Miami (Ohio) Pursues Perfection As Part of Best Men’s College Hoops Games to Watch

When Travis Steele began this season at Miami (Ohio), he likely didn’t envision his team playing for a chance to make history during the first week in March.

But that’s what stands in front for the RedHawks when they take the floor against their archrival on Friday night. Miami could become just the fifth program since the 1990–91 season to romp through the regular season undefeated if it wins—and greatly help its chances of earning an at-large NCAA tournament bid should something go awry in the conference tournament.

All eyes will be on the RedHawks’ pursuit of perfection to start the weekend, but the action continues through Saturday and into Sunday. Tennessee and Vanderbilt scrap for seeding—and bragging rights—in the SEC, while Michigan State and Michigan close out the weekend in a battle at the top of the Big Ten. And, of course, North Carolina and Duke meet in their second rivalry matchup of the season in a game that rarely fails to disappoint.

If you’re looking for the most consequential bubble games of the weekend, Sports Illustrated has you covered. If you’re more focused on the best of the best, let’s get into it:

No. 19 Miami (Ohio) RedHawks (30–0) at Ohio Bobcats (15–15)

Friday, 9 p.m. ET, ESPN2

Known as the “Battle of the Bricks” on the football field, Ohio’s fiercest in-state rivalry has historic stakes on the line late on Friday night. The Bobcats could throw a major wrench in Miami’s perfect season, and make the MAC tournament a bit more meaningful for the RedHawks as well. The issue is Ohio couldn’t do much to slow down their rival when the two teams met earlier in the season. Miami did what it does best: create good shots and then make them, connecting on 52% from the floor and 9 of 18 from beyond the arc in the win. Even with a lackluster strength of schedule, 31–0 is no small feat in college basketball—and a victory Friday night would be well worth celebrating for the RedHawks.

No. 24 Vanderbilt Commodores (23–7) at No. 23 Tennessee Volunteers (21–9)

Saturday, 2 p.m. ET, ESPN

To tip off the action Saturday is the battle for the Volunteer State. Both programs have been evenly matched all season, as evidenced by their meeting just two weeks ago, when Tennessee went into Nashville and took down Vanderbilt in a game where neither side ever amassed more than a nine-point lead. The Volunteers were simply the most physical team—creating more shots with 14 offensive rebounds and dominating Vandy inside with 40 of their 69 points coming inside the paint. It’s that sort of approach that will make Tennessee hard to beat in the NCAA tournament—or on Saturday for that matter, unless Commodores guard Tyler Tanner replicates the 34-point outburst he had in Tuesday’s overtime win at Ole Miss.

Louisville Cardinals (21–9) at No. 22 Miami Hurricanes (24–6)

Saturday, 2 p.m. ET, ESPNU

Louisville cruised past Syracuse earlier this week behind 23 points from Ryan Conwell, but Mikel Brown Jr.’s absence looms large with the NCAA tournament approaching. After already missing eight games earlier in the season, the standout freshman point guard played just 21 minutes of a loss to Clemson and scored just five points last weekend—and his status remains unknown for Saturday. The Cardinals certainly don’t need him now, or even next week for that matter, but it’s a foreboding sign this close to the Big Dance. Saturday could get rough if Louisville remains shorthanded, seeing as the Canes have dominated the rest of the ACC by winning seven of their last eight.

No. 5 Florida Gators (24–6) at Kentucky Wildcats (19–11)

Saturday, 4 p.m. ET, ESPN

The Gators seem to have returned to title-contending form just in time for March, having dominated just about everything the SEC has thrown its way over the last month. Florida has won 10 straight, and has had only one of those 10 foes come with 10 points at the final buzzer. That just so happened to be Kentucky in a Valentine’s Day game in Gainesville, and even still, the Wildcats never led and fell behind by as many as 16 before clawing their way back to respectability late in the second half. The status of Florida leading scorer Thomas Haugh will be worth watching before tip after he sat out as a precaution against Mississippi State (a game Florida won, 108–74) earlier this week.

No. 17 North Carolina Tar Heels (24–6) at No. 1 Duke Blue Devils (28–2)

Saturday, 6:30 p.m. ET, ESPN

No, we will not grow tired of this game. No, it’s extremely difficult to see this matchup falling off this list anytime soon. And certainly not after the first meeting between these two teams. Seth Trimble’s corner three with 0.4 seconds left on the clock handed the Blue Devils just their second loss of the season and was everything that you could ask for in this rivalry. Cameron Boozer and Caleb Wilson went at it all night long, and though we won’t likely see the latter due to a lingering hand injury, North Carolina is capable of keeping up after this four-game win streak. The Blue Devils are still on fire, having beaten Michigan and blown out Virginia since that loss at North Carolina—and you can bet Cameron Indoor Stadium will bring the juice on Saturday night.

No. 16 Texas Tech Red Raiders (22–8) at BYU Cougars (20–10)

Saturday, 10:30 p.m. ET, ESPN

Injuries have rattled both of these teams in recent weeks with JT Toppin going down for Texas Tech and BYU losing Richie Saunders for the season. The Cougars have had it worse, with rock bottom coming at Cincinnati on Tuesday in the form of a 22-point loss. AJ Dybantsa has done just about everything he can over the past month, having scored 20 or more in BYU’s past nine games, but the Cougars have just three of those outings. The projected top-three NBA pick will have to go to another level, just like Christian Anderson will have to at Texas Tech if either of these programs want to make a run to the second weekend in the NCAA tournament. For now, both stars will focus on ending the regular season on a high note with a win.

No. 8 Michigan State Spartans (25–5) at No. 3 Michigan Wolverines (28–2)

Sunday, 5:30 p.m. ET, CBS

Both Top 10 Michigan teams were given first-half frights against inferior opponents in Iowa and Rutgers on Thursday night. The Spartans eventually had no problem, pulling away on their home floor behind stellar outings from Jeremy Fears Jr. and Coen Carr. The Wolverines on the other hand, went down to the final seconds before squeaking out a win over the Hawkeyes. But with those outings now in the past, these fierce rivals will lay it all on the line on Sunday. It’s difficult to see how Michigan State will be able to pierce Michigan’s suffocating defense—and even when Fears managed to do so the first time these two teams met, Yaxel Lendeborg answered with 26 points of his own. No matter what the outcome, this is the ideal sort of game to close out one of the most entertaining regular seasons in recent memory.

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