Weekend Preview

With February soon upon us, it’s almost time for the stretch run in college basketball. We all know what that means – bubble talk, conference title races, key intra-conference match-ups, and NCAA Tournament discussion. It also means important games every night between either top teams in the conference, or between two teams trying to keep pace in the at-large hunt. There is no shortage of games like that this weekend, but there are also several intriguing non-conference contests to keep an eye on. With no football to get in the way of quality college basketball, just sit back all weekend and bask in the hoops.

Top Games

Maryland at Duke (Saturday, 12:00 PM, ESPN): Prediction: Duke 81, Maryland 72

Memphis at Tennessee (Saturday, 3:30 PM, CBS): Prediction: Tennessee 85, Memphis 78

Baylor at Oklahoma (Saturday, 4:00 PM, ESPNU): Prediction: Oklahoma 76, Baylor 70

Wisconsin at Illinois (Saturday, 4:00 PM, ESPN): Prediction: Illinois 67, Wisconsin 60

UCLA at Washington (Saturday, 4:00 PM, FSN): Prediction: Washington 73, UCLA 69

Connecticut at Notre Dame (Saturday, 7:00 PM, ESPN): Prediction: Notre Dame 86, Connecticut 83

Xavier at LSU (Saturday, 8:00 PM, ESPN2): Prediction: LSU 79, Xavier 75

Texas A&M at Texas (Saturday, 8:00 PM, ESPNU): Prediction: Texas 73, Texas A&M 64

Louisville at Syracuse (Sunday, 12:00 PM, ESPN FullCourt/Regional TV): Prediction: Syracuse 78, Louisville 74

Michigan State at Ohio State (Sunday, 3:45 PM, CBS): Prediction: Michigan State 69, Ohio State 64

Pittsburgh at West Virginia (Sunday, 4:00 PM, ESPN FullCourt/Regional TV): Prediction: Pittsburgh 72, West Virginia 69

Virginia Tech at Miami (Fl.) (Sunday, 5:30 PM, FSN): Prediction: Miami (Fl.) 74, Virginia Tech 66

Key Conference Clashes

Niagara at Siena (Saturday, 12:00 PM, ESPN FullCourt/Regional TV): Prediction: Siena 88, Niagara 77

Wisconsin-Milwaukee at Butler (Saturday, 2:00 PM, ESPN FullCourt/Regional TV): Prediction: Butler 65, Wisconsin-Milwaukee 53

Utah at UNLV (Saturday, 4:00 PM, Versus): Prediction: UNLV 74, Utah 66

George Mason at VCU (Saturday, 4:00 PM, ESPN2): Prediction: VCU 76, George Mason 69

San Diego State at BYU (Saturday, 9:00 PM, Regional TV): Prediction: BYU 67, San Diego State 57

Five Others to Watch

Kentucky at Alabama (Saturday, 3:00 PM, ESPN FullCourt/Regional TV): Prediction: Kentucky 70, Alabama 68

Oklahoma State at Nebraska (Saturday, 4:00 PM, ESPN FullCourt/Regional TV): Prediction: Nebraska 83, Oklahoma State 75

Houston at Arizona (Saturday, 6:00 PM, Regional TV): Prediction: Arizona 73, Houston 64

USC at Washington State (Saturday, 6:00 PM, Regional TV): Prediction: USC 61, Washington State 58

Florida at Vanderbilt (Sunday, 1:30 PM, CBS): Prediction: Florida 72, Vanderbilt 68