College basketball games this week: Top 10 games to watch, including Coach K’s final home game
The regular season concludes this week with a ton of great games on the college basketball schedule, including Coach K’s final home game at Duke.
It feels like we’ve barely started but the college basketball regular season is coming to an end. This week is the final one on the college basketball schedule and it looks like the sport is peaked for chaos after a historic Saturday that saw the Top 6 teams in the AP poll fall on the same day for the first time ever.
It is worth mentioning that some of the smaller conferences begin their tournaments this week, including the Missouri Valley and West Coast Conferences, but this week’s top games will spotlight teams still playing regular-season games since the later-round matchups have yet to be determined. If the games spotlighted here are anywhere close to as good as the batch we highlighted last week college hoops fans are in for a treat during Judgment Week.
Top 10 matchups on the Week 17 college basketball schedule
Note: All games listed below were on the schedule as of post-time. COVID-19 related issues can lead to cancellations on short notice.
Baylor at Texas – Monday, 2/28 at 9:00 p.m. ET on ESPN
Baylor remains alive for the Big 12 regular-season title but will have to navigate a tough trip to Austin against the Longhorns on Monday. These teams met in Waco a few weeks ago with the Bears winning by 17, a result that should have Texas highly motivated to even the season series in this one.
Providence at Villanova – Tuesday, 3/1 at 6:30 p.m. ET on FS1
The Friars wrapped up their first-ever Big East regular-season title over the weekend and will look to take a victory lap in a huge showdown against Villanova on Tuesday night. The Wildcats have been stewing over a loss to UCONN for a week and will look to take out their frustrations on Providence to complete a sweep of the season series.
Purdue at Wisconsin – Tuesday, 3/1 at 9:00 p.m. ET on ESPN
Purdue blew a chance to wrap up the Big Ten’s regular-season title by falling at Michigan State over the weekend, putting them a game behind Wisconsin in the standings and giving the Badgers a chance to secure the crown by winning here. Wisconsin already scored a road win at Mackey Arena earlier this season and is coming off of a 2-0 week that was highlighted by a road win at Rutgers on Saturday.
Arizona at USC – Tuesday, 3/1 at 11:00 p.m. ET on ESPN
This game will decide the Pac-12’s regular-season crown as Arizona can officially clinch the title by knocking off USC in Pasadena. This contest was originally scheduled for early January before COVID issues within the Trojans’ program led to a postponement.
Michigan State at Ohio State – Thursday, 3/3 at 7:00 p.m. ET on ESPN
The Spartans’ huge win over Purdue on Saturday snapped Michigan State out of a funk where they had lost five of their previous six games. Tom Izzo’s teams traditionally build momentum for the NCAA Tournament in March and will have a stiff test going on the road against an Ohio State team that will be extremely angry after losing at lowly Maryland on Sunday.
Texas at Kansas – Saturday, 3/5 at 4:00 p.m. ET on ESPN
It will be a huge measuring stick week for the Longhorns, who have to deal with two of the Big 12’s three best teams to end the regular season. Kansas may have some fatigue to deal with thanks to an NBA-style home-and-home with TCU on Tuesday and Thursday, giving Texas an opportunity to pull an upset if the Jayhawks have already locked up the Big 12 crown by tip-off.
North Carolina at Duke – Saturday, 3/5 at 6:00 p.m. ET on ESPN
College basketball’s most heated rivalry adds a historic chapter as Duke takes on North Carolina in Mike Krzyzewski’s final home game with the Blue Devils. This game also means a ton for the Tar Heels, who really need to find a way to beat Duke to get off the bubble ahead of Selection Sunday.
USC at UCLA – Saturday, 3/5 at 10:00 p.m. ET on ESPN
#Pac12AfterDark is definitely a thing in college basketball too as the final Saturday of the regular season wraps up with a crosstown showdown between USC and UCLA. The Trojans have had the Bruins’ number for a while so UCLA will look to salvage a split of their season series ahead of the Pac-12 Tournament.
Iowa at Illinois – Sunday, 3/6 at 7:30 p.m. ET on FS1
Two of the nation’s most intriguing talents square off in this contest as Iowa’s Keegan Murray looks to outduel Illinois’ Kofi Cockburn in a Big Ten battle. This game has barnburner written all over it and should be a fine appetizer ahead of Championship Week.
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