ACC/Big 10 Challenge. This won’t get the same type of national attention as the other games we’ve listed before it, but it’s still a huge potential win for two teams who both want to be playing in the big tournament come March.

Wake Forest at Richmond (12 p.m./ESPNU)

These teams have met in every season since 2008, and Richmond has actually won four of the last six. That’s a trend that needs to die for Danny Manning to ease some of the negative chatter that’s permeating throughout Winston-Salem.

Georgia Tech at Tennessee (1 p.m./SEC Network)

Neither one of these teams is going to win their respective Power 5 conference. That’s a prediction you can take to the bar with you this weekend, kids.

Memphis at Ole Miss (1 p.m./SEC Network)

Michigan State feels the pain of Ole Miss, which was absolutely walloped by Middle Tennessee earlier this week. They’ll look to bounce back against regional rival Memphis, which is 6-1 in its first season under Tubby Smith.

Winthrop at Dayton (2 p.m./Fox Sports Ohio)

For all the success he’s had at Dayton, Archie Miller has had to deal with some serious cases of snake bite. It’s struck the Flyers again this year, but recent history says that Miller and company will find a way. So far the solution has been to rely more on UD’s unheralded sophomore class, which has upped its production with star Charles Cooke temporarily sidelined.

Morehead State at No. 15 Purdue (2 p.m./ESPN3)

The Boilermakers will look to bounce back from Wednesday’s loss to Louisville against a Morehead State team that still has no idea what’s going to happen to its suspended head coach.

Western Kentucky at Missouri (3 p.m./SEC Network)

Western Kentucky has a star-studded freshman class on the way, which makes games like Wednesday night’s 19-point loss to in-state rival Eastern Kentucky easier to stomach for Hilltopper fans. Two days prior to that, Missouri lost at home by 10 to North Carolina Central. The point of the previous two sentences is that both of these teams could use a victory. They’d probably agree to split it if that was something which was allowed, but as of the time of this post, it is not.

Central Arkansas at No. 18 Butler (4 p.m./FSN2)

Central Arkansas is where Arthur Agee from Hoop Dreams transferred to after his two year stint at that Mineral Area junior college. Hoop Dreams is so freaking good. Central Arkansas is still going to lose this game though.

North Florida at No. 22 Syracuse (4 p.m./ACC Network)

The Ospreys have been disappointing this year, but Dallas Moore going up against the Syracuse zone still might be worth keeping an eye on.

Oral Roberts at Michigan State (4:30 p.m./Big Ten Network)

The fact that Tom Izzo’s teams get better and better as the season goes along is as well known as any nugget of knowledge in college basketball, but the Spartans are facing more trouble than usual this December. The team’s frontcourt was already wrecked by injuries, and now star freshman Miles Bridges is out “at least a couple of weeks” with an ankle injury. Sparty is still more likely than not to do some serious damage late in conference play, but the question now is whether or not the damage done in the season’s first couple months will make said damage meaningless.

Maine at No. 5 Duke (5:30 p.m./ESPN2)

The most interesting thing about this game will likely be that Maine is going to be wearing black and rainbow-themed warm-up shirts to protest the state of North Carolina’s controversial House Bill 2 law.

Wichita State at Colorado State (5 p.m./CBS Sports Network)

The Shockers lost to Louisville and Michigan State at the Battle 4 Atlantis, which means this is something of a must-have game if they want to again be in position to snag an at-large bid come March.

Savannah State at No. 23 Oregon (6 p.m./Pac-12 Network)

The Ducks just need to fight through this awkward early season stretch where guys have been hurt and the chemistry has been off and start clicking before the calendar flips to 2017.

Northern Iowa at Wyoming (6 p.m./Campus Insiders)

These two teams actually played in the NCAA Tournament two years ago. You might not remember it, but some of the players on the teams probably do. The coaches too. Northern Iowa won.

DePaul at Northwestern (7 p.m./Big Ten Network)

Chicago has a legitimate claim to the title of best high school hoops city in America, and perhaps best hoops city period. That being the case, it’s sort of unfathomable that the battle for college bragging rights in the city comes down to the sport’s worst power conference program of the last decade, and the only major conference program that has never played in the NCAA Tournament. What I’m saying is that you should drop any and all other commitments in your life in order to watch every second of this game.

BYU vs. USC (8 p.m./ESPNU)

There will be points. Oh yes, there will be points.

UNLV at Arizona State (8 p.m./Pac-12 Network)

Credit to Arizona State for taking the floor again after the 115-69 pasting that Kentucky laid on them in The Bahamas. A lesser team would have just called it a wrap on the program and spent the rest of the year going down that shark tank water slide that they have.

Kansas State at Saint Louis (8 p.m./Fox Sports Midwest)

The Travis Ford era at Saint Louis isn’t off to the best of starts, as the Bilikens are 2-4 and coming off a home loss to Samford.

Auburn at UAB (8:30 p.m./BeIN Sports)

BeIN Sports is a real thing. I swear to God. If you want to watch a sweaty Bruce Pearl instead of big-time college football on Saturday night, you’re going to have to find it.