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For the first time all season, college basketball doesn’t have to worry about that pesky college football sport getting in the way on a Saturday loaded with college hoops. Unfortunately, there’s this thing called the NFL that expanded its postseason with games all day long. Eventually college basketball will be the highlight of a Saturday, and if that’s more for you, there are plenty of games that can keep you entertained throughout the day.
Let’s break down Saturday’s action by taking a look at the game of the day, an underrated matchup and one you can feel free to avoid.
Best Game
There’s only one matchup on Saturday’s slate that features two ranked teams, and it’s the Texas Longhorns on the road facing the West Virginia Mountaineers. UT head coach Shaka Smart was sitting on the hottest seat possible last season, but he has the Longhorns as the No. 4 team in the sport with just one loss, and they blew out Kansas on the road last week. The Mountaineers are ranked 14th and are undefeated at home so far this season, where they haven’t played since Dec. 29.
The game will tip off at 1 p.m. ET and can be seen on ESPN.
Sleeper Game
As for an under-the-radar matchup, let’s go to the Big Ten where the 15th-ranked Rutgers Scarlet Knights are set to host the Ohio State Buckeyes coming in unranked. The Buckeyes are 8-3 so far this season, but all three losses came against teams inside the conference. On the other side, Rutgers is 7-3 overall, and it has three Big Ten losses as well. If either team plans on contending for a regular season conference championship, it cannot afford a fourth loss this early in the Big Ten slate.
This game starts at noon ET and can be seen on Big Ten Network.
Worst Game
For our worst game of the day, we will go to the West Coast Conference where the top-ranked Gonzaga Bulldogs are set to take on the Portland Pilots on the road. Gonzaga is expected to roll through the conference this season, and Portland finished last year with 15 consecutive losses. The Pilots have a 6-4 record this season, but three wins came against non-Division 1 teams, though to be fair they also beat Oregon State from a power conference. Regardless, Gonzaga should get a sizeable lead within the first five minutes.
This game will get started at 8 p.m. ET and can be seen on Root Sports. Many of you won’t be able to watch this game, and that’s okay.