GAME OF THE DAY: No. 17 Duke at No. 2 Syracuse, 6:30 p.m., ESPN
Could this get any juicier? Let’s ignore, for a second, the fact that the team currently sitting in first place in the ACC will be taking on the team that may be playing the best basketball in the ACC. Let’s also ignore that this is the game between the biggest name in the ACC and the biggest name to join the ACC. Then we can also look past the fact that there are going to be somewhere around 35,000 people in the Carrier Dome to watch this game. Or Coach K vs. Boeheim.
Let’s focus, instead, on the fact this game will feature one of the nation’s three remaining undefeated teams taking on a team that features arguably the nation’s best player and just so happens to be well-suited to breaking down the Syracuse zone. Going beyond the multitude of story lines, the game itself should be fantastic.
THE OTHER GAME OF THE DAY: No. 6 Kansas at No. 25 Texas, Sat. 4:00 p.m., ESPN
Kansas vs. Texas was the single biggest game in the Big 12 for a number of years, and it looks like it may be that way again this season. The Longhorns are much improved this year, defending as well as anyone in the Big 12 and getting enough out of their offense to slide into second in the conference standings. Texas might also be the best matchup of any Big 12 team with the Jayhawks given the size they have inside to combat Joel Embiid and Perry Ellis. The problem? If the Andrew Wiggins that has scored 56 points in the last two games shows up, I’m not sure Texas has a chance.
WHO’S GETTING UPSET? No. 21 UMass at St. Joseph’s, Sat. 6:00 p.m., CBS Sports Network
Based on the way that they’ve played over the last month, UMass is one of the most overrated teams in the country. They’ll visit St. Joe’s after losing at St. Bonaventure on Wednesday. St. Joe’s will be looking for revenge after a 66-62 road loss at UMass on January 8th. With both of these teams being tied for third in the A-10 at 4-2, this will be a big game for the winner to keep pace with conference leader St. Louis, who is still unbeaten in the league at 6-0.
MID-MAJOR GAME OF THE DAY: Wright State at Green Bay, 7:00 p.m., ESPN2
Two of the preseason favorites in the Horizon collide as the Raiders (13-11, 5-4) travel to face the league-leading Phoenix (17-4, 7-1). Green Bay was cruising through the Horizon League until a 75-60 loss at Valpo earlier this week while Wright State desperately needs a conference road win after losing two straight to have any shot at the league’s regular-season crown.
FIVE THINGS TO KNOW
1) There will be four games on the NBC Sports Network on Saturday:
- 12:30 p.m.: George Washington at Dayton
- 2:30 p.m.: George Mason at No. 19 Saint Louis
- 4:30 p.m.: Drexel at Towson
- 9:00 p.m.: Penn at Harvard
2) No. 7 Michigan State will be without Adreian Payne and Branden Dawson on Saturday as they face Georgetown, which is key for the Hoyas. They don’t have much size inside and this will be a must-win game for them.
3) If you’re looking for an entertaining basketball game, check out No. 23 Oklahoma at No. 16 Iowa State. Both teams spread the floor, shoot threes, play at a faster and struggle defensively.
4) No. 11 Kentucky is coming off of an embarrassing road loss at LSU. Missouri, who is better at home, just picked up a win at Arkansas. Will trends continue? The Tigers need this win if they are going to be a tournament team.
5) No. 1 Arizona will put its undefeated season on the line against a good Cal team that desperately needs this win. Cal has lost three consecutive games in Pac-12 play since starting 5-0 and after an overtime home loss to Arizona State earlier in the week, the Bears can’t afford to get swept at home by the Arizona schools.
THE REST OF THE TOP 25:
- Texas A&M at No. 3 Florida, 4:00 p.m., ESPN3
- Evansville at No. 4 Wichita State, 3 p.m., ESPNU
- Colorado State at No. 5 San Diego State, 7 p.m., ESPNU
- Baylor at No. 8 Oklahoma State, 2 p.m., ESPN
- No. 9 Villanova at Temple, Sat. 4:00 p.m., CBS SN
- UCF at No. 12 Louisville, 9:00 p.m., ESPNU
- No. 24 Ohio State at No. 14 Wisconsin 12 p.m., ESPN
- No. 22 Memphis at SMU, 2 p.m., CBS SN
NOTABLES:
- Richmond at VCU, Sat. 11:00 a.m., ESPN2
- N.C. State at North Carolina, Sat. 1:00 p.m., ESPN2
- Northwestern at Minnesota, Sat. 2:00 p.m., Big Ten Network
- Arizona State at Stanford, Sat. 4:00 p.m., PAC-12 Network
- Arkansas at LSU, Sat. 5:00 p.m., ESPNU
- Boise State at UNLV, Sat. 8:05 p.m., CBS Sports Network
- Tennessee at Alabama, Sat. 9:00 p.m., ESPN2
- Saint Mary’s at BYU, Sat. 11:00 p.m., ESPN2