Early February chaos reigned last Saturday in men’s college basketball when 11 AP Top 25–ranked teams went down, including eight in the top 15. The results were an indication of the depth in the power conference this season, even though true national title contenders like Auburn and Duke handled their business and got out of the weekend unscathed.
Turning the page forward, each week in the SEC is guaranteed to bring intrigue with the number of high-quality teams in the conference. But the upcoming weekly slate also features the top four teams in the Big East squaring off against one another, as well as other glimpses at contenders in the Big Ten, Big 12 and ACC.
Here’s what game you’ll want to prioritize watching in the coming days:
Friday, 7 p.m. ET, FS1
Rick Pitino got what his team needed this past week—a marquee, 70–64 win over Marquette. But the gauntlet continues for the Red Storm as they trade out the safe haven of Madison Square Garden for the hostile Gampel Pavilion in Storrs, Conn. Dan Hurley earned his own win over Marquette (a rough week for the Golden Eagles), led by a 25-point, 11-rebound performance from Solo Ball. The Huskies have taken their licks this season, but they remain the highest-scoring team in the Big East—and they’re going to need every point possible against St. John’s swarming, top-ranked defense.
Saturday, 2 p.m. ET, Fox
As mentioned above, Marquette’s hopes of being a national title contender took a hit last week. The offense looked discombobulated against both UConn and St. John’s and if the Golden Eagles can’t keep up against the best of the Big East, then they’ll be hard-pressed to take down the SEC elite. To make matters worse, the most difficult part of Marquette’s schedule continues on the road against Creighton. The Bluejays needed a late three-pointer from Steven Ashworth to hold off Villanova before getting a 35-point outburst from star 7-footer Ryan Kalkbrenner to polish off the road trip against Providence. Creighton is scorching hot, having won eight games in a row, which makes for a daunting matchup for a desperate-to-prove-itself Marquette.
Saturday, 4 p.m. ET, ESPN
Florida managed to bounce back from last Saturday’s no-show at Tennessee at home against Vanderbilt, even without senior point guard Walter Clayton Jr. who injured his ankle against the Vols. Among those who proved pivotal in the win against the Commodores was 6′ 11″ sophomore Alex Condon (19 points, nine rebounds), who will be called upon to play another against Johni Broome and the Tigers. Broome didn’t need to do much in the way of scoring to beat Oklahoma on Tuesday, but he stuffed the stat sheet with 15 points, five rebounds, six assists, three blocks and three steals—all in just 26 minutes. With how well he and the rest of the group are playing, it’s hard to see their 14-game winning streak come to an end. But the Gators present perhaps the biggest challenge since Duke to knock off the top-ranked Tigers.
Tuesday, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN
Both of these teams have fallen a step (and a few games) off the pace in the SEC but remain squarely in the national conversion. The Vols’ last loss though? At home against Kentucky just over a week ago. Mark Pope’s team has stumbled in the two games since shooting the lights out in Knoxville, Tenn. It’s far too early to sound the alarm on the Wildcats, but four losses in their last five games (three of which were without Lamont Butler) isn’t going to sit well with Big Blue Nation, so another upset of their rival to the North would go a long way. This matchup features a stark contrast in styles with the second-best offense in the SEC (87 points per game) going up against the best defense in the conference (59.6 points allowed per game). If Tennessee drags Kentucky into the mud, the Vols will come out on top, but it’s easy enough to see this game going either way.
Tuesday, 7 p.m. ET, Peacock
Purdue has been one of the biggest risers in recent weeks as Matt Painter has his team looking just as competitive as it was in the Zach Edey era. The Boilermakers certainly benefit from having their two best players play their best basketball at the same time. Sophomore point guard Braden Smith scored 31 points in Tuesday’s win against Iowa and has been flanked by Edey’s quasi-replacement, Trey Kaufman-Renn, who has averaged 22.4 points across Purdue’s last five games. The Boilermakers handled their business last time out against Michigan, but that was at Mackey Arena. The Wolverines are 11–0 in the Crisler Center this season and have settled down with three straight wins. Consider this game each team’s audition to be considered the best team in the Big Ten.
Oregon Ducks (16–7) at No. 9 Michigan State Spartans (18–4)
Saturday, noon ET, Fox
The Ducks are reeling, full stop. Even with close losses to ranked teams like Michigan and Purdue, Oregon also has dropped games against 16th-place Minnesota, Nebraska at home and UCLA. The good news for Oregon is that Michigan State is licking its own wounds, which came in the form of consecutive road losses to the Big Ten’s L.A. teams. Someone has to win this one—a loss may be an indication of a more serious slide.
No. 10 Texas A&M Aggies (17–5) at No. 15 Missouri Tigers (17–5)
Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET, SEC Network
Tigers senior guard Caleb Grill came back to earth against Tennessee after back-to-back 20-point outings and Missouri still only lost by four points on the road to the top-five Vols. That game may not have gone the Tigers’ way, but a win over the Aggies would add another top-tier victory to their already stuffed resume.
No. 2 Duke Blue Devils (20–2) at Clemson Tigers (18–5)
Saturday, 6 p.m. ET, ESPN
Sixteen wins in a row makes this season’s Duke team one of the best of the last decade, and certainly since Jon Scheyer took over in 2022. And it’s not so much the victories as it is the way the Blue Devils are getting it done, blowout after blowout. Clemson, currently tied for second in the ACC, poses one of the bigger threats to Duke’s undefeated conference record. However, the Tigers are coming off a triple-overtime loss to 11–12 Georgia Tech and get punished with a matchup against one of the nation’s best.
No. 3 Alabama Crimson Tide (19–3) at Arkansas Razorbacks (14–8)
Saturday, 8:30 p.m. ET, ESPN
Here comes John Calipari. The Razorbacks have climbed their way back to the bubble, and currently sit among the first four out in Sports Illustrated’s latest bracket watch. Arkansas is a perfect test case of what can happen when you start to string together wins, especially on the road, in this year’s SEC. Even with a rocky start to conference play, a victory at home against the Crimson Tide will have the Razorbacks thinking more seriously about playing in March.
No. 13 Texas Tech Red Raiders (18–4) at No. 20 Arizona Wildcats (16–6)
Saturday, 10 p.m. ET, ESPN
Texas Tech won at Houston even after the controversial ejection of JT Toppin and kept the momentum rolling against Baylor, stretching its current win streak out to seven games. Arizona has won five in a row of its own after a loss to the Red Raiders in mid-January, so mark this down as a revenge game for the Wildcats.
This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content.
