Men’s college basketball watch guide: Duke-Texas Tech, Auburn-Purdue among weekend showcases

For those unmoved by the College Football Playoff, the NFL stretch run and the many holiday movie marathons, college basketball has a robust slate to rock with this weekend. A set of different neutral-site invitationals give the viewership some awesome pairings. Saturday offers three games between ranked opponents. There’s also a late-night showcase for No. 1 and undefeated Arizona. We’ve highlighted the most watchable matchups below, with one Friday and one Sunday selection to round things out.

All times ET and rankings are from the latest AP poll.

Men’s college basketball weekend schedule

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CBS and Fox are free over the air. ESPN and ESPN2 are available on ESPN Unlimited. CBS also streams on Paramount+, and FS1 also streams on Fox One.

Wisconsin vs. Villanova

Friday, 8 p.m. | Milwaukee Hoops Showdown

This is a Friday warmup. Viewers will be seeing red, because Fiserv Forum is of course much closer to Madison than Philadelphia. Villanova’s scoring punch is slow (327th in pace) but compact (25th in offensive rating at KenPom). Senior big man Duke Brennan is coming off a 24-point outing on 8-for-8 shooting versus Pittsburgh. The Badgers counter with guards Nick Boyd (36 points against Providence last month) and John Blackwell (30 points against Marquette two weekends ago).

No. 22 St. John’s vs. Kentucky

Saturday, 12:30 p.m. | CBS Sports Classic

Both teams need a win here to pump up their flat vibes. The Red Storm have a defined ethos (run a lot, go hard on defense). Senior Zuby Ejiofor starts block parties in the paint. But Rick Pitino and the Queens crew are 0-3 against ranked opponents. That first win won’t come Saturday against Kentucky because Mark Pope’s team has fallen out of the rankings with four losses. Some momentum is up for grabs in this Atlanta meetup.

CJ Moore on the Wildcats’ weird start: “Pope’s intention in building this year’s roster was clear: While last year’s team, which reached the Sweet 16, could score, the defense wasn’t good enough to compete for championships, so he set out to build one that could. But now the skilled big man and shooters that thrive in Pope’s system are missing. And the defense isn’t any better than it was a year ago. In games that matter, it’s even worse.”

Ohio State vs. No. 12 North Carolina

Saturday, 3 p.m. | CBS Sports Classic

Don’t sleep on Bruce Thornton, who’s up to 21.8 points per game for the Buckeyes. The smooth-shooting senior comes in with sublime field goal percentages of 60/50/86. Last time out, Ohio State survived West Virginia in a double-overtime banger thanks to Thornton’s lean-in go-ahead bucket. North Carolina pulls up to State Farm Arena more leisurely, winner of its last four games and sitting 10-1 overall. It was the Big Ten that did the previous damage, as Michigan State blew UNC out on Thanksgiving Day. But the Tar Heels look excellent around freshman force Caleb Wilson (19.5 points and 10.4 rebounds per game). Get familiar with his game, before he gets called in next June’s NBA Draft.

No. 8 Houston vs. No. 14 Arkansas

Saturday, 5:30 p.m. | Never Forget Tribute Classic

Kelvin Sampson coaches Houston into swarming pressure. As of Friday, the Cougars are second in scoring defense and seventh in KenPom’s defensive rating. Five of their players average at least one steal per game. Senior Emanuel Sharp fronts an aggressive perimeter for last season’s national runner-up. Right on cue, John Calipari comes in with a zipping Arkansas. The offense is second in fast-break scoring and routinely cracks 90 points. Freshman gem Darius Acuff Jr. has averaged nine assists per outing during the Razorbacks’ four-game winning streak. The Prudential Center (Newark, N.J.) is a true neutral floor for this major style clash.

No. 21 Auburn vs. No. 6 Purdue

Saturday, 6:30 p.m. | Indy Classic

Purdue is 10-1, its lone blemish against 10th-ranked Iowa State. Auburn is 8-3, but those losses are to elite teams, all ranked in the top 10. Keyshawn Hall, Tahaad Pettiford and the bucket-getting Tigers have another main stage in their gauntlet schedule. The game is in Indianapolis’ Gainbridge Fieldhouse, so the allegedly neutral crowd should shine black and gold.

Jim Root has Purdue at No. 2 in his watchability rankings: “The Boilermakers currently have the top offense in the country per KenPom, and that’s no surprise with tireless point guard Braden Smith leading the way. A National Player of the Year candidate who could set the NCAA’s all-time assists record, Smith’s vision and ability to connect through tiny passing windows make for dazzling highlights. Smith is not the only reason to tune in to Purdue, though. The Boilermakers are loaded with perimeter shooters, and Trey Kaufman-Renn has the nation’s best push shot in the lane.”

No. 3 Duke vs. No. 19 Texas Tech

Saturday, 8 p.m. | SentinelOne Classic

The Blue Devils are 11-0, with top-10 KenPom marks on both sides of the court. They’re in rhythm with many contributors, but the star is freshman Cameron Boozer, who hoops with control and conviction. He racks up points without overextending himself. The 8-3 Red Raiders have issues to work out, but they’re not on offense. Junior forward JT Toppin leads that end with a charged motor and weightless hops. Toppin (21.9 points per game) versus Boozer (23.3) is a great head-to-head matchup for the Madison Square Garden marquee.

Boozer is No. 2 on Sam Vecenie’s updated NBA mock draft: “The only question is whether he’s a real No. 1 option in the NBA or more of an elite No. 2 if he struggles to separate at that level. But if I had to place a large sum of money on one player making an All-Star team from this class, it would be Boozer.”

San Diego State vs. No. 1 Arizona

Saturday, 10:30 p.m. | Hall of Fame Series

Another neutral site in name only. Saturday’s nightcap is in the Phoenix Suns’ home arena. So, all-out Arizona, and for good reason. The 10-0 Wildcats are a wagon. In-state freshman Koa Peat is elastic at 6-foot-8. He joins senior Jaden Bradley to set Arizona’s offense with desert heat. Fellow senior Tobe Awaka leads a unique rebounding effort. Aztecs coach Brian Dutcher, who already has two Sweet 16s and a national championship game appearance on his resume, could add to his legend with an upset.

CJ Moore on Arizona’s glasswork: “Arizona’s bigs are strong and great at wedging their men closer to the bucket. It’s a strategy, called tagging up, which is growing popular in the NBA … What’s different about Arizona from most of the best offensive rebounding teams is the Wildcats often only send three and sometimes just two to the glass, but still get back 41.8 percent of their misses.”

No. 13 Vanderbilt at Wake Forest

Sunday, 1 p.m.

While the top-ranked Wildcats surge to national fixation, the Commodores hit the Kevin James press photo shrug. Vandy is similarly undefeated at 11-0, and it heads into the weekend with the nation’s fifth-best scoring offense in Division I play. Sunday is a true road game (we briefly forgot about those). Wake Forest is a rather cool sleeper, 9-3 with one-point losses to Michigan and Texas Tech. Each side should look committed. Also, it’s sports on The CW. Winston-Salem first, then on toward “Riverdale” or whatever shows are still left on that network.

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