Saturday may very well be a day of separation in faculty basketball with loads of drama potential as convention races warmth up throughout the nation.
Within the Large 12, No. 8 Kansas heads to Ames, Iowa, to face No. 13 Iowa State, with each groups trailing by a sport within the common season race. Within the ACC, league chief and No. 20 Clemson welcomes No. 23 Miami to South Carolina because it seems to hold tight to its half-game lead within the regular-season race. And within the SEC, convention frontrunner and No. 4 Alabama — two video games up within the standings — is at LSU. With No. 2 Tennessee and No. 25 Auburn going through off within the afternoon and Texas A&M taking part in Georgia at evening, it may have important ramifications for the race transferring ahead.
So which groups will separate themselves from the pack and which league races will tighten up? Our specialists have picks and predictions for the day’s greatest video games right here.
Odds through Caesars Sportsbook | All instances Jap
North Carolina at Duke
Featured Sport | Duke Blue Devils vs. North Carolina Tar Heels
6:30 p.m. | ESPN, fuboTV (Strive free of charge) — North Carolina heart Armando Bacot is tough for everybody to defend, however he might show to be notably difficult for the Blue Devils to cowl as will probably be freshmen Kyle Filipowski and Dereck Energetic tasked with bruising in opposition to him on the block. A lot of UNC’s roster is aware of firsthand what it is prefer to win inside Cameron Indoor Stadium and shall be notably motivated Saturday due to a poor exhibiting in opposition to Pitt on Wednesday. This would be the first style of school basketball’s greatest rivalry for lots of the Duke gamers, and it may very well be too large of a second for a squad that has operated outdoors the nationwide highlight since a few large November video games. Prediction: North Carolina +3 — Cobb
Texas Tech at No. 11 Baylor
Featured Sport | Baylor Bears vs. Texas Tech Purple Raiders
1 p.m. | CBS, CBSSports.com, CBS Sports App (Free) — Texas Tech is coming off its first Large 12 victory of the season — a 23-point comeback win over Iowa State — and the arrogance gained there ought to carry over. The Purple Raiders performed Baylor competitively in an 81-74 loss on Jan. 17 regardless of taking part in subpar protection and may be capable to hold round on this sport as nicely. Even throughout an 0-8 begin to convention play, TTU misplaced six of these video games by 10 or much less. Baylor has only one double-digit victory in opposition to a league foe this season and is not sturdy sufficient defensively to be trusted to win by such a big margin. Prediction: Texas Tech +8 — David Cobb
No. 8 Kansas at No. 13 Iowa State
Midday | ESPN, fuboTV (Strive free of charge) — Iowa State’s not misplaced at dwelling but however is coming off an epic meltdown in league play vs. Texas Tech wherein it blew a 23-point second-half lead, marking its third loss in 4 video games. However I feel the Cyclones on this spot are arrange for achievement. They almost took down KU in Lawrence a number of weeks in the past and at dwelling with the Cyclone devoted behind them inside Hilton Coliseum, I am driving with Iowa State. Prediction: Iowa State +1.5 — Boone
No. 1 Purdue at No. 21 Indiana
Featured Sport | Indiana Hoosiers vs. Purdue Boilermakers
4 p.m. | ESPN, fuboTV (Strive free of charge) — Indiana appeared like probably the most important non-Purdue power within the Large Ten earlier than falling flat at Maryland earlier within the week. However I feel the Hoosiers again at dwelling shall be up for the problem as No. 1 Purdue rolls to city. There could also be no stopping Zach Edey, however with Jalen Hood-Schifino making a star flip and Trayce Jackson-Davis taking part in like an All-American, I feel IU can pull this upset off. Prediction: Indiana decide’ em — Boone
No. 7 Kansas State vs. No. 10 Texas
Featured Sport | Kansas State Wildcats vs. Texas Longhorns
4 p.m. | ESPN2, fuboTV (Strive free of charge) — With an opportunity to take down the Large 12 chief and concurrently seize a share of the convention lead, Kansas State at dwelling has a great opportunity to re-establish itself as the highest canine within the league. And contained in the Octagon of Doom, I count on it’ll do exactly that. Prediction: Kansas State -1 — Boone
Who will win and canopy in each faculty basketball sport? Visit SportsLine to get picks from the model that simulates each game 10,000 times and is up greater than $1,200 for $100 gamers on its top-rated unfold picks the previous six years.
