NO. 7 DUKE AT NO. 3 UNC
The greatest rivalry in college basketball is back Saturday night, as the Number 3 ranked UNC Tar Heels (17-4, 9-1 ACC) take on the Number 7 ranked Duke Blue Devils (16-4, 7-2) at 6:30 pm ET in a top-ten matchup at Chapel Hill.
The 49th top-ten meeting between the Tobacco Road rivals will see the favored Tar Heels trying to avenge their two losses to Duke last year. According to Bryan Ives of ESPN, these two teams have split their previous top ten matchups with 24 wins apiece and UNC barely edging out Duke in points per game at 76.8 to 76.
The Tar Heels are coming off a 74-73 loss at Georgia Tech on Tuesday, the same team that beat Duke back in early December. Since that December loss, Duke has rattled off an 11-1 record with their only loss coming in a barnburner ACC matchup at home versus Pitt.
So far this year, UNC is 12-8-1 against the spread, while Duke sits at just 10-10 ATS (Though one of those should be forgiven, as Vegas surprisingly put Duke as 34.5 point favorites over Bucknell in November, a game that the high-flying Bison beat the spread, only losing by a mere 30 points).
Duke leads the ACC in three point percentage at an impressive 39% from beyond the arc, while UNC is holding opponents to an ice-cold 24.9% from deep. UNC’s defense is perhaps the best in the country, and their rebounding dominance might push them over the edge.
A Duke win would put them at the top of the ACC standings with both teams having to wait until the regular season finale at Cameron to settle the score.
NO. 4 HOUSTON AT NO. 8 KANSAS
Two Big 12 favorites will face off Saturday at 4:00pm ET, as No. 4 Houston (19-2, 6-2 Big 12) travels to Lawrence to face the Kansas Jayhawks (17-4, 5-3 Big 12). Houston sits at the top of the KenPom ratings right now after stacking up five straight wins including a 77-54 thrashing of Big 12 second place team Texas Tech in mid January.
Houston faces its toughest test of the season so far, however, traveling to one of the most difficult venues in college basketball, where the Jayhawks just blew out bottom feeder Oklahoma State 83-54 on Tuesday. The Jayhawks have won 7 straight games at Allen Fieldhouse, and have not lost a top ten matchup in 13 games (!!!) as an underdog at Allen under Head Coach Bill Self.
Kansas guard Kevin McCullar, one of the best players in the country, is a huge question mark in this one, as he’s dealing with a bone bruise that caused him to miss Tuesday’s matchup, but given the ridiculous stat above, it’s hard to bet against the home Jayhawks.
NO. 5 TENNESSEE AT NO. 10 KENTUCKY
The best matchup in the SEC this weekend will see the No. 5 ranked Tennessee Volunteers (15-5, 5-2 SEC) head to Lexington to take on perennial powerhouse No.10 Kentucky (15-4, 5-2 SEC) at 8:30pm ET on Saturday. Tennessee, perhaps the second best defensive team in the country behind UNC, faces a Kentucky team loaded with offensive firepower.
Tennessee is coming off a tough home loss to a hot South Carolina team that should be ranked, falling 63-59 on Tuesday, but that same Gamecocks team routed Kentucky just a week before, dominating wire-to-wire in a 79-62 blowout in Columbia.
Both teams are looking to get back on track with a win, and if Kentucky’s able to impose their high speed, high possession playing style against the Vols at home, this should turn into a shootout.
Regardless of the outcomes of these top-10 matchups, Saturday should be quite the day for college hoops.
C. Ross Danforth, Contributor, The Undefeated