Clear your calendar for this weekend so you can watch the best college basketball games, including Duke back in action without Zion Williamson.
The college basketball regular season is beginning to wind down, and we are closing in on conference tournaments, the final proving grounds for teams looking to earn a bid to the NCAA Tournament. As such, we have huge games throughout the schedule as the elite teams begin to separate themselves from the rest of the pack.
The ACC takes center stage this weekend, with three tremendous matchups on tap between likely tournament squads. The Big Ten’s two best teams are also set to square off while two of the three strongest squads in the SEC are slated to meet on Saturday.
Did I mention that we also have a matchup between two of the top teams in the Big 12 too? Everywhere you look, there’s a great college basketball game to watch this weekend. We’ve done the hard work for you and picked out the seven games you need to watch this weekend, beginning with Virginia and Louisville.
No. 3 Virginia at No. 18 Louisville – Saturday at 12:00 p.m. ET on ACC Network
This is the first of our three ACC matchups to watch, and it’s going to be a good one. The Virginia Cavaliers are the owners of the stingiest defense in the country, allowing only 54.6 points per game entering play today.
That defense was on full display on Monday, when the Cavaliers held in-state rival Virginia Tech to just 58 points in a six-point victory. Virginia is tied with Duke and North Carolina atop the ACC Standings after the Tar Heels scored a big victory in Durham Wednesday night.
The game has more significance to Louisville, which is in a bit of a funk right now. The Cardinals were absolutely hammered by Syracuse on Wednesday, losing by 20 at the Carrier Dome.
The Orange’s 2-3 zone absolutely flummoxed Louisville, which shot just 25.9 percent from the floor and was 6-28 from 3-point range. Louisville has only one win in their past four games, a one-point victory over Clemson last Saturday, and they need this win to avoid an ill-timed skid.
No. 5 Tennessee at No. 13 LSU – Saturday at 12:00 p.m. ET on ESPN
If you’re not a big fan of grind it out defense, you have a choice at noon with this compelling matchup of top SEC teams. Most of the headlines in this matchup have been about Tennessee, which was the top team in the polls until they were blown out by Kentucky last Saturday in Lexington.
The Volunteers bounced back nicely, cruising past Vanderbilt 58-46 on Tuesday to maintain their one-game lead over Kentucky in the SEC standings. While most people expected Tennessee to be good this season, one of the bigger surprises this season has been LSU.
The Tigers have been a dominant squad this season, rolling to a 21-5 record that includes a controversial road win at Rupp Arena last week. LSU is also only one game behind the Volunteers in the SEC standings, making this game a de facto first-place matchup.
It is also an important game for the Tigers, who will look to bounce back from an overtime loss to Florida. Sophomore guard Tremont Waters, who leads the team in scoring with 15.7 ppg, scored only 10 in the defeat and will need to be more productive if LSU hopes to take down a top-five team.
No. 16 Florida State at No. 8 North Carolina – Saturday at 3:45 p.m. ET on CBS
The second big ACC matchup of the weekend involves a pair of top 20 teams. Florida State has quietly been one of the hottest teams in the conference, ripping off eight consecutive wins entering play today.
A lot of those wins have come against the ACC’s bottom feeders, but the Seminoles do have a sweep of bubble team Clemson, a win over Louisville, and a victory at Syracuse in there as well. Florida State is led by junior forward Mfiondu Kabengele, who put up 19 and 11 in the Seminoles’ 13 point win over Clemson on Tuesday night.
The home team in this one is North Carolina, which has won nine of its last ten, with the lone loss in that stretch coming against Virginia. The Tar Heels took advantage of a Zion-less Duke team on Wednesday night, routing their arch rivals 88-72 to move into a three-way tie atop the ACC standings.
Luke Maye was an absolute beast for the Tar Heels, putting up 30 points and grabbing 15 rebounds to dominate on the inside. Cameron Johnson also added 26 and 7 rebounds to put Duke on notice that the ACC regular season title isn’t a sure thing.
This matchup with the Seminoles is North Carolina’s toughest until the rematch with Duke in the regular season finale, so expect them to have their full attention on this game.