When to Watch Banchero, Holmgren, More in Wild Saturday of Men's College Hoops

Prior to March Madness, there are only so many spots in the sports calendar where men's college basketball is able to temporarily steal the national spotlight.

With all due respect to the NFL's Pro Bowl and the Winter Olympics, the weekend before the Super Bowl is one of those opportunities.

And if you'll permit a channeling of my inner Dick Vitale—Get well soon, Dickie V!—this Saturday is going to be awesome with a capital "A," baby.

We've got Mike Krzyzewski's final trip to the Dean Dome, Baylor vs. Kansas for Big 12 supremacy, red-hot Kentucky playing at mercurial Alabama, and that's just the tip of the iceberg. It's going to be wall-to-wall, multiple-screens-required action from noon to midnight on the East Coast.

It's almost too much awesomeness.

So what's at stake in each viewing window, and how are we supposed to keep track of it all?

Allow us to help.

Headliner: No. 17 Connecticut at No. 12 Villanova (Noon ET on Fox)

By no means is this a "win or you're on the bubble" situation for Connecticut, but the Huskies are overdue for a quality win, yeah?

Since winning at Marquette (didn't have Darryl Morsell available at the time) four days before Christmas, UConn's schedule has consisted of wins over Butler (two), Georgetown, DePaul and St. John's and losses to Creighton and Seton Hall. The Huskies left the AAC and came back to the Big East so they could get more quality wins in league play, but that hasn't been the case as of late.

But this is the beginning of an 18-day gauntlet in which they'll face Villanova and Xavier twice each, Marquette and Seton Hall at home and St. John's on the road. That's seven consecutive games that are either definitely Quadrant 1 or close to it.

For Villanova, this is an opportunity to show it still has a pulse in the No. 1 seed race. The Wildcats have six losses thanks to Marquette and a brutal nonconference schedule, but they have no bad losses and remarkable resume/quality metrics. 

Undercard: No. 18 Illinois at Indiana (Noon ET on ESPN)

Both the Illini and the Hoosiers are comfortably in the projected field today, although both could certainly use a quality win. Each team has two wins over definite NCAA tournament teams, all at home—Illinois vs. Michigan State and Wisconsin; Indiana vs. Purdue and Ohio State. A third quality win might push Illinois up into the mix for a No. 3 seed. Conversely, if it's the Hoosiers getting that third quality win, they might have an argument for leapfrogging the Illini.

But the real draw here is the battle in the paint between Illinois' Kofi Cockburn and Indiana's Trayce Jackson-Davis. Both big men are still in the conversation for National Player of the Year and could make a major statement with a little head-to-head domination.

Other Games of Note

Oklahoma at Oklahoma State (Noon ET on ESPN2); Wake Forest at Florida State (Noon ET on ACC Network): Both the Sooners and the Demon Deacons have significant opportunities to enhance their bubble resumes on the road against top 100 foes. These are the toss-up games that can make or break your dream of dancing.

No. 22 Tennessee at South Carolina (1 p.m. ET on CBS): A tricky road game against an always physical Gamecocks team. A win merely keeps the status quo, but a loss might cost the Volunteers a seed line or two.

No. 1 Auburn at Georgia (1 p.m. ET on SEC Network): Auburn should win by a billion, but always a good idea to keep tabs on the No. 1 team in the country.

Headliner: No. 14 Texas Tech at West Virginia (2 p.m. ET on ESPN)

Fresh off an extremely emotional home win over former head coach Chris Beard and the Texas Longhorns, are the Red Raiders destined for a letdown game in an environment that is, according to Jon Rothstein, "tougher than a long weekend at your in-laws?"

West Virginia desperately needs this game. The Mountaineers are 2-7 thus far in 2022, and neither of the wins (vs. Oklahoma State, vs. Kansas State) were exactly resume-boosters. In fact, their second-best win of the season at this point was a road game against UAB. And they just squandered a golden opportunity against short-handed Baylor on Monday.

WVU already lost its home game against Oklahoma and is going to be up a creek without a paddle if it drops this game, too. Even in what is undeniably the best top-to-bottom conference in the country, given their mediocre nonconference profile, the 'Eers entered Big 12 play likely needing an 8-10 record to feel good about making the dance. Coming back from a 2-7 start might not be feasible.

And for Texas Tech, this is a chance to both stay in the hunt for the Big 12 regular-season title and prove it belongs among the top three seed lines. This would be the Red Raiders' sixth Quadrant 1 win.

