Nine Best Games to Watch on Historic Weekend for Men’s College Basketball

The start of March may be a full week away, but this weekend’s slate is a welcome sign that the best month of the year for men’s college basketball is just around the corner.

Saturday marks just the third time in regular-season history—and fifth time ever, including the NCAA tournament—that the Nos. 1, 2, 3 and 4 teams play each other on the same day. Seriously, it’s that rare. So when No. 4 Arizona travels to take on No. 2 Houston and No. 1 Michigan tips off against No. 3 Duke, remember you’re watching history.

The rest of the weekend slate is just as appetizing with big battles in the ACC, Big East and Atlantic 10. Here’s your guide to watching all of the top games in men’s college hoops (and a friendly reminder to keep an eye on Sports Illustrated’s Bracket Watch and State of the Bubble as the actions rolls along):

Miami Hurricanes (21–5) at No. 14 Virginia Cavaliers (23–3)

Saturday, 2 p.m. ET, ESPN2

Miami solidified its standing in the NCAA tournament field with a pair of one-point victories at NC State and home vs. Virginia Tech. In the latter of those two victories, Tre Donaldson put together a master class, scoring 32, including the Canes’ final 15 points of the game. Playing at Virginia will be a different sort of test. The Hoos haven’t lost in a month and the defense has rounded into form to dominate the ACC. Open shots will be hard to come by for Miami, but if Donaldson can supplement leading scorer Malik Reneau (19.7 points per game), the Hurricanes could lay claim to the title of the ACC’s second-best team.

No. 4 Arizona Wildcats (24–2) at No. 2 Houston Cougars (23–3)

Saturday, 3 p.m. ET, ABC

Two title hopefuls clash in Houston and yet both programs have had their slipups of late. Before bouncing back against a shorthanded BYU, the Wildcats showed they may not be as unbeatable as previously thought with stumbles at Kansas and at home against Texas Tech. Still, Arizona’s depth should present a challenge for Houston’s top-ranked defense—as evidenced by sixth man Anthony Dell’Orso leading the team in scoring in the midweek win against BYU. Both rosters are loaded with talent and this very well may be a preview of a late-round NCAA tournament matchup.

No. 5 UConn Huskies (24–3) vs. Villanova Wildcats (21–5)

Saturday, 5:30 p.m. ET, TNT/TruTV

Is Villanova men’s basketball back? The Wildcats are in the midst of their best season since Jay Wright’s last year at the helm, and Kevin Willard seems to be pushing all the right buttons in his first season on the job. Nova’s team is balanced, with the top four scorers all averaging more than 12 points per game but fewer than 14. That diversity of attack nearly helped the Cats hang with UConn the first time around until the Huskies pulled away in OT. But Dan Hurley wasn’t happy with his team earlier this week, calling the defense “a joke” after allowing 91 points in a loss at home against Creighton. How UConn responds could have major ramifications on the Big East pecking order.

No. 1 Michigan Wolverines (25–1) vs. No. 3 Duke Blue Devils (24–2)

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

A neutral-site game will have the most eyes on it this weekend. No. 1 Michigan and No. 3 Duke will meet in the “Duel in The District” in Washington, D.C. Dusty May’s program looks as strong as ever coming off of a 91–80 romp of No. 7 Purdue. In the last five games, five different players led the Wolverines in scoring, meaning Duke will have to be ready for just about anything. Saturday feels like the prime opportunity for Cameron Boozer to cement his place as national player of the year favorite—and potentially the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NBA draft.

No. 6 Iowa State Cyclones (23–3) at No. 23 BYU Cougars (19–7)

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

The Cyclones are underdiscussed in their climb to No. 6 in the rankings, but it’s just because they play solid basketball. Iowa State dominates turnover margin (its 4.5 ratio ranks sixth in the country) and shoots the ball exceptionally well. Milan Momcilovic is the poster child for that, leading the nation by shooting 51.3% from beyond the arc on more than seven attempts per game. The result of living and dying by the three has been back-to-back marquee wins over Kansas and Houston, but also losses to TCU and Cincinnati when the shots dry up. This matchup lost some of its luster with BYU star Richie Saunders tearing his ACL last weekend, but perhaps AJ Dybantsa can put the team on his back and pull off the upset.

Bubble Games to Watch

VCU Commodores (21–6) at No. 18 Saint Louis Billikens (24–2)

Friday, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN2

If you’re looking to get a jump on the weekend, make sure you get a glimpse at what Josh Schertz has created at Saint Louis. The Billikens are far more than Indiana State transfer and 2025 NCAA tournament darling Robbie Avila. But a head-scratching loss against Rhode Island halted the team’s momentum, going into a difficult matchup against VCU (First Four Out). The Commodores have won 10 in a row, and Friday is the last chance to pick up a Quad 1 win, giving this game additional juice in prime time.

Texas Longhorns (17–9) at Georgia Bulldogs (18–8)

Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET, SEC Network

Texas figured to be a staple in this portion of weekly games to watch from now until Selection Sunday, but the Longhorns just keep stacking wins and have played their way off the bubble—for now. It’s Georgia (Last Four Byes) that could use a win over another team in the middle of the SEC, having lost five of the last seven and crawling its way back toward the cut line. The return of leading scorer Jeremiah Wilkinson certainly helped the Dawgs notch their first win at Rupp Arena since 2009. Now, he’ll have to help Georgia stack a few wins in order to avoid a stressful Selection Sunday.

Missouri Tigers (18–8) at No. 20 Arkansas Razorbacks (19–7)

Saturday, 4 p.m. ET, ESPN

Missouri added a much-needed fifth Q1 win (First Four Out) by holding off Vanderbilt earlier this week. Meanwhile, Arkansas nearly ran out of available players against Alabama and Darius Acuff Jr.’s 49 points weren’t enough to take down the Tide in double overtime. Mark Mitchell, who struggled against Vanderbilt, could provide a worthy challenge to Acuff in what should be a competitive game between two conference rivals in need of a win.

West Virginia Mountaineers (16–10) at TCU Horned Frogs (16–10)

Saturday, 5 p.m. ET, Peacock/NBC Sports Network

Bubble game of the week alert! Both West Virginia (Next Four Out) and TCU (Last Four In) need to get back on track after midweek losses. The Mountaineers, in particular, are hanging on for dear life after a bad loss to Utah. Senior guard Honor Huff struggled and will need to play better to solve a fairly competitive Horned Frogs defense. The winner will stay alive for an NCAA tournament bid, while the loser will face a significantly steeper uphill battle.

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