March has arrived. Just ask Michigan State’s Tre Holloman or Temple’s Zion Stanford or Michigan’s Nimari Burnett, who signaled the start of college basketball’s best month just a tad early. Buzzer beaters are a sign of what’s to come in the next month with just over a week left before the start of conference tournaments.
There are a ton of excellent games this week. From tilts between the SEC’s and Big Ten’s best to intense bubble battles, there’s a lot to like. Here’s what to prioritize watching:
Saturday, 1 p.m. ET, ABC/ESPN+
The Tigers have passed test after test this season, but even they haven’t faced a run like this to close the season. Trips to Kentucky and Texas A&M followed by a rematch with Alabama make up the top-ranked team’s final three games. Though losing out on a No. 1 seed at this point isn’t a real possibility, the Tigers still need to fend off Duke to earn the top overall spot in the field of 68. The Wildcats are a tough start as Mark Pope has consistently gotten his team to play up to its competition, especially in front of Big Blue Nation. Kentucky is already in great position bracket-wise, boasting nine Quad 1 wins (tied for third-most in the country), but a statement against the top team in the country would be the cherry on top.
Saturday, 4 p.m. ET, ESPN
This meeting marks the first of a few matchups this week that feature two teams on the cusp of earning a coveted one-seed. Since the Tide allowed 110 points to Missouri on Feb. 19, they’ve gotten back to playing enough defense and scoring a boatload of points, including 111 on Tuesday against Mississippi State. Alabama has the toughest schedule in the country over the final week with trips to Tennessee and Auburn along with a home game against Florida. The Vols have stayed within striking distance of a one-seed in recent weeks, with road wins over Texas A&M and LSU helping their case. Beating Alabama, currently in possession of the third No. 1 seed in Sports Illustrated’s latest bracket watch, could be the boost Tennessee needs to vault into that spot.
Sunday, 1:30 p.m. ET, CBS
The Spartans won’t have much time to emotionally regulate from Holloman’s game-winner as they seek to close out a difficult four-game stretch undefeated against the Badgers. Since losing at home to Indiana, Tom Izzo’s squad has beaten Illinois, Purdue, Michigan and Maryland, four of the top seven teams in the conference with three of those wins coming on the road. With nine Quad 1 wins, the most in the Big Ten, and two more résumé-boosters still on the docket, Michigan State could make a case for the final one-seed—especially if the SEC continues to beat up on itself this next week.
Wednesday, 6:30 p.m. ET, BTN
These teams epitomized the highs and lows of college basketball in March last week. Maryland was on the losing end of a backbreaking Michigan State heave from beyond half court, while Michigan needed Burnett’s three-pointer at the buzzer to stave off an upset bid on its home floor. The Wolverines remain tied atop the conference with Michigan State as a result of the win, but it’s unlikely the regular-season victor will be determined until the final game. The Terps on the other hand, are in the midst of a grueling battle for a double bye in the Big Ten tournament. Maryland is tied for fourth with Purdue and UCLA with three games remaining, but the Boilermakers and Bruins play one another this week. That leaves the Terrapins with a clear path other than the trip to Ann Arbor.
Wednesday, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN2
Florida is really the only other team that might have a chance to slip into a one-seed, given that it has a chance to beat Texas A&M and Alabama in the same week. The case did take a hit with the horrendous start and subsequent midweek loss to Georgia, but just about everything went wrong for the Gators in the midweek matchup. Alex Condon looked like he was still getting up to speed in his first game back from injury and Alijah Martin, Florida’s second-leading scorer, made just two field goals. If Alabama wins its next two games, the results of the regular-season finale against Auburn won’t matter for seeding purposes. Florida and Tennessee, however, need to take down the Tide if they want to improve their standing.
Creighton Bluejays (20–8) at Xavier Musketeers (18–10)
Saturday, 4:30 p.m. ET, Fox
Xavier has teetered on and off the bubble for the past few weeks before picking a good time to get hot. Four straight wins have the Musketeers as the third team out in SI’s latest Bracket Watch, but the issue remains a 1–8 record in Quad 1. Beating Creighton, the second-place team in the Big East, wouldn’t improve that Q1 record but it would be the final real test for the Musketeers to pass.
Georgia Bulldogs (17–11) at Texas Longhorns (16–12)
Saturday, 8 p.m. ET, ESPN2
Though it wasn’t sweat-free, Georgia picked the right time to play its best half of basketball on Tuesday against Florida. The Bulldogs led 39–13 in a 51-point first half and still barely held off the No. 3 Gators, but that’s exactly the kind of win they needed to better position themselves in the eyes of the committee. Now the last team in the field in SI’s latest bracketology, Georgia has a chance to take down a fellow bubble team in Texas, with the loser having a far more difficult case to make come Selection Sunday.
Gonzaga Bulldogs (22–8) at San Francisco Dons (23–7)
Saturday, 11 p.m. ET, ESPN/ESPN+
The Dons very well might need a victory in their season finale against Mark Few’s Bulldogs, a deep run in the WCC tournament and then some help on the bubble to backdoor their way into the field of 68. Gonzaga dominated San Francisco on the glass the first time these teams met on Feb. 13, winning the rebounding battle 41–28 and scoring 52 of 88 points in the paint. Back at home, the Dons will look to slow down physical forward Graham Ike and keep their tournament-at-large hopes alive.
Nebraska Cornhuskers (17–11) at Ohio State Buckeyes (16–13)
Tuesday, 9 p.m. ET, Peacock
It was just about time to hit the panic button in Columbus after Ohio State dropped three straight, including a 21-point drubbing at home against Northwestern, over the past three weeks. A win on the road at USC temporarily postponed the five-alarm fire, but the Buckeyes would greatly prefer to take down one of their biggest adversaries on the bubble in the Cornhuskers. Nebraska is fresh off of scoring 46 points at home in a loss to Michigan with the trip to Columbus marking a last chance to boost the résumé before the Big Ten tournament.
Arkansas Razorbacks (17–11) at Vanderbilt Commodores (19–9)
Tuesday, 10 p.m. ET, SEC Network
The Razorbacks got as good of a bubble win as they could Wednesday, outlasting 39 points from Texas’s Tre Johnson to beat out the Longhorns in overtime. Coupled with the upset of Missouri this past weekend, John Calipari’s team is in the best position it’s been in since the start of conference play. But Vanderbilt is coming off two marquee wins against Ole Miss and most recently at Texas A&M, which makes this a game between two teams that are hot and still trying to push themselves as far away from the bubble as possible.
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