Undercard: No. 20 Iowa State at No. 23 Texas (2 p.m. ET on Longhorn Network)

Texas darn near blew a 17-point lead in the final seven minutes at home against Tennessee last weekend, and then it never had much of a prayer at Texas Tech on Tuesday. Adding a home loss to Iowa State would re-raise some serious questions about a team that didn't have any Quadrant 1 wins until two weeks ago.

Meanwhile, the Cyclones are hoping to avoid falling to 3-7 in Big 12 play. While conference record does not matter as a standalone data point, it has been tough sledding for a team that wanted to prove its 13-0 nonconference record was no fluke. Doesn't help the Cyclones that their previously impressive-looking wins over Memphis, Creighton and Iowa have lost a lot of value with those three teams either plummeting toward the bubble or out of the at-large conversation altogether.

Other Games of Note

Michigan at No. 4 Purdue (2:30 p.m. ET on Fox): It's been a mess of a season for the 11-8 Wolverines, but they are conceivably one big win away from jumping into the projected field. Beating Purdue in West Lafayette would certainly qualify as a big win.

Dayton at Saint Louis (2 p.m. ET on ESPNU): Neither of these A-10 teams is all that close to the projected field, but they are at least within shouting distance. Loser probably drops out of the at-large conversation for good.

Davidson at George Washington (2 p.m. ET on ESPN+): Davidson has reached a "just don't suffer a horrible loss" level of safeness in the projected field, and this is exactly the type of loss it needs to avoid.

Headliner: No. 8 Baylor at No. 10 Kansas (4 p.m. ET on ESPN)

The Bears and Jayhawks may be No. 8 and No. 10 in the AP poll, but they are No. 3 and No. 5 on the Bracket Matrix's overall seed list. That means the winner will enter next week as a projected No. 1 seed, while the loser...should be right back in the mix for a No. 1 seed by the time they play the rematch in Waco on Feb. 26.

Not only are they battling for a projected No. 1 seed, but they are fighting for first place in the Big 12. Kansas is currently alone in first with a 7-1 record, while Baylor sits alone in second place at 7-2. If the Jayhawks are able to protect the Phog, they slide firmly into the driver's seat.

But here's the big question: Which guards will even be available for either team in this marquee showdown?

Kansas' Ochai Agbaji missed Tuesday's game at Iowa State due to COVID-19 protocols, while Remy Martin has been in and out of the lineup for the past month with a knee injury. Baylor's LJ Cryer (foot) and Adam Flagler (knee) both missed Monday's game against West Virginia.

If you feel the need to wager on this game, be sure to keep a close eye on the injury report. Here's hoping all four are able to go, though, because this could be a Final Four preview.

Undercard: No. 19 USC at No. 7 Arizona (5 p.m. ET on Fox)

It took almost three full months, but USC will finally face a tournament-caliber opponent.

To this point, the Trojans' best foe was a two-point road win over Washington State—a team whose legitimacy in the NET Top 50 has come into serious question in recent days. But by not losing until mid-January, USC climbed as high as No. 5 in the AP poll. This is a huge litmus test for whether we need to be taking USC seriously as a contender—or as a tournament team at all.

After splitting with UCLA, this also feels like an important "prove it" game for Arizona. The Wildcats won't face the Bruins or Trojans again and they don't have to play at Oregon, so they should win all of their remaining games. But if they lose this one, their list of quality wins is pretty much just going to consist of a four-point win at Illinois and the home game against UCLA. Might be hard to argue for a No. 1 or No. 2 seed with that resume.

Other Games of Note

No. 13 Michigan State at Rutgers (4 p.m. ET on FS1): They call it Jersey Mike's Arena now, but the RAC hasn't gotten any friendlier on visiting teams. Rutgers already has home wins over Purdue, Iowa, Michigan and Clemson this season, and you can take it to the bank that the Scarlet Knights are going to give MSU a battle.

Miami (FL) at Virginia (5 p.m. ET on ACC Network): Has not been a vintage year for the Cavaliers, to put it lightly, but the offense has been respectable in recent weeks, and they can still cause problems with their pace/style. Meanwhile, just a few days after a home loss to Notre Dame, another loss here could send Miami hurtling back toward the bubble.

Headliner: No. 9 Duke at North Carolina (6 p.m. ET on ESPN)

Even without accounting for the whole "Coach K Farewell Tour" sideshow, this battle for first place in the ACC is a huge game between loathed rivals.

