What to watch in college basketball this weekend: A test for Tennessee, UConn-Gonzaga at MSG

Leader Tennessee with a challenge on the road? A high-stakes edition of the Cy-Hawks rivalry? UConn vs. Gonzaga in the most famous arena in the world? Register with us. Here’s your guide to the next few days in the wonderful world of college basketball.

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Venue: Carver-Hawkeye Arena – Iowa City, Iowa
Time: Thursday, 7:30 p.m. ET
TV: FS1

No. 3 Iowa State matched its program record for highest AP ranking. Iowa is 7-2 and would catapult itself onto the national radar with a win against its bitter rival.

The cyclones are a force so far. They rank in the top 10 in adjusted offensive and defensive ratings. Their only loss was to No. 2 Auburn, in a game that Iowa State led until the final second. TJ Otzelberger’s team is big, physical and explosive at the rim, shooting over 50 percent from the floor.

Keshon Gilbert leads the Cyclones with 17.4 points and 5.5 assists per game. He has improved significantly as a distributor and two of his highest goals came against elite opponents in Auburn (23 points) and Marquette (24). In last year’s meeting with the Hawkeyes, Gilbert scored 25 points, five boards and six dimes.

Elsewhere, Curtis Jones is microwaved from the Cyclones bench. He had one start this season but is still ISU’s second-leading scorer (16.3 points per game) and is making more than 40 percent of his threes.

The Hawkeyes are underdogs at home, but this team shouldn’t be overlooked at home in a rivalry game.

Iowa’s Owen Freeman leads the Big Ten in field goal percentage with 64.4. He made a big jump in his second season with 16.8 points and seven rebounds per game. Payton Sandfort is also a focal point for the Hawkeyes, although he got off to a shaky start, shooting 38.6 percent while averaging 2.6 turnovers.

Iowa leads the head-to-head series 48-29. Close games have been hard to come by in recent years. The last six matches were decided by at least 14 points.

Memorable Matchup: On December 10, 2015, the fourth-ranked Cyclones were 20 points behind their in-state opponents, but then they made a massive comeback and maintained their undefeated record. With nine seconds left, Monte Morris scored the game-winning runner. Jameel McKay had 20 points on 10-for-12 shooting. Jarrod Uthoff had 32 points for the Hawkeyes in the loss.

#1 Tennessee at Illinois

Venue: State Farm Center – Champaign, Ill.
Time: Saturday, 5:30 p.m. ET
TV: FOX

Is there anything the volunteers aren’t good at? How … anything? You could probably hop blindfolded. They certainly come together as a team every morning and hit NYT Games right away.

Tennessee is the top-ranked team in the AP Poll. It is second in adjusted defense. It is hitting 63 percent of its two-point shots, the best mark in the country, and has won every game by at least 13 points. A road trip to Illinois will serve as one of the Vols’ tougher tests early in the season.

Chaz Lanier is shooting 48.6 percent from 3-pointers on eight attempts per night. The fifth-grader transferred from North Florida, and the Volunteers really enjoy his quick release and confidence on pin-downs. Lanier also features a springy first step and a fun pump fake.

Elsewhere, Zakai Zeigler leads the SEC with more than eight assists per game. He is an extremely entertaining college basketball player, skilled at distribution and tough on defense despite his 5’10” height. He and Jahmai Mashack are the biggest nuisances on the perimeter, combining for more than four steals per game. Rick Barnes’ team is experienced and consists of four seniors and one junior in the starting lineup.

Illinois appears to have a potential lottery talent in freshman Kasparas Jakucionis. He ended up in 6th place The athleteis the first mock draft. The Lithuanian guard is a natural playmaker who enjoys the game, apart from a slight problem with losing the ball. He’s shooting 49 percent from the field and 44 percent on three-pointers – not bad for his first nine college games.

He leads an Illini group with just one tough loss (Northwestern) and two solid wins (Arkansas, Wisconsin). Brad Underwood’s group ranks 15th in KenPom ratings and 11th in Basketball Reference’s simple rating system. The Illini lead the Big Ten in offensive boards and 3-point attempts.

Tennessee will be the favorite, but Illinois has a tough time at home.

No. 8 Gonzaga vs. No. 18 UConn

Venue: Madison Square Garden – New York
Time: Saturday, 8 p.m. ET
TV: FOX

Two of the best teams in the country will meet Saturday in midtown Manhattan as part of college basketball’s Hall of Fame Series.

