Ranking the Must-See NCAA Basketball Games This Weekend

With just a few days before Christmas, teams across the nation will be looking to bring home a win right before the holidays. 

In the case of some of the top college basketball teams in the nation, a win over a fellow ranked squad will be celebrated Saturday night. 

This weekend, college basketball fans will be treated to two matchups containing two ranked teams, one of which is a game between two teams in the AP Top 10. 

As for the rest of the AP Top 25, Duke, Michigan, Gonzaga and Creighton will be off on the weekend before the holidays. 

Here is the ranking of the 10 best games going on this weekend in college basketball. 

10. Stony Brook at Maryland

When: Friday, 8 p.m. ET

Where to Watch: ESPN3

The Stony Brook Seawolves (8-2) are off to a hot start this season and they will play the role of underdog on Friday night at the Comcast Center. 

Before they enter America East play next week, the Seawolves will make two road trips to BCS conference teams. 

After making the trip to College Park, Stony Brook will visit Seton Hall on December 28.

Since their loss to Kentucky on November 9, Maryland (9-1) has won nine straight games. 

The best of the Terrapins' wins came on the road at Northwestern in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge. 

Mark Turgeon's team has played a weak nonconference schedule and will go into ACC play with plenty of confidence.

As for Friday night's game, it is Maryland's to lose and do not expect it to fall at home to its opponents from the America East conference. 

9. Florida State at Charlotte

When: Saturday, 2 p.m. ET

Where to Watch: CBS Sports Network 

Florida State (6-4) has recovered from its three-game losing streak at the beginning of the month with two straight wins. 

The latest win for the Seminoles came on Monday at home over Louisiana-Monroe. 

As always, Michael Snaer and Okaro White will be the key players for the Seminoles as they look to beat a difficult Charlotte team. 

The 49ers (11-1) suffered their first loss of the season last Friday against Miami (FL). 

Now, they will take on Miami (FL)'s biggest rival at the Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte on Saturday afternoon. 

Beating an ACC school in nonconference play would be a huge achievement for Alan Major's team before it enters Atlantic 10 play. 

8. Miami (FL) at Hawaii

When: Sunday, 12:30 a.m. ET

Where to Watch: ESPNU

One of the more interesting games on Sunday sees Miami (FL) (7-1) make over a 6,000-mile trek to play Hawaii (5-3) on Sunday morning. 

The game is a part of the Diamond Head Classic, which is headlined by No. 4 Arizona. 

The winner of this game will most likely face the Wildcats on Sunday. 

The Hurricanes have just one blemish on their record, a loss to Florida Gulf Coast, and are coming off of a strong win over Charlotte at home last Friday. 

Hawai'i took care of local rivals Chaminade last Saturday, but it has had problems with teams from the major conferences. 

The Warriors took Illinois to overtime before losing at home and they have also fallen to UNLV this season.

This will be a tough game for the Hurricanes, as they will go against the hosts of the tournament, but they are the better team and should come out of the game with a win. 

7. No.8 Florida vs. Kansas State

When: Saturday, 8 p.m. ET

Where to Watch: ESPN2

Florida (8-1) failed to finish off Arizona a week ago and dropped to eighth in the AP Top 25 as a result.

The Gators were able to bounce back with an easy win over Southeastern Louisiana on Wednesday.

Billy Donovan's squad have plenty of stars in the lineup starting with guard Kenny Boynton, who is looking to recover from his missed free throw that led to Arizona's winning basket last Saturday. 

Kansas State (8-2) also suffered a loss on the West Coast last week by losing to Gonzaga in Seattle. 

The Wildcats have failed their two biggest tests in nonconference play against Michigan and Gonzaga and will be looking to pull off Bruce Weber's first signature win at the school.

For that to happen, leading scorer Rodney Magruder will have to have his best performance of the season.

An upset is a long shot for the Wildcats but the game will be played in Kansas City, Missouri and the home support will give them a fighting chance. 

6. Murray State at Dayton

When: Saturday 12 p.m. ET

Where to Watch: CBS Sports Network 

If you like strong mid-major matchups, then Saturday's game at the University of Dayton Arena is a game you will want to watch.

Murray State (9-1) are one of the best mid-major teams in the nation and have one of the nation's best players in Isaiah Canaan. 

Once again, the Racers are flying under the radar and most likely will stay that way until March comes around. 

The Racers could once again win over 30 games this season and will be a team no one wants to play in the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament. 

Dayton (8-3) has had three strong wins over Boston College, Auburn and Alabama.

The Flyers were upset at home on Wednesday night by another strong mid-major, Illinois State. 

With a win over Murray State at home, the Flyers' resume will be chock full of quality victories. 

The Flyers do not have an easy schedule after Saturday with a trips to USC and VCU and home games with UAB and Butler in the next three weeks. 

This will be a great contest between two excellent mid-major programs that should be won by the Racers. 

