What to watch this weekend: Can Utah avenge its loss at Arizona?
The most action-packed day of the college basketball regular season could be Saturday if the most highly anticipated matchups live up to the hype.
Arizona visits Utah with first place in the Pac-12 on the line. Northern Iowa and Wichita State square off in a winner-take-all Valley showdown. And unbeaten Kentucky faces maybe its toughest test in SEC play when 18th-ranked Arkansas puts its seven-game win streak on the line.
Below is a look at those three games and some of the other noteworthy games from this weekend's slate:
1. Arizona at Utah (Saturday, 9 p.m. EST): If Arizona wins at Utah on Saturday night, it will be one of the most impressive victories any team has notched all season. The 13th-ranked Utes are 16-0 at home so far this year and have won their eight Pac-12 home games by an average of 24.6 points. They'll also be very motivated Saturday since they're only one game back of the Wildcats in the Pac-12 standings and they were blown out in Tucson in the first meeting between the two teams. Arizona won that game 69-51 because three of its stars delivered brilliant games. T.J. McConnell was aggressive looking for his own shot and scored 12 of his 16 points in the first half to rally the Wildcats from an early deficit. Rondae Hollis-Jefferson played exceptional defense on Utah guard Delon Wright, holding the All-American candidate to a put-back and a free throw in the final 36 minutes. And Stanley Johnson caught fire after a scoreless first half and delivered the knockout blow in the form of 18 second-half points.
2. Northern Iowa at Wichita State (Saturday, 2 p.m. EST): Tenth-ranked Northern sent a message that the Valley has more than one formidable team this season when it dusted Wichita State 70-54 last month in Cedar Falls. Now the 11th-ranked Shockers will try to avenge that loss in a highly anticipated regular season-ending showdown between the Valley's two co-leaders. Having its home crowd behind it will surely help Wichita State, but the Shockers need to get the pace of the game more in their favor too. They shot only 35.4 percent from the field because they generated hardly any transition points, they got almost no production from their frontcourt and stars Ron Baker and Fred VanVleet needed 22 shots to combine for 30 points. Methodical yet efficient Northern Iowa had no trouble breaking full-court pressure and shredded Wichita State's half-court defense too as Seth Tuttle sank 9 of 13 shots from the field and 10 of 13 from the foul line. Guard Wes Washspun also torched the Shockers off the screen and roll, adding 16 points of his own.
3. Arkansas at Kentucky (Saturday, 4 p.m. EST): The only matchup of the year between the SEC's two best teams will take place Saturday at Rupp Arena. The 18th-ranked Razorbacks have won seven straight this season and three straight against Kentucky, which means you can bet they'll have the undefeated Wildcats' full attention. For Arkansas to stay competitive in Lexington, where Kentucky has lost only four times during John Calipari's tenure, the Razorbacks will have to force turnovers with their pressure defense and turn them into transition chances before the Wildcats' defense is set. Arkansas forces 16.6 turnovers per game, the most in the SEC. It would also help the Razorbacks to shoot well from the perimeter and to hit the offensive glass hard because points in the paint are almost always hard to come by against Kentucky.
Other noteworthy games:
North Carolina at Miami (Saturday, 2 p.m. EST): Having already dropped five of their last seven games to fall out of contention in the ACC, the Tar Heels head to Coral Gables to face a Miami team desperate for a big win to get it on the right side of the bubble. The Hurricanes desperately need the Angel Rodriguez who scored 25 points on Florida State on Wednesday night rather than the one shooting 21.4 percent over his previous 11 games.
Villanova at Xavier (Saturday, 2 p.m. EST): For Villanova to get one of the last No. 1 seeds, the Wildcats may have to run the table. Their toughest remaining regular season test likely comes Saturday against a Xavier team that has won four of its last six and is playing better defense than it was earlier in the season when it fell 88-75 in Philadelphia.
Dayton at VCU (Saturday, 2 p.m. EST): Four losses in eight games have made VCU's bid to win Shaka Smart's first regular season league title a greater challenge than it once appeared it would be. The Briante Weber-less Rams are now in a four-way tie for first place with Davidson, Rhode Island and Dayton. VCU will retain at least a share of first place with a win Saturday, but guard-heavy Dayton could be a tough matchup since they have so many ball handlers on the floor.
West Virginia at Baylor (Saturday, 4 p.m. EST): Two of the leading contenders for Big 12 coach of the year will meet when Bob Huggins' West Virginia team visits Scott Drew and Baylor. Which team is more effective on the offensive glass will be a huge factor in this one, as will Baylor's ability to avoid turning the ball over against the Mountaineers' pressure defense.
Texas at Kansas (Saturday, 5 p.m. EST): To secure the marquee win it needs to get back on the right side of the bubble, free-falling Texas must not only win in Lawrence but also do so in the Jayhawks' first game since taking a bad loss at Kansas State. Good luck, Longhorns. Unless Jonathan Holmes reverts back to his November-December form, it's tough to see Texas winning.
Boise State at San Diego State (Saturday, 8 p.m. EST): Boise State's Mountain West title and NCAA tournament hopes may be on the line Saturday. If the Broncos can become the first team to beat the Aztecs in Viejas Arena, they'll earn a share of first place and secure a badly needed marquee win. The only RPI top 100 wins they have so far this season came against San Diego State, Colorado State and Saint Mary's.
BYU at Gonzaga (Saturday, 10 p.m. EST): BYU's hopes of earning an at-large NCAA tournament bid likely come down to whether it can spring a big upset in Spokane. The Cougars have looked like a quality team in taking San Diego State to double overtime and playing close with Utah and Gonzaga, but that doesn't excuse that they have five conference losses and their best wins are over Stanford, UMass and Saint Mary's all at home.
Michigan State at Wisconsin (Sunday, 4 p.m. EST): Michigan State had been playing excellent basketball until a late collapse at home against Minnesota on Thursday night. It only gets harder for the Spartans on Sunday as they face a first-place Wisconsin team that is motivated after losing at Maryland and well rested after five days without a game.
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Jeff Eisenberg is the editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at daggerblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
