College basketball season is in full swing as we’ve had some fantastic non conference matchups over the past 5 weeks and we’re starting to see who some of the great teams that are going to be tough to deal with all year are. The Arizona Wildcats remain the number one team in todays AP Poll that released. Kansas, Purdue, Houston and UConn rounded out the top five and Clemson was the biggest riser in this weeks poll rising 11 spots from number 24 in the poll to number 13. Brad Brownell’s Tigers are one of 7 undefeated teams that remain in the nation; the others in that group include there’s teams out of the Big 12 in Baylor, Houston and Oklahoma. The aforementioned number 1 ranked Arizona Wildcats, the surprise Ole Miss Rebels in Chris Beards first year in Oxford and the Sun Belt’s James Madison who sit at number 20 in the poll round out the list of the unbeaten. In this article I will highlight the 10 games of the week we need to have our eyes on.
1. (1) Arizona vs (3) Purdue. Saturday 12/16
This game figures to be not only the marquee game of the week but one of the marquee games of the season, Coach Tommy Lloyd and and the unbeaten number 1 ranked Wildcats led by Caleb Love will look to stifle National Player of the Year favorite Zach Edey and the Purdue Boilermakers at Indianapolis’ Gainbridge Fieldhouse. While this classifies as a neutral court game the Boilermakers will have a strong contingent of fans in their home state. Arizona’s Oumar Ballo will look to stay out of foul trouble as he takes on the tough task of guarding Edey. Pick: Purdue
2. (5) UConn @ (10) Gonzaga. Friday 12/15
Another top 10 matchup takes place this week as the reigning national champion Huskies will travel to Seattle on Friday to take on the Gonzaga Bulldogs. This is a rematch of last years Elite 8 where UConn boat raced Gonzaga 82-54. Both teams lost key pieces from both of those teams since but the Bulldogs will certainly be playing for some revenge in front of a raucous home crowd and look to slow down Tristen Newton and the rolling Huskies who look to be a locked and loaded national championship contender again. Pick: UConn
3. (9) North Carolina vs (14) Kentucky. Saturday 12/16
Saturday two blue blood programs will travel to Atlanta to face each other in a top 15 matchup. Any time these two schools face off you want to tune in and this weekend will be no different. Both of these teams sit at 7-2 coming in and will be well rested coming into this one. The Tar Heels enter with star guard RJ Davis averaging 21 points a game coming in. The Wildcats have a cast of talented freshman that have looked great this year and most impressive and surprising of all has been guard Reed Sheppard who has snuck up and many and been one of the stories of the year so far. This figures to be a high scoring affair between two strong offensive teams in the Peach State. Pick: Kentucky
4. (2) Kansas @ Indiana. Saturday 12/16
Hunter Dickinson and the 2nd ranked Wildcats will travel to Assembly Hall on Saturday to take on the Indiana Hoosiers. This is another matchup of 2 marquee CBB brands you won’t want to miss. The Hoosiers are coming in off a blowout loss vs Auburn in Atlanta on Saturday to fall to 7-2 but Mike Woodson’s squad will look to bounce back and secure a marquee non conference win at home. Indiana’s been a team plagued by injury issues all year but should have the services of star guard Xavier Johnson back come Saturday and look to upend a fantastic Kansas team that will once again surely be a national championship contender. Pick: Kansas
5. (4) Houston vs Texas A&M. Saturday 12/16
Undefeated Houston will play host to Texas A&M in an intra state showdown of 2 great teams inside the Houston Rockets Toyota Center on Saturday. This would have been a matchup of top 25 teams if not for a loss vs Memphis Buzz Williams’ Aggies suffered on Sunday to knock them out, but this still figures to be a fantastic matchups. Both of these teams are searching for a marquee non conference win and they head into tough conference slates in the Big 12 and SEC respectively. The guard matchup in this game will be very fun to watch between Houston’s LJ Cryer and Texas A&M’s Wade Taylor IV; both players expect to be serious player of the year contenders in their respective leagues. Pick: Texas A&M
6. (8) Creighton vs Alabama. Saturday 12/16
If you love offensive basketball, this will be a game for you. Greg McDermott’s Blue Jays will host Nate Oats’ Crimson Tide in a matchup in Omaha of 2 teams that can shoot the ball out of the gym. The Tide gave the number two Boilermakers all they could handle in Toronto this past weekend but came up short. The Tide have serious issues on defense that have caused them to bleed this year but they hope to curtail that this weekend in Omaha and get a much needed win. This is another matchup where we’ll be paying attention to two guards who are scoring out of their minds right now in Alabama’s Mark Sears and Creighton’s Baylor Scheierman. Pick: Creighton
7. (13) Clemson @ Memphis. Saturday 12/16
In a battle of Tigers, undefeated Clemson will travel to the FedExForum in Memphis to take on Penny Hardaway’s 7-2 Memphis Tigers. Memphis comes off a big road win in College Station vs Texas A&M and will look to keep the momentum up and knock Clemson from the ranks of the unbeatens this weekend at home. Clemson Center PJ Hall has been playing fantastic basketball and been a dominant force inside for the Tigers and will look to exploit a potential mismatch against a smaller Memphis team. Pick: Memphis
8. (6) Baylor vs Michigan State. Saturday 12/16
I put this game on here for the matchup of the brand names but it’s tough to get excited about Tom Izzo’s Spartans right now. They currently sit at 4-5 and have suffered two conference losses in a row marred by poor offensive performances and things are looking bleak early in East Lansing. This is a year people are questioning if Tom Izzo’s run of 25 March Madness appearances in a row is in serious jeopardy and it doesn’t figure to get easier with Scott Drew’s Bears coming into Detroit boasting one of the best offenses in the country. Izzo and the Spartans will have a home environment in Detroit and will look to secure a much needed upset victory. Pick: Baylor
9. (12) Tennessee vs NC State. Saturday 12/16
In an interesting matchup in San Antonio on Saturday the 12th ranked Volunteers will host the 6-2 NC State Wolfpack. Tennessee currently sits at number 12 in the country but all three of their losses have come against great team in Purdue, Kansas and North Carolina. They picked up a big top 25 win at home vs Illinois over the weekend to move up in the rankings and will look to get another solid neutral court non conference win. The Wolfpack have won two in a row after two losses in a row including a 20 point loss on the road vs still undefeated Ole Miss. They will look to pick up a much needed marquee non conference win in a year many had them as a team expected to make a 2nd straight NCAA Tournament and be a dark horse ACC contender. Pick: Tennessee
10. (15) Florida Atlantic vs St. Bonaventure. Saturday 12/16
Dusty May will lead his 15th ranked Owls into Springfield, MA on Saturday in an interesting matchup in the Basketball Hall of Fame Classic. The Bonnies sit at 7-2 coming into this one and figure to be one of the better teams in the A-10 this year and a team we could see around in March. The Owls looked to schedule multiple early season tournaments in non conference play this year as an opportunity to boast their non conference résumé in a year coming off a Final Four appearance. The names will not jump off the page at you here but this is an interesting matchup to watch. Pick: FAU