Saturday’s five best college basketball games, including the return of a COVID coach
In case you haven’t notice, we’re less than two months from college basketball’s Selection Sunday date of March 17th.
With that in mind, we’re going to start highlighting the upcoming national games to watch. We’ll do the five best games to watch each Saturday. The on Monday, we’ll highlight the five best games to watch that week.
So let’s start with the five best college basketball games to watch on Saturday, Jan. 20, 2024:
No. 17 Marquette at St. John’s at noon on FS1: St. John’s coach Rick Pitino is expected back on the bench -- or pacing in front of the bench -- after missing the last game with COVID. The Red Storm need him. St. John’s has lost two straight and is now 4-3 in the Big East. Marquette snapped a two-game losing streak with an 87-74 win over Villanova last Monday.
No. 9 Baylor at Texas at noon on ESPN: Let’s hope Baylor doesn’t do any of those “Horns Down” signs performed by UCF that infuriated Texas coach Rodney Terry after the Longhorns lost to the Knights. Actually, both teams are coming off losses. Baylor fell 68-64 in overtime at Kansas State on Tuesday. Texas has dropped two straight, falling 76-73 at West Virginia before the home loss to UCF. Now 1-3 in the Big 12, the Horns need to right the ship.
No. 15 Oklahoma at Cincinnati at 1 p.m. on ESPN+: In his third season at UC, Wes Miller has turned the Bearcats into a dangerous team. Cincinnati upset No. 19 TCU 81-77 in overtime on Tuesday after close losses to Texas (74-73) and Baylor (62-59). Oklahoma snapped a two-game losing streak with a 77-63 win over West Virginia on Wednesday.
Alabama at No. 6 Tennessee at 2 p.m. on ESPN2: Alabama and Auburn are the only two unbeaten teams in SEC play. Both are 4-0. Tennessee is 3-1 thanks in large part to transfer Dalton Knecht, who has scored 103 points in his last three games -- 28 at Mississippi State; 36 at Georgia and 39 in UT’s 85-66 win over Florida on Tuesday in Knoxville. Hopefully, Bama coach Nate Oats will keep his hands to himself in this one.
Georgia at No. 8 Kentucky at 6 p.m. on the SEC Network: Both teams are 3-1 in the SEC. Georgia is 3-0 on the road, one of just four Division I teams unbeaten in road games. John Calipari’s Cats should win at home, but Mike White knows Kentucky well from his time at Florida and beat UK last season with a Georgia club that ended up 6-12 in the SEC. Don’t be surprised if this one is close.
Saturday’s college basketball television schedule
