Best college basketball games of the weekend: UNC and Tennessee set to do battle

A ranked battle between North Carolina and Tennessee headlines the weekend in college basketball.

The dreaded finals week was upon on this past week. Not only is it dreaded to students all across the country, but to college basketball fans as well. Typically, the college hoops slate is really weak during this wee and this time was no different. Luckily, that ends this weekend!

There is a decent slate for the weekend, though it seems like most of the upper-tier teams are taking it easy. Many teams are getting in their final games of prep for the conference season, so look for a lot of lopsided games over the next two weeks or so.

Let’s take a look at the games you should watch as you celebrate the end of finals week.

Butler vs. No. 17 Purdue: Saturday, 12 p.m. ET

Kamar Baldwin and the Butler Bulldogs travel to Indianapolis to take on Purdue in what is looking like a resume-builder for both teams. Butler, at 8-2, serves as a great non-conference game for Purdue, and the Boilermakers being ranked 17th does the same for Butler.

A major key to this game will be 3-point shooting. Purdue ranks in the top 55 in the country in 3-point percentage shooting 39.4 percent from deep. They are up against a Butler team with one of the worst perimeter defenses in the league. The Bulldogs allow their opponents to shoot 39.7 percent on average. Look for the Boilermakers to shoot the lights out. Dakota Mathias and PJ Thompson, who both shoot around 49 percent from deep on the season, will be the X-factors for Purdue to put them away.

Purdue runs a much more efficient offense than the Bulldogs do. They rank in the top 10 in assist-to-turnover ratio while Butler is outside of the top 100. This results in the Boilermakers averaging about 10 more points per game. That will be the key to the game on Saturday.

Virginia Tech vs. No. 8 Kentucky: Saturday, 2 p.m. ET

This is probably the matchup of the weekend. Buzz Williams and the Virginia Tech Hokies boast one of the best offenses in the country this season. The Hokies rank 1st in scoring, 1st in scoring margin, 4th in assists per game, 1st in field goal percentage, and 2nd in 3-point percentage. These guys can score points. On the flip side, Kentucky is a stout defensive team.

The key battle in this game will be from deep. As mentioned before, the Hokies are second in the country from behind the arc, shooting an outstanding 46.8 percent. Meanwhile, Kentucky only allows their opponents to shoot around 30 percent from deep. One of these will have to give, if not both to some extent. A key matchup will be between two star freshmen in Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Hamidou Diallo. Diallo is a long, athletic defender who is up against the crafty Hokie freshman who can score at all three levels. NBA Scouts will be drooling.

No. 25 Cincinnati vs. UCLA: Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET

Cincinnati has been struggling as of late, dropping two of their last three. After losing in consecutive weekends to Xavier and Florida, the Bearcats finally bounced back against Mississippi State. On the other hand, UCLA comes in off a loss against Michigan. The Bruins have not been tested too hard so far, though they have lost to the two probably tournament teams that they have faced.

Mick Cronin’s Cincinnati team is very much known for its defense. They restrict their opponents to about 36 percent from the field on average, good for 6th in the country. The Bearcats also allow just 60 points per game, while the Bruins give up about 75 points each time out. Cincinnati has struggled to score at times this season, so defense will be a vital point for UCLA. If they can manage to fluster the Bearcat offense, they have a chance to use their own offensive prowess to push ahead.

Oklahoma vs. No. 3 Wichita State: Saturday, 4:00 p.m. ET

One of the best offenses in the country, led by Trae Young, travel to Wichita in hopes of an upset. Both teams are in the top 25 in scoring, though the Sooners are notably ranked 3rd in the country. Also, both teams rank in the top 30 in field goal percentage. In short, these two teams know how to score the basketball.

On the opposite end is where Wichita State pulls ahead, though. Defensively, Oklahoma ranks 308th in the country in points per game allowed, giving up about 80 in each game. The Shockers only allow around 68 points per game. Stats aside, two star guards in Trae Young and Landry Shamet facing off with be the most important aspect to the game. The classic story of five-star freshman versus the experienced and saavy veteran. The Shockers are still missing Markis McDuffie, but have looked fine without him thus far. Look for Gregg Marshall’s squad to be tested in a big way on Saturday, but its hard to bet against the squad at home.

No. 7 UNC vs. No. 20 Tennessee: Sunday, 3 p.m. ET

The Tennessee Volunteers have been a surprise team so far. They come in at 7-1 and their resume is probably more impressive than UNC’s. I mean, they have a win over a ranked team and the Tar Heels do not. Tennessee’s only loss has come to the best team in the country, Villanova. North Carolina, though, has also been somewhat of a surprise. While we always expect the Tar Heels to compete, they have looked better than what most people predicted. Now, the Tar Heels have not been tested much this season, and failed a big test miserably against Michigan State.

Rick Barnes’ squad plays some very disruptive defense, scoring a good portion of their points in transition. Defense is where the Volunteers have made their money this season, forcing over 17 turnovers per game and allowing about 65 points per game to opponents. The Tar Heels have not had the same success on the defensive end. Joel Berry and gang force about 13 turnovers a game, which ranks 219th in the nation, and allow just over 71 points per game. Alas, the Tar Heels are again one of the best rebounding teams in college basketball, they boast a 5th-ranked rebounding team and outrebounded their opponents by almost 14 boards per game — good for 2nd in the country.

Offensively, North Carolina will push the ball up, take smart shots, and dominate the boards for extra possessions when they do miss. It’s in their DNA. The Volunteers get very chaotic on offense at times, going through lulls of not scoring. That is when the Tarheels could break away. Roy Williams and Rick Barnes are 6-6 against each other all time. This one in Knoxville will be for the series lead.