Purdue, Michigan State, and Arizona headline the first Major Saturday of the College Basketball Season

Even with a light Friday slate, the country still learned some things about some teams.  Xavier beat Cincinnati in the Crosstown Shootout.  That rivalry is always heated; the two teams don’t like each other, and records and other things never matter.  It didn’t turn violent, which is excellent, but neither of those teams is good, and Cincinnati is probably going to be looking for a new coach.  

Then there is Kentucky.  The Wildcats now sit at 5-4 after getting blown out by Gonzaga.  If you couldn’t see the blowout coming after what each team has shown this year, I don’t know what to tell you.  The other issue is that Kentucky has quit on Mark Pope.  They are not playing hard, they look disengaged, and head coach Mark Pope has no answers. Pope is another guy on the hot seat, at least one would think so.

Welcome to the first big-time Saturday of college basketball. The day delivers from the beginning, with two ranked matchups to start.  There are huge games all day long, and it was hard to pick just a few to highlight because there are so many good ones.  Here are the best games of an absolutely loaded Saturday.

No. 10 Iowa State Cyclones at No. 1 Purdue Boilermakers - Top 10 battle in Mackey

Iowa State is coming off a win over Alcorn State, a game in which the Cyclones scored over 120 points, made over 20 threes, and ran an absolutely brilliant offense.  There are very few teams playing as well as Iowa State is right now.  Joshua Jefferson has been carrying the load for the Cyclones while star point guard Tamin Lipsey has been out.  Lipsey will likely be back for the game in Mackey, but Mackey is harder to win in than Hilton.

I mentioned how good the Cyclones have been playing, but Purdue is number 1 for a reason.  The Boilers have been playing exceptionally well and have two Wooden Award candidates in Braden Smith and Trey Kaufmann-Renn, both of whom are playing at a high level.  Purdue dominates at home, Mackey is going to be rocking, and this is going to be a high-quality basketball game with a lot of three-point attempts, and defense will be elite.

No. 4 Duke Blue Devils at No. 7 Michigan State Spartans - Top 10 matchup in Breslin

Head coach Jon Scheyer has done it again, landing the top freshman in the country.  Cameron Boozer has flat-out dominated the competition to this point and is on pace for one of the best freshman seasons of all time. Boozer is surrounded by another elite roster that will put pressure on Michigan State, unlike any other team this year.  They will be able to crash the glass and do work inside the paint against a stout Spartans defense.

Michigan State looks dominant, doing so by getting to the rim, playing elite defense, and being tougher than your team.  Coen Carr can get to the rim on anyone, and Carson Cooper is a stretch five who puts pressure on every defense he faces. The Spartans haven’t shot the ball this year at points, but they are going to need to be firing on all cylinders to get this one done.  Breslin is going to be rocking, and they will be able to will the Spartans to a win.

No. 6 Louisville Cardinals at No. 22 Indiana Hoosiers- Two teams looking for a bounce back

Louisville is fresh off a loss to Arkansas, but make no mistake, the Cardinals are a National Title contender.  They have talent everywhere and a prolific offense that features shooters everywhere.  Louisville also has one of the best freshmen in the country in Mikel Brown Jr. Brown is an elite passer, but can get buckets when the team needs them. Ryan Conwell and his 20 points per game always pace Louisville, and they are not going to lose twice in a row.

Indiana started the year undefeated but played all its games at home.  In the first actual road test of the year at Minnesota, the Hoosiers failed and lost to a Minnesota team that had lost to two mid-majors.  Indiana will be better, but they will no longer be ranked.  The Hoosiers are going to shoot a ton of threes, and if they make them, they are extremely hard to beat.  Indiana desperately needs a good win.

No. 14 Illinois Fighting Illini vs No. 13 Tennessee Volunteers - Top 15 battle in Nashville

Illinois has already played a strict schedule and has lost close games against Alabama and UConn.  They have also beaten Texas Tech, using the Ivisic brothers in the post to clean up all the rebounds and get easy points in the paint.  The big men can step out and hit threes and are even better in the pick-and-roll.  Senior point guard Kylan Boswell is in the middle of a career year and has Illinois looking like a Final Four contender.  

Tennessee is an interesting team this year.  The Volunteers beat Houston in the Players Era but then lost to Kansas and Syracuse in back-to-back games.  I don’t have a whole lot of faith in the Volunteers right now; the offense has way too many question marks on the offensive end. The defense is always elite with Rick Barnes, but Nate Ament and Jakobi Gillespie have got to be more consistent.

No. 20 Auburn Tigers at No. 2 Arizona Wildcats - Wildcats look to stay perfect with a ranked team at McKale.

Steven Pearl has had an up-and-down first season with Auburn.  The Tigers beat St. John’s and NC State, had a close loss to Houston, and then got destroyed by Michigan.  However, getting killed by Michigan is what everyone is doing these days, even with all that, I still don’t know how good Auburn is.  I know Tahaad Pettiford is good, but I don’t know how good the rest of the team is.  This is going to be a chance to prove that and prove they deserve to be in the rankings.

I do know how good Arizona is; they already have wins over Florida, UConn, and UCLA.  They have done everything to earn the number 2 ranking.  Head coach Tommy Lloyd has always had a prolific offense, and this year he has an elite defense.  Arizona is led by its point guard Jaden Bradley and top freshman Koa Peat.  It would be a massive surprise if the Wildcats lost their first big game at McKale, especially to a team they are much better than.

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