Illinois and Arizona headline a huge Saturday of College Basketball

The Friday games were not great, but in the one good game, UConn beat Texas at Gampel.  That was it, that was the news from Friday in College Basketball.  The Saturday slate will be much better than the Friday schedule.  There are three ranked vs ranked games, a rivalry game, and a ranked team going on the road that is on upset watch.  Those are the games highlighted, and then there is a pick for the winners of the remaining games.

No. 17 Arkansas Razorbacks vs No. 16 Texas Tech Red Raiders - Top 20 matchup in Dallas

There was a time this season when no one really knew what to expect from Arkansas.  They did almost lose to Winthrop.  That was the low point of the season, and since then, Arkansas, under head coach John Calipari, has turned it around and just recently beat Louisville.   The freshman Meleek Thomas and Darius Acuff lead the Razorbacks, and, like most other Calipari-coached teams, he has done a fantastic job of building around his star freshman.  Billy Richmond is the most critical player for Arkansas, and when he is on the floor, positive things always happen.

Texas Tech has been waiting for another opportunity to beat a ranked team in the non-conference since Thanksgiving weekend.  That was when the Red Raiders got run out of the gym by Purdue in the Bahamas.  Since that point, Texas Tech has looked much better, and point guard Christian Anderson has started playing at an All-America level, and JT Toppin is the best player in the country. This one is going to be a lot of fun and will be a battle from tip to finish.  The Arkansas freshman vs. the experience of Texas Tech, and something will have to give.

Texas Tech 89, Arkansas 85

Oklahoma State Cowboys at Oklahoma Sooners - Bedlam in Oklahoma City

The Cowboys enter their game with their arch rivals undefeated and look like an NCAA Tournament team at this point in the season.  Head coach Steve Lutz knew he needed scoring in the offseason, so he went out and got a ton of scoring in the transfer portal.  Kanye Clary, Anthony Roy, and Vyctorious Miller lead a deadly trio that does everything for Oklahoma State.  Their ability to score is imperative to the Cowboys' success.

Oklahoma has failed its three major tests at this point in the season, and it is in large part due to their defense, and the fact that the Sooners don’t play any.  Oklahoma desperately needs a win to get them back into the NCAA Tournament conversation, and a neutral-site win against their arch-rivals is a good place to start.  Nijel Pack and Xzavier Brown make up one of the highest-scoring backcourts in the country.

Oklahoma 75 Oklahoma State 73

No. 23 Nebraska Cornhuskers at No. 13 Illinois Fighting Illini - Shocking Huskers get their first road game against a top 15 team.

Nebraska is currently 10-0, which ties for the longest winning streak in school history.  Nebraska also currently has the longest winning streak in the country at 14-0, dating back to last season.  So is Nebraska legit?  Well, ask Greg Gard as they just beat Wisconsin by 30 in Lincoln.  The defense has been playing at an elite level this month.  The offense will space you out with Rienk Mast at the top of the key, and Nebraska has a ton of shooting.  If the Huskers can get hot from deep, they can beat anyone.

Illinois poses some matchup problems for Nebraska.  Well, for example, Illinois gets Nebraska at the State Farm Center.  Illinois is a different beast at home, and Nebraska has yet to play an actual road game. The Illini have big men who can defend and neutralize Rienk Mast, and Illinois will also make threes, but can beat you in a lot of ways.  The thing to watch here is Illinois's turnovers.  They tend to turn it over a lot, which is bad when playing a team like Nebraska, which loves to get out in transition.  This one is going to be fun.

Illinois 87 Nebraska 83

No. 19 Kansas Jayhawks at NC State Wolfpack - NC State gets first opportunity at huge win

The Jayhawks look like a much different team at this point in the year than they were at the start of the season.  That usually happens, but Kansas figured out how to win without star Darryn Peterson,n which is going to help them in the long run.  Peterson is back and turns Kansas into a favorite in the Big 12, but the Jayhawks have their work cut out for them as they head to Raleigh.  Flory Bidunga and Darryn Peterson are going to need to play very well for the Jayhawks to head back to Lawrence with a win.

NC State needs a signature win and has had opportunities at this point in the season, but has failed to finish games.  The time is now, especially considering that the game is in Raleigh and that Darrion Williams and Tre Holloman are figuring out how to play together; the Wolfpack are playing at a high level right now.  Even though NC State is favored to win this game, it would still be an upset if they pulled it off.

NC State 70- Kansas -65

No. 1 Arizona Wildcats vs No. 12 Alabama Crimson Tide- Battle of two top 15 teams in Birmingham

Arizona has the best resume in the country right now and has earned the top overall ranking to this point in the season. Going to Alabama in Birmingham, I would automatically pick the Tide to win. Still, the Wildcats are already battle-tested,d and star freshman Koa Peat and Brayden Burries play their best against the best.  Jaden Bradley returns to play for the team where his college career started. The point guard won a lot of games at Alabama and has continued winning a ton of games at Arizona

Alabama playing Arizona will be the battle of two contrasting styles. The Crimson Tide will always have a style that conflicts with everyone they play against because of how fast they play and the sheer volume of threes they take.  If they are making threes, they are very hard to beat, and they are going to need to make a lot of them to pull off the upset against Arizona.  

Arizona 85 Alabama 80

No. 24 UCLA Bruins vs No. 8 Gonzaga Bulldogs - Battle of Spokane

UCLA has struggled this year, or at least it did struggle at the start of the season. The Bruins looked good in their two Big Ten games last week, but have yet to beat a ranked team this year.  Skyy Clark and Tyler Bilodeau will need to continue playing at a high level, and the best chance UCLA has is to try to muck this game up.  The slower that UCLA can get Gonzaga to play, the better.

Gonzaga is one of the best teams in the country and is every bit of a National Title contender.  The Bulldogs have been blowing out everyone and may have the best team under Mark Few.  That last statement is saying something, given how many good teams coach Few has had.  Graham Ike and Braden Huff should not have much of a problem navigating the paint against UCLA, because they don’t have a problem getting into the paint against anyone.  Expect another blowout loss.

Gonzaga 85 UCLA 60

Here are the picks for the rest of the games on a loaded Saturday: