College Basketball: 5 best games for Week 14
Following another chaotic Saturday of college basketball, these five games will have a significant impact on conference title races in Week 14.
The unpredictable 2016-17 college basketball season continued to provide surprises in Week 13, with a number of top 10 teams going down again.
Six teams ranked in the top nine of the AP Poll suffered losses on Saturday alone. With just a month remaining in the regular season, every major conference race is still up for grabs.
The most noteworthy result of the day came out west, as Oregon absolutely obliterated Arizona in Eugene to move into a tie for first place in the Pac-12. Kansas also suffered a rare loss at home, but Baylor and West Virginia couldn’t take advantage, as both lost to unranked teams.
Rivalry week comes at the perfect time, as several games over the next few days will have a big impact on conference races and NCAA Tournament seeding. There are intriguing matchups all over the place, but these five games stand out as the best of Week 14.
5. Kansas at Kansas State, Monday 9:00 p.m. ET
After the Jayhawks went down on Saturday at home, Monday’s trip to Manhattan suddenly becomes much more important for Kansas’ quest to win the Big 12 for the 13th consecutive year.
Kansas blew a 14-point halftime lead in a 92-89 overtime loss to Iowa State on Saturday, snapping a 51-game winning streak at Phog Allen Fieldhouse. The Jayhawks are still in good shape at 20-3 overall and are a game up in the Big 12 at 8-2, but have looked a little vulnerable with two losses over their past three games.
The Wildcats snapped a three-game losing streak with a close win over Baylor on Saturday in Waco. At 16-7 overall and 5-5 in the Big 12 with a top five win on the resume, Kansas State should be feeling pretty good about its chances to reach the NCAA Tournament.
While much of Saturday’s loss in Lawrence can be chalked up to an impossibly good shooting performance by Iowa State in the second half, there are still some concerns on the defensive end for Kansas. The Wildcats will try to take advantage, and had some success offensively in the first meeting between the two teams back on January 3 in a controversial 90-88 loss.
Still, Bill Self is terrific at making necessary adjustments, and the Kansas offense is going to tough to stop given the current form of Frank Mason and Josh Jackson. Kansas State will need one of its best defensive efforts of the season, but expected a close game either way in front of a riled up crowd at Bramlage Coliseum.