College Basketball Predictions: Top 4 Games to Watch on Saturday

Syracuse's first road test against North Carolina State is one of four games headlining Saturday's action. Jim Boeheim and company have finally be ranked first in the nation and they will try to validate it as they travel to North Carolina this week.

Saturdays now belong to college basketball with college football in its long bowl season, which cuts into its sports dominance on Saturday. College basketball now takes over half of the weekend and these games will make fans beg for more.

With 98 total games, including 17 featuring Top 25 teams, Saturday will be a huge day for the college basketball landscape, and fans must tune it to see it all happen.

If you can only watch one or two games, however, these four will be the best of the day.

No. 22 Texas A&M at No. 13 Florida

The Florida Gators host the Texas A&M Aggies at 2:30 ET, and it should be an interesting game. While it's not technically a home game Florida will have a clear majority of fans because the game is being played in Florida.

The Gators haven't lost in a home-atmosphere yet, nor have they beaten a Top 25 team. Their best win came against Arizona in overtime, but when they have played ranked teams like Syracuse and Ohio State, they have lost.

The Aggies rank somewhere between Arizona and Ohio State, and it will be interesting to see what will happen when the two meet up.

The Aggies will use Khris Middleton and Ray Turner to play tough defense while attacking the Gators inside, where Patric Young is their only good big man.

Another storyline to keep an eye on is to see who Khris Middleton guards, as he is one of the best defenders in the nation and could guard any of Florida's four great guards, signaling that player as their best.

Notre Dame at No. 20 Indiana

After knocking off No. 1 Kentucky, the Indiana Hoosiers have cracked the Top 25 at No. 20. Their next task is to host the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at 4:30 ET.

It will be interesting to see whether or not the Hoosiers can maintain their momentum and their position among the nation's elite against the Fighting Irish.

There were times in the game against Kentucky that the Hoosiers didn't play smart, and they could have easily blown their lead.

UNLV at No. 19 Illinois

The UNLV Rebels have beaten No. 1 North Carolina and came close against No. 16 Wisconsin. This week, they play No. 19 Illinois at 5pm ET, and they have a legitimate shot to beat them.

Behind Chase Stanback and Mike Moser, this UNLV team can compete with the big boys, and Illinois is susceptible to an early upset.

Illinois lacks senior leadership, and with only one senior on the roster, it is not the most experienced team. We have seen that experience is vital in close games, and Illinois could lose their first game this weekend.

No. 1 Syracuse at North Carolina State

The Syracuse Orange are the best team in the nation and have proved so against top-ranked opponents like No. 9 Florida. However, the Orange have not played on the road, and their first road game of the season comes against North Carolina State at 6:30 ET.

Jim Boeheim's squad needs to prove that it is just as dominant in a hostile environment as it is with almost 50,000 fans cheering them on.

North Carolina State has an electric atmosphere of its own, and with sensational sophomore C.J. Leslie leading a balanced team, they have a chance to upset Syracuse just like Indiana did Kentucky last weekend.