Ranking the 'Must-See' College Basketball Games in February

We just wrapped up one of the best months of college basketball in recent memory. It's hard to think it could get better than what just went down in January...until you look at the schedule for February.

Conference races are tightening up, which means nearly every game from here on out is a must-win. Some teams are battling for titles, others are jockeying for a strong finish and some are trying to make sure those resumes are worthy of an NCAA tournament bid. Put it all together, and it's going to make for a month's worth of monster matchups.

Some stand out more than others. Here are the 12 most anticipated games that are on the February schedule.

Virginia at North Carolina

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When: Feb. 2, 7 p.m. ET

TV: ESPN

First place will be on the line Monday when Virginia visits North Carolina, but there's more to it than just the ranking in the ACC. Both the Cavaliers (19-1, 7-1) and Tar Heels (17-5, 5-2) are coming off losses, with each team struggling down the stretch and blowing double-digit leads.

Virginia was up 10 against Duke only to lose by six, while UNC blew an 18-point second-half advantage to fall in overtime at Louisville.

UNC had won six in a row but was dominated inside and turned the ball over 19 times. Virginia, arguably the best defensive team in the country, allowed better than 50 percent shooting to Duke.

Neither club wants to drop two straight games, especially as the calendar turns to February and the postseason is getting closer.

Iowa State at Kansas

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When: Feb. 2, 9 p.m. ET

TV: ESPN

The Big 12 goes through Kansas, which means anyone who wants to end the Jayhawks' 10-year run as conference champions needs to be able to win in Lawrence.

Iowa State (16-4, 6-2) is the only team to beat Kansas (18-3, 7-1) in league play this season, pulling out an 86-81 victory in Ames on Jan. 17. But the Cyclones haven't won in Allen Fieldhouse since 2005.

"It's a heck of a challenge," Iowa State coach Fred Hoiberg told Travis Hines of the Ames Tribune. "But we're chasing them right now, so it's an important game."

Kansas has only lost nine games at home under Bill Self and with a victory here would have a two-game edge on one of its toughest challengers for an 11th straight regular-season Big 12 title.

Notre Dame at Duke

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When: Feb. 7, 1 p.m. ET

TV: CBS

The first matchup between Duke (18-3, 5-3 ACC) and Notre Dame (20-3, 8-2) was so exciting, we can only hope the rematch is half as good. For Duke, it's hoping the result is a little better, as the Blue Devils fell 77-73 to the Fighting Irish on Jan. 28 in South Bend.

In a matchup of two of the leading candidates for the conference's Player of the Year award, Notre Dame's Jerian Grant outdueled Duke freshman Jahlil Okafor by scoring 23 points with 12 assists. He also made some clutch shots down the stretch to clinch the victory.

"If Grant wasn't already a National Player of the Year contender before Wednesday night, he should be now after outplaying the current front-runner down the stretch," wrote Jeff Eisenberg of Yahoo Sports.

This will be Notre Dame's first trip to Cameron Indoor Stadium since joining the ACC last season, but the Irish have already shown they can win in that state by pulling out victories at North Carolina and NC State.

Duke had its 41-game home win streak snapped by Miami (Florida) on Jan. 13, and multiple home losses in the same season have been a rarity under coach Mike Krzyzewski.

Georgetown at Villanova

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When: Feb. 7, 2 p.m. ET

TV: Fox

Villanova (19-2, 6-2) has been the class of the current version of the Big East over the past two seasons, going 22-4 in league games and winning last year's regular-season title. But when the Wildcats have lost, it's often been quite ugly.

Last year, their two Big East losses—both to Creighton—were by an average of 24.5 points. This season, Villanova lost by five in overtime at Seton Hall, then got run off the court at Georgetown in a 20-point loss to the Hoyas on Jan. 19.

Now comes the rematch as well as a chance for Villanova to further distance itself from the rest of the league. Georgetown (15-6, 7-3) is one of three teams with three losses, but since that victory over the Wildcats, the Hoyas slipped up and dropped a game at home to Xavier.

SMU at Tulsa

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When: Feb. 7, 8 p.m. ET

TV: ESPNU

Frank Haith might not win any national Coach of the Year awards, but at this point of the season he's looking like a downright genius for making what last spring seemed like a very ill-advised move.

After three seasons at Missouri, Haith jumped out of the SEC and took over a Tulsa program that was about to move into the American Athletic Conference. He inherited an experienced team that reached the NCAA tournament, but no one could have expected he'd be able to get this much out of the Golden Hurricane (16-5, 9-0) in 2014-15.

It's helped that the AAC as a whole has been down, with defending champion Connecticut struggling mightily. After losing to a Division II school during nonconference play, Tulsa has taken on all comers in the league.

But that hasn't included SMU (18-4, 9-1), one of the early favorites for the league that has managed to overcome the loss of several players—both before and during the season—yet has won 16 of 17 since a 2-3 start.

Kentucky at Florida

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When: Feb. 7, 9 p.m. ET

TV: ESPN

Kentucky (21-0, 8-0 SEC) is more than halfway toward the elusive 40-0 season, something that's never been achieved in Division I history. The Wildcats have a two-game lead on the rest of the conference, and at this point it's not looking like a matter of whether they'll win the league but by how much.

There are only a handful of potential pitfalls for Kentucky on its remaining schedule, but if there's a place it could happen it would be in the O-Dome.

