Ranking the Must-See NCAA Basketball Games This Weekend
Conference play has already given college basketball fans plenty of excitement with buzzer-beating shots and surprising upsets.
This weekend, the Big 10, ACC, and Atlantic 10 steal the nation's spotlight with quality matchups.
The Big 10 has already been described as the best conference in America this season, and it will get another chance to show why with two games between ranked teams this weekend.
In the ACC, top-ranked Duke will make their first road trip of 2013 without a key player, while underrated Maryland gets a chance to prove their worth in Miami.
One of the newest additions to the Atlantic 10, Butler, will face their second road test of conference play when they travel to Dayton.
Also mixed into the games to watch this weekend are a team trying to find a way to replace the nation's leading scorer, an unexpected CAA clash and bedlam.
Criteria
1 of 1110. Northeastern at Towson
2 of 11When: Saturday, 12 p.m. ET
Where to Watch: No National Television
One of the biggest surprises of the season in college basketball has been the Towson Tigers (8-8, 3-0), who have won more games this season than they won in the last two seasons.
In nonconference play, the Tigers upset Oregon State in Corvallis, while playing Temple and Georgetown close in losses.
The Tigers are led by junior forward Jerrelle Benimon, who is averaging 16.5 points per game.
Northeastern (8-7, 3-0) have had a strong start to the CAA season with wins over George Mason, UNC-Wilmington, and Drexel.
The Huskies boast a group of four players who average point totals in double digits.
Those four players are led by senior guard Joel Smith, who has averaged 15.9 points per game this season.
Northeastern comes into the game at the Towson Center as the stronger team, but do not be surprised if the Tigers once again pull off a shocking win and continue their unbeaten run in the CAA.
9. Holy Cross at Lehigh
3 of 11When: Saturday, 2 p.m. ET
Where to Watch: CBS Sports Network
Last weekend, the Lehigh Mountain Hawks (10-4) were dealt a huge blow when guard C.J. McCollum broke his foot in the first half against VCU.
McCollum will be out for eight to 10 weeks as he recovers from his injury.
The Mountain Hawks will now enter Patriot League play without the nation's leading scorer.
The good news for Lehigh is that they possess another strong senior in forward Gabe Knutson, who is averaging 15.7 points per game this season.
Holy Cross (8-7) comes into Stabler Arena on Saturday after beating Columbia in their final nonconference game on Tuesday.
A win over Lehigh would be the biggest win of the season for the Crusaders, who are expected to be the third-best team in the Patriot League behind Lehigh and Bucknell.
Without McCollum in the Lehigh lineup, Saturday's game will be closer than the experts think, but the Mountain Hawks should come out on top.
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8. Oklahoma State at Oklahoma
4 of 11When: Saturday, 3 p.m. ET
Where to Watch: ESPN2
The first basketball edition of Bedlam this season takes place on Saturday at the Noble Center.
Oklahoma State (10-3, 0-1) suffered two close losses to Gonzaga and Kansas State, and they will look to recover from those setbacks with a win over their bitter in-state rivals.
The Cowboys have a plethora of talent at the guard position that includes junior Markel Brown, sophomore Le'Bryan Nash, and freshman Marcus Smart.
All three players average over 30 minutes and 13 points per game, and will be the keys to victory on Saturday.
Oklahoma (10-3, 1-0) has won their last three games, including their conference opener over West Virginia last Saturday in Morgantown.
Lon Kruger's Sooners are an experienced team, led by two seniors, Romero Osby and Steven Pledger, that has flown under the radar for most of the season.
In a weak Big 12 conference, both the Sooners and Cowboys contend with Baylor for third place in the standings behind Kansas and Kansas State.
While both teams will have upsets on their mind through the duration of conference play, all they will focus on for two hours on Saturday will be getting a win over their bitter rivals.
7. Marquette at Pittsburgh
5 of 11When: Saturday, 12 p.m. ET
Where to Watch: ESPNU
Saturday's game between Marquette (11-3, 2-0) and Pittsburgh (13-3, 1-2) features two teams at opposite ends of the Big East standings.
