College Basketball Games of the Week: Huge Ranked Matchups, Rivalries Reignited

Storrs South will be raucous. Michigan State could bench its star point guard while trying to contain another. UCLA women’s basketball could finally get a Big Ten test. The big college basketball games this weekend will impact conference standings and NCAA Tournament seeding. There are top teams in men’s and women’s hoops going at it, and we’re here to help you prepare for the action. Men’s Basketball No. 3 UConn at No. 22 St. John’s (Friday, 8 p.m. ET on FOX) Key UConn players: Solo Ball (Junior, Guard), Alex Karaban (Senior, Forward), Tarris Reed Jr. (Senior, Center) Key St. John players: Zuby Ejiofor (Senior, Forward), Bryce Hopkins (Senior, Forward), Oziyah Sellers (Senior, Guard) UConn’s last game: 92-60 win vs. Xavier St. John’s last game: 68-56 win at DePaul What’s at stake: Despite UConn being perfect in Big East play, St. John’s is right on its heels, sitting 1.5 games back from the top spot in the conference. The winner of this game can control its own destiny for the Big East regular season title. Both teams are as hot as they’ve been all season. The Huskies have won 18 consecutive games and are on track for a one-seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Red Storm have won nine in a row after starting the season 8-5. Wisconsin at Indiana (Saturday, noon ET on FOX) Key Wisconsin players: Nick Boyd (Senior, Guard), John Blackwell (Junior, Guard), Nolan Winter (Junior, Forward) Key Indiana players: Tucker DeVries (Senior, Forward), Lamar Wilkerson (Senior, Guard), Reed Bailey (Senior, Forward) Wisconsin’s last game: 92-82 win vs. Ohio State Indiana’s last game: 81-75 loss at USC What’s at stake: After up-and-down starts to the season, both Wisconsin and Indiana are safely in the NCAA Tournament field as of FOX Sports’ Mike DeCourcey’s latest bracket release. The Badgers have much more comfort, and are still sniffing a double-bye in the Big Ten Tournament. The Hoosiers could use a few more wins against quality opponents like Wisconsin to ensure their fate. Utah at No. 11 Kansas (Saturday, 2:30 p.m. ET on FOX) Key Utah players: Terrence Brown (Junior, Guard), Don McHenry (Senior, Guard), Keanu Dawes (Junior, Forward) Key Kansas players: Darryn Peterson (Freshman, Guard), Flory Bidunga (Sophomore, Forward), Tre White (Senior, Guard) Utah’s last game: 71-63 loss vs. Arizona State Kansas’s last game: 64-61 win at No. 13 Texas Tech What’s at stake: Over the past week, Kansas showed the nation it’s a title contender as long as Darryn Peterson is healthy. Now the Jayhawks have to stack wins so they can earn an NCAA Tournament seed that offers a path to make a deep run. This is a Quad 3 matchup for Kansas, meaning a loss would be disastrous to its résumé. The Utes have lost eight of their past nine but will continue trying to play spoiler. No. 5 Illinois at No. 10 Michigan State (Saturday, 8 p.m. ET on FOX) Key Illinois players: Keaton Wagler (Freshman, Guard), Tomislav Ivisic (Junior, Center), David Mirkovic (Freshman, Forward) Key Michigan State players: Jeremy Fears Jr. (Sophomore, Guard), Jaxon Kohler (Senior, Forward) Carson Cooper (Senior, Center) Illinois’ last game: 84-44 win vs. Northwestern Michigan State’s last game: 76-73 loss at Minnesota What’s at stake: The Fighting Illini have taken down their peers at the top of the Big Ten, beating Purdue and Nebraska recently. The Spartans have yet to beat a fellow top-five Big Ten team, losing to Nebraska and Michigan, so a win over Illinois would help prove they can truly contend for conference and national trophies. This is a battle of strengths, as Illinois has the No. 1 offense in the KenPom rankings and Michigan State has the No. 4 defense. Watch if for no other reason than to see if Jeremy Fears Jr. gives coach Tom Izzo a reason to make good on a threat to bench him. No. 4 Duke at No. 14 North Carolina (Saturday, 6:30 p.m. ET) Key Duke players: Cameron Boozer (Freshman, Forward), Patrick Ngongba II (Freshman, Center), Isaiah Evans (Sophomore, Guard) Key North Carolina players: Caleb Wilson (Freshman, Forward), Henry Veesaar (Senior, Center), Seth Trimble (Senior, Guard) Duke’s last game: 67-49 win vs. Boston College North Carolina’s last game: 87-77 win vs. Syracuse What’s at stake: The Battle for Tobacco Road! Maybe the most historic rivalry in college basketball should have another exciting edition. Duke and UNC are each led by an elite freshman: