We have a fun tripleheader on tap on CBS with three games featuring a total of four teams listed in Saturday morning's updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings.
The games will tip in this order:
2 p.m. ET: Washington at Arizona
4 p.m. ET: Alabama at Kentucky
Houston (No. 3), Baylor (No. 10), Arizona (No. 12) and Alabama (No. 14) all enter the weekend in the Top 25 And 1 with the Cougars and Crimson Tide both sitting in first place in their league standings with five games remaining in the regular season. Each will likely need to win Saturday on the road to maintain their lead in the standings, though, because Iowa State is only one game back of Houston in the Big 12, and because Tennessee is only one game back of Alabama in the SEC, and because both the Cyclones and Vols are double-digit favorites at home Saturday.
This weekend's most intriguing story?
That might be whether Kentucky guards or not. The Wildcats remain in possession of college basketball's most talented roster -- but they're still ranked 92nd nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency, according to BartTorvik.com, after allowing LSU to score 1.06 points per possession in Wednesday's 75-74 loss inside the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. That 1.06 represents a number that would rank 171st in adjusted defensive efficiency on the season, according to BartTorvik.com. So Wednesday was an undeniable step backwards for the Wildcats after they'd strung consecutive encouraging defensive performances in victories over Ole Miss and Auburn.
What should we expect against Alabama?
I think we're all unsure.
But the Crimson Tide do have the nation's best offense, one that averages 1.27 points per possession, according to KenPom.com. So if Kentucky doesn't provide the togetherness and effort it takes to be a solid defensive unit inside Rupp Arena, there's a chance the Wildcats could lose for what would be the sixth time this season while scoring at least 84 points.
Saturday's Top 25 And 1 rankings
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Zach Edey finished with 25 points and seven rebounds in Thursday's 96-88 win over Rutgers. The Boilermakers' next game is Sunday at Michigan. | -- | 34-5 |
| 2 |  | UConn missed 13 of the 16 3-pointers it attempted in Tuesday's 85-66 loss at Creighton. The Huskies' next game is Saturday against Villanova. UConn missed 13 of the 16 3-pointers it attempted in Tuesday's 85-66 loss at Creighton. The Huskies' next game is Saturday against Villanova. | -- | 37-3 |
| 3 |  | Jamal Shead finished with 26 points and six assists in Monday's 73-65 win over Iowa State. The Cougars' next game is Saturday at Baylor. | -- | 32-5 |
| 4 |  | Dalton Knecht finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds in Tuesday's 72-67 The Vols' next game is Saturday against Texas A&M. | -- | 27-9 |
| 5 |  | Tamin Lipsey was 1 of 8 from the field in Monday's 73-65 loss at Houston. The Cyclones' next game is Saturday against West Virginia. | -- | 29-8 |
| 6 |  | Kam Jones finished with 34 points and two steals in Wednesday's 105-71 win over DePaul. The Golden Eagles' next game is Sunday against Xavier. | -- | 27-10 |
| 7 |  | Armando Bacot finished with 25 points and 12 rebounds in Saturday's 96-81 win over Virginia Tech. The Tar Heels' next game is Saturday at Virginia. | -- | 29-8 |
| 8 |  | Steven Ashworth finished with 20 points and seven rebounds in Tuesday's 85-66 win over UConn. The Bluejays' next game is Sunday at St. John's. | -- | 25-10 |
| 9 |  | Hunter Dickinson finished with 20 points and 16 rebounds in Saturday's 67-57 win at Oklahoma. The Jayhawks' next game is Saturday against Texas. | -- | 23-11 |
| 10 |  | Baylor missed 15 of the 20 3-pointers it attempted in Tuesday's 78-71 loss at BYU. The Bears' next game is Saturday against Houston. | -- | 24-11 |
| 11 |  | Jaylen Wells finished with 27 points and three rebounds in Thursday's 77-74 win at Arizona. The Cougars' next game is Saturday at Arizona State. | -- | 25-10 |
| 12 |  | Kylan Boswell was 2 of 8 from the field in Thursday's 77-74 loss to Washington State. The Wildcats' next game is Saturday against Washington. | -- | 27-9 |
| 13 |  | Jeremy Roach finished with 16 points and three assists in Wednesday's 84-55 win at Miami. The Blue Devils' next game is Saturday at Wake Forest. | -- | 27-9 |
| 14 |  | Grant Nelson finished with 22 points and eight rebounds in Wednesday's 98-93 win over Florida. The Crimson Tide's next game is Saturday at Kentucky. | -- | 25-12 |
| 15 |  | Auburn shot 30.9% from the field in Saturday's 70-59 loss to Kentucky. The Tigers' next game is Saturday at Georgia. | -- | 27-8 |
| 16 |  | Kobe Elvis was 2 of 11 from the field in Wednesday's 71-67 loss at George Mason. The Flyers' next game is Tuesday against Davidson. | -- | 25-8 |
| 17 |  | Great Osobor finished with 17 points and seven assists in Tuesday's 68-63 victory over San Diego State. The Aggies' next game is Tuesday at Fresno State. | -- | 28-7 |
| 18 |  | Micah Parrish was 1 of 7 from the field in Tuesday's 68-63 loss at Utah State. The Aztecs' next game is Saturday at Fresno State. | -- | 26-11 |
| 19 |  | Coleman Hawkins was 3 of 11 from the field in Wednesday's 90-89 loss at Penn State. The Illini's next game is Saturday against Iowa. | -- | 29-9 |
| 20 |  | Nique Clifford was 1 of 9 from the field in Wednesday's 68-66 loss at New Mexico. The Rams' next game is Saturday at UNLV. | -- | 25-11 |
| 21 |  | Aly Khalifa finished with 14 points and seven assists in Tuesday's 78-71 win over Baylor. The Cougars' next game is Saturday at Kansas State. | -- | 23-11 |
| 22 |  | South Carolina missed 14 of the 20 3-pointers it attempted in Saturday's 64-63 loss to LSU. The Gamecocks' next game is Saturday at Ole Miss. | -- | 26-8 |
| 23 |  | Florida allowed the Crimson Tide to grab 21 offensive rebounds in Wednesday's 98-93 loss at Alabama. The Gators' next game is Saturday against Vanderbilt. | -- | 24-12 |
| 24 |  | Tyler Wahl finished with 18 points and six rebounds in Tuesday's 74-70 win over Maryland. The Badgers' next game is Tuesday at Indiana. | -- | 22-14 |
| 25 |  | Mitchell Saxen finished with 20 points and 13 rebounds in Tuesday's 70-66 win over San Francisco. The Gaels' next game is Saturday against San Diego. | -- | 26-8 |
| 26 |  | Pop Isaacs finished with 19 points and six rebounds in Tuesday's 82-81 win over TCU. The Red Raiders' next game is Saturday at UCF. | -- | 23-11 |