The Golden Eagles took down both UConn and Georgetown in close games at home in their first two Big East games.
Now, Buzz Williams will take his team on the road for the first time in 2013 as they visit the Petersen Events Center to play Jamie Dixon's Panthers.
The Golden Eagles have lost both of their true road games this season to Florida and Green Bay, and they will be looking to break that trend on Saturday.
Pittsburgh recovered from a harsh start to Big East with a blowout win over Georgetown on Tuesday.
The Panthers will now be looking to reach the .500 mark in conference play with a win over the Golden Eagles.
Jamie Dixon's team has flown under the radar this season thanks to a very weak nonconference schedule.
For the home team to win on Saturday, junior Talib Zanna will have to win the battle of power forwards against Marquette's junior Davante Gardner.
6. Maryland at Miami (FL)
6 of 11When: Sunday, 8 p.m. ET
Where to Watch: ESPNU
Maryland (13-2, 1-1) continues their bid to be recognized as one of the ACC's best on Sunday as they visit the BankUnited Center to play Miami (FL) (11-3, 2-0).
The Terrapins' 13-game winning streak was halted by Florida State on Wednesday night in a 65-62 loss at home.
Marc Turgeon's team continue their difficult January schedule with a visit to Miami to play the Hurricanes.
Also on the Terrapins' schedule in the next three weeks are road trips to North Carolina, Duke, and Florida State along with a home test against NC State.
With the difficult schedule ahead in the next few weeks, the Terrapins go into Sunday's game needing a win.
The Hurricanes have not lost at home yet this season with wins over Michigan State, Detroit, and Charlotte coming at the BankUnited Center.
For the Canes to take a victory away from their visitors, they will need strong performances from guards Durand Scott and Scott Larkin.
This will be a close game and it will come down to the wire, but the Hurricanes have the slight advantage due to their strong home record.
5. Saint Louis at Temple
7 of 11When: Saturday, 6 p.m. ET
Where to Watch: ESPNU
Two of the best upsets in nonconference play came from two teams that play in the Atlantic 10 who will square off on Saturday night in Philadelphia.
Saint Louis (12-3, 1-0) took down New Mexico at home to cap off a nonconference schedule that included wins over North Texas and Texas A&M as well.
To start off A-10 play, the Billikens took down a pesky UMass team on Thursday night at home.
The Billikens will make their first road trip since November 29 to take on Temple (10-4, 0-1) at the Liacouras Center.
The Owls are coming off of two close road losses to Kansas and Xavier in the past week, and they will look to win their first game of 2013 at home on Saturday.
Fran Dunphy's team showed that they are no pushover against Kansas, and in their upset over Syracuse on December 22, a win over Saint Louis could make them the favorites to contend with Butler for the A-10 title.
Home court advantage is something that will play a huge role in determining the winner of the wide open A-10 this season, and it is something that the Owls should take advantage of on Saturday.
4. No. 14 Butler at Dayton
8 of 11When: Saturday, 2 p.m. ET
Where to Watch: NBC Sports Network
Another Atlantic 10 showdown this weekend occurs at the University of Dayton Arena on Saturday afternoon.
No. 14 Butler (12-2, 1-0) started their first season in the A-10 with a gutsy 72-66 win at St. Joseph's on Wednesday.
The Bulldogs do not get anytime to rest as they make another difficult road trip to play Dayton (10-5, 0-1) on Saturday.
The Flyers also kicked off conference play on Wednesday, but they were on the wrong end of the final scoreline as they lost to VCU.
Dayton have had a tough time on their travels this season with losses to VCU and USC, but at home the Flyers have been stellar.
The last strong mid-major to enter UD Arena came out with a loss, that team was Murray State who fell to Dayton, 77-68, on December 22.
Butler will be the best team that Dayton has faced so far this season and expect Brad Stevens' team to come out of Dayton with their second A-10 win.
3. No. 1 Duke at No. 20 NC State
9 of 11When: Saturday, 12 p.m. ET
Where to Watch: ESPN
Duke (15-0, 2-0) will make their first road trip of the ACC season on Saturday when they visit NC State (13-2, 2-0) in Raleigh.
The Blue Devils dominated Wake Forest and Clemson in their first two ACC games, and will now face one of the teams who could challenge them for the conference title.
Before their trip to Raleigh, the Blue Devils were handed a huge blow as senior forward Ryan Kelly was declared out indefinitely with a foot injury that he suffered against Clemson on Tuesday (via USA Today).
The absence of Kelly will undoubtedly hurt the Blue Devils and it will force the combination of Amile Jefferson and Josh Hairston to step up into bigger roles.
NC State has pulled off a streak of nine straight wins that started on December 4 with a win over UConn.
Mark Gottfried's team are poised to contend with Duke for the conference title and have the players to do just that.
Junior forward C.J. Leslie has been the top performer for the Wolfpack with 15.5 points per game, which is enough to lead the team in scoring.
Other key contributors to the Wolfpack's success are seniors Richard Powell (9.7 rebounds per game) and Scott Wood (team-leading .912 free-throw percentage), as well as junior guard Lorenzo Brown (team-leading 6.4 assists per game) and freshman forward T.J. Warren (13.4 points per game).
While Duke will miss the presence of Kelly, they still have the nation's best player in Mason Plumlee along with a strong supporting cast including Quinn Cook and Seth Curry that should prove enough to come out of the PNC Arena with a win.
2. No. 8 Minnesota at No. 5 Indiana
10 of 11When: Saturday, 12 p.m. ET
Where to Watch: Big Ten Network
Two of the top 10 teams in the nation will square off at Assembly Hall when No. 5 Indiana (14-1, 2-0) hosts No. 8 Minnesota (15-1, 3-0).
The Hoosiers come into Saturday's game on a five-game win streak with their last win coming on Monday against Penn State.
The visit by Minnesota on Saturday will mark the first home game for the Hoosiers since December 28 when they closed out nonconference play with a 93-59 win over Jacksonville.
Minnesota proved on Wednesday that they could win on the road against one of the conference's best teams as they came out of Champaign with a 84-67 win over Illinois.
Led by Andre Hollins and Rodney Williams, the Gophers must not have any flaws in their game if they want to come out of Bloomington with a win.
Indiana's depth will cause plenty of problems for Tubby Smith's Gophers, and that could be the deciding factor in this clash of the Big 10 titans.
1. No. 2 Michigan at No. 15 Ohio State
11 of 11When: Sunday, 1:30 p.m. ET
Where to Watch: CBS
Sunday's clash between No. 2 Michigan (16-0, 3-0) and No. 15 Ohio State (12-3, 2-1) has everything.
Not only is it a clash between two ranked teams, it is a matchup of two of the favorites to win the Big 10, and on top of that, it is a rivalry game.
Michigan's play has been flawless this season with the Wolverines passing every test on their schedule so far.
However, the Big 10 schedule is a completely different animal compared to nonconference play.
The Wolverines have recorded wins over Northwestern, Iowa, and Nebraska to start conference play, but now they enter a stretch where five of their next seven games are against ranked teams.
Ohio State has been highly criticized for their play in big games this season.
The Buckeyes are 0-3 against ranked opponents this season with their most recent disappointment coming last Saturday in a 19-point loss to Illinois.
Thad Matta's team has something to prove and what better way to prove all the critics and fans wrong with a Big 10 win at home over the Buckeyes' archrival.
However, that will not be the case on Sunday afternoon, Michigan are just too strong and too deep to stop at the moment.
It will be a close game for most of the first half, but expect the Wolverines to pull away in the second half due to the exceptional guard play of Trey Burke.
What do you think is the game of the week in college basketball?
Leave a comment below or leave me a comment on Twitter, @JTansey90.
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