The best Saturday of the season to date is on tap, complete with a schedule featuring five games between schools ranked in the top 20 of Saturday morning's updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings.
Here's the rundown:
- 12:00 pm ET: No. 10 Indiana at No. 15 Kansas
- 1:00 pm ET: No. 4 Alabama vs. No. 12 Gonzaga
- 2:00 pm ET: No. 5 Houston at No. 2 Virginia
- 5:15 pm ET: No. 14 Kentucky vs. No. 18 UCLA
- 10:30 pm ET: No. 13 Tennessee at No. 8 Arizona
How good is that?
My two favorite things about this group of games is that 1) the tip-times are staggered from early to late and 2) three of the five will be played on campuses in true home-road environments, which is how I prefer college basketball. Showdowns in the Bahamas or Brooklyn or South Dakota are great, I guess, but everything is more interesting in true home-road environments with student sections and bands. It looks better. It sounds better. It just is better. So the fact that we'll get to spend this Saturday watching (in order) Kansas host a Big Ten contender inside Allen Fieldhouse, Virginia host the AAC favorite inside John Paul Jones Arena, and Arizona host a SEC contender inside the McKale Center is an early holiday present.
All of this should be terrific.
It'll likely lead to some significant changes in the Top 25 And 1, where Purdue remains No. 1 heading into Saturday's game with Davidson in Indianapolis. Matt Painter's Boilermakers are 10-0 with double-digit victories over both Gonzaga and Duke. They're led by national player of the year candidate Zach Edey, who is averaging 22.0 points, 13.7 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game.
Top 25 And 1 rankings
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Zach Edey finished with 11 points and 17 rebounds in Saturday's 65-62 win at Nebraska. The Boilermakers' next game is Saturday against Davidson. | -- | 34-5 |
| 2 |  | Jayden Gardner finished with 14 points and eight rebounds in Tuesday's 55-50 win over James Madison. The Cavaliers' next game is Saturday against Houston. | -- | 23-11 |
| 3 |  | Donovan Clingan finished with21 points and 11 rebounds in Saturday's 114-61 win over Long Island University. The Huskies' next game is Saturday at Butler. | -- | 37-3 |
| 4 |  | Brandon Miller finished with 24 points and eight rebounds in Tuesday's 91-88 win over Memphis. The Crimson Tide's next game is Saturday against Gonzaga. | -- | 25-12 |
| 5 |  | Marcus Sasser finished with 17 points and four rebounds in Tuesday's 74-46 win over North Carolina A&T. The Cougars' next game is Saturday at Virginia. | -- | 32-5 |
| 6 |  | Timmy Allen finished with 15 points and three assists in Monday's 87-81 overtime win over Rice. The Longhorns' next game is Sunday against Stanford. | -- | 21-13 |
| 7 |  | Ricky Council IV finished with 26 points and five assists in Saturday's 88-78 win over Oklahoma. The Razorbacks' next game is Saturday against Bradley. | -- | 16-17 |
| 8 |  | Azuolas Tubelis finished with 20 points and 13 rebounds in Tuesday's 99-61 win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. The Wildcats' next game is Saturday against Tennessee. | -- | 27-9 |
| 9 |  | D.J. Jeffries finished with 15 points and five rebounds in Wednesday's 69-59 win over Jackson State. The Bulldogs' next game is Saturday against Nicholls State. | -- | 21-14 |
| 10 |  | Indiana allowed Arizona to shoot 49.2% from the field in Saturday's 89-75 loss to the Wildcats. The Hoosiers' next game is Saturday at Kansas. | -- | 19-14 |
| 11 |  | Keyonte George finished with 22 points and six assists in Tuesday's 80-57 win over Tarleton State. The Bears' next game is Sunday against Washington State. | -- | 24-11 |
| 12 |  | Drew Timme finished with 26 points and six rebounds in Monday's 88-67 win over Northern Illinois. The Zags' next game is Saturday against Alabama. | -- | 27-8 |
| 13 |  | Zakai Zeigler finished with 12 points and three assists in Sunday's 56-53 win over Maryland. The Vols' next game is Saturday at Arizona. | -- | 27-9 |
| 14 |  | Oscar Tshiebwe finished with 28 points and 12 rebounds in Saturday's 69-59 win over Yale. The Wildcats' next game is Saturday against UCLA. | -- | 23-10 |
| 15 |  | Jalen Wilson finished with 24 points and 10 rebounds in Saturday's 95-67 win at Missouri. The Jayhawks' next game is Saturday against Indiana. | -- | 23-11 |
| 16 |  | Dariq Whitehead finished with 15 points and two assists in Saturday's 82-55 win over Maryland-Eastern Shore. The Blue Devils' next game is Tuesday at Wake Forest. | -- | 27-9 |
| 17 |  | Illinois allowed Penn State to shoot 50% from the field in Saturday's 74-59 loss to the Nittany Lions. The Illini's next game is Saturday against Alabama A&M. | -- | 29-9 |
| 18 |  | Jaylen Clark finished with 19 points and four steals in Wednesday's 87-60 win at Maryland. The Bruins' next game is Saturday against Kentucky. | -- | 16-17 |
| 19 |  | Oso Ighodaro finished with 16 points and six rebounds in Friday's 69-58 win over Creighton. The Golden Eagles' next game is Tuesday at Providence. | -- | 27-10 |
| 20 |  | Zed Key finished with 22 points and 14 rebounds in Thursday's 67-66 win over Rutgers. The Buckeyes' next game is Saturday against North Carolina. | -- | 22-14 |
| 21 |  | Kevin Obanor finished with 25 points and 10 rebounds in Tuesday's 77-70 win over Eastern Washington. The Red Raiders' next game is Saturday against Jackson State. | -- | 23-11 |
| 22 |  | Steven Crowl finished with 15 points and five rebounds in Thursday's 78-56 win over Lehigh. The Badgers' next game is Friday against Grambling State. | -- | 22-14 |
| 23 |  | Souley Boum finished with 28 points and seven assists in Friday's 102-89 win at Georgetown. The Musketeers' next game is Tuesday against Seton Hall. | -- | 16-18 |
| 24 |  | Emmitt Matthews finished with 16 points and nine rebounds in Saturday's 81-70 win over UAB. The Mountaineers' next game is Sunday against Buffalo. | -- | 9-23 |
| 25 |  | Jordan Miller finished with 25 points and five rebounds in Saturday's 80-73 win over NC State. The Hurricanes' next game is Saturday against St. Francis. | -- | 15-17 |
| 26 |  | Sean Pedulla finished with 16 points and four assists in Sunday's 70-65 win over Oklahoma State. The Hokies' next game is Saturday against Grambling State. | -- | 19-15 |