Florida (12-9, 5-3) is a shell of its former self, far removed from the team that made the Final Four last season and reached the Elite Eight the three years before that. The Gators, in a six-way tie for third in the SEC, have already lost three times on their home court.

Yet Kentucky has struggled in Gainesville in the past, losing there last season and in eight of the last 10 years.

Kansas at West Virginia

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When: Feb. 16, 9 p.m. ET

TV: ESPN

Since joining the Big 12 in 2012-13, West Virginia has made a slow climb up the standings. In that first season, the Mountaineers went 6-12 in conference play and finished eighth; then last year they tied for sixth with a 9-9 mark.

Now West Virginia (18-3, 6-2) enters February tied with Iowa State for second, only a game behind perennial front-runner Kansas (18-3, 7-1). And when the Jayhawks visit Morgantown in two weeks, first place could be on the line.

Kansas has managed to hold on to the top spot despite having several games where it's squandered sizable leads. That won't fly against West Virginia, which has used strong rebounding and pressure defense (resulting in 12.4 steals per game) to get where it is.

Bob Huggins has his best team yet since going to his alma mater, and this game could be Kansas' toughest remaining road challenge.

North Carolina at Duke

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When: Feb. 18, 9 p.m. ET

TV: ESPN

The ACC has swelled to 15 teams, with every school facing each other at least once but only a handful of home-and-home matchups on the slate each season. Duke and North Carolina thankfully are the latter, enabling us to get at least two additions to the best series in college basketball every season.

Heading into February, these teams have five conference losses, which is on the higher end. The strength of the league makes it so that each could have a few more by Feb. 18 compared to in other seasons, when both might have only combined for two or three ACC losses when they met for the first time.

But the records won't really matter when the Tar Heels visit Cameron Indoor Stadium, a place they've been able to win more than most frequent visitors. UNC most recently won there in March 2012, a game that clinched the regular-season title for the Heels.

Gonzaga at St. Mary's

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When: Feb. 21, 10 p.m. ET

TV: ESPN2

Riding a 15-game win streak and with only an overtime loss at Arizona to look back at in regret, Gonzaga (22-1, 10-0 West Coast) has a great shot at a second No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament in the past three seasons. Yet if the Bulldogs were to lose another game, they could see that high seed go away.

The most likely place that loss would happen would be in Moraga, where St. Mary's (17-5, 9-2) doesn't lose very often. That's not been the case this year, though, as the Gaels ended January with a home loss to Pepperdine and have also dropped games there to Boise State and Northern Arizona.

Gonzaga won the first meeting by 21 points on Jan. 22, yet this one will certainly be tougher. Knowing that there's a shot a loss will knock it from top-seed contention will add to the stress.

Wisconsin at Maryland

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When: Feb. 24, 7 p.m. ET

TV: ESPN

While the rest of the Big Ten keeps beating up on each other and creating a huddled mess in the middle of the standings, Wisconsin (19-2, 7-1) has gradually built itself a sizable lead at the top. If not for a loss at Rutgers early last month—a game played without center Frank Kaminsky and during which guard Traevon Jackson broke his foot—we'd be talking about whether the Badgers could go unbeaten in league play.

There are six teams in the conference with three losses, and so far Wisconsin is 2-0 against that group. There are four more left, and the only one this month that's not in Madison is when the Badgers make their first visit to Big Ten newcomer Maryland.

The Terrapins (18-4, 6-3) have been a major surprise this season, overcoming a substantial roster turnover to have their best season yet under coach Mark Turgeon. They've lost two of three heading into February, but they are 13-1 at home in 2014-15.

Arizona at Utah

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When: Feb. 28, time TBD

TV: TBD

When Arizona (20-2, 8-1 Pac-12) and Utah (17-4, 7-2) met in Tucson in January, what was billed as a great matchup between Top 10 teams ended up being a rout. The Wildcats humbled Utah, winning by 18 points and negating all of the Utes' playmakers.

Don't expect the same result when the rematch happens late this month in Salt Lake City, though it could be another lopsided score considering how Utah has fared at the Huntsman Center. Utah is 12-0 at home, and in Pac-12 play the average margin of victory has been 24.8 points.

Arizona's losses have both been on the road, but they've been by a combined six points. The Wildcats have yet to lose to Utah since it joined the conference in 2011-12, but those previous Utes teams haven't had as much talent as this one has.

Northern Iowa at Wichita State

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When: Feb. 28, time TBD

TV: TBD

January ended with Northern Iowa (20-2, 9-1) putting a major chink in the armor that Wichita State (19-3, 9-1) has worn in Missouri Valley play for the past two years. Will February come to a close with the Shockers returning the favor and taking back their seat atop the standings?

The 70-54 loss was Wichita's first in MVC play since March 2013, and it confirmed that Northern Iowa isn't a fluke this season. After an impressive start to the campaign that included ending Stephen F. Austin's long home win streak, the Panthers opened conference action with a loss at Evansville but have won nine straight by more than 12 points per game.

Wichita, which went unbeaten in the regular season last year, had previously lost in overtime at Utah and to George Washington in the finals of the Diamond Head Invitational in Hawaii. The Shockers haven't lost at home in nearly two years, however.

All records are current through games of Jan. 31.

Follow Brian J. Pedersen on Twitter at @realBJP.