forwards Cameron Boozer and Caleb Wilson, respectively. After losses to Cal and Stanford, the Tar Heels have won four straight and could add a Quad 1 victory to their résumé, putting them in the conversation for a top-four seed in the NCAA Tournament. Duke has plowed through the ACC, winning its last six games by an average margin of 21.5, and even briefly muscled Arizona out of first in the NET rankings. The ACC is the weakest of the Power 4 conferences, so the Blue Devils need every win they can get to earn a one-seed in March. No. 8 Houston at No. 16 BYU (Saturday, 10:30 p.m. ET) Key Houston players: Kingston Flemings (Freshman, Guard), Emanuel Sharp (Senior, Guard), Joseph Tugler (Junior, Forward) Key BYU players: AJ Dybansta (Freshman, Forward), Robert Wright III (Sophomore, Guard), Richie Saunders (Senior, Guard) Houston’s last game: 79-55 win vs. UCF BYU’s last game: 99-92 loss at Oklahoma State What’s at stake: Houston and BYU entered the season squarely in the title contender conversation. Houston remains in that conversation, but BYU has fallen out after losses to Kansas, Arizona and Oklahoma State. A win against Houston would vault BYU back into that discussion. Before it can worry about where it sits nationally, though, BYU has to stack wins in the Big 12, as the Cougars have fallen to seventh. Women’s Basketball Butler at No. 1 UConn (Saturday, noon ET on FS1) Key UConn players: Sarah Strong (Sophomore, Forward), Azzi Fudd (Fifth-Year, Guard), KK Arnold (Junior, Guard) Key Butler players: Saniya Jackson (Sophomore, Guard), Mallory Miller (Sophomore, Forward), Caroline Dotsey (Junior, Forward) UConn’s last game: 86-40 win at DePaul Butler’s last game: 67-57 loss vs. Villanova What’s at stake: UConn is the only unbeaten team remaining, so every game is a shot at sustaining perfection. The Huskies have won 40 consecutive games, tying Texas (1985-87) for the 10th longest win streak in women’s college basketball history. Now they’re chasing South Carolina (2022-23) and Baylor (2011-12) at 42 consecutive victories. The Huskies are 9-0 all-time against Butler. Arizona State at No. 15 Baylor (Saturday, 6:00 p.m. ET on FS1) Key Arizona State players: Gabby Elliott (Senior, Guard), McKinna Brackens II (Junior, Forward), Heloisa Carrera (Sophomore, Forward) Key Baylor players: Taliah Scott (Sophomore, Guard), Darianna Littlepage-Buggs (Senior, Forward), Bella Fontleroy (Senior, Forward) Arizona State’s last game: 74-69 win vs. Oklahoma State Baylor’s last game: 76-70 win at Cincinnati What’s at stake: Baylor is tied for first in the Big 12 and has won nine of its past 10 conference games. Arizona State has struggled against that caliber of talent, losing to the other top teams in the conference in West Virginia and TCU. A Quad 1 win at Baylor would greatly boost the Sun Devils’ résumé come Selection Sunday. No. 2 UCLA at No. 8 Michigan (Sunday, noon ET on FOX) Key UCLA players: Kiki Rice (Senior, Guard), Lauren Betts (Senior, Center), Gabriela Jacquez (Senior, Guard) Key Michigan players: Olivia Olson (Sophomore, Guard), Syla Swords (Sophomore, Guard), Te’Yala Delfosse (Sophomore, Forward) UCLA’s last game: 86-46 win vs. Rutgers Michigan’s last game: 88-76 win vs. Nebraska What’s at stake: UCLA keeps plowing through Big Ten play to the tune of a 30.1 average point-differential. A road game at Michigan is the Bruins’ biggest test to this point of conference play, and maybe their last, best chance at showing it should be UCLA and its plethora of Quad 1 wins ranked No. 1 and not UConn. The Wolverines were a two-seed in ESPN’s bracket, which would be their highest in program history. A win over a dominating UCLA team would help solidify that. No. 19 Tennessee at No. 3 South Carolina (Saturday, 3 p.m. ET) Key Tennessee players: Talaysia Cooper (Junior, Guard), Janiah Barker (Senior, Forward), Zee Speerman (Senior, Forward) Key South Carolina players: Joyce Edwards (Sophomore, Forward), Ta’Niya Latson (Senior, Guard), Madina Okot (Senior, Center) Tennessee’s last game: 82-77 OT win at Georgia South Carolina’s last game: 88-45 win vs. Mississippi State What’s at stake: A battle for the top spot in the SEC. South Carolina has been cruising, winning 15 of its last 16, while Tennessee has lost two straight — including its worst defeat against UConn in rivalry history. The result of this game erases that past and results in a future where the winner controls their destiny for a regular-season conference title.