For the home team, it's almost a do-or-die game. If the Tar Heels don't win at least one of their two regular-season games against the Blue Devils, they probably need to win every other game left on the slate in order to enter the ACC tournament in respectable shape for an at-large bid. Because if we pencil in L's against Duke, that puts UNC at 0-8 in Quadrant 1 games with possibly only one other chance to get rid of that goose egg (at Virginia Tech on the 19th).

And for the road team, it's a chance to prove it still deserves a shot at a No. 1 seed. Duke has those stellar neutral-site victories over Kentucky and Gonzaga from back in November, but it seems to be sleepwalking through the ACC since then, losing games to Miami and Florida State and nearly losing at home to Clemson. A convincing win in the Dean Dome would put the Blue Devils solidly on the No. 2 line.

Undercard: No. 25 LSU at Vanderbilt (6 p.m. ET on SEC Network)

Can LSU stop the bleeding?

After a 15-1 start that got them into the No. 1 seed conversation, the Tigers have lost five of their last six, including a Quadrant 3 home game against Ole Miss on Tuesday in which they trailed by 24 points in the first half.

LSU is still very comfortably in the projected field, but it seems to be dropping a seed line every five days or so. And a loss at Vanderbilt—a team that sure seems to be better than its 11-10 record—would keep that downward spiral in motion.

Other Games of Note

Seattle at New Mexico State (6 p.m. ET on ESPN+): The WAC is all but guaranteed to be a one-bid league, so the only thing at stake here is seeding for the conference tournament. However, these are the two teams battling for first place with a combined overall record of 35-8. Should be a good one.

SMU at Wichita State (6 p.m. ET on ESPN2): With wins in 13 of its last 14 games, SMU is gaining steam as an at-large candidate. Win in Wichita and they'll enter Wednesday's gigantic home game against Houston smack dab on the bubble cut line.

Headliner: No. 5 Kentucky at Alabama (8 p.m. ET on ESPN)

Kentucky has been on quite the tear of late. The Wildcats have won seven of their last eight, including blowouts of Tennessee and Kansas. Even the loss was impressive, as they led at Auburn by as many as 10 points in the first half before losing TyTy Washington Jr. to an injury and falling apart in the second half.

But can they do the seemingly impossible and beat Alabama in Tuscaloosa?

The Crimson Tide are 10-1 at home this season with wins over Baylor, Houston, Tennessee and LSU. And like Kentucky's recent stretch, their lone loss was an impressive showing against Auburn, in which they completely erased a 14-point deficit in four minutes before losing by four.

An Alabama win would be its seventh Quadrant 1 victory of the season. But a Kentucky win would very likely push the Wildcats ahead of the Baylor-Kansas loser, possibly up to a No. 1 seed.

Undercard: No. 2 Gonzaga at BYU (10 p.m. ET on ESPN)

Three weeks ago in Spokane, Gonzaga handed BYU a 110-84 beatdown, shooting 78 percent from inside the arc and 52.4 percent beyond it. It was part of a three-game stretch in which Gonzaga did one heck of a good impression of those 1987-90 Loyola Marymount teams that seemed to score on every single possession.

But after recent losses to Santa Clara and Pacific, BYU almost needs to win this rematch in order to secure its spot in the field.

The Cougars have a bunch of wins over bubble teams (Saint Mary's, San Francisco, San Diego State and Oregon) but also five losses to teams that either maybe or definitely would not be in the at-large field today. A win over Gonzaga would be huge and would also open the door for the Pac-12 champion to perhaps snag the No. 1 seed in the West Region.

Other Games of Note

Mississippi State at Arkansas (8:30 p.m. ET on SEC Network): Probably the biggest bubble game of the entire day. Arkansas has won seven straight to get back into the projected field, but an 81-68 home win over the Razorbacks was one of Mississippi State's most impressive results to date. Winner will almost certainly appear in our next projection of the field; loser might not.

No. 3 UCLA at Arizona State (10 p.m. ET on ESPN2): Should be a merciless blowout of an Arizona State team that can't hit water in the ocean this season. But Johnny Juzang and Co. are worth putting on the second screen while most of your focus is on Gonzaga-BYU.

Portland at San Francisco (8 p.m. ET); Oregon at Utah (8:30 p.m. ET on FS1); Belmont at Tennessee Tech (8:30 p.m. ET on ESPN+); Loyola Marymount at Saint Mary's (10 p.m. ET on CBSSN): Nothing like wrapping up a loaded Saturday with a little bubble carnage, right? San Francisco, Oregon, Belmont and Saint Mary's are all either in the projected field or close to it, but that could change in a hurry if any of them were to lose a late game against an opponent nowhere close to the tournament conversation.