As of right now, it is all eyes on Dec. 17. So many great matchups will be featured. However, we still have seven days to go. So, we will focus on week five matchups for now, which features three ranked matchups.
Week five has been a good week in the sport so far, with the Jimmy V Classic happening Tuesday night, along with other good games like Gonzaga-Kent State, Wisconsin-Maryland and Virginia-James Madison.
Thursday night featured a Big Ten game and an in-state rivalry game. First, Ohio State got all the luck in the world, beating Rutgers on a buzzer-beater from Tanner Holden.
However, many detailed when watching the miraculous play that it should not have counted. Tanner Holden walked out of bounds, and was the first to receive the pass when he was set back inbounds. This is not allowed, per NCAA rules. Nevertheless it was a great play and shot, but Rutgers fans are not happy.
Another game from Thursday was No. 20 Iowa State walking into Iowa territory. Iowa, without star and leading scorer and rebounder Kris Murray, dominated for 40 minutes and beat the Cyclones 75-56. Opening up to a 15-0 lead, the Hawkeyes never looked back. Four players for Iowa got more points combined than Iowa State, getting 59 total points from Filip Rebraca (22), Conner McCaffery (14), Patrick McCaffery (13), and Tony Perkins (10). This is insane production from Iowa, and they move to 7-2 with losses to TCU and Duke, both preseason top 15 teams.
As mentioned earlier though, three ranked matchups and a total of 22 ranked teams playing throughout the weekend. It will be a fun and exciting weekend of college hoops once again. Here is the college basketball weekend watchlist for week five.
The best team in the country will be hosting arguably the best team in the SEC on Saturday. Houston is a perfect 9-0 with some solid wins over Oregon, Kent State and Saint Mary’s. Alabama arguably has the better wins, defeating Michigan State and North Carolina, however they do have a loss to No. 5 UConn, but everyone is losing to UConn so who cares. Marcus Sasser, the veteran leader for the Cougars, will be matching up with arguably the best freshman in the country in Brandon Miller for the Tide.
With losses to Saint Louis and Seton Hall by a combined seven points, Memphis has had a decent start to the season, and is currently on a five game winning streak, three of which are against Power Five opponents. Auburn is undefeated with wins over Northwestern and the same Saint Louis team that beat Memphis. SMU transfer Kendric Davis has been very productive so far for Memphis, averaging 17.4 points and 4.6 assists per game. Auburn doesn’t quite have that level of star player, but they have a deep group of guys, with 10 players averaging 14.0 minutes per game or more. Memohis averages 0.6 more points per game than Auburn, but Auburns defense allows more than six points less than Memphis’ defense. Auburns defense ranks seventh in Kenpom.
After the rivalry was brought back on the gridiron this season, they will face on the basketball court as well, as the undefeated Tigers will not-so-warmly welcome the Jayhawks into their arena on Saturday. Mizzou is off to a terrific start thus far under first-year head coach Dennis Gates. While Missouri has not beat really anyone of note, the Tigers are still undefeated and are averaging 93.0 points a game. They have seven players averaging 9.0 points or more, which is amazing team production. On the other hand, Kansas is Kansas and have star freshmen Gradey Dick, All-American Jalen Wilson, and other great players around them. Kansas will likely be favored to win, but it might be a closer game than some think.
Both Indiana and Arizona took upsetting losses last week, and while they’ve each had a dominating victory since then, they will still likely be looking to solidify themselves as one of the best teams in the country. It is more important for Indiana to win rather than Arizona, due to the Wildcats having the much better résumé, but both teams would appreciate the win. This will be a battle between Indiana’s Trayce Jackson-Davis and Arizona’s star bigs Azuolas Tubelis and Oumar Ballo, which all three are averaging over 17.0 points per game. This will be one to watch closely.
The last key matchup of the weekend is the Volunteers and Terrapins facing off in Brooklyn. Both teams are 8-1 with a win over a good ranked team. Maryland is led by seniors Jahmir Young, Donta Scott, and Hakim Hart who are all averaging over 12.0 points a game. They, along with their Maryland teammates, will be starving for a victory after dropping one to Wisconsin earlier in the week. Tennessee has won seven straight after that early loss to Colorado, including one over Kansas in the Battle 4 Atlantis. Led by Julian Phillips and Santiago Vescovi, the Vols will be looking for their second signature victory of the season on Sunday.
One last matchup to keep an eye out on for the sicko’s is Florida State vs. Louisville. The teams are a combined 1-17 on the season, with Louisville not owning a win yet. It will not be a pretty one to watch most likely. However, if you want a good laugh while watching some hoops, tune into ACC Network at 1:00 pm ET on Saturday.
Stay tuned for more college basketball news, among other sports and esports news!
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