Wake Forest looks for a decisive win for its NCAA tournament résumé and Alabama nears another SEC regular-season title.
The final weekend of February is officially upon us, and the action in the men’s college basketball world already feels like March. So far we’ve seen multiple court storms, a couple of buzzer beaters and epic overtime games this week, and who knows what might be in store for us with another packed slate on Saturday.
Here’s a look at what you’ll want to be paying attention to this weekend, from a Big 12 showdown between the Houston Cougars and Baylor Bears to a pair of intriguing ACC matchups that could shape the league’s title race.
Houston currently controls the race for the Big 12 regular-season title in its first season in the league, but still has plenty of work to do to finish the job. That starts Saturday in Waco, Texas, against a Baylor team looking to stay in the conference title race and add a résumé-topping win. The matchup pits Houston’s top-ranked defense against Baylor’s dynamic offense, a unit that ranks second in the nation in three-point shooting and features elite guards RayJ Dennis and Ja’Kobe Walter. The battle between Dennis and Houston star point guard Jamal Shead should be all kinds of fun to watch.
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Predictive metrics believe this Wake Forest team more than qualifies as a tournament-caliber team. The problem: Wake doesn’t have the résumé to back up its lofty KenPom ranking right now. Sitting at just 1–5 in Quad 1 games and 5–9 against the top two quadrants, the Demon Deacons desperately need a win here to solidify themselves for the Big Dance. Wake hung around when these two teams met at Cameron Indoor Stadium earlier this month, but a brutal 6-of-26 shooting day from deep foiled an upset bid by Steve Forbes’s team.
Alabama is averaging a ridiculous 91 points per game this season, matching the highest average by any Division I team since the VMI Keydets in 2006–07. Matching this explosive Crimson Tide offensive attack with the Wildcats’ dynamic unit means we could be in for an unbelievably high-scoring afternoon at Rupp Arena. The speed, shooting and guard play on display for both teams should be phenomenal, and I can’t wait to see Mark Sears and Alabama’s veteran guards against Rob Dillingham and the youthful Kentucky backcourt. A road win would go a long way toward the Tide wrapping up a third SEC regular-season title in the last four years.
Recent stumbles by Virginia, including a 34-point loss to the rival Virginia Tech Hokies on Monday, have brought the Cavaliers back into bubble conversations heading into a big weekend tilt with league-leading North Carolina. Virginia’s anemic offense has averaged just 50.3 points per game over its last three games, which makes this an appealing spot for North Carolina to get its slumping defense back on track. The Heels need a win here to stay in the conversation for a No. 1 seed come NCAA tournament time.
Facing UConn at home coming off a disappointing performance at the Creighton Bluejays feels like a less-than-ideal time to see the Huskies, but it’s an opportunity nonetheless for a bubblicious Villanova team to secure its spot in the Big Dance. UConn got carved up Tuesday night in Omaha, giving up 14 threes in the team’s worst defensive performance of the season. Can a desperate Villanova take anything from that game plan? Storrs, Conn., should be rocking with ESPN’s College GameDay in town.
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This is a big-time matchup of two of the best young coaches in the country. Drew Valentine, 32, has the Ramblers tied atop the Atlantic 10 standings and winners of 13 of 15, while Tony Skinn, 41, has led his alma mater to an 18–8 mark and the program’s first-ever ranked win against the Dayton Flyers in his first season on the job.