Oklahoma (1) at Baylor (13)
Oklahoma is No. 1 in the country for a reason. The Sooners have one of the best players in the nation in senior guard Buddy Hield. With Hield and Oklahoma’s other weapons, the Sooners can score the ball with ease. Their success depends on their ability to defend their opponents. Baylor would be smart to not attempt a zone defense against the Sooners. The Bears tried against Kansas to start that game, and the Jayhawks jumped out to a huge lead. Oklahoma can shoot the three ball, so that doesn’t bode well for the Bears on paper.
Oklahoma and Baylor will tip off at 11:00 a.m. Saturday on ESPN2.
Providence (16) at Villanova (4)
Junior Providence guard Kris Dunn is one of the guys who doesn’t get the national media attention he deserves. This guy can do a little bit of everything. He is averaging 17.8 points, 6.3 rebounds and 6.7 assists per game. You certainly want to tune in to watch this guy play. Villanova is coming into the game with a 16-2 record. We will see how Wildcat head coach Jay Wright and his team match up against the Friars and Dunn. Wright is one of the better coaches in college basketball, so this will be an interesting game to watch.
Providence and Villanova will tip off at 11:00 a.m. Saturday on Fox.
Maryland (7) at Michigan State (11)
Maryland is led by sophomore guard Melo Trimble. He is averaging 13.7 points and 5.7 assists per game. He is part of the reason Maryland is ranked so high. Michigan State has been struggling ever since senior star Denzel Valentine was hurt earlier in the season. He has come back, but he hasn’t had the impact on the court that he was having before his knee injury. If he can perform at the high level that Spartan fans were used to, then Michigan State has a chance to pull off an upset.
This Big 10 matchup will tip off at 5:30 p.m. Saturday on ESPN.
Purdue (22) at Iowa (9)
Purdue has a team that has a lot of size in the post. This has helped make the Boilermakers one of the best teams in the Big 10 so far this year. Iowa has been a surprise team to some. They have overcome some adversity this year after losing an exhibition game and blowing a large lead versus rival Iowa State. The Hawkeyes will look to continue to climb in the polls as they match up against another top-25 Big 10 team.
Tipoff is scheduled for 12:00 p.m. Sunday on the Big 10 Network.
