NCAA: The Best Weekend In College Basketball Is Upon Us

This upcoming weekend will be one of the most important and exciting weekends in all of college hoops.

As teams enter the final leg of their seasons, it will be vital for all to be playing at their highest level. The weekend will also consist of five standout games featuring ranked teams looking to make a push heading into the NCAA tournament.

The first game of the afternoon will be Kentucky traveling to Knoxville to take on the Volunteers.

It will be an SEC battle where both teams have consistently played at a high level in the conference all season long. Tennessee is coming off a loss on the road against Florida and will need to pull off an upset against the Wildcats in order to keep their top 25 ranking alive.

On the other hand, Kentucky is currently the second ranked team in the nation, riding a very impressive seven-game winning streak.

The Cats feature a dynamic duo of freshman, as John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins lead the way for their squad. This has the potential to be the best game of the weekend as the sellout crowd in Knoxville prepares for an upset.

Tennessee 82—Kentucky 80

The battle of the Lone Star State standouts is sure to be an intriguing matchup.

Both teams have had roller coaster-type seasons, and an in conference victory at this stage of the season would be a major victory.

Last month the Longhorns were ranked at the No. 1 slot and have slid 20 positions into their current rank. They have struggled immensely on the road, and a win at College Station will not come easily.

Texas A&M is a well rounded team that, on the right day, could beat any opponent in the country.

They came close to beating Kansas last week and have key wins against Texas Tech and Baylor. This is going to be a very close game and either team could easily pull of the victory.

However, the Longhorns have too much at stake at this point in their season, and I see them coming out firing on all cylinders.

Texas 74—Texas A&M 70

Another eventful matchup will feature two of the Mountain West’s top teams. New Mexico will travel to Utah to take on BYU in a rematch of their game in January.

The Lobos are the hottest team in all of basketball right now and have won 12 straight games. They were able to beat the Cougars at home, 76-72, and this game is sure to be as close.

As of late, BYU has been dominating teams and their home court advantage should play a huge role in taking down New Mexico in this game.

The one-on-one matchup between Jimmer Fredette and Darrington Hobson at the guard position should be an exciting one. If Fredette, BYU’s standout guard, can knock down his shot consistently the Cougars will win this game.

BYU 69—New Mexico 67

The most important game of the day will be featured in Syracuse, where the Orangemen are hosting their largest crowd in the Carrier Dome's history.

Villanova will travel north to try and take down their Big East rivals. The Wildcats are one of the best teams in the league, but are coming off two straight losses. A win here would be huge for them, but in many cases a loss would be even worse. They also have to play West Virginia and will not want to end their season with two losses against ranked opponents.

Syracuse seems to be the best team in the Big East, but the strength of the conference has been catching up to all of the top schools. Wes Johnson will lead the way for his squad and, if the Orangemen can contain Scottie Reynolds, they should be in a good position. The Dome will be rockin’ for this late-night game, as people in the Syracuse area get ready for their biggest “orange-out” ever.

Syracuse 78—Villanova 70