5. LSU at Marquette

When: Saturday, 2 p.m. ET

Where to Watch: ESPNU

LSU (7-1) suffered its first loss of the season last Friday on the road against Boise State. 

The Tigers will finish off their difficult three-game road trip in MIlwaukee on Saturday, their other road game was against UC-Irvine on Tuesday. 

A win on Saturday would give the Tigers two wins over Big East teams this season; they defeated Seton Hall at home as a part of the SEC-Big East Challenge. 

Marquette (7-3) is not getting that much attention out of the Big East this season.

The Golden Eagles lost to Butler in Maui and on the road at Florida and Green Bay, but they have played well at home. 

The trademark win of the season for Buzz Williams' team came on December 8 when it took down in-state rivals Wisconsin at home. 

LSU is looking for a signature win in Johnny Jones' first season, but that will not happen on Saturday against a Marquette team that are difficult to beat the BMO Harris Bradley Center. 

4. No. 3 Syracuse vs. Temple

When: Saturday, 12 p.m. ET

Where to Watch: ESPN2

Syracuse (10-0) is flying high after beating Detroit on Monday to give coach Jim Boeheim his 900th career win. 

The Orange now face their biggest nonconference test on Saturday as they travel to Madison Square Garden to play Temple in the Gotham Classic. 

Every one in the nation has heard about the star sophomore, Michael Carter-Williams, but the Orange are more than a one-trick pony. 

Boeheim has plenty of stars on his team including seniors Brandon Triche and James Southerland; both are players who have been key contributors in the past few seasons. 

The last time the Fran Dunphy took his Temple Owls (8-2) into the New York metro area, they were blown out by Duke. 

Dunphy and company were shocked at home on Wednesday by Canisius, who beat the Owls by 10 points at the Liacouras Center. 

If the Owls want to come away from Madison Square Garden with the upset win, they will need strong performances from Scootie Randal and Khalif Wyatt.

3. Texas at No. 20 Michigan State

When: Saturday, 2 p.m. ET

Where to Watch: ESPN2

Texas (7-4) will finish a big week in East Lansing against Michigan State (10-2). 

The Longhorns defeated North Carolina on Wednesday night before making the trip up to Michigan to play the Spartans. 

Rick Barnes' team were dealt a huge blow on Wednesday night when Myck Kabongo was ruled ineligible for the remainder of the season

Tom Izzo's Spartans survived a difficult road test at Bowling Green on Tuesday and won, 64-53. 

The Texas game will be the final nonconference game for the Spartans; they visit Minnesota on New Year's Eve to open Big Ten play. 

Michigan State should win this game over a depleted Texas squad that does not have enough depth to match up with the Spartans. 

2. No. 10 Illinois at No. 12 Missouri

When: Saturday, 6 p.m. ET

Where to Watch: ESPN2

No team has surprised the nation more to start the season than the Illinois Fighting Illini (12-0). 

John Groce has done a fantastic job in his first season with Illinois after leaving Ohio to join the Big Ten team. 

The Illini have also proved that they can win away from Assembly Hall with a road win over Gonzaga and defeats of Butler and USC on their way to the Maui Invitational title. 

You can not mention the Illini without talking about their star senior guard, Brandon Paul, whose breakout performance came against Gonzaga when he scored 35 points. 

Missouri (9-1) was given a boost this week when Jabari Brown was declared eligible to play for the Tigers. 

The addition of Brown will be welcomed by the Tigers as an added threat on the offensive end that includes guard Phil Pressey and center Alex Oriakhi. 

The guard battle between Paul and Pressey will be one to watch all night, but the game could come down to the better team in the paint, which gives Missouri an advantage. The Tigers are the top rebounding team in the nation. 

1. No. 9 Kansas at No. 7 Ohio State

When: Saturday, 4 p.m. ET

Where to Watch: CBS

The game of the week in college basketball comes to us from Value City Arena in Columbus, Ohio. 

In a rematch of last season's Final Four game, Ohio State (9-1) will be looking to avenge its loss in April against Kansas (9-1). 

The Buckeyes were forced to play most of their key players for the whole 40 minutes against Winthrop on Tuesday in a game where they only led by a point at halftime. 

Thad Matta's team have plenty of strong players in the lineup with leading scorer DeShaun Thomas averaging over 20 points per game and guard Aaron Craft being one of the best defensive players in the nation. 

Ohio State also possess two threats from three-point range in LaQuinton Ross and Lenzelle Smith, Jr. 

Kansas possesses a strong overall lineup, which is led by center Jeff Withey. 

The emergence of freshman guard Ben McLemore has added to the depth that the Jayhawks have. 

The matchup of Withey and Kevin Young versus Amir Williams and Evan Ravenel in the paint will be the one to watch in the battle of top 10 teams on Saturday. 

What do you think is top game to watch this weekend in college basketball?

Comment below or leave me a comment on Twitter @JTansey90