Twenty-one of the teams currently ranked in The Associated Press Top 25 poll will take the court Saturday as a stacked college basketball schedule takes center stage here in late-January. Shortly after Boise State takes on San Diego State in a Mountain West battle on CBS, Alabama will put its unbeaten SEC record on the line when it faces No. 6 Tennessee. The Crimson Tide is a heavy underdog on the road despite being one of three teams from Big Six conferences that have yet to lose a conference game this season.
No. 13 Auburn also hasn’t lost a conference game. The Tigers are off to a 4-0 start in conference play and the next challenge will be at home against No. 22 Ole Miss. No. 4 North Carolina is the other team that hasn’t lost a conference game and the Tar Heels face Boston College on the road Saturday.
Other notable matchups include a Pac-12 showdown between No. 12 Arizona and UCLA, No. 24 Iowa State facing off against No. 19 TCU and reigning national champion No. 1 UConn facing Big East rival Villanova on the road.
Odds via SportsLine consensus | All times Eastern
No. 1 UConn at Villanova
8 p.m. | Fox, fuboTV (Try for free) — UConn made a statement earlier this week while playing as the No. 1 team in the country for the first time in nearly 15 years. The Huskies’ 62-48 win over Creighton moved them to 5-2 against Quad 1 opponents and solidified their case to be the top-ranked team in the country. UConn star big man Donovan Clingan logged 15 minutes in his first game back from a foot injury and his minutes should continue to increase going forward. Prediction: UConn -2
No. 22 Ole Miss at No. 13 Auburn
8:30 p.m. | SEC Network, fuboTV (Try for free) — Auburn has looked like a different basketball team since losing on the road to Appalachian State on Dec. 3. The Tigers have since won 10 consecutive games and are one of three Big Six still undefeated in conference play. On the other side, Ole Miss has been one of the most surprising teams in the country under first-year coach Chris Beard and started 14-0 before losing to Tennessee. The X-Factor in this one? Auburn freshman guard Aden Holloway. This seems like a repeat of Ole Miss’ game against Tennessee game a few weeks ago, which ended in a 90-64 win for the Vols. Prediction: Auburn -13
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San Diego State at Boise State
1 p.m. | CBS, CBSSports.com, CBS Sports App (Free) — The matchup within the matchup to watch: Boise State’s Tyson Degenhart vs. San Diego State’s Jaedon LeDee. Both players should be first-team all-conference selections when it’s all said and done and they’re the key to victory for their teams. The Broncos are one of the best teams in the country at home and should have a nice homecourt advantage against SDSU. After a disappointing loss a few days prior, this is the perfect spot for a bounce-back performance for the Broncos. It would also add another big win to Boise State’s at-large case as the Mountain West hopes to become a potential five or six-bid league. Prediction: Boise State +1
Alabama at No. 6 Tennessee
2 p.m. | ESPN2, fuboTV (Try for free) — If you haven’t heard of or watched Tennessee’s Dalton Knecht yet … now would be the perfect time to start. The Northern Colorado transfer has been among one of the top players in the sport this season and should be one of the frontrunners to win the SEC Player of the Year award. The Crimson Tide have wins over Vanderbilt, South Carolina, Mississippi State and Missouri thus far and Tennessee will be their toughest test in conference play yet. Alabama will keep this game close, but the Vols will get this done at home. Prediction: Tennessee -5.5
No. 24 Iowa State at No. 19 TCU
2 p.m. | ESPNU, fuboTV (Try for free) — TCU could easily be 4-0 in Big 12 play right now. The Horned Frogs dropped a close game to Kansas in the conference opener and most recently lost in overtime to Cincinnati. TCU could’ve won that game in the final moments of regulation, but missed the front of a one-and-one at the free-throw line and eventually fell in the extra period. Iowa State also sits at 2-2 in Big 12 play after wins over Houston and Oklahoma State and losses to Oklahoma and BYU. TCU already has two ranked wins in conference play and with this game being at home, it should be able to get a third. Prediction: TCU -1
UCLA at No. 12 Arizona
4 p.m. | ESPN2, fuboTV (Try for free) — The last four weeks of the season for Arizona has been a roller coaster. During that stretch, the Wildcats have big wins over Colorado, Utah, and USC and head-scratching losses FAU, Stanford, and Washington State. On the other side, UCLA is off to its worst start in the Mick Cronin era but has won consecutive games over Washington and Arizona State following a 46-point loss on the road to Utah. The combination of Arizona’s struggles with UCLA’s resurgence makes this a line the Bruins can cover. Prediction: UCLA +19