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Top 10 college basketball games of the week(s): Duke-Baylor, Arizona-FAU and more – The Athletic
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Last week was a torrent of great games and fascinating matchups. The impending holiday stretch? Not so much. With parties for hosting and marshmallows for toasting, college basketball mostly takes a backseat to football and the NBA as we ring in the new year. Many teams are finishing out nonconference play with cupcake home games, and the best MTEs have been accounted for.
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But fear not: we still managed to scrounge together a list for all the CBB Sickos out there that will get you to 2024. So let’s power-rank the top 10 matchups in men’s college basketball over the next two weeks, starting with a few honorable mentions and counting down.
(All tipoff times are Eastern, all rankings are via the AP Top 25, and all records are current at time of publishing.)
Honorable mention: No. 12 Creighton vs. Villanova (Wednesday), Washington vs. Colorado (Dec. 29), Ohio State vs. West Virginia (Dec. 30), Duke vs Syracuse (Jan. 2), Missouri vs. No. 13 Illinois (Friday)
There’s very little chance of this being a good or even decent game, but that doesn’t mean it won’t be interesting. That’s mainly because Louisville seems incapable of going more than a few days (hours?) without something outrageous befalling the program. There is a good chance this will be head coach Kenny Payne’s last game at the helm of the Cardinals, a trainwreck hire that probably won’t last 45 total games. Also, UK looks good! And fun!
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So Kentucky might really be back, huh?
The Huskies continue to play like one of the best and most balanced teams in the country through nonconference play, including an impressive road-ish win over Gonzaga in Seattle last week despite just nine points from Tristen Newton. The Johnnies have been fine against a decent schedule, including a nice win over Utah and road victory over West Virginia. How will Rick Pitino and his squad handle the first marquee road matchup in the Big East?
Weird start to the season for the Bruins, whose four losses have all been close and against top-30 KenPom opponents … but they haven’t beaten anyone of note, either. UCLA’s best win is a one-point squeaker over UC Riverside. A road trip against a solid Oregon team could be a telling matchup early in Pac-12 play. The Ducks similarly appear to have some talent and potential, but are still piecing together an identity.
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Pitt is one of many teams that remain a bit of a mystery as we enter conference play. The Panthers take care of the ball, run opponents off the 3-point line and clean the glass, but they haven’t defeated anyone of consequence. They’ll have a chance to prove something against a Tar Heels team that is in danger of dropping three straight, with losses against UConn and Kentucky and a matchup with top-10 Oklahoma (more on that in a bit).
The Zags were humbled against UConn but have looked pretty good otherwise, playing fast, crashing the offensive boards and clamping down defensively. They host the defending runner-ups and big man Jaedon LeDee, who is averaging 22.8 points and 10.3 rebounds for the Aztecs. Gonzaga and San Diego State are both looking to grab the first Quad 1 win of the season.
No rest for Arizona, which follows its first loss of the season to Purdue with games against FAU in Las Vegas and Alabama in Phoenix, all in a week. Last season’s Final Four run doesn’t look like a fluke for the Owls, who brought just about everyone back and have one of the best and more efficient offenses in the country. They’ll need it against a Wildcats squad with a blitzkrieg offense that’s just as good and a defense that’s even better. However, one of Zona’s few weaknesses is 3-point defense, and FAU is shooting 38.4 percent from beyond the arc as a team.
FAU is ranked higher in the polls, but Bama is right behind the Owls in the NET and a few spots ahead according to KenPom, where the Crimson Tide also has the best offense in college basketball. It will be good on good against an Arizona defense that feasts on the boards but will have to contend with a Tide team that shoots 39.1 percent from 3-point range. This is the third game of an ESPN tripleheader on Wednesday night, but no worries about nodding off. These are two of the most uptempo offenses in the country.
A matchup of two legit national championship contenders, as far as I’m concerned. Both have experienced, veteran rosters with defined roles and strengths and should be able to push UConn in the Big East title race. The Bluejays shoot the lights out and defend without fouling, led by the big three of Baylor Scheierman, Ryan Kalkbrenner and Trey Alexander. Marquette plays fast yet takes care of the ball, which is often in the hands of stars Tyler Kolek and Kam Jones. Oso Ighodaro remains one of the sport’s most underrated and under-celebrated players.
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How Oso Ighodaro became the linchpin for college basketball’s most experimental offense
In the middle bout of that Wednesday tripleheader, the Tar Heels need to bounce back from those two straight losses. For the Sooners, this game in Charlotte is an opportunity to show if they are indeed deserving of that top-10 ranking in the AP and the NET. They’re undefeated and boast a stingy defense, led by breakout sophomore Otega Oweh and Sienna transfer Javian McCollum. But they haven’t played a single Q1 game. UNC will be the toughest test yet.
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The new-look Blue Devils are still settling into an identity and need to get Tyrese Proctor back from an ankle sprain, but the potential is there. Kyle Filipowski is a big part of that, playing at an All-America level thus far, and Jeremy Roach has been really good. Baylor had also been looking really good … until the Bears went to Detroit and got pulverized by a struggling Michigan State team, turning the ball over 21 times and losing by 24. With six players scoring in double figures, Baylor will aim to prove that loss to Sparty was merely a blip as it tips off a stellar Wednesday night lineup in Madison Square Garden.
(Photo of RJ Davis: Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images)
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Justin Williams covers college football and basketball for The Athletic. He was previously a beat reporter covering the Cincinnati Bearcats, and prior to that he worked as a senior editor for Cincinnati Magazine. Follow Justin on Twitter/X @williams_justin Follow Justin on Twitter @williams_justin