UConn is very familiar with the theatrical performance at Madison Square Garden. Kemba Walker became a legend there. Ray Allen too. Will anyone be on stage for Dan Hurley’s Huskies? That’s entirely possible considering the power of the team, which is second nationally in offensive rating. The Huskies have the only teammates (Alex Karaban and Solo Ball) both shooting over 45 percent from behind the arc (minimum 50 attempts).

UConn responded admirably after a disastrous three-game losing streak in Maui. The Huskies outlasted a ranked Baylor team, then went on the road and beat Texas by 11 points.

The aforementioned duo of Karaban and Ball put up 37 points and sank 7 of 14 3-point attempts in the Texas game. Karaban has improved from his stellar run in the 2023-24 season. He has career highs in minutes, points, assists, blocks and scored 3 points per game. Ball is the team’s second-leading scorer despite ranking sixth in usage rate.

Gonzaga comes to New York as a slight favorite with a big revenge factor. UConn has won the last three consecutive matchups, including a 13-point win at Seattle last season and a complete exit in the 2023 Elite Eight.

Mark Few’s program knows how to work through a schedule. They have finished at least seventh in each of the last seven seasons and have been third or better in six of them. This year’s edition is deep and impressive, with six Bulldogs averaging double figures. They give up more than 90 points per game, good for third in the country, while averaging just nine turnovers.

Ryan Nembhard is tireless, playing a team-best 35.6 minutes and leading DI with 10.7 assists per game. Graham Ike averages more than 15 points in less than 20 minutes of play.

BetMGM sees Gonzaga in third place in the national championship with odds of +1200. UConn is right behind at +1400.

Memorable Matchup: 1999 Elite Eight – UConn narrowly won 67-62 against the 10th-seeded Zags. The Bulldogs were limited to a pitiful shooting percentage of 35.1. Richard Hamilton led all scorers with 21 points for the Huskies. The Huskies went on to win the national title, defeating Duke in a thriller 77-74.

Other games worth checking out

Indiana in Nebraska

Friday, 8 p.m., FOX

Hoosier big man and Malian fifth-grader Oumar Ballo leads the Big Ten in blocks (two per game). In each of his last two seasons with Arizona, he led the Pac-12 in field goal percentage. Additionally, Mackenzie Mgbako could be an NBA-level talent. For the Huskers, Connor Essegian is shooting better than 42 percent from behind the arc on nearly six attempts per game.

Memphis at No. 16 Clemson

Saturday, 11 a.m., ESPN2

The hosts boast the sixth-best adjusted defensive rating in the country. Clemson’s top two scorers have been with the program for at least four seasons, with Chase Hunter in his sixth year in orange. Anfernee Hardaway’s Memphis team has two strong scorers in PJ Haggerty and Tyrese Hunter. Haggerty averages 23 points per game. Hunter has the best 3-point shooting mark in the AAC at 49 percent.

No. 17 Texas A&M at No. 11 Purdue

Saturday, Noon, CBS

Purdue ranks eighth in adjusted offensive rating. A&M ranks 11th in adjusted defense. Purdue junior forward Trey Kaufman-Renn is shooting 59 percent from the floor. The Aggies are an unsightly shooting team, but they are the second-best offensive rebounding team in Division I so far.

Ohio State at No. 2 Auburn

Saturday, 1 p.m., ESPN2

Auburn’s Johni Broome is having an exceptionally cool season. The great all-rounder has the best odds for the Wooden Award at BetMGM at +185. The Buckeyes are a worthy non-conference opponent, ranking 29th in KenPom ratings and 13th in Basketball Reference’s simple rating system.

No. 13 Oklahoma at Oklahoma State

Saturday, 8 p.m., ESPNU

The latest installment of the domestic Bedlam series should be a good watch. The undefeated Sooners rank eighth in steals, followed by freshman Jeremiah Fears with 2.6 shots per game.

Creighton at No. 7 Alabama

Saturday, 8:30 p.m., SEC Network

Greg McDermott’s Bluejays were ranked 14th just a month ago. An uninspiring losing streak to Nebraska, San Diego State and Texas A&M dropped them, but they convincingly defeated the then-No. 1 Kansas on December 4th. Alabama is fourth in adjusted offense and fifth in points per game, presenting another tough test for Creighton.

(Photo by Chaz Lanier: Luke Hales/Getty Images)