College Basketball Weekend Viewer's Guide
Make sure to check out The Field of 68 After Dark tonight.
Saturday, 12:30 pm: No. 22 St. John’s vs. Kentucky (Atlanta), CBS
One of the biggest games of the weekend is the first bit of appointment viewing on Saturday, as Mark Pope takes Kentucky to Cat-lanta to take on his former head coach Rick Pitino and St. John’s. Kentucky is coming off of a win over an Indiana team that they could out muscle, and while the Johnnies have struggled through the start of the season, they are certainly not the kind of team that will get pushed around.
Did Kentucky truly turn a corner last weekend? Can St. John’s land a marquee win, something they — and the Big East — desperately needs? One thing to keep an eye on here: Will Jayden Quaintence suit up for the first time this season?
Saturday, 2:00 pm: Colorado State at Utah State, CBSSN
It’s not exactly Mountain West After Dark, but the two best teams in the conference face off in the Spectrum on Saturday afternoon. Colorado State has been a revelation, a team shooting 45 percent from three while taking more than 50 percent of their threes from beyond the arc. Ali Farokhmanesh has built a really entertaining product out in Fort Collins. Utah State, on the other hand, just reloaded again. MJ Collins may be the most improved player in college basketball this season, pairing with Mason Falslev to form one of the best backcourts in America.
Saturday 3:00 pm: Ohio State vs. No. 12 North Carolina (Atlantia), CBS
North Carolina has quietly developed into a sleeper national title contender this season, and that’s despite playing without Seth Trimble for the last six weeks. There’s a real chance that Trimble makes an appearance in Atlanta on Saturday afternoon. Ohio State has the talent to hang with the Tar Heels, especially if Bruce Thornton — who will be the best guard on the floor — has a big game.
Saturday, 5:30 pm: No. 8 Houston vs. No. 14 Arkansas (Newark), CBS
The best game of the day. Arkansas has really started to show how dangerous they can be this year, coming off of a win over Texas Tech last Saturday. Trevon Brazile had a breakout game against the Red Raiders, but the story of the Razorback season to date is Darius Acuff; he’s been the best point guard in this year’s freshman class. Kingston Flemings, however, isn’t all that far behind. It feels like we’ve forgotten about Houston a bit this year, and this is a chance for them to correct the narrative.
Saturday, 6:00 pm: Maryland at No. 23 Virginia, ESPN
Maryland has been beat up this season, but this is a chance for them to land a significant road win against a former ACC rival.
Saturday, 6:30 pm: No. 21 Auburn vs. No. 6 Purdue, Peacock
Auburn has had a weird season to date. They’re 8-3 with wins over St. John’s, NC State and Oregon, but they were absolutely pummeled by Michigan and Arizona. They had a chance to beat Houston and also tried to give away a game against Bethune-Cookman. On Saturday, they take on Purdue in Indianapolis, with the Boilermakers looking to remind the college basketball world that, despite getting run out of their own gym by Iowa State, they are still a title contender.
Saturday, 8:00 pm: No. 3 Duke vs. No. 19 Texas Tech (MSG), ESPN
Grant McCasland had a terrific rant this week about the issues his team is dealing with defensively. I can’t imagine a worse opponent to deal with if you have defensive issues than Duke. The Red Raiders are going to be without Luke Bamgboye, which means that McCasland is going to have to make a decision about what they do on the defensive end. Who is guarding Cam Boozer? Is it JT Toppin, who already is dealing with playing too many minutes? Do you put LeJuan Watts or Tyeree Bryan on him? Good luck figuring that one out.
Saturday, 10:30 pm: San Diego State vs. No. 1 Arizona (Phoenix), ESPN2
The Aztecs have not had a great start to the season despite entering the year as the favorite in the Mountain West. They need a big performance against Arizona. Even a close loss will help their metrics out quite a bit.
Sunday, 1:00 pm: No. 13 Vanderbilt at Wake Forest, CW
Vanderbilt struggled with the length and athleticism of Memphis during the week. Wake Forest has plenty of length and athleticism as well, and they badly need a win to help bolster a resume that is lacking quality at the top.
Sunday 1:00 pm: Ole Miss vs. NC State (Greensboro), ESPN
Two of the better coaches in college basketball face off in a game both badly need after a rough non-conference season.
Sunday, 6:00 pm: Oregon vs. No. 7 Gonzaga (Portland), Peacock
Oregon has been a major disappointment through the first month of the season. There are two ways to look at this game with Gonzaga: It’s a chance to change the narrative of their non-conference season, or it’s the worst time to face off with a team that has been pummeling opponents.
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